Saturday January 28, 2012
We had planned to get today’s
flight to Islamabad. The weather was all clear but the plane didn’t come again. The reason was poor load!! PIA
has every other reason to not to fly to Chitral. I went to Chowni Hospital
where my uncle was admitted. I was about to give blood for his operation but at
the last moment I was sent back because the honorable Major doctor was a asleep
and till noon. Came back to office and sat with Sir Sajjad. Went to PIA office
for ticket reconfirmation. It didn’t happen because of the online system of PIA
was down.
Sunday January 29, 2012
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| This is a season of MALTAS in the Malakand and are scattered everywhere along roadside. The prices are however not in everyone's reach. |
Today was a memorable comfortable
journey from Chitral to Peshawar. It was still yesterday night when we heard
about the cancellation of flights. So we had planned to leave Chitral early
today. I got up at 05:15 in the morning and left my room at 6:00 clock. Went to
the office and along with driver picked up all my staffs from their homes and
our journey southward started. We came down smoothly all the way to Lawari
tunnel where there was heavy snow and the second tunnel was open. We passed
thorugh both tunnels to reach dir where it was 10:00 o clock. We took a brunch
type there and then booked a car to Islamabad. It was the best of travels given the Corrolla car otherwise until now it used to a nightmare to sit in Hiace who wil stop every now and then for loading and offloading passengers. We drove past the beautiful
scenes and came down to the more warmer lower dir and then through malakand we
passed to reached Takht Bhai. Here we had the famous Chapli Kebabs and our last
part of the travel was on motorway to Islamabad. When we reach our
destination-the Depape hotel in Blue area Islamabad the day was yet to end.
Quickly we got into our rooms and then I got razor from the nearby pharmacy
store to shave which was older than a week. We got a sumptuous dinner in the
hotel dining room with food items choosed from a variety of dishes.
Monday January 30, 2012
Today was the start of our
workshop and I was excited about it. The AKRSP vehicle drove us to the heavily
guarded Serena Hotel and I was amazed to see the corporate type office of Aga
Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) on the 9th floor of the
luxurious Serena Business Complex. It could have been at a more accessible place within any of the sectors of Islamabad. Entering the premises of Serena Islamabad was a dreadful thing for me while during my 3 years of university life in Islamabad. I didn't even try to come near to it given the presence of multitude of security placed around it which ranges from govt to private people each perhaps searching to get some kind of bomb from anyone coming across them. Now going right inside the heart of this fortified fort was rather a curious experience for me as I was looking forward to find some kind of WMDs inside. However inside was nothing more a modern way of living with foreigners all around and people busy in myriad kind of jobs mostly of NGOs and UN agencies. To give a good impression of Pakistan at the reception were females wearing western dresses. They made for us a temporary one day pass to have the privilege to stay in this place. Perhaps some good reasons are there to place the office of a rural support programme funded by donor money in this hi fi building which is virtually a no go area for any commoner.
Our trainer for the training was a Young Amrican who had specialization in Youth development. The training was about the Value chain type but a smaller version of it market intervention tool called Rapid Market Opportunities (RMO). All the four next days passed and to me it was rather a stretched exercise in which the same lessons were repeated again and again so that we can get something clear out of it.
Our trainer for the training was a Young Amrican who had specialization in Youth development. The training was about the Value chain type but a smaller version of it market intervention tool called Rapid Market Opportunities (RMO). All the four next days passed and to me it was rather a stretched exercise in which the same lessons were repeated again and again so that we can get something clear out of it.
Tuesday January 31, 2012
Today was the second day of the
workshop. As like yesterday we went to Serena Hotel and had the training
sessions of the day with Mr. David. We came back in the evening. It seems the young man has come to learn from the AKRSP people as I observed. Mr. Maqsood and others were very much influential during the day and Mr. David only expertise I saw today was his English and in terms of Ideas he was as naive as me. Perhaps AKRSP should think about hiring local trainers who could be good alternative in terms of understanding as well as in terms of cost. Mr. David was staying in Serena and his bill were enough to hire some good PHD from Pakistan.
Wednesday February 01, 2012
Today we went to Serena for the
training and there was discussions around the Youth Suitability indicators
there specially related to Rapid Market Opportunity. Also the leadership
indicators were chosen by the group during the day’s session. The indicator regarding the youth leadership were mostly reoriented by the participants and Mr. David was very receptive to these changes made.
Perhaps i have assimilated more of Economics during my study and started thinking about the cost of hiring this young guy all the way from Michigan USA. It will amount to a handsome fund and could have been easily used to hire someone from Pakistan to do the same job and we would have end up saving the precious foreign exchange going out of the already impoverished nation.
Perhaps i have assimilated more of Economics during my study and started thinking about the cost of hiring this young guy all the way from Michigan USA. It will amount to a handsome fund and could have been easily used to hire someone from Pakistan to do the same job and we would have end up saving the precious foreign exchange going out of the already impoverished nation.
Thursday February 02, 2012
Today was the last day of the
training session. The day was supposed to be a half one but it stretched until
4 PM in the afternoon. Mr. David was as punctual as an American can be and was all set to finish it at time but being in the Land of Pure had also some effect on him and he continued even after lunch.
After being set free we went to Abpara-my university days and having wandered there for sometime decided to go to Jinnah Supper. I got some important things needed where ever were available for sale as buying at the displayed price was simply out of my limited range. The visitor to this upper end market are actually those lucky ones who don't really earn the money they spent here. However our way back to hotel was in taxi because my friend was too tired to accompany me on foot.
Friday February 03, 2012
Today was our flight day so I got
up early in the morning only to hear that the weather is not clear in Chitral.
We didn’t go to the airport because it was clear that the flight was not going
to happen. So I remained at the hotel and in the afternoon participated in the
meeting of Market Development Section of AKRSP in which all the MD staff from
the regions and PM also participated.
Saturday
04, 2012
The snow in Chitral was
continuing and now even roads were blocked. Our team thus left trapped in
Islamabad for this day also. Living in the hotel was rather odious given the fact that we were living doing nothing. Weather also takes its toll on the already poverty ridden inhabitants of Chitral and this time many would be suffering on the road leading to Chitral waiting for the fateful day of the pass to reopen. The earnings which they earn working as labor is lost facing these difficulties and they are as poor as a begger can be.
Sunday February 05, 2012
Today was another day of
inactivity for us. We went to the market for shopping and then came back to the
hotel. The weather forecasts were somewhat clear for tomorrow so therefore we
booked our tickets for tomorrow’s flight. In the afternoon we had a meeting
with a designer Ms. Ambreen belonging to Hunza and currently working in
Karachi. She was interested in the Handicrafts of Chitral and wanted to meet
with the femae artisan from Chitral.
Monday February 06, 2012
We went to the airport and Check in
to get the flight. While we were sitting in the lounge the appaling
announcement of flight cancellation came. We collected our belongings and then
took a taxi back to hotel. In the meantime PM MD Mr. Mazaffar arranged a visit
for us the Skill Development Council Office (SDC) located in F11/1 Islamabad.
We visited their facilities of imparting skill related education to youth and
talked with them that how AKRSP can partner with it to train the youths of
Chitral.
After that we visited Hashoo
Foundation (HF) in Chandi Chowk Rawalpindi where we went to see their training
centers as well.
In the late afternoon we visited
a market nearby HF office and then came back to Hotel.
Tuesday February 07, 2012
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| The mountains from the window of PIA Plane. We came to Chitral and being unable to land went right back to Islamabad only to come by road to reached late in the night. |
Based on the forcasts by different websites around the world the weather was supposed to be clear today. We reached the airport in the hotel vehicle at 6 o clock. This time we were lucky to board the plane. Our journey to Chitral Started and we were delighted with the fact that finally we are going to Chitral. We were served the cold drink which is perhaps the most modest item served on any airline of the world. It is an irony that even then PIA runs into losses. However the journey was smooth until more than half an hour the plane took some sharp curves and we passed along some unusually dark clouds and then came the most unpleasant sound of the announcer. “Dear passengers, we cannot proceed further due to clouds and therefore we are taking you back to Islamabad”. I left smiling on my fate that we will have come again by road all the way to this place in perhaps 10-12 hours. I relaxed myself that these unwanted happenings of life which we have to face. Where we do not want things to happen and those happen actually and we cannot do anything. I relaxed myself at the seat. The beautiful surrounding suddenly uninterested me and I closed my eyes. I got up with some jolt of the plane to realize that we were back at Chaklala Airport. So were literally back to where we started from. With heavy heart I went to collect my stuff which were bulky as usual happens with me. Down under the weights of them I came out of Airport and with my team I got a taxi to Sadiqabad Rawalpindi where Mr. Razzaq was waiting for us with his car to take us to Dir for our onward transit to Chitral. We had cups of tea at his home who proudly told us that he owns and even told us the exact area and shop he and his other Pashtuns brothers are owner of in the locality. Further down the road in G17 sector a prominent among the houses according to him belongs to his some type of uncle or so. With typical Pashtun mentality Mr. Razzaq was an adept driver who took us at a good pace to Dir. However all his boasting of friendship with us went into thin air when at Batkhela he increased the fare by 1000-another show of Pashtun traits? Actually he queued the car at a CNG station where already tens of vehicles were in line to get Gas. It would have taken close to two hours and we had nothing to do but to give him the additional 1K in order to continue the onward journey. The Pashtuns are famous for their friendship but once it come to money matter no one even your father or son is your friend. They suddenly forget everything and go after what is profitable to them. So our journey which had taken 6500 PKR while going to Islamabad cost us 7500 while coming back. However we reached by 5 o clock at Dir. AKRSP is a very caring organization and their vehicle was already waiting for us at Dir. We just transferred our luggage from the Toyota XLI to the Land Cruiser of the same company and our onward journey started. The snow was lying all over and as we climbed up the altitude in the Lawari mountains it suddenly was more than the height of our vehicle. There was only way for one vehicle and a greater difficulty was faced in order to let go vehicles coming from opposite side. Treading through the treacherous road at last we came to the tunnel and passed the two of them to come across a big truck which was stuck at the Chitral side on the sloppy road leading down the tunnel. It was unable to get up along and was being dragged by a heavy Dozer which was also slipping due to snow. However at last it was able to drag it up and make room for us to carry on with our journey. After that we reached Chitral smoothly and I set up my messed up room but still there are lot of things to do with it.
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| The start of climbing to Lawari tunnel and the snow is already frightening. |
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