Failure; a requisite for success!
Apparently, failures are often characterized as a condition or state that does not meet your objectives/expectations. However, you cannot extend your reach without tasting failure (FAIL: First Attempt In Learning).
Historical figures ranging from philosophers like Socrates to revolutionizers like Wright Brothers faced multiple failures but never held back from their commitment. This project is specifically designed to condition students towards accepting failure and moving on while taking it as an opportunity.
Working on a social cause demands a whole lot of focus, attention and perseverance . And, it can turn out to be extremely strenuous while managing your personal or work life. In fact, I would say “Do it only if you have it within you”. Nevertheless, it is an experience that stimulates your inner calling, raises your consciousness towards life and adds extensively to your satisfaction/contentment.
Having said that, if I have to sum up this experience in few words, I would say compelling and experiential. Our team members extensively faced harsh rejections, but these rejections did not hinder their way through and they kept their belts fastened to reach the ultimate goal.
Their voices didn’t faint even after facing multiple disappointments, and they reached out to various community centers, bakeries, shops, mosques, family members to gain whatever they could for this noble cause. Moreover, social media campaign was used as the the primary tool in stretching our pitch to majority of the audience that we can’t move to due to lack of mobility in this pandemic.
Although, it would have been interesting to collect funds as a group, but the third wave in Pakistan compelled us to stay back and resort to raising funds individually and safely. Besides, the main challenge that we came across was “trust issues”. “Why can’t we directly deposit our donations to the Edhi center rather giving to newbie strangers who just showed up out of nowhere” was the question that even shook our grounds while coming up with a rationale.
However, we did not shrug our shoulders with a poker face, but we convinced them by advocating Amal Academy’s mission and by referencing their role in the past years towards Edhi Foundation. Accordingly, we were able to persuade people with logic/trust and gain potential donations.
Anyways, despite all rejections, we were able to accept failures, not as a source of discouragement but as a source of improvement, opportunity and empowerment. Most of our members were found mentioning that they were quite hesitant/reluctant towards getting that unwanted feeling of rejection, but this activity helped them in moving out of their comfort zone and foretaste the realm of social endeavors.
In a nutshell, this activity has broadened our narrative towards failure. It has made us practically inclined towards taking on these unbearable punches without getting knocked out. Plus, it has further redefined the importance of failure; a requisite for success.