In Kashmir we have many organisations that are serving humanity. One such is Mouj Kasheer Welfare Trust, run by Amir Rasheed Wani. He is a young boy ahead of his times. He started his social services when he was in Class 11, just 17 years of age. Amir started by serving and helping anyone he found in need. He posted about the person on social media and people started contributing. After passing Class 12, Amir went outside the state to pursue a polytechnic diploma in engineering in a private college in Chandigarh. He continued to help people irrespective of caste, colour, and religion. He took part in different initiatives to stop drug addiction and child abuse.
Last year, when the government of India scrapped Article 370 and put the whole valley under strict curfew and cut down all communication lines for months together, those who were outside the state, especially students, found themselves in great distress. They were worried about the well-being of their parents, relatives, and friends in Kashmir. These students also were running out of money and it was very hard to survive in such a chaotic situation. Many NGOs came forward to help these students and one among the volunteers was Amir Rasheed. He collected money and helped the students to return to Kashmir.
The Mouj Kasheer Welfare Trust run by Amir has contributed a lot towards the weaker sections. It is a non-governmental, non-political and non-profit organisation. Amir hails from Goigam Magam in Baramullah. For the past one year he has collected more than Rs 25 lakh for the needy and those who suffer serious ailments, especially cancer, tumours, etc. Amir has also provided financial support to poor families to get their daughters married. Within a short span of time, Amir has reached out to more than 1,000 families to provide a helping hand.
When Amir started his social service, he received full support from his family, especially his father. What makes Amir great is that he doesn’t take a single penny for his own use out of what he receives as donations and charity. He has done a tremendous job during the Covid-19 pandemic by providing the district administration Srinagar with manpower to reach those whose livelihood was hit by the lockdown. He went door to door to provide food and other essentials to the needy and he is still trying to reach every needy person.
Amir is always ready to sacrifice whatever he has. He is one of the youngest social activists of our Kashmir. He has great ambitions as he and his organisation want to serve the society in every field, be it education of the poor and orphans, providing medical services free of cost, providing shelter and construct houses for those who do not have a roof on their heads, or those who do not have the means to repair their houses. Amir wants his organisation to be the largest ambulance service provider in Kashmir. On this project the work has already been started by him and his team. The organisation run by this young man is in infancy but is tirelessly working for the welfare and betterment of the weaker sections of society.

—The writer is a PhD scholar based in Srinagar. [email protected]

MUBASHIR IQBAL KITABA