Hello! It’s Waleed again, back in Shirote Thingi.
As you can probably tell from the photos, the terrain here is beautiful – but it can also be a bit treacherous. In order to get things like wood for cooking and keeping warm, people travel long distances over and through the mountains. It’s also a heavy load and incredibly time consuming, putting a big burden on all – women, children, and men – who venture out to do it.
We asked everyone what could help lessen the burden. And there was lots of excitement about one idea in particular….cooking stoves!
Cooking stoves are easy to use – you can switch it on and off and cooks quickly. What used to take 30 minutes to cook now takes only 10-15 minutes.
The impact of the new cooking stoves was felt by all, but especially by one woman in particular. Her name is Bibi Daana, she was the most in need. I can’t even tell you how much of an impact this had on her life!
“It was hard labor to go out and collect wood,” she said. “We would have to break the wood from the trees and then walk all the way back from the woods to light the fire. This stove is saving my time and all the difficulties I had around cooking!”
Another woman, Anaar Bibi, works on someone else’s land to earn her livelihood. Her two children go to our non-formal school. Believe me when I say that the happiness and spark on her face after being given the stove was really something to see!
“I never imagined that I would ever be able to use a cooking stove in my life!” she said. Since she’s so buys working on the land, her children used to go and get the wood for their home. Now it’s easier for her, for the kids, and saves them so much time. “I’m using the stove to make meals for my children.” She’s very, very happy.
Meet Waleed!
Waleed is a Literacy Mobilizer for Alight in Pakistan. Part of his role is to identify challenges for the team to address like working with people in low literacy areas of Pakistan and communities with no access to basic education, and providing access and guidance to uplift marginalized neighborhoods. He loves to travel and learn about different cultures and people, finding connections in unexpected places. He always wanted to have a career that gives back, and is thrilled to have found that with Alight!
