Letters from Cyprus: Truck art in Pakistan

A few months back I was fortunate to visit our team in Pakistan again. I travelled there just before the Pakistan elections, and campaigning was in full swing. It was interesting to see pictures of Imran Khan plastered all over the streets of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. I remember him as I grew up, following the Pakistan cricket team in Kerry Packer's One Day cricket series. Imran of course, is now making a life in politics.

Pakistan is a place that can overwhelm the senses. The sheer number of people, along with related political and religious diversity makes for a complex society, and one that presents unique challenges from a development perspective. Poverty in many parts of the country is extreme. Add to this a regular occurrence of natural disasters, particularly flooding, and you have a community and society that is constantly battered by economic, social, political and environmental shocks that would leave most first world communities or countries reeling. And yet somehow Pakistan functions, albeit with extremes on all sides. It is a complex environment to be a western NGO, particularly with challenges relating to security risks for our staff.

One aspect of life in Pakistan that immediately strikes you as you leave the airport and drive into the city is truck art. Pakistan is famous for it. Trucks, buses and taxis all across the country take great pride in decorating their vehicles with amazing artworks. It's quite remarkable to see the diversity and skill that goes into decorating some vehicles, and it makes for some interesting driving in the country.

I'm guessing that some of these rigs may not pass their pink slip in NSW!

World Vision has programs in a number of parts of Pakistan, with a primary focus on economic development, health and nutrition, water and sanitation, and emergency relief. On my recent visit I was able to visit a WV drop-in centre for street children from Rawalpindi. It was humbling to meet the children and also the staff working there. The children live on the street, but come to the centre for a few hours each day where they are fed, given medical treatment, and participate in a range of classroom and play activities to enhance social and basic lifeskills. Looking into the eyes of these children I was reminded of a quote from Bono a few years ago:

"God may well be with us in our mansions on the hill, I hope so. But the one thing that people of all faiths have to agree is this: God has a special place for the poor, the poor are where God lives. God is in the slums in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is where the opportunity is lost and lives are shattered. God is with the mother who has infected her child with a virus that will take both their lives. God is under the rubble, and in the cries we hear during wartime. God is with the poor, and He is with us, if we are with them."