Community service (15082008)

Nazim Karachi has asked the citizens of Karachi to give two hours a week to community service. Pointing out that each and every citizen of Karachi is its owner, he appealed to the 18 million people of this city to offer their voluntary services for the protection of its projects and better reconstruction and work in the collective interest of the city and its citizens for two hours a week.
This is a noble thought and will indeed be a noble deed for the citizens, if it is taken up. Nazim is correct, the city belongs to no one person but to all of its citizens and unless the citizens come forward to take ownership things cannot materially change. It is also a fact that the government on any one party can only do so much but collectively the citizens can achieve a lot more. However, while a good beginning is being made by the Mayor (Nazim) calling upon people to contribute and has also indicated that there is a plan in hand to channel efforts of the people in the right direction, it is of great importance, if this scheme is to succeed, that the whole plan must be unveiled before the public and given widest possible media coverage.
Only through a sustained public awareness campaign can the citizens be made more aware and motivated to come forward. In this regard the academic institutions can play a great role and the Mayor should enlist the help of all the education institutions operating in the city. Internationally and especially in developed countries community service receives special credit generally and is highly regarded in admission to better academic institutions. This example may also be followed in Karachi.