K-State students had the chance to directly affect the lives of children living halfway across the world on Oct. 8.
The Pakistan Student Association partnered with the ChildLife Foundation for a stand-up comedy event to fundraise for Pakistani children who don’t have access to quality healthcare. PSA focuses on involving Pakistani students around campus, and this event was a way to bring people together for a cause.
“It’s the best of both worlds,” Bharaneeshwar Balasubramamiyam, Ph.D student in computer science, said. “You get to explore their culture, have fun and at the same time you support the children who are in need.”
PSA has worked with other student organizations at K-State, such as the International Coordinating Council and Bangladeshi Students Association, to promote their goals.
“The mission for the Pakistan Student Association is to increase the cultural diversity, so every student in the university can feel connected with the society,” Muhammad Ammar Rafique, doctoral student in horticulture and natural resources and president of PSA, said.
After ChildLife Foundation reached out to PSA through OrgCentral, they began their partnership, marking the club’s first international collaboration. Through events across the United States, ChildLife’s mission is to ensure children in Pakistan can access healthcare facilities from anywhere in the country.
Comedian Saad Haroon was the artist featured at Thursday night’s event. Haroon has worked with the ChildLife Foundation for five years.
“I was doing stand-up comedy events all over the U.S., mostly aimed towards local Pakistani communities,” Haroon said. “ChildLife Foundation was simultaneously doing all these other events, trying to reach the same community. When they saw me, they were like, ‘Why don’t we combine forces?’”
The money the event raises goes toward turning pre-existing hospitals that are underfunded and understaffed into quality emergency care facilities. Through this remodeling system, they treat two million children annually.
“I think that we are now at a place in humanity where we have to stop thinking about this as American children or Pakistani children,” Haroon said. “We just need to look at them as kids. They’re innocent, and the more children we keep alive, the more humanity will benefit.”
Haroon sees the effect these events have on Pakistani children whenever he visits the healthcare facilities. He said K-State students have a tangible effect on the lives of people from across the world.
“You’re changing physical things, like desks and monitors and screens, but you don’t understand how much you change people’s lives,” Haroon said. “Those people go into those rooms who have never been helped before; they come out changed.”