Sikandar - Ehsaas Panagah
(Skardu)
A young family-oriented person in his late 20’s, Sikandar works as a laborer in the harsh terrain of Skardu. In the summers he would sleep on the road at night and in two days would suffer from excruciating back pain, the rest of the days would follow with more physical distress. In the winters, Sikandar would huddle in any street corner wrapped in cellophane and other packing material he could find and spend the night in the harsh and unsafe outdoors. When the Ehsaas Panagah and Langar khanas opened it was life changing for him. Earlier, if funds were available, he would spend 500 to 1000 rupees on living expenses, but it mostly ended up creating a cycle of debt. The Panagah became a functional bed and breakfast, with hygienic bathrooms, a soup kitchen, a warm comfortable and clean bed, a place to pray – the Panagah is a palace for men like him. He says; knowing that you have a locker where you can store your meagre belongings and the ability to sleep without worrying for your life, safety or health is the biggest blessing.
