The Many Faces of Charity

There are so many types of charity — and not all are about giving money.

Passing on your skills, your knowledge, your time to someone who cannot otherwise afford it — what could be more noble than that?

Today, while watching my husband's mother patiently teach someone the basic cutting of a kameez and shalwar (the traditional Pakistani dress form), I had a moment of reflection. I had to capture that simple yet profound act.

It made me think of my own mother —

A woman who has, over the years, taught countless girls the art of stitching, sewing, and special sewing techniques once they mastered the basics.

I couldn’t personally benefit from her skills 😉 — that's another story — but everyone who ever learned piping, from her swears they couldn’t have had a better teacher. She has been a teacher her whole life — not in a formal classroom, but wherever she found a heart willing to learn.

Knitting, sewing, Quran recitation, basic Qaida (Alif, Bay, Pay ا ب پ), basic reading and writing — you name it, she has lovingly taught it.

Why haven’t I ever thought of doing the same? Maybe I never got the right opportunity. Maybe I didn’t look hard enough. Maybe, like so many of us, I was simply too engrossed in raising my own children.

But today, standing there and watching another quiet lesson unfold, I realized that passing on whatever little knowledge we have — especially to those who are deprived — is a kind of charity that leaves a lasting impact.

And it made me remember a small chapter of my own:

Years ago, I used to give tuition to the daughter of our house help.

We had a daily routine at the dining table — my children doing their homework, and this little girl sitting alongside them. I tried helping her too, with her studies and her homework.

She was never an enthusiastic student, often distracting the others instead of focusing.

Yet, we continued for about a year.

Until one day, her mother accused me — rather bluntly — that her husband was unhappy with my "methods" because the daughter wasn’t showing enough results.

I tried to explain that the child was not serious about learning, but my words fell on deaf ears.

And so, after a year of giving my time and heart, I quietly stepped back.

That experience taught me something important: You can only help those who truly want to help themselves.

If you are ever lucky enough to come across such a person — someone willing to learn, willing to grow — don't hold back. Make it your effort.

It could be the most meaningful gift you ever give.

Because sometimes, charity isn’t about saving lives with grand gestures.

Sometimes, it’s about sewing a small stitch in someone’s life, one careful thread at a time.

_{I’ll be sharing the finished piece once she has stitched it!}