It is not known who coined the saying that no good deed goes unpunished, but in life it often happens otherwise – the good comes back to the one who did it. One such case is the story of a poor Hindu boy from the Pakistani city of Karachi.
This barefoot child wandered the street with his only friend, a mongrel dog named Jackie. The little owner shared everything with his dog – food, clothing, and lodging for the night. One day a dog wearing a sweater caught the eye of a freelance filmmaker and photographer, Mohammad Imran Belaal, who was taking pictures of Karachi’s street life. The man began taking pictures of the smartly dressed dog, and that’s how he met his owner, little Karma.
Mohammad was surprised at how much the dog had bonded with his master. As soon as he saw the boy, Jackie wagged his tail happily and ran to him. They played carefree in the street and seemed perfectly happy, although their life was not easy at all.
The picture of the boy and his dog was published on social media, and the story of their life touched the hearts of many people. Suhaib Jamal Nasir, a friend of Mohammad’s, a Canadian of Pakistani descent, decided to help the child and started a fundraiser to support him.
His goal was to raise at least 10,000 Canadian dollars (about half a million roubles) for Karma and Jackie so they could live a decent life. He donated a third of the amount himself, and the rest was donated by kind people who genuinely felt compassion for Karma and his dog. People donated $25-$50 each, so it took time to collect the entire amount.
A year later, Suhaib personally took the money to Karachi and met with the boy, videotaping their conversation. As it turned out, Karma has a father, two older brothers and a little sister. One of the brothers sells flowers on the street, and the other sells dolls, but they already have families of their own, so the boy earns a living on his own – he also sells dolls on the street or washes cars at the traffic lights.
That’s how he earns about 100 to 200 Pakistani rupees a day (this is 0.5 to 1 American dollar). He spends all this money on food for himself and his dog, trying to feed Jackie as best he can. When Jackie was a puppy, the boy used to buy him milk, but now he tries to find meat for him. Both of them need at least 130-150 Pakistani rupees for one meal, so Karma has no extra clothes or toys.
Karma doesn’t go to school, but someone comes to the family for a couple of hours to teach him to write and read. The boy would have liked to attend school, but he hasn’t had that opportunity.
Now, thanks to Suhaib’s help, Karma’s life has changed. He finally went to school, he has nice clothes and shoes, and toys and books. His family no longer goes hungry and he doesn’t have to wash cars to earn his lunch.