Before it was in fashion to be talking about peace between India and Pakistan, a Pakistani physician, having immigrated to the US, was exploring what was possible.

When Dr. Munir Ahmad came to the USA from Pakistan, way back in 1971, the South Asian population in the USA was much smaller. Looking around for organizations that helped communities in South Asia, he was introduced to one that sponsored children in India. They did not sponsor children in Pakistan. So Dr. Ahmad decided to sponsor two children in India. “After all, we are part of the same family”, he says. Over time, he sponsored children in Bangladesh and Pakistan as well.

But he always felt that he wanted to do more. In the mid 70s, he started working with some Non Profit groups in Peshawar, trying to financially help children so that they could get an education. Over time, he was able to mobilize funds to help approximately 400 children at about $25 per month per child. He also found ways to encourage participation of these children in learning and in leadership through a variety of awards.

This took a more formal structure in 1994 when his organization, DOSTI (www.dosti.org), was born. It is a 501c3 organization based out of Toledo in Ohio. The organization started its first school in Pawaka in Peshawar. It started as an elementary school with a few children and was located in a large house. Over time, it has come to include a high school with co-education till 6th grade. Subsequently, boys and girls are schooled in different locations. Today, DOSTI sponsors schools in various parts of the North West Frontier Province such as Mardaan, Chitral, Peshawar, etc. The schools follow the local provincial curriculum. Dr Ahmad says that the organization is committed to ensuring that one out of every ten schools is in a minority area. These have included Christian and Hindu colonies in various parts of Peshawar.

While working on issues of education, Dr Ahmad realized that various other aspects of society affect education of children. DOSTI began four centers to help educate and empower women through evening sessions. The International Labor Organization recognizes their effort and has subsequently helped support it. Health is another area that DOSTI recognized as critical to learning. A clinic was started which eventually had to be shut down for lack of funds.

DOSTI’s focus has largely been education. Dr. Ahmad recognizes that curriculum used is as important as schooling itself. He sees that there are biases in what is taught – they bother him. He says that his education talked about the traditions of the Indian subcontinent, of Ashoka and of the diverse leadership of the independence movement. He urges teachers in DOSTI schools to teach beyond the curriculum of reading and arithmetic, to teach students to love and respect irrespective of color, creed, or religion. He feels that despite political boundaries, the people of the subcontinent are one people with much in common with regards to shared cultures and traditions.

Through DOSTI, he continues to find ways to make friends between Indians and Pakistanis. He says that he has been looking for ways in which DOSTI can work in India, can help empower the poor in India as well. “We are one people”, he reiterates. His dream, he says, is to find ways in which DOSTI could help open schools in India as well. And then, students from India can come and visit Pakistan and students from Pakistan can visit their counterparts in India. He dreams of university students and teachers exchanging trips, of professionals visiting each other, and learning from each other.

The current warmth in the relationship between Indian and Pakistani governments makes him hopeful; and yet he realizes that this relationship is also rather unstable. He hopes that sustained drive for peace between the people of the two countries will force the governments to maintain peace. Through such people-to-people relationships, he continues to look for ways to make his dreams possible.

Visit www.dosti.org to learn more about this effort.