Guardian: 'House of love': the calm, creative space changing young lives in Karachi

[abqtommy]

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/feb/24/house-of-love-the-calm-creative-space-changing-young-lives-in-karachi

'Living in Lyari was like living on the frontlines of a war, says Nauroz Ghani, who grew up in the Karachi slum notorious for its bloody gang battles. So used to the constant gunfire, he says he would “become restless if a day passed by without hearing the sound of a firing”.

“My teenage years were lost to violence,” says Ghani, 24. “I had no interest in getting an education. Instead, I was attracted by their guns and activities.” He saw dead bodies on the street and one boy was killed in front of him. “All of us who lived during those days have such memories. We lived in terror, but it had become habitual.”

Last year, Ghani’s life took a significant turn when he started working at a new space in Lyari.

Mehr Ghar (House of Love) was opened in March last year by social entrepreneurs and siblings Muhammad Faheem and Parveen Naz. The community centre is the first of its kind in the Pakistani slum, with a media room, library space, cafe and study areas. It also provides safe meeting spaces for women, who have borne the brunt of violence in Lyari.'

There's more text and photos at the link. I'm always pleased to see positive news
coming out of Pakistan since I lived there as a child with my missionary family. We
left Pakistan in late 1954 when I was 5 years old after living in Lahore, Karachi and
Rawalpindi. I cherish many fond memories of those days and still maintain a great
affection for the Pakistani people.