Some, including myself, are tempted to donate to charities. So we log on to their website. We go on the donation webpage and say wait for a second. Am I thinking this through? Do I know them personally? Have I ever met these people? Are they legit? Millions of donors suffer the bystander effect, The bystander effect or bystander apathy, is a social psychological theory that states that individuals are less likely to offer help to a victim in the presence of other people, in this case by donating to Gilgit Baltistan’s Goodwill Movement. It happens to all of us. However, this dilemma eats us up so much we walk away, shut down what we were doing and then move on. This psychological dilemma is human behavior, so most NGOs, especially in Pakistan can not collect as many donations. In this article, I try to answer as many doubts as a human mind can think of.
Are they Legit?
Gilgit Baltistan’s Goodwill Movement is very much a legitimate organization. GBGM was started as a social media forum in 2019 by its founder Ghulam Muhammad Baig who has cerebral palsy and currently studies International Relations and History at Strathclyde University, Glasgow. Having been in the UK since Primary School, Ghulam’s ambition was to campaign for the cause of persons with disabilities in Gilgit Baltistan. It is an ongoing personal struggle for all of us; for instance, the content we share on our website in one way or another is through our lived experience.
GBGM is a platform to serve every disabled person in Gilgit Baltistan. Please visit Goodwill Movement Near Nadir Chowk New KIU Road Sonikot Gilgit for those living in Gilgit.
How has GBGM collected its donations so far?
So far, we have had individual and organizational donations from organizations within the Gilgit Baltistan region and from donors abroad. But these were for the first year, and we had less experience than when we did not identify as many difficulties as we have now.
I Saw your posts, and some of them were very faith-focused. Is this a religious charity organization?
While some of our posts are faith-focused, you have to consider the circumstances and context of where a social organization is based. Having said that we try to be inclusive and respectful of all our faiths, but one can not ignore that we operate in an Islamic Country, and so we have to be respectful of the traditions and values of the country from time to time.
However, please visit our blogs, where all our articles are and we try to address all-inclusive topics. Our articles mainly cover disabled people living in Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan.
Most of your articles are very abstract and vague on the project details; why?
We understand that this is a concern, but with somewhat knowledge of hacking and ethical concerns, we share this with donors on an email basis. You can find our details at the bottom of our homepage. We aim to contact you within 1 or 2 days of receiving your email.
However very briefly Goodwill Development Centre was inaugurated in May 2022. Until April 2023 PWDs were being trained only in IT and English Skills as it has limited financial resources. These limited resources prevented GDC from providing additional classes and, more importantly, providing transport, more curricular resources, and hostel facilities to GDC students. At present 13 disabled students manage to attend classes on their arrangements.
Further information is available at the request
