FROM EMPLOYMENT TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP

“Now that I have a sustainable business, I can provide for my children and I don’t need to rely on anyone for financial support anymore.”
Ashraf Masih, e-guard at Haryali Hub

Ashraf Masih, 55 years of age, is an e-guard from the H-9 community of Islamabad. Prior to working with the Pak Mission Society, Ashraf was forced to work as a waste picker after moving to Islamabad for earning a decent living. Unfortunately, he could only generate enough money to barely make ends meet. In 2018, Ashraf was hired as an e-guard at the Haryali Hub providing him with an opportunity to be a part of a formal setup through a full-time job. The Haryali Hub has been not only working on improving solid waste management in these Saima Shamshad, I-9 Community residents. FROM EMPLOYMENT TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP in low-income communities but is also providing livelihood opportunities to many in search of jobs in decent positions. Through the project, Ashraf and many of his colleagues have been part of awareness-raising sessions, solid waste management programmes, and formal capacity development sessions. He has been an important member of the team who was given the chance to speak at the Climate March alongside the Minister for Climate Change as well. In 2020, when PMS was about to end the interventions in target areas, Ashraf and his family took over the entire H-9 community in terms of waste collection. He is now linked to the Haryali Hub where his small yet successful green business is a partner in bringing in green waste to be recycled to compost. Ashraf has not just raised the bar for his fellow residents but also stepped up his game from employment to entrepreneurship.