Ellma Shaikh

Charter for Compassion Pakistan

Charter for Compassion Pakistan (CfC) was launched in February 2011 as a local initiative inspired by the Charter for Compassion International, a global program by a multi-faith, multi national council of thinkers and leaders led by the celebrated author, Karen Armstrong. It has been endorsed by international and local celebrities like Sir Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey, Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, The Dalai Lama, Abdul Sattar Edhi, Salman Ahmad, and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. Charter for Compassion Pakistan (CfC) aims to create a vibrant, peaceful and compassionate society in Pakistan. It is a cooperative effort to restore not only compassionate thinking but, more importantly, compassionate action in our daily lives. This is being accomplished through the creation of innovative social programs on compassion in academia, business and media: Education The Compassionate School Network (CSN) partners with existing schools in Pakistan to disseminate compassionate skills and understanding to teachers and students through supplementary lesson plans, teacher training programs and school activities. The objective being for students to understand, acquire and practice compassionate skills like courage, empathy, forgiveness, humility, integrity, mindfulness, altruism, gratitude and self compassion from elementary to senior school. Our aim is to grow the network to 5000 schools by the year 2018 reaching approximately 2 million children of the country so that they become compassionate leaders in the coming decades. Businesses: Charter for Compassion Pakistan is developing consultation modules for businesses to inculcate compassionate thought and action in the workplace. The modules focus on the application of the nine compassionate skills in carious business settings.