They came in fancy four by fours and sedans; they came in rickshaws; they rode on motorbikes; or they simply walked in from their villages and hutments. They all came to deliver whatever they could afford for the distressed survivors of the killer quake.

None in Karachi left a stone unturned in the relief efforts organised in the city, which saw donation camps dotting its entire landscape for months after the horrifying morning of October 8 – the third day of Ramazan – last year.

Moments after the earth turned the world of millions of Pakistanis upside down, the instant outpouring of emotions in Karachi resulted in the first prominent relief action and big and small heroic deeds became reflex actions of ordinary citizens.

Abandoning ethnicity, caste and social boundaries, the populace united in the face of a national disaster and never before has aid collection seen such overwhelming results.

One of the most prominent efforts was the largest donation collection point set up at the PAF museum where initially a few youngsters had got together to collect relief goods and had requested the army for a C-130 to fly out supplies to the affected areas. But when world got around of this relief goods collection campaign – courtesy the SMS network – the quantity of donations that began amassing within hours needed not one, but 40 of the same planes.

And this was just one venue. Besides the many stalls of various organisations spread out over Karachi, relief camps were set up in people’s homes as well where individuals had taken upon themselves the responsibility of collection and transportation of donations and of mobilising all their contacts and resources.

Packing emergency bags and cartons was a daily activity after iftar at many houses.

Despite being the farthest area from the quake epicenter, Karachi truly showed the picture of a city in mourning. Either it was compassion for the sizeable migrant work force in this city that comes in from the northern areas to earn a living here or just plain empathy for human suffering.

As tragic tales filtered in from the mountains, the efforts doubled in this city by the sea, the calamity becoming a unifying force.

When a beggar woman who lives and sleeps on the pavement in a market area, turned over her begging bowl with the day’s earnings – her only worldly possessions – to the shopkeeper arranging the dispatch of a truck of goods, the man broke down and cried, wondering whether he had done enough. It was these little drops that marked the character of the city, turning the relief operation into an oceanic wave.

Fakhre Alam was one of those who set up the PAF relief camp which became the largest relief effort from Karachi in which almost the entire city joined in.

And besides organising the food, clothes and other essential accessories for the victims, his was a systematic plan using satellite phones to monitor his team of volunteers.

He had enabled a reporting system where the receiving team was given the ID card number of the truck driver, who, upon receiving the truck, would send a phone acknowledgement to Karachi.

The relief teams were also instructed to mark the villages on the way and record their names and distances so that the next relief team would know where to go.

Such was the scale of the operation that the volunteer force too had to be properly managed for which Fakhr asked corporate managers to step in.

A multinational company immediately gave interim leave to more than 50 of its middle managers to assist the work force of nearly 4,000 individuals.

Despite living thousands of land miles apart, Karachiites too experienced the terror and misery of the affected people which altered the lifestyles of almost all citizens.

For the first time perhaps, Ramazan was observed in its true spirit and not celebrated as a month of feasts. There was a general air of restraint and even shopping remained low keyed.

Since many volunteers from Karachi had visited the quake site to help with relief operations, the sight and sounds of death were too vivid to allow them indulgence in Eid gaiety. Even now, a year later, there are many who continue with the voluntary work and still visit the mountains off and on, if needed.

And as we observe the anniversary of the earthquake, remembering the victims and the losses of the survivors, so should we honour the citizens of Karachi, who led from the frontline, living the terror of the trapped, nurturing hope at the chance survival of a loved one, suffering the sorrow of the victims and then rejoicing at a miraculous recovery.

And despite repeatedly being shortchanged out of their civic rights, Karachiites have shown that they may always be counted on to doggedly deliver, persevere and slog.