The International Day of Peace is observed around the world each year as a day devoted to
commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and people.
This year as we reached 70 years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we as a global community focus on remembering the deceleration as a way towards international peace.
Community World Service Asia is determined towards promoting and fulfilling these rights to improve lives and build a peaceful world.
I worked in the coal mines in Hangu district for twenty years. When I was a child my family was unable to pay for my education so I had to start work as a coal miner at the age of 15. This was the practice for all young boys of my age in our village. We had to do it to support our family,
expressed Mian Syed Zaman, a 55-year-old father of seven children from Serei Kana village of Shangla district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province of Pakistan.
Although Syed Zaman’s income was not much, he lived a content life with his wife and children. In 1998, that changed. Zaman started feeling sharp aches in his lower back. The pains kept worsening until one day Zaman felt nothing in his lower body. He was paralyzed from waist down. He tried everything to cure himself, whatever he could afford, wherever he had to travel for it. But it was all in vain. Zaman had become bed-ridden for life. Following his father’s early footsteps, Zaman’s eldest son, Zia-ur-Rehman, had to leave school, graduating from Grade 8th, to start work to support his six siblings and mother. He had no choice but to do so.
Married and with two children of his own today, Zia-ur-Rehman is the sole bread earner for a large family of twelve members now. He works in the same coal mine his father used to work at as a daily wager. He earns PKR 25,000 (Approx. 215 USD) a month. With this income, it is difficult to make ends meet and provide sufficiently all family members. Neighbours and relatives of Zaman and his wife often gift money and used clothes to the struggling family. Zaman’s family also receives Zakatⁱ, in the form of money, once each year from the Government Zakat Department under the quota for disabled people. The family owns a cow, three goats, some poultry and a small piece of land adjacent to their home. Zaman uses the land to grow animal fodder, some vegetables and maize which helps the family sustain their meals for about five months.
Zaman’s house is a scantily constructed mud house where they all live together.
In all these years I could not afford to construct a latrine in my house. My family would use the nearby fields or jungle to attend nature’s call. Being paralyzed, it was not easy for me to do so. I felt embarrassed. I commuted on a small cart. The cart had a hole in the middle with a plastic bucket attached at the bottom. The bucket was half filled with ash and sand. I defecated in it and my wife would clean it. To avoid this trouble, I ate far less then actually required,
shared Syed Zaman unhappily.
During a survey conducted by Community World service Asia (CWSA) in early 2016 to identify and select most vulnerable earthquake affected families, Zaman and his family were selected as participants to receive support in rebuilding their house and in construction of latrines. Zaman was selected on the basis of being a Person with Disability (PWD) and because his house had been severely damaged in the 2015 earthquake that epicentered in the Hindukush mountain range.
Zaman received Corrugated Galvanized Iron (CGI) sheets which were sourced by the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA). They were also provided with raw materials to reconstruct their house by CWSA. Zaman’s house was completely reconstructed in 2016. CGI sheets were used to construct the roof to ensure the family’s safety during future hazards in mountainous and risk prone areas like Shangla. Most importantly, in early 2017, a complete latrine with two commodes was constructed and included in Zaman’s new house by his son himself.
Our family is living comfortably now. They do not need to go to the jungle for open defecation anymore. There are no flies and smell of excretion around our home anymore and the surrounding environment looks and feels much cleaner and fresher now. I have installed four small wheels in my cart to easily reach the latrine with the help of a stick. It would be great if I can be provided clutches and wheelchair.
In addition to latrine and shelter construction, Zaman’s family was provided with hygiene kits, which included two plastic cans with lids, one water pot (lota), soaps and sanitation cloths. The cans helped the family to carry and store drinking water in safely, minimizing the risks of water contamination.
Health and hygiene sessions were delivered by the project team. We are more aware of hand washing techniques and importance of using latrines now. This protects my family to from diseases and illnesses,
stated Zaman.
ⁱZakat is a religious obligation for all Muslims who meet the necessary criteria of wealth. It is a mandatory charitable contribution, the right of the poor to find relief from the rich and is considered to be a tax, or obligatory alms.
Integrated Emergency Shelter and WASH support to EQ affected families project is implemented by Community World Service Asia in district Shangla, Pakistan with the support of European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) and Norwegian Church Aid (NCA).
650 targeted farming families were provided plant samplings for the tree plantation campaign.
Right holders with their plantation packages.
Community members engaged in planting trees’ sample provided by the food, security and livelihoods project team.
Plant samples were distributed among 650 farming families in Badin.
Plant Distribution ceremony among communities in Badin.
Arboriculture campaign with teachers and students in a local school.
An aeroculture[1] campaign was launched with the farming communities of Khairpur Gambo and Pangrio cities of the Badin district in Sindh earlier this August under the Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture project[2]. This was part of an annual activity planned to promote and enhance biodiversity and to mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change. As a sustainable outcome, this campaign aimed at providing an alternative livelihood source to the water-deprived farming communities of the area. These activities will also enhance the provision of fodder for the communities’ livestock, which is currently in high scarcity.
A variety of fruit and plant saplings such as Sapota, Lemon, Azarirachta indica (neem), Moringa, Falsa, Jujube and Guava, were distributed among 650 targeted agrarian families of Khairpur Gambo and Pangrio city. As many as 10,400 samplings were given out during the campaign that chanted the slogan “Let’s make a promise to grow more trees”.
Each family were given two saplings each of, lemon, neem, moringa and jujube and three of falsa and guava. A week earlier to the distribution, the families were demonstrated on how to plant the samples in the soil. They were also oriented on all the possible measures adopted to ensure the healthy growth of the plants. The categories and species of the plants and fruits were selected with consent and suggestion from the communities and upon recommendations given by the Forest Department in Badin and the ARID zone agriculture institute. These particular types of plants and fruit were selected as they could grow well without a lot of water and could tolerate a certain level of water salinity, which was present in the water available here. The trees planted under this campaign will bear fruits between two to four years, allowing the farmers to benefit from the sustenance it will provide, as well as reviving greenery in the area, cleansing their environment and building the community’s resilience to climate change impacts.
[1] A method of growing plants without soil by suspending them above sprays that constantly moisten the roots with water and nutrients.
[2] Promoting Sustainable Agriculture Practices to Improve Food Security and Livelihoods of Vulnerable and Marginalized Farmers of Badin.
A group photo of training participants with the resource person, Syed Ali Moazzam and the team of Community World Service Asia.
Participants engaged in a group activity during a session on “Define difference between community mobilization and social mobilization”.
Nasar Khan, Program Officer, Community Research and Development Organizations, KPK, said, “The training was very effective and refreshed our learnings. The group activity on PRA tools provided the knowledge on how to apply all social mobilization tools. I now have clear concepts on how to conduct the Key Informant Interviews and FGD in my field of work.”
Tania Rashid, Team Leader, Daman Lahore shared, “The participatory learning approach was the strength of this training. The activities were quite relevant with the topics. The transect walk was a good learning experience. We have clear knowledge on how to apply these tools in the field to mobilize the communities.”
Zakia Malik, Project Coordinator REEDS (Rural Education and Economic Development Society) shared, “We applied for this training as we faced issues in mobilizing communities. The training enhanced social mobilization skills to mobilize the communities for resolving the issues more successfully by gaining skills on resolving conflicts and make strategies to engage communities by tapping different segments of society throughout project planning. Inviting guest speakers was a good initiative as it was a different mode of learning.”
The Chief Guest, Ayesha, Country Director, Care International said while addressing the participants in the training, “There are very few organizations in Pakistan who have not received training under this program. It is truly a great initiative. This training to enhance skills on social mobilization is essential in the humanitarian field of work as it allows better understanding of communities and their issues. The training has provided ways to explore ways to work with different communities. I encourage the employees in Care to work with honesty with communities in order to win the trust of the communities.”
What is social mobilization? Social mobilization is the primary step of community development for recovery from conflicts and disasters. It allows people to think and understand their situation and to organize and initiate action for their recovery with their own initiative and creativity[1]. Through mobilization, people can organize themselves to take action collectively by developing their own plan and strategy for recovery rather than being imposed from outside. It is essential to understand the basic idea of social mobilization and its uses before practically implementing it.
Advocating the mobilization and participation of communities at all levels of project interventions, Community World Service Asia recognizes that project and field staff in the humanitarian and development sector must be equipped with adequate skills and expertise on how to interact with communities and build relations of long-lasting trust with them. To further this cause, Community World Service Asia, held and conducted a four-day training on “Essentials of Social Mobilization” for local level organizations in Murree, Pakistan, in early August. Twenty-seven participants from ten organizations participated in this training.
The training introduced the various social mobilization skills required to motivate communities to bring about positive and sustainable changes in their society by building opinion on social issues. The opportunities and challenges faced by development workers were outlined and skills were enhanced on communication, conflict resolution, decision-making and problem solving to work more effectively with communities. The training elaborated on organizational policies to ensure inclusion of the marginalized segment of society especially to promote women participation in all processes of social mobilization. Participants developed skills to devise organizational strategies by engaging people to take ownership of their issues and resolve them by using local resources.
The prime focus of the training was to strengthen the capacity of local level organizations directly engaged in community mobilization and on-ground development initiatives. In the needs assessment, most of the participants showed interest in learning how to draft social mobilization strategies, using Participatory Rapid Assessment (PRA) tools, practicing effective communication skills, conflict resolution and how to identify local issues to advocate for social change. They also expressed an interest in enhancing their leadership skills to ensure effective social mobilization and women participation in the development process.
Once the participants for the training were finalized, they were included in all processes of the training design; from conceptualization to designing and activity planning. A training baseline survey was also conducted to learn about participating organizations’ policies, strategies and programs related to social mobilization and understand their organizational limitations and priorities.
Practicing the blended learning approach, the participants were divided in groups and given assignments. This exercise gave them the opportunity to learn by sharing experiences. A panel discussion was also held in which specialists selected from among the groups, with relevant experience, highlighted issues pertaining to lack of women empowerment. The purpose of this activity was to promote peer learning and sharing of contextualized best practices through open discussions, one-on-one talks and formal presentations among various organizations.
Key Learnings
The session on Participatory Rapid Assessment (PRA) allowed knowledge building on PRA tools including Focus Group Discussion, Key Informant Interview (KII), Social Mapping, Seasonal Calendar and transect walk. In a group activity, participants were divided in two teams. Both teams were assigned to work on different PRA tools. Team A worked on the transect walk, social mapping and KII, while team B’s task was to work on drafting a seasonal calendar by interviewing local people and conducting FGDs with a selected group of people. The teams performed actively and presented their work. The resource person identified some gaps and explained the tools for further clarity.
Another major need highlighted by the social mobilizers was to learn about the strategies and skills to overcome conflicts, communicate effectively in the community, enhance skills for effective conflict resolution, and trust building among communities.
Through adopting various interactive learning methodologies, participants identified the many challenges faced regarding power dynamics, balanced inclusion and participation while working in the community and learnt how to overcome those through conflict management, conflict resolution, effective communication strategies and different styles of leadership according to situations and people needs.
Muhammad Taj, with 25 years of extensive experience working with Sungi Development Foundation on social mobilization, shared his practical experiences and strategies to motivate people and communities to realize challenges and try to resolve their issues collaboratively with the support of local organizations. The training facilitator further encouraged participants to work on devising policies and strategies on social mobilization and provide guidelines to field workers on how to mobilize people to speak about their issues and work together with them on realizing their basic fundamental rights.
Steps ahead
Participants developed organizational action plans, chalking out the roadmap for implementing the learnings of the training. They plan to share their respective action plans with their organizations.
Treating malnutrition among infants and children in Ranta, Sindh
Soni is a thirty-eight-year-old mother of ten who lives with her children and husband, Sadla, in the Sadla Surjho[1] village of Sujawal district in Sindh. Her husband and eldest son together earn a total income of PKR 8000 (Approx. 65 USD) through local farming.
Meeting the needs of all of her children and running the house with just PKR 8000 a month was always a challenge for Soni. She was always struggling to complete the month with the finances she was handed; there was never enough food and health expenses were often sidelined. Traveling to Daro city, to avail even the most minor health assistance would cost money which made it nearly impossible for Soni or any of her family members to consider.
Very little or no money was saved for healthcare in our house. My youngest son who is two-years-old now was very weak since infancy. He could hardly walk. He did not eat well and was thus very thin. I then decided to take him to a clinic in Daro city to consult a doctor about his decreasing weight and health. The hour’s travel to Daro city alone cost us PKR 1500 each time. Yet, for a year we kept taking him to the doctor in Daro regularly, but his health did not improve, nor did he start working. This kept me extremely worried, shared Soni.
Early this year some women from Lakhano Surjho, a nearby village, told Soni about the MNCHⁱ centre operating in Ranta village, which is a half an hour walk from Soni’s home village. They shared their good experiences with the health staff at the centre and assured Soni that the medical support provided there has been effective and consistent.
The MNCH is only near my home. I first visited the health centre in June, 2018. The medical officer at the centre diagnosed my son with anemia. His weight was only 4kgs when he first visited the MCNH, narrated Soni.
The doctor at the MNCH prescribed iron tablets to my son and in addition provided a diet chart to me supported with a health awareness session on how to improve food intake and maintain a clean environment at home.
Soni was quite satisfied with the treatment provided at the MNCH and she observed a significant improvement in her son’s health. Within fifteen days of the treatment, he had started walking. Soni had visited the MNCH six times in a month to ensure consistent treatment of her son through routine check-ups as advised by the medical officer.
Soni told her neighbours and other women at Sadla Surjho about the MNCH and her experiences. Since then, a number of women from Sadla Surjho have visited the centre to seek treatment for viral illness treatment and antenatal and postnatal care. Some women have also taken ultrasound tests at the centre too.
My son is healthy and is walking well. I strictly follow the diet as advised by the doctor for all my children to ensure their good health. I want to request the health team to establish a health center in Kot Alam union councilⁱⁱ as well so that we can have access to economical, primary healthcare services only a few minutes away from our doorsteps, concluded Soni.
ⁱ Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health Centre Project implemented in District Thatta with the support of Church of Scotland (CoS).
ⁱⁱ Sadla Surjho is located in the Kot Alam union council of Sujawal district
The prevailing drought like situation is likely to worsen in coming days mainly because of insufficient rainfall during the monsoon season.
Overall, Pakistan has received -24.4% below average rainfall from May to August this year, while among provinces, Sindh has received the most insufficient rainfall during this period which is -69.5% followed by -49% in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and -45% in Baluchistan.
Sindh has witnessed a substantial 87.7% decline during the months of July and August where Baluchistan is at number two during the same period with a decline of 53.5%. The overall decline in Sindh from May until end of August remained at 69.5% while in Baluchistan it remained at 45.7%. Due to this deficient in the rainfall, moderate drought like conditions has emerged in most southern parts of the country. Owing to the current insufficient rainfall across the country, Pakistan Metrological Department’s National Drought Monitoring Center (NDMC) has issued drought alert. As per the alert, the moderate to severe drought is prevailing in most parts of Sindh districts which includes, Tharparkar, Mitthiari, Hyderabad, Jacobabad, Dadu, Karachi, Kambar Shahdadkot, Umerkot, Sanghar, Sajawal, Shaheed Benazirabad, Jamshoro and Khairpur. The districts in Baluchistan included Dalbandin, Gawadar, Jiwani, Panjgur, Pasni, Nokundi, Ormara, Quetta and Turbat.
Mild to moderate drought is prevailing at few places of district Multan and Mianwali in Punjab and Bunji, Chilas, Gilgit, and Gupis in Gilgit Baltistan.
It is expected that the drought condition may get severe in the coming days in southern parts of the country due to no further forecast of significant rainfall.
Community World Service Asia response team is in the field and is coordinating with Government agencies, Non-Government humanitarian actors in the field and other relevant departments to collect the latest information on ground. Community World Service Asia is planning to address the immediate food needs of the drought affected/at risk families and fodder for their livestock. The teams in the field will further monitor the situation and will formulate the next plan as per the requirements.
Contacts:
Shama Mall Deputy Regional Director
Programs & Organizational Development
Email: hi2shama@cyber.net.pk
Tele: 92-21-34390541-4
It’s August 19th[1], and it is time for us to celebrate and recognize the brave souls who risk their lives in the in the way of humanity. These individuals put those in need before themselves irrespective of the dangers and adversities they may face in the process. This World Humanitarian Day, as celebrated globally, builds on the momentum of the #NotATarget campaign spearheaded by the UN and followed by the global humanitarian community last year.
Each one of us has the ability to inspire others to do good; may it be through our words or through our actions. Some of us inspire people more than others and touch the lives of those around them with positivity, care and endless empathy. Today, we share stories of some of the most inspiring and relentless humanitarian workers we know.
Shahida Sarwar, in the field of humanitarian response and rehabilitation since 2006, has passionately been working for the progress of the local communities in her hometown of Mansehra. Shahida has committed all her energy and time into ensuring she provides the best and most accountable emergency relief services as well skill development opportunities to the people she serves so that they can benefit from being equipped with sustainable livelihoods. Shahida is currently employed with Helping Hand for Relief and Development, an NGO working in Pakistan.
Recalling one of her more traumatizing experiences in her professional life, Shahida said,
I was working for World Vision in District Mansehra in 2010. We were working on an emergency response project for local communities. On a Wednesday morning, ten unknown masked men attacked the World Vision office. I lost seven colleagues that day. I was among the injured and got seven stitches on my forehead. We were left helpless, traumatized and frightened. This incident did not break my courage and motivation towards helping others. Taking this incident as a gift of a second life, I stood up strong again and was even more determined than ever to help and work with the underprivileged children, women and men in the area. As a social mobilizer today, I believe I have a vital role of conveying the message of humanity and that humanitarian workers are #NotATarget. We are here to help, not harm anyone. The smiles I see in the communities I work with makes me feel honored and content. This humanitarian day, my message is that we all need to join hands with humanitarian workers working endlessly around the globe to foster empowerment, prosperity and help improve the lives of those in need.
Jhaman Das Parmar, a post-graduate in Sociology, has been working in the development sector in Sindh since 2012.
I have been working with various local and national organizations in Taluka[1] Chachro, Tharparkar district. Helping communities in Tharparkar is my motivation to work.
Sharing one of his experiences, Jhaman said,
In Kankayo village of Taluka Chachro, the community was very conservative and rigid with organizations who came to help people in the village. This was due to many prevailing myths and misunderstanding about the role of NGOs in the region. Many of these communities faced innumerable social and economic challenges including malnutrition, night blindness, illiteracy and limited access to appropriate healthcare, especially for women. Working as a Social mobilizer with AWARE, I was determinate to bring change in Kankayo. When I first visited the area, the villagers clearly refuse to talk to me and stopped me from entering their village.
Jhaman decided to start his work from a small neighborhood, whose people were more welcoming and progressive as compared to the other nearby villages.
The neighborhood had seven homes where I initially held meetings. I explained the importance of water schemes and education of children to the residents of these households. The elders in the neighborhood realized that I was not coming to them for my interest, but to make progressive development in their village. After three months of frequent meetings, the elders approached the village people about the changes I spoke about. Being influential figures, the elders were able to convince the villagers to allow AWARE to work in their village for their development. Our team, including myself, held sessions and implemented project interventions. We set up Solar Powered Water Schemes and constructed schools, equipped with furniture, good infrastructure and computers in the village. Today, that village is considered as a model village and other villages have themselves requested for our organization’s assistance. On this humanitarian day, my message is to pledge to help others without fearing hurdles.”
Nadia Riasat, Senior Program Officer at Community World Service Asia, shared her experience of facing hurdles while working on an aid distribution project.
Working as Program Coordinator on Adult Basic Education Society (ABES) in district Mianwali of Punjab, we provided aid assistance to the victims of floods in the years 2010, 2011 and 2014. Communities were forced to leave their homes with limited belongings. These communities lived in camps with limited access to clean water, sufficient food, proper healthcare and hygienic environment. Through our emergency relief projects, we provided aid assistance to these vulnerable communities. All the project staff assembled the food and non-food items according to the number of beneficiaries shortlisted. Only my male colleagues went to the communities for aid distribution. Many of my fellow humanitarian workers were often mobbed during the aid distribution, as the number of expected project participants present would exceed the initial anticipated number. Some of my colleagues would return with minor injuries and ripped clothes. Humanitarian workers have faced various incidents of intentional or unintentional violence in this part of the world. Despite these challenges, we do not stop helping the people in need, as we know their needs are far greater than the risks we face. Today, I call out to support all humanitarian workers who are working for the benefit of vulnerable communities by putting their lives at risk. Let’s pledge to be part of this chain and continue to work with commitment to help and save others.
Humanitarian aid is, at its best, a reflection of the notion that whatever our differences and disagreements, people can still recognize and affirm each other’s fundamental humanity. Aid workers put their lives on the line not to exert political leverage but to practice humanity by helping those in need, irrespective of their class, creed, gender, race or religion.
[1] The UN general assembly designated 19 August as World Humanitarian Day (WHD), in memory of the 22 colleagues killed in the 2003 bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad
[1] A tehsil (or taluka) is an administrative sub-division of a District.
District Tharparkar is currently faced with a drought like situation due to minimal rains in the region. This is leading to adverse effects on agricultural and domestic needs of the local communities in the area, leaving many children malnourished and severely ill. Nine infants have been reported dead this month, while a total of 375 children have died due to malnutrition in 2018.
Years of below-average crop production and losses of cattle has worsened the already-dire food insecurity and malnutrition situation in the Tharparkar district. Limited access to clean water and proper sanitation has deeply compromised health conditions of the resident communities.
With no further expectation of adequate rainfall, the situation seems to worsen in the near future. The sufferings of affected communities are only expected to increase as they have very limited crop production and their own health, as well as that of their livestock, is only further deteriorating due to a lack of water and food supply. Analyzing the current situation, the district administration has appealed to international aid organizations to send their teams support the government in its efforts to provide relief to the people of Thar. The affected communities require immediate emergency relief in terms of nutritional, WASH and health support.
Drought-stricken families from several areas have started migrating along with their livestock to the barrage areas of Badin, Mirpurkhas, Umerkot and other districts.
Community World Service Asia’s Response:
Community World Service Asia (CWSA) has worked towards providing relief and rehabilitation to drought affected communities in the same area before and is currently monitoring the situation. CWSA’s emergency response team is on standby and shall start response activities in case of need.
Contacts:
Shama Mall Deputy Regional Director
Programs & Organizational Development
Email: hi2shama@cyber.net.pk
Tele: 92-21-34390541-4
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