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Yearly Archives: 2022

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When: 24th May 2022
What time: 2.00 PM-3:00 PM (Pakistan Standard Time)
Where: Zoom – Link to be shared with registered participants.
For registration click here
Language: English
How long: 60 minutes
For: Safeguarding focal points, senior managers of national, international and regional NGOs and aid/development networks
Moderator and Trainer: Ester Dross

Background:

CWSA is a humanitarian and development organisation registered in Pakistan, addressing factors that divide people by promoting inclusiveness, shared values, diversity, and interdependence. CWSA is highly committed towards Accountability to Affected People and people centered aid. Over the last two years, we have offered different webinars, covering various aspects of safeguarding and aiming to raise more awareness on key aspects of accountability such as establishing efficient and transparent complaints systems and protection from and prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment. Safeguarding is a key pillar to any accountability measures that organisations must integrate into their programmes and working cycle.

When people we work with or for, feel unsafe within their workspace or global environment, it leads to critical negative impacts on the quality of our work and the objectives we intend to reach. It is therefore important that we are more aware and increase our efforts for a better understanding of the issues at hand.

This webinar is part of a series of 6 one-hour webinars, covering safeguarding, key policies and minimum requirements, complaints systems, complaints handling and managing investigations and communication. The last webinar will explore questions related to child safeguarding.

We have so far spoken generally about safeguarding and how three organisations set up their safeguarding framework, followed by an interactive session where participants explored the key policies and guidelines they need to have in place in terms of safeguarding. During our third session, we tried to understand what we need to ensure in order to set up robust complaints systems and allow all stakeholders to have a voice and report any concern they have when benefitting from activities of or working with our organisations. During our latest sessions, we spoke about understanding fair and independent investigation processes and how to ensure inclusive and thorough communication with regards to safeguarding, complaints handling and investigations.

Objectives:

The last webinar of this series will explore questions related to child safeguarding including:

  • What is important to ensure inclusion for efficient child safeguarding into programs, safeguarding efforts, communications and complaints handling?
  • How can we contextualize our communication with regards to safeguarding to include children as our audiences?
  • What do we need to communicate to whom around complaints handling and outcomes of an investigation?

Moderator & Presenter:

Ester Dross—Independent Consultant

Ms. Dross is an indépendant consultant with over 25 years of expérience, specializing in accountability, prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse, gender and child protection.
Ms. Dross has had an extensive exposure to humanitarian certification systems and accountability to affected populations while working with HAP International as their Complaints Handling and Investigation Advisor, later as their Certification Manager. She has been closely involved in the Building Safer Organisations Project since 2005, dealing with sexual exploitation and abuse of beneficiaries, particularly focusing on gender and child protection. Over the last 6 years and since working as an independent consultant, Ester has been leading a pilot project for FAO on accountability and gender mainstreaming in emergencies and working with numerous NGOs including ACT Alliance members, supporting and training their staff on gender issues, child

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Tuesday 10 May 2022

9:00 – 10:30 UTC / 11:00 – 12:30 CEST

Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week (HNPW)

The diverse needs of individuals and communities must be fully understood, recognised and addressed in order for the humanitarian community to provide meaningful protection and equitable access to dignified humanitarian aid to all vulnerable individuals and communities in need. Addressing the challenge of inclusion by holistically incorporating diverse individuals and communities, regardless of gender or age, people with particular protection needs, persons living with disabilities and/or people who are subject to exclusion and marginalisation in complex operational environments – is absolutely essential.

Humanity & Inclusion, INTERSOS, UNHCR and Women’s Refugee Commission invite you to a round-table discussion on the importance of inclusion in protection work.

The session will explore opportunities and challenges, as well as ways of strengthening inclusion in humanitarian action, drawing from experience from humanitarian programmes around the world, including protection monitoring and other protection activities. Furthermore, the round-table discussion will launch the new INTERSOS report – Protection Monitoring Lessons Learned report, a fulfilment of INTERSOS pledge made at the Global Refugee Forum (GRF). The report can be accessed here.

Moderator

Ms. Manisha Thomas, Geneva Representative, Women’s Refugee Commission

Panelists

Mr. Gregory Garras, Senior Protection Coordinator, Division of International Protection, UNHCR
Ms. Eleonora Sceusa, Global Senior Protection Advisor, INTERSOS
Ms. Ulrike Last, Global Inclusive Humanitarian Action Specialist

The meeting will be in the hybrid format:

Participation in person:

Plénière C meeting room, Centre International de Conférences (CICG), Rue de Varembé 17, 1202 Geneva

For participants planning to connect remotely, the connection details will be provided a few days before the meeting.

Kindly RSVP your participation to miro.modrusan@intersos.org by 8 May 2022, indicating whether attending in person or remotely.

Download PDF

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CHS Revision Launch: What should the future Commitments to people affected by crisis be?

The Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (CHS) was launched in December 2014 after an extensive consultation period involving hundreds of humanitarian actors from across the globe. It sets out Nine Commitments that organisations have made to people affected by crisis, and helps organisations improve the quality and effectiveness of the assistance they provide.
Since its launch the CHS has been applied by a large number of organisations, which has led to considerable learning of the strengths and weaknesses of the current version. Also, during these six years, the world has changed, and the aid sector has continued to grapple with its colonial history and inequal power dynamics. It is now time to make sure we have a core standard that continue to push the agency of people affected by crises and ensures every person is treated safely, respectfully and with dignity.

These launch sessions will gather representatives from a wide range of actors in the humanitarian sector (including CHS Steering Committee members, CHS copyright holders, CHS application supporters, donors, national and international actors) and from people affected by crisis, to take stock of the experience with the application of the CHS so far and learn about it future.

Join us to launch the CHS revision process by contributing to the CHS application experience gathering and learn about the revision process (governance, objectives, timeline, process, and opportunities to contribute).

We look forward to seeing you at the session and contribute to setting up the future commitments to people affected by crisis.

Background

This launch event will be held as blended event combining an in-personand online participation. We will first provide a short explanation of thedevelopment of the CHS and the rationale for launching the revision process.This will be followed by a moderated “coffee table” discussion betweendifferent users and supporters of the CHS, focusing on the powerfulcontribution of standards to meaningful people-centered humanitarian work.

Agenda

11:00Welcome
11:05Opening remarks
11:15Brief introduction to the CHS revision (why, who, how)
11: 30Coffee table chat:
– The role of the CHS for Inclusion at community and country level:
– The donor perspective: tbd
– A regional perspective: CWS Asia
12:10Q&A, discussion
12:25Wrap up the discussion. Short consultation survey for those who are interested
12: 30Close

Speakers

The CHS Revision Launch event will feature an engaging discussion with two representatives from National NGOs who work with the CHS on a daily basis.

Ayesha Hassan is Associate Regional Director at Community World Service Asia (CWSA)

She focuses on campaigning and project implementation on Gender, Human Rights, Quality and Accountability, Livelihood(including food security with focus on DRR), Education, and Democratization. She is trained on Quality and Accountability standards such as the CHS, Do NoHarm Approach, Sphere etc. She has been working in the development sector since1997 and has a keen interest in youth-led projects. Ayesha has a good understanding of socio political and economic issues in the region. Gender, women empowerment and working with youth is her passion and forte.

Rehema Kajungu

Session facilitators: The session is being facilitated by the Co-Managers of the CHS Revision Process.

Aninia Nadig

Aninia’sbackground is in protection and forced migration issues, but she has a long involvement with quality and accountability standards in the sector. She was with Sphere for over 10 years in different roles and was part of the process the development of the CHS. She also played a lead role in two Sphere Handbookrevision processes and coordinated the Humanitarian Standards Partnership(HSP). working hard to ensure the CHS was included as one of the foundation texts for the revised Sphere standards and the HSP. More recently, she has worked as a senior HQAI auditor and a Sphere and CHS trainer, giving her insights on how to train and verify how organisations apply the CHS. SeeAninia’s LinkedIn profile for more on her background and experience. Aninia can be reached at anadig@chsalliance.org

Philip Tamminga

Philip has been involved in standards, quality assurance and accountability issues in the humanitarian and development sectors for over 25 years. He spent 10 years with the Red Cross Red Crescent movement, including senior positions in the IFRC. He also directed the annual Humanitarian Response Index (HRI) report for five years, assessing the role of donor governments in supporting effective and accountable humanitarian action. In 2012 he led the SCHR-sponsored consultation process to review standards and certification in the sector. The outcomes directly contributed to the development of the CHS and the establishment of the CHS Alliance and Humanitarian Quality Assurance Initiative(HQAI). For the past 7 years, he has been working as an independent consultant on quality and accountability issues for the Red Cross Red CrescentMovement, UNICEF, IRC, CDAC Network and the CHS Alliance amongst others. Philip can be reached at ptamminga@chsalliance.org

Click here to register

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When: June 21st – 23rd 2022
Where: Murree, Punjab
Language: English & Urdu
Apply here
Application Deadline: May 20th 2022

What is Safeguarding?

Safeguarding is an organisation’s responsibility to ensure its representatives and the activities it conducts promote the welfare of the people (especially children and vulnerable adults) it serves and the communities it works with. Safeguarding ensures that the organisation does not expose the communities it works with to any sort of risk of harm or abuse, including sexual exploitation, harassment and abuse. Safeguarding measures seek to prevent situations where individuals can use their position of power, to abuse or exploit another person. Safeguarding vulnerable adults and children is the process of protecting them from abuse or neglect, enabling them to maintain control over their lives and make informed choices.

Training Objectives:

To enhance the capacity of participant organisations in ensuring the safety and well-being of all of their employees and the community members that they work with.

This workshop will support participating organisations and their staff in exploring key concepts and strengthen their understanding on:

  • Accountability for Aid Workers and Core Commitments of Safeguarding
  • Safeguarding Basics – Milestones and Development
  • Protecting most vulnerable groups – support for survivors and whistle-blowers
  • Accountability and Transparency around safeguarding and PSEA
  • Contextualisation of Key Safeguarding Messages and How to communicate them
  • Experience sharing / best practices / lesson learning around Safeguarding
  • Overview of Complaint Response Mechanism linked to Safeguarding

Participation

This training will target members of complaints committees, human resource and MEAL staff, program teams and leadership of NGOs. The training will support participants to understand the key barriers, challenges related to safeguarding at an organisational and programmatic level while dealing with communities and stakeholders. It will serve as a platform for participating organisations to discuss and review their relevant policies and procedures to ensure that they are effective in all situations. It will also offer the complaint committee members’ opportunities to develop peer support groups so that they can learn from and support each other. Post-training technical support will be provided to participant organisations to develop and implement policies and systems related to safeguarding.

A maximum of 20 participants will be selected for this training. Women and Persons with disabilities (PWDs) and staff from ethnic/religious minorities are encouraged to apply. Preference will be given to participants from organisations based in underserved areas.

Selection Criteria

  • Primary responsibility for Safeguarding at the organisational level
  • Participants from women-led organisations, Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), religious/ethnic minorities will be prioritised
  • Mid or senior level management in a civil society organisation (CSOs), preferably ones with main office in small towns and cities
  • Willingness to contribute PKR 15,000/- for the training. Exemptions may be applied for CSOs with limited funding and those from marginalised groups. An early-bird discount of 15% will be awarded to applicants who register by the 08 May 2021 and a 30% discount will be awarded to women participants
  • Commitment to apply learning in their work, including dissemination of learning within their organisation

Methodology

The approach applied in this training is the ‘Blended Learning’ approach developed by Community World Service Asia in its previous phases of the Civil Society Empowerment Project (CEP). The approach is participatory and needs-based in nature. It consists of selection of participants from diverse organisations at different levels, while the content and methodology is designed with and based on the needs of the training participants. Experienced and knowledgeable trainers will lead the session using flexible content and varied methodologies during the training which will include development of action plans.

Methodology of this training includes practical exercises based on real life projects/programs (but considering social distancing). These will be interspersed with lectures by the external trainer and experience sharing by prominent leaders from the development and humanitarian fields. Presentations would be in English, discussion to be followed in both English and Urdu. Coaching and mentoring support will be provided to 30% of participant organisations to help them apply their learning.

Facilitation Team:

Palwashay Arbab – Head of Communications & Gender Justice Focal Person- CWSA.
A journalism and humanitarian practitioner associated with the aid sector in the Asia Pacific region since the last ten years. Has a diverse experience based on humanitarian work, journalistic writing, humanitarian and development communication, social media management, advocacy, training management, fundraising, branding and public relations, program development, gender justice, diversity and safeguarding.
Representational and networking experience with the international donor community, I/NGOs, and communities. Currently co- chairing the global Gender Justice Reference group of ACT alliance and governing board member of the Communicating with Disaster Affected Communities (CDAC) Network.

Asma Shehzad –Head of Support Functions- Safeguarding Focal Person-CWSA With more than 15 years of experience in Management including Organizational Policy development, conflict management, investigations, policies implementation, Asma has been now working with Community World Service Asia as Head of Support Functions. She is currently based in Islamabad, Pakistan. Asma is not only involved actively in the implementation of Safeguarding Policy at the organizational level with all stakeholders, she also acts as a Safeguarding Focal Person for CWSA. Being head of Support Functions Department, she is fulfilling her responsibilities in the development and implementation of policies to the best of her abilities. To her credit is the honor to be part of the team that has implemented Safeguarding Policy across CWSA. She also feels privileged to be part of Act as Co-Chair for Act Community of Practice- Safeguarding.

Ayesha Hassan – Associate Regional Director Head – CWSA Ayesha Hassan is the Associate Director at the Community World Service Asia with a diverse experience of campaigning and project implementation on Quality and Accountability (including Safeguarding, PSEAH, Complaints Response Mechanism), Gender, Livelihood (including food security with focus on DRR), Education, and Participation. She is a trainer, advisor and voice for Quality and Accountability standards including Core Humanitarian Standards, Do No Harm Approach, and Sphere Standards.

Ayesha is hands on in fund raising and program growth, overseeing the development of proposals and donor compliance. She develops program strategies for various programs under implementation while she has also facilitated the process of developing a 10-year strategy for DRR, livelihood and democratization.

Participants will need to arrive at the venue by 20 June, 2022 before 5:00 PM

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Jetho, 41, resides in Rani village of Umerkot and is the only breadwinner for a family of six members, including his mother, grandmother, wife and two children. In 1990, when he was only 10 years old, Jetho was diagnosed with a bone disease. “I was not able to afford the treatment for the disease I contracted. From the government hospitals, the treatment cost was around PKR 5000 per month. My wife and mother applied some home remedies but that could not completely cure me. This condition stunted my growth and left me with a marginal disability. It is challenging to cope with the daily tasks but I have to push myself to do more as my family is dependent on me.” Agriculture is Rani village’s main source of income. In July and August, during the monsoon season, Jetho grows a variety of crops on his two-acre plot of land, including cluster beans, millet, mung, and sesame. Crop production is strongly reliant on the amount of rain that falls in the area. A good harvest allows Jetho to earn an estimate of PKR 7000 per month as he sells the surplus in the markets of Kunri and Umerkot City. Unfortunately, Rani village has not received enough rain in the last five years. As a result, Jetho started supplementing his income with managing cattle for other villagers. He earnt PKR 2500 each month through this.

Belonging to a family of generational farmers who have been growing seasonal, monsoon reliant crops, Jetho, like several others has struggled to get any harvest or produce for years since the drought started hitting their village. Farmers of Rani village have thus abandoned their lands and have switched to other labour work that allows them to earn some money. The COVID-19 pandemic further decreased work opportunities for many local communities in the area as many small and large businesses suffered losses due to lack of sales and lockdowns. Jetho is struggling to make ends meet due to lower wages. “I could not afford to buy any more seed to plough the ground. I do not see any harvest this season. The lack of rain and low agricultural production has dropped my earning by 45%. To make ends meet, I have to borrow money from my relatives or purchase food items on credit from local shops.”

Community World Service Asia’s and UMCOR’sⁱ emergency project provided humanitarian and recovery assistance to vulnerable households that are frequently impacted by natural catastrophes and climate change impacts in Umerkot. The project ensured access to emergency food and agricultural seeds for disaster-affected people so that they could resume their livelihood activities. Jetho was one of the 608 families who received food packages and eight kg of millet seeds to help commence agrarian farming. The food package contained 80 kilograms of wheat flour, 15 kilograms of rice, 8 kilograms of pulses, 7 litres of oil, 4 kilograms of sugar, 400 grams of tea leaves, and 800 grams of iodized salt, and a matchbox.

With this support, Jetho’s family is now able to eat three meals a day, with adequate portions for every family member. Farmers in arid parts of Umerkot have adapted to climate change by switching from ploughing water-intensive rice, sugarcane and maize cultivation to drought-resistant millets. Farmers in this area are encouraged to shift to growing millet, to reduce the impacts of climatic changes on their food security and standard of living.

ⁱ The United Methodist Committee on Relief

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How do we convey our policies to the communities?
How do we give details about our investigation and complaint systems?
Who is informed on the decisions?

Ester Dross raised these questions while facilitating a webinar, titled ‘Communication & Safeguarding’, on March 1st, 2022. “Communication needs to be focused around our policies, what they say about the communities we serve, what protection measures it has and what we mean by PSEA and safeguarding. Moreover, it is not only important to have complaint systems but it is equally important for the systems to be known and transparent for communities using those systems. They need to know how it works, who receives the complaints and how they are responded to. It is through effective and clear communication that we create trust with the communities we serve,” said Ester.

As a continuation of the Quality & Accountability (Q&A) Week 2021, the fifth virtual session, jointly hosted and organised by ADRRN’s Quality and Accountability (Q&A) Hub, Sphere, CHS Alliance, ACT Alliance, ALNAP and Community World Service Asia (CWSA), was more focused on exploring ways to ensure inclusive and efficient communication around safeguarding, complaints handling and investigations.

Ester Dross was joined by Mandy Jones, Head of Safeguarding, OXFAM, Great Britain as a speaker in the session. Fifty humanitarian and development practitioners, from Asia and Europe, participated in this 90-minute webinar bringing together a wide array of diverse expertise and knowledge on safeguarding to learn from.

“We are focused on a survivor-centred approach and it underpins our safeguarding investigations. Safeguarding in Oxfam is a set of procedures, measure and practices, to ensure that Oxfam upholds its commitments, to prevent, respond to and protect individuals from harm, committed by Oxfam and/or any related personnel,” said Mandy.

Oxfam adopts a non-discriminatory approach for the survivor to have the full right to confidentiality, instead of exposure. “It is absolutely important for us to treat all the survivors in the same way. We also acknowledge their right to have comprehensive information for them to make their own informed decision and not be told what to do. The idea of dignity and self-determination, acknowledging that harm is being done to the survivor already, and attempting to restore power back in the hands of the survivor is crucial for the survivor-centred approach.”

“We need to be able to respond to concerns with kindness, patience, honesty and compassion. It is crucial to know what survivor-centred services are available within your area, field offices and communities before dealing and engaging with survivors. Every one of us has an essential role on knowing what our responsibility is to uphold and contribute to the safeguarding culture. This will include raising awareness on safeguarding and how concerns are reported and who they are reported to. Safeguarding has to be an active agenda in your organisations,” reminded Mandy. 

While addressing a question on ways to communicate with youth under 18 years and children, Mandy responded, “We have to be aware, and must be clear on the messages we give out to the children. We should have an open discourse with them, providing them a forum to express their concerns in their own words. At Oxfam, we are very clear about child abuse and its elements such as child marriages, child labour and sexual harassment. We have to consider the access children have to be informed about the work we do, provide their feedback and what other opportunities are there for their voices to be heard.”

Participants inquired about how to avoid having misleading or fabricated claims through anonymous complaints, as well as how to determine their authenticity. “This brings us to focusing on the information we gain though investigation and witnesses after a complaint has been registered. There is an element of probability where we have to think about the likelihood of a concern happening based on the evidence gathered. Therefore, a comprehensive investigation is required to determine if the allegations are accurate or misleading. We have a significant duty when dealing with complaints, and we must preserve safeguarding by carrying out this responsibility to the best of our abilities,” Mandy explained.

While sharing her views around communicating safeguarding to the communities we serve, Samina Sardar, a participant, said, “The people involved in exercising the safeguarding policies and agenda have to comfortable talking about PSEA. If a person is uncomfortable talking about it, he or she will be unable to effectively disseminate the messages and systems of complaint processes, and communities will be reluctant to share their concerns. Furthermore, in order to promote safeguarding and PSEA, the organisation and those working in it must have the same values.”

In conclusion of the virtual learning event, Ester remarked, “It is key that communities know the channels of communication. It is our responsibility to communicate all the channels of reporting transparently and through clear messages so that communities are aware about it and can use them effectively.”

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When: 23th– 25th May 2022 (arrival at the venue on 22rd May 2022)
Where: Murree, Punjab
Language: Urdu and English
Interested Applicants: Click here to register
Last Date to Apply: 5th May 2022 (incomplete applications will not be entertained)

Training Objectives: Through this training, you will be able to:

  • Understand the underlined concepts of resource mobilization.
  • Analyze the current resource environment and its implications in sustainability of NGOs.
  • Identify different resources, financial and non-financial and determine ways to access them.
  • Design a strategic plan for mobilizing resource.
  • Prepare an action plan, based on the strategic plan for resource mobilization: where are you now, what do you want to achieve and what resources you will require for that.

Background

With the advent of globalization, managers find themselves in a far more competitive environment within which they must secure resources for the growth and sustainability of their organizations and programs. This three-day workshop on resource mobilization aims at building capabilities of individuals/organizations in the domain of resource management. It also provides the skills for conceptualizing, designing, implementing and evaluating an efficient resource mobilization strategy. The training will provide an opportunity to acquire new contacts, build networks and partnerships and share your experience with others engaged in resource mobilization

Number of Participants

  • A maximum of 20 participants will be selected for the training. Women and staff belonging to ethnic/religious minorities are encouraged to apply. Preference will be given to participants representing organizations working in remote and under-served areas.

Selection Criteria

  • Participant’s organization should be registered with its respective provincial Social Welfare Department
  • Participant is in a mid/senior for leadership role working in a local/national NGO with primary responsibility of resource mobilization.
  • The workshop is suitable for board members, directors, managers and programme officers of civil society organizations who wish to diversify their funding portfolio.
  • Participants from women led organisations, different abled persons, minority groups will be given preference
  • Commitment to apply learning in their work, including dissemination of learning within their organisation

Fee Details

  • Training fee for each participant is PKR 10,000. Fee concessions and scholarships are available for participants belonging marginalised groups and NGOs with limited funding.
  • No TA/DA will be given to participants and travel expenses will be incurred by participants themselves.

Facilitator/Lead Trainer: Mr. Sohail Muhammad Ali is a high-performing research and capacity-building specialist and trainer with expertise in research, training and development to maximize human resource outputs in social development and education sectors. He is a respected & proven advisor to non- government organisations, and has played an active role in providing guidance on research and development functions to promote and innovative solutions to social developmental challenges. He is an influential and inspirational leader with excellent human capital development skills. Mr. Sohail has the experience of working in South Asia, Africa and Europe. He has conducted professional development workshops and capacity building sessions. He has served as a national and international consultant for organizations including Leonard Cheshire (LC) UK, World Bank, USAID, Care international, UNICEF, Aga Khan Rural Support Program (AKRSP), Academy for Educational Development (AED), Aga Khan Foundation (AKF), Transparency International, Lead Pakistan, British Council Pakistan, Human Resource Development Network (HRDN), and others.

REGISTER NOW!

Community World Service Asia (CWSA) is a humanitarian and development organization, registered in Pakistan, headquartered in Karachi and implementing initiatives throughout Asia. CWSA is member of the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) Alliance, a member of Sphere and their regional partner in Asia and also manages the ADRRN Quality & Accountability Hub in Asia.

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On #WorldHealthDay2022, we want to focus on keeping all inhabitants of this planet healthy – human beings as well as all forms of nature. We pledge to foster a movement that creates societies focused on the well-being of our planet.  Climate change directly and indirectly impacts health, and is strongly mediated by environmental, social and public health determinants. We, at Community World Service Asia in collaboration with the communities we serve, continue to build resilience among affected communities to climate change. We do this by enhancing local capacity to be prepared, mitigate against forecasted risks and help sustain quality healthcare standards in the region through our Climate Action, Risk Reduction and Health Projects.

Good health cannot be bought, it can only be nurtured.

#HealthierTomorrow

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In 2020, CWS Japan, in partnership with Community World Service Asia (CWSA) and with support from Japan Platform, responded to this compound disaster in the Sindh province of Pakistan in two phases. Τhis report looks at the issues and solutions through the CWS response and some in-depth interviews conducted in October 2021, and attempts to capture the lessons for future responses to similar disasters. The report also tries to capture learnings on managing compound disasters, which are becoming more and more common.

Knowledge on the ecology of desert locusts and the forecasting of swarms have developed considerably over time, but understanding the species and having the technology for the forecast is not enough. Without international policy and implementation cooperation, and, more importantly, without the timely communication of the forecast, outbreaks will continue to happen. It is also important to improve the early warning communication pathway between the central and the regional bodies. Through the CWS project, it was found that the forecasts were not properly communicated with the residents of the affected areas, even though there was adequate time. Αnother aspect that makes locust control difficult is the irregular and long intervals between the outbreaks. The knowledge and experience gained by one generation may not be passed on properly to the next because of the length of the intervals.

Click here to Download the Report

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“If women farmers had equal access to resources, they could produce enough food to keep 100 to 150 million people from going hungry.” Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), 2011.

Women’s access to resources and effective technologies is often constrained by gender barriers. There is limited access to development resources and services that have led to large-scale illiteracy, poor health, gender-based violence and inequality among women and girls in most parts of the developing and under-developed world.

Community World Service Asia (CWSA), with the support of UMCOR, is promoting kitchen gardening as an integral part of the farming system among women in Umerkot. Daily household produce like fresh vegetables and fruits are regularly provided to local families through these home-based gardens. Since Umerkot is a predominantly patriarchal society, women are solely engaged in domestic chores such as cooking and ensuring that the family is well-fed, making them key participants of kitchen gardening activities planned under the project. To meet its goal of building resilient communities and empowering local communities and women, CWSA initiated a six-month humanitarian and early recovery projectⁱ for frequent disaster and climate change affected communities in Umerkotⁱⁱ.

Mahavi, was selected as a project participant in September 2021. The fifty-two-year-old mother of four children belongs to a remote village named Umed Ali Chandio, located in Umerkot district. Mahavi’s husband has been struggling to earn a living as farming activities have largely reduced due to the droughts in the district. “Fifteen women, including myself, were part of a training session on kitchen gardening conducted by CWSA’s emergencies team. The session enhanced our knowledge on saving and utilizing available resources without compromising on environment. It familiarised us with better farming techniques, off-season vegetables and kitchen gardening production and setting up of vegetable gardens among various households in remote villages.”

To increase diversification in daily meals and to help her set up a productive kitchen garden, Mahavi was also provided with seeds of spinach, cluster beans, ridge gourd, bottle gourd, coriander, Indian squash, garlic, wild melon and eggplant. She now has access to green and fresh vegetables which her family consumes on a daily basis. Additionally, the five-member family was provided with a one-month food package to meet their dietary needs. Many women, like Mahavi, are playing a significant role in building a sustainable food security through these kitchen gardens. They are overcoming challenges of food insecurity and malnutrition by growing fresh vegetables and fruits in their luscious gardens. “I am ensuring that my children take a healthy diet by consuming the vegetables grown from my own garden. My family looks forward to every meal of the day as I am now making diverse dishes,” said Mahavi, a satisfied project participant.

“We are happy we get to eat fresh vegetables. We feed ourselves, and, we also feed our neighbours through the extra produce the garden gives us. Many women in my village have started to make their own kitchen gardens after seeing how I am making different dishes without making an effort to travel to the market place to buy vegetables which are more costly.”

“Climate change is threatening our planet, food security and livelihoods. We are so lucky to have these kitchen gardens as they support us to maintain healthy diets and livelihoods by growing organic vegetables and fruits. Families have come to embrace food security, increased nutrition and increased diet awareness which supports them together in a community of wellness and good feeling,” reiterated Mahavi.

ⁱ Humanitarian and recovery support to the vulnerable communities continuously affected by recurrent disasters in Umerkot, Sindh, Pakistan

ⁱⁱ In 2021

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