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Girls’ education and promoting gender equality is part of a broader, holistic effort by Community World Service Asia. Paveeta Dessar is a 16 years old artisan from Mandhal Otaaq Village in Umerkot. “My father’s name is Desar. He is a tailor in Umerkot. We are seven sisters and one brother. My father is the only bread earner for our family. He approximately earns PKR6000 a month. The challenges we face due to low income is lack of healthcare, limited resources and scarce education opportunities.

When we face health related problem, my father seeks financial help from my grandmother or uncle. If they too are unable to lend us money, we then borrow from neighbors. My mother earns very little through stitching clothes for residual villagers here. Since our family’s income is very limited, I had to quit school while I was in class six at the Government Girls High School in Umerkot.”

“I joined the skills center when it was established in our village. The trainings on skill development and literacy were very informative as some of the artisans did not even know how to write their names. I learnt stitching and embroidery skills at the center. I have worked on rillis and different products including blouses, dupattas and shirts. The quality and finishing of my products has improved exceptionally and my rilli work was most appreciated by the buyers. I use to do simple stitching at home, but the trainings have enhanced my skills in thread work and designing which has brought an exciting diversity in the products I make. Working with seasonal, wedding and family colors was new to me.”

Through the skill building classes, Paveeta has been able to earn PKR1500 per week by producing colorful handmade rillis through a local order she received. “Since the launch and our involvement in the brand Taanka, our products have become visible in the urban markets. As my handicraft sales have improved, I have started studying at the school again. My father and I both contribute to the educational expenses of all my siblings. I want to earn more to be able to bear all my educational expenses so that I can ease my father’s economic burden.”

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Community World Service Asia, continued to promote Q&A in Pakistan during 2016. Where possible, the activities related to the Sphere Project were implemented in coordination with other Q&A initiatives such as CHS and Sphere Companions. The activities are planned to reach wider audiences at various levels in order to ensure that Q&A is high on the agenda during emergency and non-emergency periods.

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Deputy Director, National Programme for Improvement of Watercourses (NPIW) visiting stall of Arche Nova.

Community World Service Asia organized a two days farmer festival in two union councils of Khairpur Gambo and Pangrio of in district Badin of Sindh under its “Promoting Sustainable Agriculture practices” project for vulnerable and marginalized farmers. The festival which aimed at highlighting local agriculture based issues with line departments and sharing project learnings with other stakeholders, was held at two venues; one at Babar Kaloion village and the other at Kamil Khosoon village, in January this year. Around six hundred people attended the festival. Representatives from from Community Based organizations (CBOs), farmer Field School Members and community women, trained in kitchen gardening and nutrition, participated took part in the festival.

Organizations working in the area, including Arche Nova, Plan International, National Rural Support Program (NRSP), SEEWA Pak, Participatory Village Development Programme (PVDP), President’s Primary Healthcare Initiative (PPHI) and Local Support Organization Meharn, had held stalls at the festival as well. The stalls displayed local handicrafts and pictorial presentations reflecting project activities. Models on Key Hole Kitchen Gardening and Biological Pests Control were also on display. Local women held stalls selling the fresh vegetables grown in their kitchen gardens. Community members shared their experiences and learnings in sustainable agriculture while working under the project with visitors at the festival.

Government and Line department officials including Assistant Director Social Welfare Badin, Agriculture Officers’ from Agriculture Extension department of Badin and Deputy Director Water Management Hyderabad appreciated the efforts of the farmers and their hard work in the fields.  Local government officials, including Vice Chairman UC Khairpur, Vice Chairman UC Saman Sarkar, Ex-Taluka Nazim Tando Bagho and progressive farmers from local nearby villages also attended the festival.

An interactive theater play was performed by Perbhat, a local theater group, focusing on “Promoting Sustainable Agriculture Practices to Improve Food Security and Livelihoods local farmers”. Mir Kaloi, a local poet and radio presenter, played a folk song and a group of rural women,Prem Nagar, sang a song on social development as the fun-filled festival.

The festival provided a platform for local farmers and government officials to interact directly with each other. The farmers communicated their problems and challenges faced during agricultural activities while people representatives of the line department recommended possible mitigation measures to them. The Agriculture, Irrigation and Social Development departments shared informative details about their departments and the subsidies they are providing to small-scale farmers.

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Remote and rural areas affected by recurrent natural disasters often suffer the most when it comes to their recovery, rehabilitation and development. The 7.5 magnitude earthquake epicentered in the Hindu Kush range in winter of 2015 severely shook Pakistan’s mountainous northern belt, killing nearly three hundred people. In its aftermath, more than 14,000 houses were severely damaged or completely destroyed; community infrastructure was unusable and livelihoods were diminished.  Almost a year later, the poor socio-economic life of the inhabitants remained largely unchanged.

High altitude villages perched on the steep mountain slopes of district Shangla in northern Pakistan were severely damaged by the earthquake. One of the hardest hit areas was Village Tanshit; mainly comprised of steep, rocky terrain dotted with 221 traditional, rural homestead compounds. Multiple families reside in each compound. After the earthquake, the community’s most basic infrastructure and facilities, which had been built with great effort and years of savings, were lost. The village’s sole water supply scheme became one of the earthquake’s most significant casualties.

For the next nine months after the earthquake, the local women had to make a forty five minute climb on foot to a mountain stream and return with as much water as they could carry everyday. Families living in mountain village compounds have strong traditional, social and cultural codes for the protection of women, even for those undertaking daily domestic responsibilities.  This usually means that the women stay very close to their homes.  However, to access water, the women of Tanshit had to travel a long distance carrying water on their heads through wild and rocky mountain treks.  As the water carried by a single person was insufficient for the entire family’s needs, sometimes the children were tasked with carrying water from the streams on their way back from school. This was dangerous and had to be done in daylight. In warmer months, these communities became very vulnerable to waterborne diseases as hygiene could not be maintained while carrying and storing this stream water.

“Safe drinking water and adequate sanitation are crucial for poverty reduction, crucial for sustainable development and crucial for achieving any and every one of the Millennium Development Goals,” Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General

The human right to water and to sanitation constitutes the right of every individual, without discrimination, to sufficient, safe, acceptable, accessible and affordable water and sanitation for personal use. To ensure this right, in 2016 Community World Service Asia, in partnership with Norwegian Church Aid and ECHO, assessed the village Tanshit’s water system and was selected as one of the twenty communities under its’ integrated WASH, Shelter and Cash-for-Work programme.  Technical assistance, construction materials and paid labor opportunities were provided to help villagers to restore their water system, reconstruct latrines and bathing facilities, and repair their homes.  A village WASH Committees was formed to articulate the basic communal needs according to the project’s objectives and scope.

The project team arranged hygiene sessions with the village women’s group and sensitized them on hygienic practices through Child Hygiene and Sanitation Training (CHAST) and Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation (PHAST) approaches. A pre-KAP (Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices) survey was also conducted to gauge the pre-existing or baseline hygienic practices of the families and to help demonstrate subsequent gains.

To ensure ownership, each village’s drinking water supply scheme was selected on the recommendation of village committees. After a technical feasibility assessment conducted by members of Community World Service Asia’s engineering team, Tanshit’s water supply scheme was rehabilitated, with additional resources, successfully. The water source was reconstructed, protected and pipelines were installed throughout the village.  The community contributed additional labor and materials as well to this reconstruction.

Today, Tanshit’s drinking water supply scheme supplies clean, safe and ample water to 221 households as per Sphere standards. The risk of waterborne diseases has been decreased. The social protection of women has been ensured and their cultural sensitivities are preserved. Around 1,200 individuals are undertaking more hygienic practices that will significantly contribute to maintaining healthier families. The project team also mobilized the local community towards the maintenance and upkeep of their water system through a local community savings plan.  They have also begun a small, intra-village savings and lending activity to commonly support their lowest income groups. This will enable every community member to maintain their compound’s connections to the scheme.

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photo credit: ROUF BHAT/AFP/Getty Images

At least fourteen people have reportedly died in an avalanche in Chitral’s Sher Shal area in Pakistan this Sunday. According to the Chitral Scouts Commandant, Col Nizamuddin Shah, bodies of fourteen people, including women and children, have been recovered from the debris so far. He added that twenty-five houses have been buried under the snow and five have been totally destroyed.

The same region has been hit by heavy snowfall, reaching as deep as four feet in some areas.

A Frontier Constabulary soldier has also died and six others have been injured when a Chitral scout post was directly hit by a second avalanche in Chitral’s Pishotan area near the Pak-Afghan border. The injured soldiers were rescued early morning, announced ISPR.

“There is no way to rush the injured persons to the Chitral hospital [either] because all roads in the valley have been blocked due to heavy snowfall, while evacuation operations were also delayed by the weather” Chitral Deputy Commissioner Shahab Hameed Yousafzai shared.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has activated the National Emergency Operations Centre to coordinate rescue and relief efforts in the avalanche-hit area.

Community World Service Asia is in contact with Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and local partners in the area and will devise its response strategy, should there be any need of emergency response.

Contacts:

Karen Janjua
Senior Advisor
Regional Programs and Resource Mobilization
Email: karen.janjua@communitryworldservice.asia
Cell: +92 51 5496532

Palwashay Arbab
Head of Communications
Email: palwashay.arbab@communityworldservice.asia
Cell: +92 42 3586 5338

Sources: www.dawn.com

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The Training of Trainers (ToT) on the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) was conducted in Bangkok, Thailand, from the 28th of November to 1st of December, 2016 by Community World Service Asia.

A total of 24 trainers including 17 men and 8 women from 11 countries and 15 different organizations actively participated in the training.

 The ToT was lead by Trainer Uma Narayanan (independent consultant), and co-facilitated by Rizwan Iqbal representing Community World Service Asia. Guest speakers, Jeremy Wellard, Regional Representative Asia, International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA), and Anoop Sukumaran, Regional Representative of Act Alliance both introduced the role and focus areas of their respective networks to the participants during the opening session of the four day ToT.

“Civil society space in Asia is greatly reduced these days. And so again we need to come back to these same opinions of being able to absolutely justify the work that we do, to ensure that we can communicate about it in the right terms, to ensure that the level of work that we do is understood to be in the best interests of the people, for the people, and with people at the centre. And that is the core of the CHS, the core of the way people talk about their work these days, 

stated Jeremy while also highlighting  the adherence to CHS as key to achieving getting closer to “people at the centre”,in a global process such as the UN’s World Humanitarian Summit.

In his keynote speech at the opening session, Anoop Sukumaran, Regional Representative, Asia and the Pacific, ACT Alliance, rightly questioned,

“Why are we talking about accountability? Why are we talking about setting standards? Why is it important to ACT? It comes down to the basic aspect of what gives us credibility, what gives us legitimacy to say we are providing humanitarian response and what is the basis on which we are doing that. And the question basically is, Accountability to whom? It’s not just the accountability of the money you get but most importantly the people you serve, and you are not serving them from the outside, you have to be part and parcel of understanding that the services that you provide that you are with the community. It is not an act of charity you are doing; it is the right of people to have support and help. And that is one of the elements of you being accountable to the people you serve.”

On the first day of the training, definitions of humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality, their importance, and how they can be applied, with the help of dilemmas faced in the application of the principles were explicated. Participants identified best practice strategies for applying the principles, along with key element of relevant and appropriate response based on real needs. Each day was opened with a session planned and led by pairs of participants, where they reviewed and reflected on the previous day’s learning, by involving all participants in exciting Q&A sessions or exercises.

Followed by the participant led review on the second day, a “Workshop within a workshop” approach was taken by the facilitators to discuss the stakeholders of the international relief system in greater depth and detail.

A participant led session was also conducted on Commitment 5 of the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability, where the participants were divided up into groups of six, where topics like Complaint Response Mechanism

were explicated by Subhashi Roy from Lutheran World Relief India, Youmeng Chiv Danish Church Aid Cambodia, Uma Narayanan, and Rizwan Iqbal were held, in which the teams strategized different approaches for joint CRM. At day end, participants anonymously shared challenges and offered solutions on coordination and collaboration among the various stakeholders involved in humanitarian action.

Uma Narayanan led a session on different learning styles of trainers through the KIDA model on Day 3: a Japanese theory that provides one or a combination of tendencies in individuals, such as being activists, reflectors, theorists or pragmatists.

The focus of the third day was on building the skill of participants as trainers, rather than the technicalities of CHS. Participants learnt new methods of how to assess their learning style and motivation methods for different audiences by defining their own learning tendencies through an interactive session. Quick relay rounds were conducted by three teams of eight; they participated in a fun competition, where they listed different creative methodologies of training; such as power walk, fish bowl, storytelling, and world cafe. They also learnt about teamwork, and its importance, where participants came up with innovative ideas to get tasks done collectively in the most efficient and effective manner.

The last day focused entirely on eight different sessions of 40 minutes, planned and prepared by participants on eight selected, different CHS commitments. At the end of each four minutes session, which was guided by Uma and Rizwan, a conclusive and constructive discussion on what could have been done better, and what was executed perfectly was also shared. This was a healthy strategy to receive both positive and negative feedback on the methodology from each other, and helped in contributing diverse views by people from different backgrounds and cultures. Zainab Qaiser, representing the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), KPK in Pakistan,

shared a case study on how inappropriate service provision can lead to sexual exploitation of women. She recommended proper planning, setting of an effective security mechanism and implementation of a thought out exit strategy to ensure the execution of Commitment 3 of the CHS .

The training particularly helped in highlighting the importance of Quality and Accountability in humanitarian and development work.

All member organizations of ACT are bound to follow the ACT Quality and Accountability Framework (QAF), which underpins certain international mandatory standards, CHS being one of them. ACT member organizations, including Community World Service Asia, hold positions in the CHS board to ensure widespread compliance of this Q&A standard. It is therefore, a proud achievement to highlight that four ACT member organizations, Danish Church Aid, Lutheran World Relief, Norwegian Church Aid and Lutheran World Federation, have taken a leap in ensuring their commitment to the CHS as they participated in this four day ToT.

The ToT came to an end with a closing ceremony, where each participant was awarded a certificate of participation, along with some souvenirs. Everyone shared their key learning’s that they took from the ToT over the past few days, and also highlighted their new-found motivation to inspire and lead in their respective organizations and countries to expand the impact of and influence of CHS.

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In just a short time, social media has become a ubiquitous mainstay in the lives of people. Popular platforms have rapidly grown to hundreds of millions of users, and the adoption of social media platforms has no end in sight. This social media “revolution” has changed the traditional monologue into a two-way dialogue with individuals, communities and other stakeholders.

Social Media for Humanitarian Aid and Development

Despite the rapid growth of social media, many organizations, especially non-profits are not equipped with enough capacity to manage a successful social media campaign. Recognizing these challenges, Community World Service Asia conducted a workshop on Social Media and Advocacy titled “Social Media Mastery for Development Organizations” which was designed to introduce participants to the multi-dimensional world of social media, its various tools and available platforms, and how to develop an effective social media strategy. The focus of the workshop was on strategy, planning, and content development and at the end, group projects were conducted which incorporated all the key features of the training.

The trainer, Saad Hamid is a digital innovation and design consultant who is currently serving as the CEO of DEMO which helps individuals, organizations and communities solve problems through design and digital interventions. Saad has extensive experience in the digital, design and innovation landscape and has worked with IDEO, UNICEF, UNHCR, UKaid, Invest2Innovate, TED, Google, WEF, Upwork, Mobilink and World Bank. Saad is also an Acumen fellow.

The “Social Media Mastery for Development Organizations” workshop aimed to familiarize participants on how best social media tools can be leveraged for outreach pf project and engagement for advocacy.  The participants were introduced to a range of websites and social media initiatives taken by individuals, small non-profits, and large charities. This session was interspersed with a comprehensive session on how to develop a social media strategy. The components covered were; basics of branding, how to build brand awareness, how to personalize outreach on social media, adding events to social causes and embracing social media to build relationships. After this, a series of best practices for using social media were discussed.

The participant base was varied, with some having a lot of experience working on social media while others had no exposure at all. It was challenging to manage expectations of such a diverse group with varying skill sets. However, mixed groups proved to be good for group exercises. Participants learned not only from the trainer but from other participants’ knowledge and experiences too.  Based on the highly positive feedback received from this training, Community World Service Asia has planned a second, advanced level Social Media and Advocacy Training in May 2017.

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Project management competencies are now an integral part of many public and private sector jobs. However, good project management skills are rare and there is a growing realization and need for effective planning and management of projects. Developing the capacity to plan and design sound projects is crucial to the implementation of effective policy-driven programs.

Project design is an early phase of the project where a project’s key features, structure, criteria for success, and major deliverables are all planned out. The aim is to develop one or more designs which can be used to achieve the desired project goals. Stakeholders can then choose the best design to use for the actual execution of the project.

As part of Community World Service Asia’s response to the demands for more support on awareness raising and capacity building for aid and development workers, a four-day training on Project Design was conducted from November 8th to 11th, 2016 in Islamabad. Waqar Haider Awan was the lead trainer for these sessions. His field experience in development, capacity building and policy development sector provided him with a clear understanding of the current issues in designing successful projects for livelihood, youth development, human rights, civic participation, good governance and child/women’s rights. Moreover, Rizwan Qazi, co-facilitated the training, being a Community World Service Asia representative.

This four day course provided participants with a solid foundation on Project design. It aimed to assist organizations in designing high quality projects as per international requirements and to implement, monitor and evaluate them according to international standards as well.

Twenty three participants from range of local NGOs, CSOs, government bodies and cultural institutions took part in this training. Many of them planned to utilize the knowledge and experience gained through the training towards identifying the needs and supporting minorities in Pakistan. The tools gained during the training will be practiced in project development and proposal writing activities of the community.

Participants were very enthusiastic about the training and the topics discussed; the interactive nature of the training, the opportunities given to link theoretical concepts with their existing experience, showing examples and collecting examples from participants, group and individual works actively engaged the group in the training. The training was successful in generating interest of the participants in applying their knowledge for the community’s benefit at large. Thus, one of the most important results of the training being an increased motivation and enthusiasm for community development projects and recognizing the importance of Project Cycle Management in proposal writing activities and its implementation thereby.

Gul Hameem Khan, a participant from CHEF International appreciated Community World Service Asia’s efforts in bridging the gaps in their skill sets and catering to the ever-evolving needs of the development sector through organizing trainings on specific topics like these. Rabia Sabri, the chief guest and Membership & Partnership Coordinator of the Pakistan Humanitarian Forum (PHF), highlighted the importance of writing a good proposal for the sustainable growth of an organization. She praised the content covered during the workshop and hoped that this training would be beneficial to the organizations in widening their donor base.

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Mithal, Village Organization member, sharing her story with the participants.

Women living in rural communities play a critical role in contributing to rural economies of both developed and developing countries. The International Day of Rural Women highlights, both, the contribution that women make in rural areas, and the many challenges that they face. According to FAO’s The State of Food and Agriculture 2010-11, in most parts of the developing world women participate in crop production and livestock care, provide food, water and fuel for their families, and engage in off-farm activities to increase their families’ livelihoods. Needless to say they are also responsible for caring for their children, the elderly and the sick in their families.

On October 15th 2016, Community World Service Asia celebrated International Rural Women’s Day in collaboration with the Local Support Organizations and the Village Organizations in village Dodo Esani Jhakro, Union Council Bijora, Sindh, Pakistan. The Local Support Organization and Village Organization invited Muhammad Umar, chairman of the Union Council, as the chief Guest at the celebratory event.

A theater performance focusing on sexual reproductive health and gender based violence was the opening show of the event. Through the play, the women of the village conveyed a strong message highlighting the challenges faced by women in rural societies and everyday lives.

Razia, wife of Suleman, a member of the Village Organization, shared her success story in a narrative story form on stage, at the event with the participants. She recounted how the women of her village were not aware of the high demand of their handicrafts in the urban market earlier and sold them at cost price. The vocational training center set up in their areas changed the lives of many women in the village, including her own she shared, by enhancing their skills and building linkages with the rural and urban markets. She confidently added that she now has great knowledge of product development and she is earning well through the orders she is receiving for her handcrafted goods.

Mithal, another member of the Village Organization, also shared her story about how women in their village were bound and dependent on male family members as the men in their village did not allow the intervention of women in their decisions or matters.

“The initiation of the livelihood and skills development projects implemented by Community World Service Asia has empowered many women in my village, especially myself. I confidently take part in the decision-making matters and suggestions given by me are seriously considered by the men in my family and village now. Being a woman is a terribly difficult task here, since it mainly involves dealing with men.”

Hussain Bux, president of the Ranta village organization, defined the affirmative role of women and agreed on the fact that the respect of women in societies like theirs has increased due to the awareness building and trainings on gender based violence.

The chief guest, Muhammad Umar, appreciated the positive role all the stakeholders played in organizing an event like this one. He said,

“These efforts will bring a productive and positive change in the society, focusing primarily on women. It will boost their confidence and encourage many women to step out to improve their standards of living and support their families.”

This celebratory, yet informative event was attended by a total of 54 people from five villages namely Phul Jhakro, Ranta, Wasayo Mallah, Dodo Esani Jhakro and Nooh Walro. There were many women participants from many villages as well who actively participated at the event.

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