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Mir Hussain, a twelve year old resident of village Sher Muhammad Hallo in Thatta distirct encountered a foot injury while working in the agricultural fields. He accidently injured himself with his crop cutting spade while at work.  Mir Hussain’s injured foot bled heavily and the pain he was suffering was excruciating.

“I could not see my son in pain and bleeding that much. I was very worried as my husband was at work at the time and there is no hospital near our village”, expressed the worried mother of Mir Hussain. The mother was soon told about a Mobile health team that was present in the area, upon advice from fellow villagers and members of the Village Health committee, she immediately took her son to the Community World Service Asia Mobile Health team where Dr. Mujahid Ali Shah examined  Mir Hussain’s injury. Dr. Mujahid attended to his wounds immediately, first cleaning the wound and then stopping the bleeding by pressing it with a gauze bandage. When the bleeding ceased, the injury was properly dressed and Mir Hussain was given an antibiotic and pain killer for further relief. Mir Hussain’s mother was instantly relieved of her worry and expressed gratitude to the doctor and the mobile health team.

Belonging to an underprivileged family, Mir Hussain shares a home with his eight siblings and parents. His father is a fisherman who goes fishing to the nearby lake on a daily basis.  In the summer of 2015, their house and village was severely affected by the floods that hit parts of Sindh.  “All the residents of our village were moved to safer areas when the flood was approaching. We were moved to embankments as well. No one has assisted the flood affected villages with medical aid since the floods hit us. Community World Service Asia is the only organization that came to our medical assistance. It will take us two to three months more to further settle back into our normal lives”, narrated Mir Hussain’s mother.

The Health unit established by Community World Service Asia in Thatta, has so far conducted 5,745 medical consultations. Two hundred and seventy Ante-Post Natal consultations have been delivered, while 148 hygiene sessions have been conducted. Two village health committees consisting of twenty four members have also been formed under the current project.

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After completing training, participants receive an emergency kit, including a radio, a torch, a safe documents bag and a battery cell

This month, Community World Service Asia has conducted disaster risk reduction sessions for 150 men and women from six Community Organizations in the hazard-prone area of Thatta, Sindh province.  Community Based Disaster Risk Management trainings are conducted through our innovative Mobile Knowledge Resource Center, which engages community members in disaster preparedness skills.  These trainings are bringing vital knowledge to vulnerable communities, and empowering them to build their resilience:

“It was great and fruitful training for us because we never received any training about DRR by presenting simulation models, we never knew about our village’s vulnerabilities, historical hazards, evacuation and emergency equipment.”

  • Gul Hassan, member of Rahim Dino Thaheem Community Organization

“The early warning system is a very informative method to mitigate any future disaster.  It will help us with updates of natural disaster.  The phone number provided to us it will help us to remain in contact with government body and NGO. We never know before where we get updates.”

  • Yar Muhammad, member of Haji Talib Bijoro Community Organization

“I would like to thanks Community World Service Asia for coming here and conducted training especially for women, because we are neglected at any walk of life.  I learnt how to take safety measure in a fire disaster; I know about the reason of fire and how to keep away unused grass from kitchen surroundings.”

  • Ms Meemi Member, member of Basar Charan Community Organization

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Kamla is a resident of Surto Oad village in District Umerkot.  Kamla’s father, Mr. Mukesh Kumar, is the sole earner for her family, and was scarcely able to earn enough to support his household of eight people.  Women in these villages in rural Sindh are largely dependent on male family members for financial and social support.  It is extremely difficult for them to overcome cultural and social barriers to earn an income.  For Kamla, who is living with a disability, those barriers are especially difficult: “A I’m a physically disabled woman, I can’t go out for labor in agricultural fields as most of the women do.”

In spite of these difficulties, Kamla is resolved to support her family and help them to build a resilient future free of any financial worries.  “I have the art of embroidery. I can do embroidery work at my home also, and I can help my family to reduce financial burden.”

She believes that lack of education, ignorance of health issues and gender discrimination are the major obstacles to women’s empowerment in her community. She stated that when she was informed that an NGO (Community World Service Asia) was establishing an embroidery center at her village, a ray of hope was rekindled for her. She already knew the art of embroidery, but her work was never acknowledged and she did not receive due wages for her laborious work.

Despite having no formal vocational training, she is very skilled in embroidery and produces high quality work.  However, as she has been unable to properly market her products, her work remained underpaid.  “After taking the artisans’ skill test, I was informed that I have qualified the test and team selected me for the embroidery learning center. I was really glad to hear this news and was highly excited that now my skill will be improved and my work will be recognized with fair wages.”

Kamla explained how participating in the project will support her to earn a real income from her work: “After a three-month course on embroidery, and then an additional three months for production, I will be able to get an idea about marketing those products and what are the rates of market.  Then I can assist my father in terms of contributing income.”

Her father will also be engaged in the project activities as a gender activist.  Kamla shared how he is working to promote gender equality in the community after participating in Community World Service Asia’s TOT workshop for gender activists: “Since the training, he is delivering lectures on a regular basis with my neighbors and my relatives and motivates them to educate their daughters as well.” She is quite hopeful that the difference between male and female which society has created will now be reduced; women are now talking about their health issues with their male counterparts.

For Kamla, the most important impact of the project has been that she is now empowered to support her family.  “Around the clock, I remained in tension, wondering when I would be able to do something for my family. Now I have trust in myself that I can also help my family financially. Despite my physical disability, I can also be independent and can contribute my due share for the betterment of both my family and my community as well.”

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Community women are presenting a role-play on vote casting

David Smith, Regional Representative, DCA SARO & Rita Dhakal Jayasawal, Head of Humanitarian DCA SARO, distributing shields for the Best Activist to Ms. Sher Bano as part of the International Rural Women’s Day celebrations

Children from village Phul Jakhro take part in the role-play on children’s education

Ms. Mital delivering her comments on International Rural Women’s Day and welcoming guests and the community members

A role-play on the awareness of child marriages performed by the community women and children

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Fareed, seven years old, was brought to the center for the first time by his grandmother for a chest infection.  His Grandmother said, “I bring him here because I trust the services of MNCH centre.”

Zameer, five years old, was also visiting the center for the first time due to a chest infection.  The team examined and treated him, and advised him to come for a follow-up visit in three days.

Kasbano, nine years old, came to the center after suffering from suspected malaria for four days.  The team confirmed the diagnosis and provided her with medication.  Malaria is a widespread problem in Thatta, exacerbated by recent flooding.

Zulakhan, 40, came to the center for antenatal care.  As well as providing pre- and post-natal services, the team promotes awareness of the importance of continued check-ups for the health of new mothers among the community, and the number of women who come to the center for these check-ups has increased significanty.

Hakeema, 75, came to the center for a muscular-skeletal issue.  The MNCH means that women have access to health care services locally.  For elderly women in particular, the ability to reach a doctor when they need one without the time, expense and risk of travelling outside the village to the district hospital is integral to quality of life. 

Sodi, 45, visited the center to treat an intestinal ulcer.  Poverty and poor sanitation increase the likelihood of the bacterial infection associated with the development of intestinal ulcers.  These can be effectively treated with medication, but can be extremely dangerous if left untreated, underlining the importance of access to local health facilities for women like Sodi.

The field team in Thatta recently participated in a photography workshop, and has shared these portraits of patients at the Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health Center, funded by Church of Scotland, using their new skills.

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“Floods make the poor, the poorest” – Mai Pathani (Gotkhi, Sindh)

Mai Pathani is a 50 year old housewife from the village of Nehal Chachar in Union Council (UC) Qadir Pur in Gotkhi, Sindh. Her husband is a barber named Khawand Buksh. The couple has four daughters and three sons together.  Mai Pathani has kept two goats to contribute to the household income since her husband’s income alone is insufficient for the family of nine.

CO-PIC-00034-15 (1)Before the floods hit their village this year, Khawand Buksh provided hair cutting bservices to the village residents and in return each of his clients paid him with wheat grains after each harvest. Some of his clients in the village also offered Buksh’s family food supplies.  However, this support was inconsistent.

Despite living in poverty and on limited resources, Mai Pathani’s zest for life was alive. She celebrated Eid with her neighbors and relatives in the village with enthusiasm not knowing the day to follow would leave her house and her village under water. Mai Pathani and the rest of the villagers were completely unaware of the coming rains when all of a sudden heavy showers started pouring in and within minutes flood water had entered the village.

The residents of Nehal Chachar were informed by authorities that the water level in their village would not rise and they could stay in the village without any worry. There had not been any major flooding in the area since 2010 so the villagers were quite confident about the safety of their village. However, on the night of 18th July, 2015, following Eid day, heavy showers of rain lasted the whole day with water overflowing from Indus River entering the village and submerging it completely. Mai Pathani’s family among many other villagers rushed to leave the flooded Nehal Chachar in the midst of the night. By this time the flood waters had risen up to five feet inside their homes.

Khawand Buksh’s limited income did not allow him to afford renting a boat to carry his family members along with their household essentials out of their plummeting village to the emergency evacuation area at Qadir Pur Band. Inevitably, the family took the risk of sailing out of the village on a large sized frying pan despite the continuing heavy rains and strong winds. Buksh’s family had used the same transport method to float out of their village during the 2010 floods as well. It took them almost an hour to reach the Loop Bund via the frying pan.

Watching an entire family floating in just a frying pan surrounded by nothing but water was quite terrifying for onlookers. However many could not see how Mai Pathani’s family was barely floating economically and socially as well. The family did not own any land or any sustainable assets to ensure their dietary sustenance. To add on, barbers and their families are often socially marginalized in communities in this area; the rigid class system denies such families an equal right to education and participation in social and political spheres.

Mai Pathani’s house and their preserved stock of 480 kgs of wheat had been washed away by the floods. Agricultural and domestic assets of other villagers who often supported their family were also destroyed. Temporarily living at a shelter in Qadirpur Bund, Khawand Buksh sometimes travels to the nearby town to find some clients for his barber service. If fortunate to find clients, he earns PKR 50 a day.   Earning this amount and sharing the meal bought by it with other affected families means that his own family hardly consumes a nutritional meal. The family is desperately struggling to make ends meet.

Previously when the floods had not yet hit this peaceful village, Mai Pathani’s family at least took two meals in a day; both the meals consisted of either pulses or vegetables but were sufficient for their family.  Since the advent of the floods however, the family’s meals reduced to one a day as pulses and vegetables were scarcely available.  Being a woman and coming from a socially marginalized background, the floods and the ensuing displacement has exposed Mai Pathani to not just apparent risks as food insecurity but also to many protection issues.

Being in a displaced setting, Mai Pathani and her two adolescent daughters have to wait the whole day to use the temporary constructed latrines.  They have to wait till its dark and there are no men around the latrine area. Pathani and Buksh’s youngest son used to attend school but since the village was hit by the floods, his education has been put on hold too. As a responsible mother and a devoted wife, Mai Pathani’s hardship and sacrifices do not end here. She first feeds her seven children and her husband and eats only if there is any food left over after they have consumed their meal.

Mai Pathani’s family was among the affected communities supported by Community World Service Asia’s Emergency Humanitarian assistance project for Floods Response in Gotkhi last month. She expressed that the food assistance by the organization has made a positive (suthu) impact on their lives. Before the emergency assistance was provided to them, the family only got to eat rice twice a week if lucky.  Whereas since the support from Community World Service Asia, they are eating rice more often in a week. The quantity and quality of their daily meals has since then improved as well. Now they have more supply of pulses and wheat bread which makes up a more nutritional meal for the family.

The Buksh family, more popularly known as “the floating family” now hope to return to their village and their home within the next two weeks. They are hoping the flood water levels will recede by then.  The committed Mai Pathani plans to help her husband in reconstructing their house once they return to their village. They are optimistic that they will reconstruct the house after a month once the land is fully dry. Though, belonging to a socially marginalized family, Mai Pathani and her husband do not have very high hopes for a drastic change in their life after returning home.

While other villagers will start sowing seeds in their crop fields, the floating family will wait for the harvest of the other farmers to share a small portion of their crop produce with them in return of Khawand Buksh’s barber services. Till then, Mai Pathani worries about the availability of sufficient food for her children. The worried mother envisages that if her children, including daughters, were equipped with some skills they would not have to depend entirely on the crop yields of others. Instead the family would earn and provide for themselves living in their own village.

Written By: Muhammad Fazil, Edited By: Palwashay Arbab

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Community World Service Asia celebrated International Literacy Day with the community in Thatta.  Supported by Christian Aid, we have opened two adult literacy centers in which 100 women are enrolled, and are learning to read on write using phonetic methodologies. Raj bai, an adult literacy student, shared that she will become an “educational partner” of her children following the completion of the course, while Fayyaz, a fourth grade student, shared, “I will struggle for the enrolment of other children in my school as well, and I will make it true that my village becomes 100% literate.”  We hope to continue working with the community in Thatta to make Fayyaz’s dream a reality!

Photographs were taken by our Thatta team as an assignment of the in-house photography training follow up.

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A young patient's visit to Dr. Shazia Shah

Dr. Shazia Shah, 30 years old, from Jamshoro, Sindh, is a humanitarian worker and a practising gynaecologist. She works for Community World Service Asia as the only lady doctor serving the community of Union Council Bijora, District Thatta, in the Sindh province. She tells us about the experiences, the challenges and what drives her in her work.

“My mother, Ghulam Zahra, is my biggest inspiration. She always encouraged me to do better. It was her dream to make me a doctor.”

While talking about her work in the humanitarian sector, she shares:

“My work is rewarding for me, I count myself very lucky to be able to make a living doing what is in alignment with my values and the things that I believe in. The contentment I draw from working in this field motivates me to make it my life’s mission to improve the lives of women and children.”

When asked to share an inspiring story which she will never forget, she took a pause and recalled a former patient with a beaming smile:

“I will never forget the smile on Noor Jehan’s face after she saw her new-born baby for the first time. When she came to me, her medical situation was complicated and she had no money or other means to get medical care. She was scared and in a lot of pain, I assured her that despite the complication, I would try my best and she wouldn’t have to sell her livestock to pay the medical bills. She gave birth to a healthy baby here in the Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health (MNCH) center.”

Dr. Shazia added that empathy and compassion are the keystones for humanitarian work; it is the ability to feel what the other person is feeling. This ability connects you with people you work for; it makes you realize that how similar we all are despite coming from different areas, background and cultures.

 “The people I have met in this line of work are among the most wonderful friends and colleagues I can imagine. The bonds that are formed working together in intense situations are very powerful, so they stay with you for life.”

As the only female doctor in Ranta village, Dr. Shazia provides access to health care for women and children in need. Her services touch and affect many lives; and a huge amount of energy goes into making sure the necessary support is delivered.

Working as a humanitarian aid worker exposes you to a side of human nature and reality that we are shielded from in our privileged modern day lives. While talking about the challenges and risks she faces during her work, Dr. Shazia is candid. “It gets messy, chaotic, and difficult at times—but I am hooked.” She added that, on a personal level, this experience has transformed her from a naive newcomer to a hardened, hopeful but critical realist. She expressed, “We all know that humanitarian work, especially in crisis situations or in unprivileged areas, is not easy work, but we still go for it because we believe in the worth of the work.”

Dr. Shazia is a beacon of hope and a role model for many mothers and young girls in Ranta village. Not only does she provide them with medical support, but is constantly changing the traditionalist mindset of the villagers too. They are now more open to the idea of sending their daughters to study in schools.

She believes that the world needs more empowered women, and that we should motivate and mobilize women by enabling them to live their life and their dreams to the fullest potential.

“Humanitarian work can be conducted anywhere in the world. What you do today can change a person’s life, so always try to celebrate humanity in your own capacity.”

Temperature check by Dr. Shazia, her favorite doctor!
Temperature check by Dr. Shazia, her favorite doctor!

On the World Humanitarian Day, Shazia articulates, “I want to see women unified and empowered by sharing the belief that they hold the power to create and shape. They are a powerful agent of change so we all should do more to support women and promote their role in the humanitarian action”

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Shaink Bund is the central bund (levee) that protects the Qadir pur union council from the threatening flood waters. Qadirpur Union council is a part of district Ghotki in the Sindh province. As the water levels rise, the water from the Shaink bund flows to the other two bunds, Loop bund and Qadirpur bund. There are around thirty five villages located in between Shaink bund and the two bunds. When water in the Shaink bund overflows to the other two bunds, the villages located in between are heavily flooded. The residents of these villages struggle to survive by seeking immediate refuge at the Loop and Qadirpur bunds.

Mae Husna is a 45 years old mother of six living with her ill husband in village Nihal Goth, situated in the middle of the bunds. Her family is among those who have been displaced to the Loop bund for safety.  Nihal Goth, situated at a 500 meters distance from Loop bund is only a kilometer away from the river bank which is why it is among the most affected villages as the bund overflows. Most of the houses in the village have sank to almost 90 percent under the flood water. These houses have become unfit to live in even after the water levels go down.

Remember the horrifying day of when the flood came, Mae Husna mournfully narrated the experience,

“The water levels had started increasing on the night before Eid. The water had started flowing into our house heavily so we had to leave our house soon after offering Eid prayers early morning. Our only aim was to save our lives and leave everything else and our home as it was. We were given no early warnings about the floods.”

Her husband being unable to work due to his illness, Mae Husna is the sole bread winner for the family. Of her five daughters, three have been married off so they live on their own with their husbands while the younger two daughters have been sent to a relative’s house to be in a safer environment. The mother could forsee the protection issues her teenage daughters would have had to face in such uncertain living conditions at the embankment.  Having no biological son of her own, Mae Husna adopted her only son from her relatives who is with her and her husband at the Loop bund these days.

The flood affected communities in Qadirpur UC are facing grave water, sanitation and health and hygiene issues. They have no food to cook for themselves or utensils to cook with. They are living without shelters. Drinking water is brought from a two kilometers distant village. Diseases such as   diarrhea among children, malaria, high fever and skin infections have been reported at a rise.

Community World Service Asia along with its local partner in Sindh, Transformation and Reflection for Rural Development (TRD) have identified and selected hundred most vulnerable flood affected families taking refuge at Loop bund in district Ghotki. These selected families have been distributed one month food rations. The food package has been designed for a household of six members, which is the average household size in the province. The items in the food package include 65Kgs of wheat flour, 15kgs of rice, 8 kgs of pulses, 4 kgs of sugar, 6 liters of oil, 800 grams of iodized salt, 400 grams of black tea leaves and a match box.

Based on the selection criteria of the most vulnerable families, Mai Husna and her family has been selected for the emergency food assistance. After receiving the food ration she expressed,

“Life cannot be the same all the time, but it is good that an organization such as Community World Service Asia is here to help troubled people like us in such difficult times.”

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