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149

Under a shade, steel plates filled with warm, homemade meals wait for the children at around 11:00 AM on a hot summer day. Bananas and apples rest on the side, a rare treat for the students who eagerly gather for lunch. The aroma of freshly cooked roti (flat bread) and mixed vegetables drifts through the air as Soorma, one of the school cooks, ladles food onto each plate. Her daughter, Bhawna, watches eagerly—today’s meal, like every other, means more than just nourishment. It represents a new chapter in the village’s journey towards education and empowerment.

For years, Government Girls’ Primary School Ratnore lay abandoned, its doors closed in 2008, leaving most of the village’s girls without access to education. Ratnore is about 45 kilometres away from the main Umerkot city in Sindh. Cultural and economic barriers, coupled with the ever-present struggle against food insecurity, made it nearly impossible for families to send their daughters to school. However, that changed when Community World Service Asia (CWSA), with the support of Presbyterian World Service & Development (PWS&D), stepped in. By reopening the school and launching a school feeding programme, they not only filled empty stomachs but also rekindled a thirst for learning.

Inside the makeshift school kitchen, Soorma kneads dough, sweat trickling down her forehead in the midday heat. She and another village woman prepare fresh meals daily, a task she wholeheartedly embraces, knowing her daughter and many others will eat well.

“My daughter Bhawna always wanted to study, but there was no school for girls here,” Soorma says, rolling out a roti before tossing it onto the hot griddle. “When the school finally opened, the lunch programme made it easier for us to send her. Now, she is happy, learning English, and dreams of becoming a doctor.”

Bhawna, a bright-eyed eight-year-old, echoes her mother’s pride. “I love coming to school! The food is always delicious, and I want to keep studying,” she says.

The school feeding programme also includes fresh goat milk every afternoon before lunch. Meena, a local goat owner, arrives early to deliver the milk, a task she has taken upon herself with unwavering commitment. She is among the 30 women from different households of the village who have received goats to support the school. In the evening, the owners use the milk for their families.

“I bring milk for the children every day because I want my daughter and all the other girls to grow up strong and educated,” she says. “Even if my goat’s milk runs out, I borrow some from my neighbours—this is my responsibility.”

For Meena, education is a family mission. Her eldest son is studying to become a doctor, while her younger children are also pursuing school. “We couldn’t study because of poverty,” she says, “but I will do everything I can to give my children a better future.”

Before the school feeding programme, many children had one meal a day or relied on simple meals at home—if lucky. Rabia, a student, recalls a time before school became part of her daily routine.

“When we didn’t attend school, we only had cow’s milk and a few vegetables like guar and chibhar,” she says. “Now, we eat a proper meal every day, and I enjoy studying.”

For her classmates Sapna and Raksha, the change is life-altering. “We come to school happily now, knowing we’ll get a good meal. Our health has improved, and more girls in our village are joining school,” they explain. “And we love biryani which is cooked once a week here and is very tasty!”

The impact extends beyond individual students. From January to December 2024, the project implemented in the Union Councils of Kaplore, Sekhro, and Faqeer Abdullah ensured that 450 students across three schools in Umerkot received nutritious meals. Parents who were once hesitant about sending their daughters to school now feel reassured.

“People in our village didn’t prioritise girls’ education before,” says a Village Management Committee member (VMC) member. “But when CWSA involved us, we offered two community halls to host the school. Now, 1201 girls are enrolled.”

The initiative has also created economic opportunities for local women. Besides Soorma, another village woman Dheli has been employed as a school helper, responsible for serving food and cleaning. The women are incentivised by being paid PKR 25,000 each. Even the government has collaborated—after the school reopened, the District Education Officer (DEO) provided an additional teacher from the village.

For too long, hunger and gender inequality kept girls out of classrooms. But through this programme, education and nutrition have become intertwined, breaking long-standing barriers. The meals provide more than sustenance—they offer a reason to attend school, a chance to dream, and a path toward independence.

As Bhawna finishes her lunch and wipes her hands clean, she runs off to join her friends, ready for the next lesson. In a village where education was once an afterthought for girls, the clang of steel plates and students’ laughter are sounds of change—proof that something as simple as a meal can redefine futures.

  1. On average, 95 to 100 girls attend the school. However, attendance tends to be lower during the seasonal crop harvesting period. ↩︎

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In a remote village in Umerkot District, Sindh, 45-year-old Zulikhan fights every day to provide for her eight children— aged between 17 and 5 years. With agriculture as their only livelihood, her family depends on a small four-acre plot of land. But as harsh climatic conditions worsen and resources remain scarce, the struggle to survive grows more daunting with each passing season.

The agricultural land that Zulikhan and her family cultivate generates an annual income of PKR 120,000 (approx. USD 428) from seasonal crops such as millet, cluster beans, and moth beans—planted once each year. However, this modest income falls far short of covering the family’s monthly expenses, which amount to PKR 25,000 (approx. USD 90). To bridge the gap, Zulikhan’s husband, Sohbdar, takes on additional work selling wood, earning between PKR 12,000 to 15,000 (approx. USD 42 to 53) per month. Yet, despite his extra efforts, the family continues to struggle to meet even their most basic needs. Their monthly expenses add up to a minimum of 20,000 (approx. USD 72) for food and PKR 5,000 (approx. USD 18) for necessities such as water, healthcare, and hygiene maintenance. And the expenses are usually more than this.

To support vulnerable communities affected by severe climate change impact and subsequent poverty and food insecurity, Community World Service Asia (CWSA), with the support of Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe (DKH), launched an initiative titled, “Strengthening the Livelihoods and Resilience of Vulnerable Agricultural Communities in Rural Sindh, Pakistan” in June 2024. Lasting up until August 2025, the interventions under this project aim to enhance the resilience of these affected communities by improving agricultural and livelihood opportunities in the area.

A total of 460 community members from 15 villages across Union Councils Sekhro and Faqeer Abdullah were carefully selected for assistance based on strict criteria, prioritising large, agriculture-dependent families living below the poverty line. Among them was Zulikhan’s family, chosen to receive a goat to support long-term livelihood sustainability, along with PKR 17,000 (approx. USD 61) in cash assistance for food security, provided in October and November. To ease the burden of water collection, the family was also given water rollers, while kitchen gardening kits and high-quality seeds were provided to promote home-based food production.

As part of the initiative, Zulikhan and her family participated in comprehensive training sessions on agriculture, livestock management, and disaster risk reduction (DRR) to strengthen their resilience and improve productivity. Additionally, livestock vaccinations and deworming services were provided to ensure the health and productivity of their animals.

The kitchen gardening kit included essential tools such as a hand sprinkler, hand hoe, garden trowel, nets, and 50 grams each of seven different vegetable seeds, equipping Zulikhan and other families with the resources to grow fresh, nutritious food at home, enhancing both food security and self-sufficiency.

The cash assistance provided by CWSA has been a lifeline for Zulikhan and her family, helping ease their financial struggles. With the first installment, she prioritised purchasing essential groceries like oil, tea leaves, and sugar, ensuring her family had enough food to sustain them. Upon receiving the second installment, she saw an opportunity to create a more stable source of income by starting a small business selling goods, allowing her to cover her household’s daily expenses and work toward greater financial independence.

From the second instalment of PKR 17,000 (approx. USD 61), Zulikhan decided to invest in purchasing confectionery items at wholesale rates. Given that the village had only one shop, which often lacked essential goods, she recognised an unmet demand within the community. Seeing this as an opportunity, she made a strategic decision to start a small-scale business from her home, selling these items to her neighbours. Setting up a small shop just within her house, she was able to generate additional income while providing villagers with easier access to everyday necessities. This initiative turned out to be a strategic and rewarding choice, enabling her to set aside small savings while actively contributing to her family’s financial stability.

Meanwhile, Zulikhan continues to run her small home-based shop, earning between PKR 200 to 300 (approx. USD 0.70 to 1.70) per day. On average, she generates an additional PKR 8,000 (approx. USD 28) per month from this business. Despite her efforts and the support from the project, the total household income barely covers their essential expenses, but at least they are not in debt now.

However, with the support of Community World Service Asia (CWSA) and Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe (DKH), Zulikhan’s family has seen a significant improvement in their monthly income and livelihood. The combination of cash assistance, agricultural training, and resource distribution has provided them with the means to strengthen their food security and economic stability.

Driven by her unwavering determination to secure a better future for her family, Zulikhan is committed to growing her small business, ensuring they no longer struggle with daily household expenses. But beyond financial relief, this initiative has fostered a sense of empowerment, resilience, and independence within her household. It has given them not just the means to survive, but the confidence to build a more self-reliant and secure future—one where they can thrive with dignity and hope.

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Last year, we traveled to the Thar region of Umerkot to document the transformative impact of the Humanitarian Assistance, Early Recovery, and Development (HERD) Project, supported by Canadian Foodgrain Bank (CFGB) and Presbytarian World Service and Development. (PWS&D). Through our lens, we captured stories of resilience, hope, and progress. Six months later, we returned to the village to share the documentary with the very people whose lives it portrayed. The entire community came together to witness their own stories unfold on screen—a moment of reflection, empowerment, and collective strength.

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Vicholo Par in Umerkot district is a very peculiar village. Of its 120 households, no fewer than 30 have children or adults with disabilities. Sometimes, a single household has two or three differently abled persons. Here, one can observe limbs that appear shortened, hands and feet with irregular shapes, or fingers that are absent. Strangely, despite it being a Hindu village, there is absolutely no inbreeding which is endemic among Muslims.

Although there is a school in the village, several differently abled children have been kept out of it. Bhoj Raj who does not know his age but seems to be about eight, suffers from a considerably shorter right leg with a poorly formed knee joint. He does not wear shoes and reaches school in about 20 minutes[1] by hopping on his good leg. When the hot sand burns his foot, he goes by cartwheels. Until he joined in Grade 1 recently, he remained home helping his mother with housework and feeding the family’s livestock while his five healthy siblings all attended school.

He says he never thought he could be in school until his playmates told him of the new equipment the school[2] had received. There were swings and a seesaw in the grounds and in class they had colourful cards and charts with pictures and names of birds, animals, fruit, and Sindhi, English and Urdu alphabets. 

Government Boys Primary School (GBPS) Vicholo Par is supported by Act for Peace through the “Improving Health and Education Services in Migration-Prone Union Councils of District Umerkot” project. Schools selected for this initiative must meet specific criteria, including being fully functional government schools with at least two classrooms and teachers. Community World Service Asia (CWSA) prioritises the enrollment of girls and the inclusion of vulnerable groups, such as persons with disabilities (PWDs). The project has enhanced this school by providing a multigrade teaching kit for educators, play-based kits for children to promote joyful learning, and teacher training under a positive learning program. Furthermore, the project has installed a swing to promote play-based education and supplied quarterly school materials to ensure a conducive learning environment.

As well as that, they were given materials to paint and draw. Learning had become so much fun since August 2024, they all told Bhoj Raj, that they did not want to leave school when time was up. Just months after he joined, the child wants to be a school teacher when he grows up. “I want to be a teacher so that after my duty in school, I go to every house with disabled children and give lessons free of charge,” he said.

Pato Bai, aged nine, is another student at the same school. She is the only disabled child among her four other siblings. Both her feet are shaped in a way that she walks on the outer sides rather than on the soles. As a child, walking had always been very difficult, but as she grew up, she learned to keep her balance with what nature had given her.

Pato’s mother says that though they live only 10 minutes’ walk away, she did not send her daughter to school because of her difficulty in walking. Also, the government teacher was rarely ever present[3] in school and children simply wasted their time. In her view, Pato was better off helping with chores around the house. She says that the new teacher, Raheem Das[4], being from the same village has been regular in attendance since he joined in March 2021 and the input from the idaro (organisation meaning CWSA) changed her mind. Seeing her daughter doing better than her other siblings, she is happy she changed her mind.

In August 2024, CWSA trained teacher Raheem Das deployed the Early Childhood Care and Education kit to make the classroom a fun place that Pato enrolled in. Her interest in learning is so great that even at home she had asked her siblings to tutor her and consequently was taken in Grade 3. She dreams of studying medicine so that she can prevent children being born with deformities like hers. And if there are any, her pledge to herself is that she will treat them free of charge.

When she does finish her degree, Pato will make a very artistic doctor because of her talent in painting and drawing. The school has several sheets of her artwork on display produced during a recent art competition in which Pato topped. Ever more commendable is the fact that the two students who topped in the games competition are both differently abled – Pato and Bhoj Raj[5].

[1] While other children cover the distance in five to 10 minutes.

[2] The total number of students enrolled is 95, consisting of 65 boys and 30 girls.

[3] The teacher was appointed from a distant village, faced health issues that hindered his regular attendance.

[4] The teacher has passed the government teaching test and has been teaching for four years. He is originally from the village itself.

[5] The teachers promote inclusive education by creating opportunities for all children, including girls, boys, and children with disabilities (PWDs). In remote areas lacking specialised institutions, the teacher works to support the inclusion of PWDs in school admissions and activities. Their efforts ensure equal participation for PWDs in sports, poster competitions, and other events, fostering a sense of belonging and enabling them to continue their education.

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Latifan, a 20-year-old woman from Ramo Vehro, UC Faqeer Abdullah in Umerkot, lives with her husband, Yaseen Muhammad, and their three-year-old son, Umer. The household also includes her brother-in-law, his wife, and their three children, making it a family of eight living under one roof. Yaseen works as a daily wage labourer, earning PKR 500 (approximately USD 1.8) per day, though there are occasional opportunities where he earns up to PKR 1000  (approximately USD 7.2) for a day’s work. The family’s monthly expenses amount to around PKR 8,000  (approximately USD 28.7), covering essential grocery items such as wheat, sugar, tea leaves, and rice.

In 2021, a severe drought devastated Latifan’s village, destroying agricultural lands and decimating livestock. The family farmed on four acres of shared land, cultivating cluster beans and millet. However, the drought rendered their crops useless, leaving them in a dire economic state. The family faced a very challenging time but they have persevered and remained resilient.

Community World Service Asia (CWSA), with support from Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe (DKH), initiated a Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance programme in the drought-affected regions of Umerkot. The initiative provided PKR 17,000 ( (approximately USD 61) per household every month for three months—September, October, and November—benefitting 460 households, including Latifan’s family. Their inclusion in the programme was due to their large household size, low income, and farming background. Upon receiving the first tranche of PKR 17,000, Latifan prioritised purchasing wheat for PKR 10,000  (approximately USD 36), with PKR 1,000  (approximately USD 3.6) allocated to land preparation expenses. The remaining PKR 6,000  (approximately USD 22) was spent on groceries such as lentils, rice, and tea leaves, leaving her with PKR 1,000  (approximately USD 3.6)  in savings.

Latifan’s aspirations for the remaining instalments include repairing their home and purchasing a mobile phone to facilitate better communication. Her leadership skills are evident through her active participation in the community as a member of the Village Management Committee led by CWSA. As deputy president, she not only takes training sessions from CWSA’s women mobilisers but also shares her knowledge on cultivation and harvesting techniques with other women farmers in the community. Her confidence and proactive nature have made her a key contact for NGOs organising community visits.

The cash assistance programme has significantly improved the family’s living conditions, enabling them to afford three meals a day. Previously, they managed only one or two meals daily. The family’s meals now consist of a good breakfast, potato curry for lunch, and chapati (flatbread) with curry for dinner. They live in a modest two-room house shared between Latifan’s family and her brother-in-law’s household. Their combined livestock of seven goats—four belonging to the brother-in-law and three to Latifan—provides milk for household consumption, with additional milk sold by her brother-in-law, who earns PKR 200 to  300  (approximately USD 1) as a shepherd.

Despite these improvements, Latifan’s family continues to face hardships. The lingering threat of drought hampers agricultural recovery, and Yaseen’s fluctuating income barely meets their needs. A mounting debt of PKR 200,000 (approximately USD 720) weighs heavily on the family, accrued primarily from food purchases and medical expenses, including PKR 40,000 (approximately USD 144) for Latifan’s cesarean operation when her son was born. Health remains a top concern, particularly with her son being susceptible to common childhood illnesses like flu, fever, and cough, which could hinder his healthy growth. Additionally, her nephew’s sleep disturbances pose a further health worry. However, through hard work and payments made to the landlord, they have managed to repay PKR 100,000  (approximately USD 360) of the debt.

Latifan’s determination remains unwavering. Her family plans to use the forthcoming assistance to improve their land conditions, resume crop cultivation, and allocate PKR 10,000  (approximately USD 36) towards further debt repayment. With a vision for a more stable future, Latifan continues to lead her household and community with resilience, striving for financial independence and a sustainable livelihood amidst ongoing challenges.

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Quality and Accountability in humanitarian work are essential to ensure that aid effectively supports and empowers the communities it is intended to help. Community World Service Asia (CWSA) provides technical support and guidance to local humanitarian agencies in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and across the Asia-Pacific region to enhance quality and accountability by applying the Sphere Minimum Standards.

In partnership with Concern Worldwide, CWSA conducted a three-day workshop from 21 to 23 February 2024, in Umerkot, Sindh, titled “Integrating Sphere Technical Standards in Project Cycle Management”. Eighteen participants enrolled in the workshop, including 12 men and six women. The training focused on enhancing participants’ understanding and skills in applying the Sphere Minimum Standards throughout different Project Cycle Management (PCM) stages. It aimed to explain the philosophy and approach of Sphere and guide participants in navigating the Sphere handbook to help them integrate the standards into the humanitarian project cycle more effectively.

Local and national humanitarian practitioners were equipped with the technical, management, and programmatic skills required to enhance the quality of their internal operations and improve their effectiveness in disaster preparedness and response through the three days. Participants gained a thorough understanding of Sphere’s core principles and learned how to apply the standards across key themes such as water and sanitation, health, shelter, and nutrition. They also worked towards developing skills in needs assessment, response planning, and program implementation following Sphere guidelines.

“As humanitarian workers and development practitioners, we are all familiar with the various stages of project management. However, this training was especially valuable for understanding the practical application of Sphere standards during the project design and implementation stages,” said Harris Najeeb[1], Manager of Networking and Partnerships at ARTS Foundation, who participated in the training.

ARTS Foundation is a non-profit, indigenous civil society organisation based in Sindh. It focuses on capacity development, action research, policy advocacy, and humanitarian response. The foundation’s current projects are centered on flood recovery and response, particularly on Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH).

“The Sphere technical standards of WASH & Hygiene, have been particularly informative for me. After the training, I conducted a session on WASH technical standards, for my team of community mobilisers & hygiene promoters. We are now referring to the Water Supply Standard 2.1 (Access and Water Quantity), Excreta Management Standard 3.2 (Access to and use of toilets) and Hygiene Promotion Standard 1.2 (Identification, access to and use of hygiene items). Our teams are using these indicators while designing toilets for communities.”

Harris has also helped his team update the organisation’s Safe Programming Matrix document, incorporating protection principles, gender sensitivity, operational context, and environmental impact, all in line with Sphere guidelines.

Although ARTS Foundation has not yet initiated the Sphere or Core Humanitarian Standards (CHS) accreditation process, they are keen to build their staff’s capacity on Sphere standards and integrate the Sphere approach into their grassroots community work.

Furthermore, participants acquired an understanding of accountability mechanisms, such as feedback and complaint systems, to promote transparency and community involvement. They also learned strategies to enhance coordination and collaboration with other humanitarian actors, thereby improving the overall effectiveness of emergency response efforts.

CWSA remains committed to supporting local NGOs and civil society in strengthening their knowledge and capacity on Sphere, to enhance the overall effectiveness of humanitarian and development responses.

[1] Interviewee: Engineer Haris Najeeb, Advocacy, Research, Training and Services (ARTS) Foundation, Sindh, artsf.haris@gmail,com, (03343317352)

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Life has taken a harsh turn for Lachhman, a 26-year-old father of two in a small village in Union Council Faqeer Abdullah of District Umerkot, Sindh. His family of five—two young daughters aged eight and seven, his wife, and his mother—depend entirely on agriculture as their primary source of income. On their five acres of rain-fed land, they once grew crops such as cluster beans, moth beans, and millet, which thrived in good rainfall seasons. This brought a yearly income of around PKR 70,000 to 80,000 (approximately 288 USD).

However, for the past five years, irregular and increasingly unreliable rainfall has made this a once-stable source of income precarious. The crop yield from their land has fallen by 50%, and rising inflation has made survival incredibly difficult for the family. Their total household expenditure, almost PKR 10,000 to 12,000 (approximately 44 USD), has become nearly impossible to meet for the couple. As a result,  the children cannot attend school—not just due to financial constraints but also because there is no school available in their village.

Recognising the challenges faced by agricultural communities like Lachhman’s, Community World Service Asia (CWSA) initiated a humanitarian project titled “Strengthening the Livelihoods and Resilience of Vulnerable Agricultural Communities in Rural Sindh, Pakistan”, supported by Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe (DKH). This initiative is specifically designed to support families whose livelihoods depend heavily on agriculture and have been severely impacted by unpredictable weather patterns and climate change impact, in terms of a significant drop in their income. The project aims to enable these families to adapt and survive in these challenging and evolving conditions.

Lachhman’s family was selected to receive assistance under this project, as their livelihood was 75% reliant on agriculture, and their income had drastically decreased due to poor crop yields. Lachhman received Multipurpose Cash Assistance (MPCA), distributed through mobile cash transfers (Telenor mobile wallet accounts). On October 8, 2024, he received his first installment of PKR 17,000 (approximately 62 USD). A total of five installments of the same amount will be provided, totaling PKR 85,000 (approximately 306 USD), during the project.

This first installment was a lifeline for Lachhman and his family. With the money, he bought new clothes for his children and met other essential needs, such as groceries. The timing of this assistance was important, as his crops were not yet ready for harvesting[1], and the family had no other source of income. Without this support, Lachhman might have had to borrow money, causing further financial difficulties.

For the future, Lachhman is already planning to invest the next installment in a small tuck shop. He requires PKR 15,000 to 20,000 (approx. USD 54 to 72) to fulfill this dream. He hopes this new business will provide his family with a steady daily income of PKR 200 to 300 (approx. USD 1 to 2), while also benefiting other villages, as there is currently only one shop in the area. In the meantime, Lachhman has also started cultivating his land again, planting cluster beans on two acres, moth beans on one acre, and millet on the remaining two acres. He managed to buy the seeds even before he received the financial assistance.

“I am very thankful to the whole team at CWSA for this immense support. If I had to borrow from someone, it would have caused a lot of difficulties going forward,” Lachhman said gratefully.

The selection of participating families in the project began in late August 2024, and CWSA had started providing much-needed financial assistance to those most in need by October. Through these efforts, families can survive the economic hardships brought on by climate change and maintain their livelihoods in the face of unpredictable weather conditions.

This initiative not only addresses immediate financial needs but also helps these vulnerable communities build resilience for the future. It helps reduce their suffering and survive challenging times with dignity. With support like this, families like Lachhman’s have hope for a more stable and prosperous future, despite the continuing challenges they face due to climate change and subsequent economic hardships.

[1] August is typically the harvest time for cluster beans and millet, but these had been severely affected

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In village Rohiraro, Umerkot, Mauta is a remarkable and outspoken woman. Originally from a village near Chhachro, she was married into Rohiraro, where she and her husband raised six sons. Though she did not receive formal education herself, Mauta was determined to ensure her sons received an education. She sent them through government primary, middle schools and high school, all the way to the twelfth grade. She laughingly admits she thought this was the highest level of education because she had no idea about university degrees. When her eldest completed what she believed was the “ultimate” level of schooling and returned to the village, Mauta set him to work looking after their livestock. With nearly 30 goats, Mauta considered herself well-off and believed her educated son was gainfully employed helping with the animals.

In 2020 when Community World Service Asia (CWSA) began its interventions1 in Rohiraro, Mauta became a very active member of the Village Management Committee set up to ensure community ownership and engagement in the project. She gained a new perspective through her involvement, including the benefits of family planning, which she enthusiastically promoted within the community through door-to-door campaigns, even accompanying women to nearby government facilities to help them plan childbirth.

“It was for the first time I learned that twelve grades of education is no education at all. That there are universities which provide even higher learning,” she says. Determined to send her eldest son to university, she faced opposition from her husband. He is an unskilled labourer with no formal education. He believed that they could not afford the expense of sending their sons to expensive educational institutions. Mauta disagreed, insisting that their livestock could be used to fund her sons’ education. “What is the point of having a large livestock if it could not send our sons to college?” she remarked. She sold some goats to raise PKR 40,000 (approx. USD 144) for her son’s admission to Sindh University in Hyderabad. A year later, she sold more animals to cover his annual fees.

She also enrolled her second son in Sindh University and her third in Allama Iqbal Open University in Umerkot. The younger two are in the intermediate programme post-matriculation and also aspire to attend university. Mauta may not understand what her sons are studying, but she takes pride in the fact that they can speak English and have even taught her to write her name in Sindhi.

“My youngest son is in grade nine and also keen to go to university. He wants me to pay for a private tutor to help him in his studies so that he can make the grade for university,” she says. She shared that traditionally boys in Rohiraro dropped out after matriculation, but Mauta’s decision to send her sons to university has inspired other families to prioritise their sons’ education. According to her, at least 20 other boys from the village are now attending colleges in Umerkot.

“Since my boys started university, everyone began to look at me with awe and reverence,” says Mauta. Although she has no daughter, she insists she would not have held a girl back from education even if it meant selling her livestock. This is very brave of her given she is from a remote village in the Umerkot desert.

To keep her sons in university, Mauta has taken up sewing, using her skills to meet the day-to-day household expenses. In addition to minding her livestock, she sews women’s dresses on order.

What motivated her to take such a bold step after the first few VMC meetings? Mauta credits the visiting social mobilisers whose eloquence impressed her. She wanted her sons to be like them.

When asked about her proudest moment since her sons began higher education, Mauta does not hesitate. She says it was not about her sons but her own growth. At the recent International Education Day celebrations, organised by CWSA and Act for Peace (AFP), in her village, Mauta delivered a speech advocating for education in front of a crowd. The pride she felt came not from the attentive audience but from the applause that followed.

This was the first time she had ever given a speech, and Mauta believes that while her sons’ education has progressed, so has her personal development.

  1. Under the Health-Education Project supported by Act for Peace ↩︎

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Not far from Umerkot town, Janhero is a large village with 10,000 people. At the time of partition, it likely had around one-fifth of that number. Nevertheless, it caught the attention of a dedicated officer from the Education Department, leading to the establishment of the first primary school here in 1948. Among its alumni are several doctors, custom officers, a senator and an officer in the National Accountability Bureau, which Ahmed Ali, the headmaster, recounts with visible pride. In addition to this school, the village now has three other girls’ schools and seven boys’ schools. However, since its inception, the Government Boys Primary School has been a co-educational institution currently having a total of 250 pupils, of which 80 are girls.

Ahmed Ali, himself an alumnus, emphasises that there never was a tradition of corporal punishment at the school. However, the Early Childhood Care and Education, Positive Learning Environment and Inclusive Environment trainings he undertook with Community World Service Asia (CWSA) in 2023, had a considerable impact on his teaching methods. Even before applying what he learned, he passed on his training to his colleagues and today all four government teachers at the school are properly trained.

“Earlier, the system was to read a lesson from the textbook and instruct the children to learn it at home. Rote was the method, there was no emphasis on understanding. Also, the students were never involved in the learning process. But now we invite the children to ask questions and play roles,” says Ahmed. He adds that though there are Hindu and Muslim students, there is no religious prejudice in his school.

The partnership between Community World Service Asia and Act for Peace (AFP) made the training possible and provided an additional teacher. Young Abdul Ghaffar is an artist in his spare time and he was lucky the village had many schools which occasionally called upon him to paint murals on classroom walls. However, this work was sporadic with gaps in between. Since the reopening of the school after the summer break in 2023, he has secured a regular teaching position with a stable salary, thanks to the education team’s intervention. This has made life easier for him and his dedication has benefited the school and its students.

“More than the pay, it is the sense of achievement I have interacting with my nursery class,” says Ghaffar. “From being unlettered, I have seen children progressing in these past seven months into forming letters and figures and when I draw something on the board, they copy it with so much joy.” He adds that when he informed the children he would leave when the project ended, they all clamoured for him to stay. That, surely, is the best feedback any teacher could ask for.

Ahmed Ali notes that the school has received two rounds of hygiene kits for the students, with the second distribution taking place in January. Since the formation of the hygiene society in school and the students being tasked with ensuring personal cleanliness, there is a clear difference compared to before CWSA’s intervention. The students can now demonstrate the proper way to wash their hands. Ahmed points out that since the first distribution of the kits, the old practice of using dust or clay to cleanse the hands has nearly disappeared. He has observed that his students now encourage their families to always keep soap in the house.

Twelve-year-old Farhan’s father, Yunis, was a teacher at this same school before retiring to run a small grocery store. The boy wants to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a teacher. But Yunis thinks his son should become a police officer, which Farhan wryly recounts. He wants to teach because there are few teachers in his school. His favourite subjects are Sindhi, Science and Islamiyat. For now, Farhan aims to complete twelve grades, the minimum level of education required to join the police but hopes to eventually persuade his family to support his dream of attending university to train to become a teacher.

Ten-year-old Heer speaks clear, unaccented Urdu. Her father, a journalist and president of the local press club, often plays Urdu news bulletins on the television at home, which has helped her language. She enjoys Science and Maths and wants to become a doctor so that she can run a clinic in the village and provide quality treatment to people who currently have to travel to Umerkot when ill.

Arooj Fatima, whose father is a teacher in a neighbouring village, also wants to become a doctor. But unlike Heer, she is quite clear that she will have a clinic in Hyderabad so she can make some money as well. Though both girls say they are proficient in maths, they do not consider engineering a career.

Ten-year-old Bhawani Shankar is also focused on his future. His father, a master bricklayer, has advised him to become a customs officer. Bhawani understands that this will require hard work and a college degree, but he is determined to pursue it for his parents’ sake. When asked how his Urdu is so clear, he credits it to attending school.

The bell rings for the mid-morning break and headmaster Ahmed Ali shows the students at play outside. Activities like badminton, hula hoops, and skipping ropes fill the schoolyard with colour and joy as children use equipment they have not seen before. The headmaster said that this was part of the education project by CWSA and AFP. Previously, the school had no sports equipment and students were discouraged from making noise during the breaks, he added.

According to Ali, before this initiative, the school only had a couple of footballs and a cricket bat, used exclusively by boys. Although girls shared classrooms with boys, they did not play with them and often stayed inside. The new variety of sports equipment encouraged girls to participate in games.

These youngsters’ ambitions and dreams are a sign of the impact of the education they receive. Many children have previously completed high school without a vision of their future. This small initiative by AFP and CWSA to improve the education system in remote Janhero represents a major leap forward for the village’s children.

Such progress would hardly have been possible without the Village Management Committee (VMC). Elderly Laxman, an active member of the VMC, emphasises his role in enrolling around 50 out-of-school children. When the education project began, he went door to door, often hearing the same response: that children had to participate in farm labour alongside their parents. “I told them it is education that will break the shackles of their poverty, not farm labour they have done through countless generations. An educated child stands every chance of getting a respectable job. But if they force their children into labour, the cycle will continue,” says Laxman. He now maintains a directory of parents’ phone numbers and to follow up if a child misses school.

The VMC also supports 12 children who are either orphans or from poor families as they cannot afford school supplies. Laxman says that several better-off committee members pool resources to provide these children with the necessary materials. Additionally, the VMC financially assists the few village youngsters who have reached university.

“The committee’s biggest success surely is getting out-of-school children enrolled and ensuring that students do not leave the village with their parents on the seasonal harvest migration,” says Laxman. It is now ensured by the committee that one or two members of every migrating family remain behind to ensure that children do not drop out of school.

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“It became quite burdensome to make the weekly trip to Umerkot for my regular check-ups. This necessitated a significant expenditure of both energy and money, as one cannot visit a hospital in Umerkot without having at least three thousand in their pocket. Upon reaching the hospital, I often found myself lacking sufficient funds to purchase all the prescribed medicines, ending up with only buying a few out of the lot,” shared Cheeno, an 80-year-old grandfather living in the small village of Ramsar, located 65 kilometres away from Umerkot city. The little village is connected by a road to the rest of the district.

With age, Cheeno developed several health issues, including Acute Respiratory Infection, making him susceptible to coughs and flu even in hot weather. “It was challenging for me to walk the 10 kilometres distance to reach the road from our village where one could catch a ride to Umerkot city. I recall that the journey to Umerkot for my check-ups would worsen my condition, and by the time I reached the hospital, walking became troublesome,” explained Cheeno. The journey to Umerkot has consistently proven exhausting for residents of Ramsar, but they had not choice if they wanted to prioritise their health and get a check-up done at a health facility. That was the nearest to them.

Cheeno is blessed with fifteen grandchildren; nine boys and six girls. He has twenty-three members in his family, including his wife, three sons, and their families. All three of his sons work as labourers on agrarian fields alongside their wives to ensure three meals for their children and parents. They work on daily wages for land owners.

With all his sons working (though only seasonally), which is a big blessing for families living in rural Umerkot, Cheeno has lived his set of struggles. He reflects on the challenges the family has faced, “My wife cannot walk; she has weak legs. Sometimes, I had to carry her on my back to the road to take her to Umerkot for her medical treatment. We were leading a very difficult life.” With limited access to health facilities, most families, especially elderly and those disabled, faced severe challenges to access even the most basic health care.

In July 2022, Community World Service Asia (CWSA) operationalised a public dispensary and initiated quality health services in Ramsar. The dispensary had been non-functional previously due to lack of resources, such as medical staff, equipment and medicines. In collaboration with Act for Peace (AFP) and with the support of the Australian government, CWSA launched this health project1, operating from a government dispensary and, over the past year, has provided free medicine and diagnosis to over 7,000 patients.

“When I first learned that the dispensary was functional, I felt relieved and happy. Now, we could obtain medicines by walking just a few meters. Since discovering this dispensary, we have stopped taking the long rides to Umerkot. During my initial visit to the dispensary in August 2023, I experienced severe respiratory problems that I have been suffering from due to old age. To my surprise, I was given medicines for free. These medicines really helped me,” shared Cheeno. He continues to visit the dispensary whenever he runs out of medications, and his tendency to catch the flu has significantly diminished. Presently, he only suffers from a cough, attributed primarily to physical weakness and age.

Community World Service Asia has been providing a range of medical services at the Ramsar Dispensary, including OPD services with vital medicines offered free of cost. Awareness raising sessions on family planning and women’s reproductive health, antenatal and postnatal care services, baby delivery services, and general well-being counselling sessions are conducted at the dispensary and with the community members on a regular basis. Cheeno’s family has been availing these health services ever since its launch.

Village Committees have actively participated in this project through health education sessions, international days, capacity-building trainings, and meetings held in their villages and at dispensaries. The community has supported organising these events, disseminated health awareness, and referred patients to clinics. They have also ensured the protection of dispensary staff and medical equipment. As a result of these interventions over the past two years, health awareness has increased, leading to improved women’s health and reduced infant mortality. Prior to CWSA’s involvement, the village of Ramsar had numerous kidney disease cases. Now, due to proper medication and awareness sessions, the situation has significantly improved.

“When I first came here with my son, we realised we had to tell everyone at home about this dispensary since it was such a blessing. I was eager to bring my wife here as she needed treatment for her weakness and recurrent illnesses too. She was prescribed different calcium and vitamins, and gradually, she was able to take a few steps on her own,” shared Cheeno. This marked a significant relief for Cheeno, as his wife, who was almost bedridden due to her weak legs, could now walk. Following Cheeno, all his other family members, especially the women, have become regular visitors at the dispensary. From his daughters-in-law receiving baby delivery services to his grandchildren availing regular medical check-ups, the Ramsar Dispensary has addressed many healthcare needs for Cheeno’s family and many others living in the area.

Under its health program, Community World Service Asia has extended primary healthcare services in three Union Councils (UCs) – Faqeer Abdullah, Sekhro, and Kaplore – in District Umerkot. The health centres have prioritised Maternal, New-born, and Child Health (MNCH) by operating in three government health dispensaries in collaboration with the district health department. “I used to take loans from landlords for my visits to Umerkot, but now we are happy and less burdened. We have a great service nearby, and we are even able to save the money that we used to spend on medicines, all thanks to CWSA and AFP,” smiled Cheeno.

  1. Improving Health and Education Services in Migration Prone Union Councils of District Umerkot ↩︎
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