Community Development
Friends Pakistans Community development initiatives seeks to empower individuals and groups of people by providing these groups with the skills they need to affect change in their own communities. These skills are often concentrated around with the formation of large social groups working for a common agenda of the development of their areas. Friends Pakistan works with individuals to affect communities' positions within the context of larger social institutions. The skill enhancement of community partners, strengthening of local institutions and capacity building of wide range of stake holders including local community organizations has remained the focus of Friends Pakistan. The Capacity building programs of Friends Pakistan have been developed and implemented through a process based on occupational and individual capacity development needs to ensure proper utilization of the training initiatives.
Being an organization following a right based approach; Friends Pakistan contributes in the uplifting of the most vulnerable groups and in the rehabilitation of social infrastructure through advocating for the rights of vulnerable groups in the society. Friends Pakistan believes in bringing positive change in behaviors of the communities for bringing social development.
The empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) and their mainstreaming in the society has attracted a fair attention of Friends Pakistan. Friends Pakistan raised the awareness of the community about the rights of PWDs and ways to remove the physical and attitudinal hurdles in the way of PWDs mainstreaming in society along with providing the essential facilitation to PWDs.
Friends Pakistan organized and registered two PWDs Forums under the societies act of 1860 in two union Councils, Garlat and Balakot. PWDs Forums having an inclusive representation of PWDs and people without disability have provided the platform to the PWDs of the area to raise the voice in the favor of PWDs at different forums. To promote basic human rights of PWDs through awareness raising and resource mobilization remained the other major priority of Friends Pakistan in the target union Councils. In the same way practical steps were taken to promote inclusive education and conducive learning friendly environment for the Children without disability (CWDs) in government primary schools.
Friends Pakistan facilitated the community and other stakeholders to achieve the desired results with the optimal identification and utilization of indigenous local resources by making sure the ample participation of PWDs Forums and the local community.
Two PWDs Forums are registered under the society act 1860 and functional to raise the voice in favor of PWDs.
The capacities of thirty five (35) members of PWDs Forums were built on Forum Management through Trainings/Workshops.
Five hundred and Sixty (560) members participated in the twenty awareness meetings conducted at targeted UCs.
Three hundred (300) awareness messages have been made on air on FM radio.
The capacities of three hundred and twenty eight(328) community members was built on understanding disabilities, perceptions, models of disability and socio eco development.
The awareness of four hundred and ten (410) community members is built about the rights of PWDs in community members is built in Four (4) Awareness Walks (Rallies) conducted at Ucs Balakot and Garlat.
Capacity of twenty one (21) teachers/PTC members of six model schools is built on Inclusive Learning Friendly Environment (ILFE).
Community mobilization is one of the main resources in implementing behavior changes in the community. Friends Pakistan looks Social Mobilization as an important tool of participatory community development. During the year of 2009, Friends Pakistan continued to scale up its activities to develop the social capital in its target areas. For sectoral or project specific purposes, community based organizations (CBOs), School Management Committees, health and sanitation committees were constituted. Awareness meetings with the local CBOs and committees have been arranged to enhance the coping capacities of the target communities. The outcome of these initiatives in terms of social mobilization has increased community participation in local development initiatives undertaken by Friends Pakistan.
The coping capacities of eight hundred and ninety eight (898) community members were built through training events in eleven villages of District Mansehra.
Friend Pakistan completed the Construction of semi permanent building for the long term educational support of the school outreach children of the Non Formal Feeding School (NFS) Sireen at Village Sireen to enable them to continue their education uninterruptedly in even the severest weather conditions. For the completion of this project, mobilization of local available resources from within the community in term of Land, wood and Labor was ensured for the maximum ownership of the local community. Capacity of the local community based organization(CBO) Sireen was built on effective project Implementation, Record Keeping and developing linkages with other agencies working on rural development to enable them to undertake more sophisticated projects in future for their community development.
One Feeding School has been constructed in the form of three spacious rooms and veranda at the village Sireen Jagori UC Batal.
Educational support is provided to eighty (80) children i.e. forty eight (48) boys and thirty two (32) girls at the village Sireen.
Capacity of CBO Sireen has been built about effective project implementation, Record Keeping and developing productive linkages with agencies working in development sector for the development of their area.
Thirty (30) volunteers from within the communities of Sireen Jagori have been identified who have shown their willingness to take part in any activity for the development of the area and especially for the rights of children and women.
A scheme of potable water was initiated at village Makria Sharif of Union Council Shinkiari on the intense community demands on December 15, 2008 and was completed on February 20, 2009. The community of Village Makria Sharif did not have the availability of potable water as there was no water supply scheme in this area. The community members were fetching the water from the near by River Siren whose water is contaminated and is not considered suitable for drinking purpose. With the funding of Japan Water Forum (JWF) a scheme of potable water has been completed which included the digging of a well and installation of a hand pump on this well for the use of the community.
One (1) Water Well with the installation of water pump is completed at the village Makria Sharif Shinkiari.
Clean, convenient and uncontaminated potable water is available to the three hundred and fifty (350) community members of the village Makria Sharif within their village.
Work burden of (182) females of Makria Sharif has reduced as they do not have to go for fetching water up to the distance of one and half kilometer.
Awareness of community members of Makria Sharif both male and female is raised on effective water usage for the promotion of cleanliness and health and hygiene practices through three (3) awareness raising sessions.
One (1) Water Management Committee (WMC) consisting of seven (7) members has been constituted and made functional at the village Makria Sharif under the supervision and control of which the water well project has been completed and ownership of the project has been ensured.
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