Technology for all

There is no doubting the fact that internet access is a key contributory factor to the progress of any country. This is particularly true for developing nations like Pakistan. Statistically speaking, internet usage in Pakistan is on the rise and there are no signs of it declining.

One stumbling block however is the availability of computers and facilities where people can browse the World Wide Web. Places that provide this facility for a fee in commonly referred to as ‘internet cafés’ in Pakistan. Internet cafés are mostly limited to urban centres and are frequented by people who do not have access to high-speed internet at home.

Internet cafés in the more conservative areas of Pakistan cater exclusively to the male population. Even in cities and larger towns, women frequenting internet cafés is considered a rare occurrence.

Sumaya Ibrahim lives in Quetta and has been running the ‘Amozgha Centre’ for some time now. The centre is popular among the women of the community, who attend the sewing classes that are taught there.

Quetta is a conservative city where women and men using the same internet cafés is frowned upon. Sumaya felt that one thing her city lacked was a place where women from the community could explore opportunities to become better equipped at use computers and to use the internet. She envisioned setting up an internet café inside the Amozgha Centre where computer literacy classes could also be taught.

Sumaya formed a youth group which she named ‘Amozgha Youth Group’ to raise funds for her project. The group reached out to affluent people of the community for financial support. The response they got was overwhelmingly positive. The group was successful in raising enough money to purchase our computers and one printer; and so the Computer Literacy and Internet Cafe for Females was established.

This is not merely an internet café for women, but it also functions as a learning centre where basic computer courses are taught to women. The centre is geared towards women who do not have a computer at home and cannot afford computer literacy courses. Classes were offered at a nominal fee. Special consideration was shown to members of the Hazaara community – a traditionally underprivileged group. Members of the Hazaara community are offered free of cost computer literacy classes at the centre.

The venture proved to be a popular one and soon Sumaya was faced with another predicament: how to accommodate all the applicants into computer literacy classes? Presently a two hour computer literacy class is taught every day and women are encouraged to make use of the internet café in the evening. The strong turnout is a source of encouragement to the youth group: “I would love to buy more computers in order to accommodate more people” says Sumaya.

The computer literacy centre and internet cafe provides the women of Quetta with a safe environment where they can learn together, and is a welcome addition to other skills taught at the Amozgha Centre.

Hungry no more

It is not news that inflation is at an all time high in Pakistan and slowly but surely basic necessities including food are getting out of reach of people living below the poverty line. A group of young people from Karachi put their heads together to come up with a way to make essential commodities accessible to needy people of their community. They agreed that one way price of commodities can be decreased is by minimizing the mark-up added to them by whole sellers and shop owners. They named their Social Action Project (SAP) Al Qaim Resource Center (AQRC).

Initially the group pooled in their own resources and started purchasing essential commodities like flour, rice, pulses, and oil in bulk and selling them to needy individuals. An added advantage for the group was that one of the members owns a rice mill. He was generous enough to give the group members sizable discounts on purchases from him and on occasions has also extended a line of credit to them.

The group launched their SAP in a poor area of the city. A stall was set up from which about 20 families were able to purchase commodities at prices lower than the market rate.
According to Adeel Kapasi, a very low mark-up is added to the price to cover expenses such as transport and labor. The mark-up also covers losses incurred by the group such as damaged cargo, cash management errors, etc.

The group was also lucky in finding a private donor who gave the group a one-time donation after hearing about their idea. This money enabled the group to expand their operations. To date 500 families from seven underprivileged areas of Karachi have benefited from this project.

A smile for a rose

Quetta is one of the cities of Pakistan that has felt the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks perhaps more than other places. Quetta has always been known for its diverse population, a rich cultural heritage, and the warmth and friendliness of its people.

The post 9/11 reality of Quetta has been very different: suicide bombings and other terrorist incidents have increased sharply. The region once known for its beautiful landscape and serenity is now associated with a tense security situation and escalating intolerance levels between different ethnic communities inhabiting it.

These incidents are affecting the people of Quetta on a psychological level. People live in a constant state of apprehension. Social gatherings are rare, and people feel isolated and cut off from the rest of the country.

A group of Active Citizens exchanged ideas on how to bring a sense of hope to people and help them forget their troubles at least for a little while. They bought a few hundred freshly cut roses and on a fine sunny day set out to hand them out to any one they came across. Being presented with a rose by a smiling stranger, most people could not help but smile back.

Join the Actives Citizens Programme

Join the Actives Citizens programme by contacting the partner organization/s from your community/city to start your learning journey.

PUNJAB
Sr.	Cities/Communities	Partner Organizations	Contact Person/Focal person	Email ID
01	Lahore	Protection and Help of Children Against Abuse and Neglect (PAHCHAAN)	Ms Sara Afzal	pahchaanyouthgroup@gmail.com
02	Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujranawala , Bahawalnagar, Kasur,	Chanan Development Association (CDA)	Mr Haroon	haroon@cda.org.pk
03	Multan City	Women Rights’ Association (WRA)	Mr Taha Naqvi	taha.wra@gmail.com
04	Multan, Vaheri, Muzaffar Garh, D.G Khan, Alipur	AWAZ Foundation Pakistan, Center for Development Services (AWAZ-CDS)	Ms Rubina Dewan	rubina@awazcds.org.pk
05	Multan City, Bahawalpur, RahimYar Khan	Participatory Welfare Organization (PWS)	Mr Aamir Yousaf	aamiryousaf2002@hotmail.com
06	Sadiqabad, RahimYar Khan, Rajanpur	FACES – Pakistan	Mr Raymon Louis	raymon_louis@hotmail.com
07	Rawalpindi, Tobatek Singh	Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN)	Ms Fatima Raja	fatima.raja@fafen.org
ISLAMABAD and KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA
Sr.	Cities/Communities	Partner Organizations	Contact Person/Focal person	Email ID
08	Islamabad, Swat	Special Talent Exchange Program (STEP)	Mr Ali Shabbar	ali.shabbar@step.org.pk
09	Peshawar, Haripur, Mardan	DOST Welfare Foundation	Mr Kaleem Iqbal	info@dostfoundation.org
10	Peshawar	Institute of Social Work, Sociology & Gender Studies – University of Peshawar	Mr Muhammad Ibrar	ibrarsworker@yahoo.com
11	Peshawar	Community Appraisal & Motivation Programme (CAMP)	Mr Said Afzal Shinwari Mr Shabir Shinwari	afzalshinwari@gmail.com shabirshinwari@yahoo.com
12	Peshawar, Charsadah	Social Action Bureau for Assistance in Welfare & Organisational Networking (SABAWON)	Mr Iftikhar Hussain	iftikhar_sabawon@yahoo.com
13	Abbottabad, Mansehra	Sarhad Rural Support Programme (SRSP)	Mr Zubair Anwar	srsp130uk@gmail.com
BALUCHISTAN
Sr.	Cities/Communities	Partner Organizations	Contact Person/Focal person	Email ID
14	Quetta	College for Youth Activism and Development (CYAAD)	Ms Najeeba Syed	info@cyaad.org.pk
SINDH
Sr.	Cities/Communities	Partner Organizations	Contact Person/Focal person	Email ID
15	Karachi City	Entrepreneurship and community development institute (ECDI – Pakistan)	Ms Saira Nizam	saira.nizam@ecdipakistan.org
16	Jacobabad, Shikarpur, Kashmore	Youth Action for Pakistan (YAP)	Ms Rabil	rabail@yap.org.pk
17	Thatta District	Sindh Radiant Organisation	Mr Ghulam Hussain	sindhradiantorg@live.com
18	Sukkar, Khairpur, Larkana	Sewa Development Trust Sindh	Khadim Hussain Dahot	sewatrustsindh@yahoo.co.uk

Say no to drugs project.

Executing Youth Group starts a "say no to drugs" project in Lahore:

Currently, Pakistan is confronting numerous problems. One of the major problems is: addiction/drug abuse. The number of addicts in Pakistan is around seven million; however this number is growing day by day. This is a highly alarming situation for a developing country like ours. A very commonly used drug is “heroin” which is produced from the poppy plant.

The producing region of poppy plant and heroin is our neighboring country Afghanistan and the tribal areas of Pakistan. They have the most lucrative business for drug users. The most convenient and easiest market for the drug producers and smugglers is available and flourishing in Pakistan. These drugs are also smuggled to Europe, America and other countries of the world. However, at present, due to the presence of NATO forces in the region, it’s a bit difficult for the drug dealers to export/smuggle it to other parts of the world. Under such situation Pakistan is the softest target for them.

The money earned by smuggling which the drug dealers earn from smuggling use to fulfill their evil deeds. They also buy weapons to create uproar in our country and to counter any sort of progressive move in the tribal areas in the fields of education, business and tourism etc.

Their main target is youth literacy or illiteracy. The culture of smoking in youth is increasing rapidly. The young people studying in High schools start smoking for fun. We see them in uniforms standing outside the schools’ premises and enjoying smoking individually or in groups. Gradually, they become habitual of smoking which leads them towards drug addiction.

The labor class of children from age 12 and above (sometimes below 12) starts smoking due to various reasons. One of the main reasons for them is the furious attitude of their employers. We see them working and smoking at mechanics workshops, bicycle repair shops, small hotels/restaurants and at other workplaces. In both cases, i.e. students or labor class children, they take advantage of being out of home and out of sight of their parents.

It is not our duty and it is not possible for us to stop drug smuggling business within Pakistan or around the world. But we can educate our youth about the life threatening hazards of drug addiction by carrying out little efforts at right time. Instead of running towards the path of drug addiction they may come back on the right track again to enjoy a healthy life and become progressive citizens of the country.

i) We worked voluntarily for the rehabilitation of flood victims being run jointly by British Council and FACES Pakistan under the title “From Raddi to Rehabilitation”. We collected raddi (old newspapers/other used papers) to generate funds/donation for the flood victims.
ii) We visited Nowshera for a day to distribute different household goods including food items among the flood victims.
iii) We are running awareness programme for young people regarding life-threatening hazards of drug hazards. In this regard we conducted corner meetings with youth.

We also organized a seminar at our residence in Ali Colony Walton Road, Lahore on Nov. 12, 2010 titled “ON THE ROAD AGAIN”. A number of domestic young people attended this seminar and appreciated the objective of our programme.

Raising awareness about blood donations and blood groups in Pind Dadan Khan

The need for safe blood can’t be over-stressed. Every day critical medical emergencies, trauma cases, accidents, require blood transfusions. Women with pregnancy complications, severely anaemic women and children, cancer patients, persons suffering from sickle-cell anaemia, thalassemia and haemophiliac require frequent and constant blood transfusions.

Our aim is to raise awareness about the need for safe blood transfusion and of the critical and voluntary, unpaid blood donations made by donors to various health clinics.

Active Involvement & Motivation (AIM) focuses on voluntary blood donations. A majority of area’s population doesn’t have access to safe blood. Many areas remain dependent on donation by the families or friends of the patients. In some areas, blood donors are still paid, yet evidence demonstrates that voluntary unpaid donors are the foundation of safe blood supply because they are least likely to transmit potentially life-threatening infections. It is to these unsung heroes that World Blood Donor Day is dedicated.

The first stage of the struggle is: making people aware about blood donations. Currently, “Free Blood Grouping Camp” is providing ample of opportunities to create awareness about voluntarily blood donations. This activity also informed people of the duties the state is obliged to fulfil.

The “Free Blood Grouping” has worked with a huge number of women, men and the young people. AIM youth group is also doing campaigns for blood donations, involving the young people in all its activities and celebrations, hoping that the new generation of motivated, non-remunerated donors will create a bank of safe blood which will help save lives whenever necessary.

The campaign believes that young donors will form a long term commitment and help improve area’s safety and requirements of blood supply. Even young people who for some reason cannot donate blood can work as volunteers to advocate blood donations. AIM youth Group initiatives like the ‘AIM Young Club’ does media campaigns focusing on the younger generation and related youth programs.

We intend to work with schools, colleges and universities to form blood donor clubs within the community. It will go door to door to meet people in their respective areas, especially involving youth to encourage them to donate blood, marking an important step in their life.

We can bring a change!

Fasil Idress, a young boy hailing from Multan has been a part of Active Citizens Learning Journey since 2008. He has done a lot of work in his community. Here's his story of achievements:

Before attending the British Council’s Active Citizens Learning Journey, I had no idea how to engage stakeholders in community work with us, productively. The Active Citizens workshops have helped me explore how to take up and solve the problems developing in my community and how to engage young people into social action projects.

My organisation is called “JAGOO Pakistan Eds” and since its establishment in 2008, it has worked on nine successful projects. We have executed projects on 1) providing free computer literacy, 2) child labor, 3) women empowerment and giving them technical skills, 4) lectures on moral ethics, 5) save our earth, and through stage dramas, we try to change the behavior and attitude of the community people. A unique characteristic of these projects is they are being executed without any financial support.

In the beginning of year 2010, we initiated a project called “BRING A CHANGE” - the purpose which was to reduce gaps between the community people and police, and create friendships between them.

According to a survey conducted by the Vice Chairman JAGOO Pakistan Eds, Rai Zulqarnain, Nadir Shah, are the policemen are faced with long hours of duty time (which is mostly above 18 hours) while they receive a very meager pay for their duties. Besides, the local people don’t pay them any respect either.

Therefore, to bridge gaps, we distributed 3000 appreciation cards and flowers amongst the policemen as a tribute. Apart from this, we also devised a plan to regularly pay tribute to the police personnel who have been injured, died or hurt during any operation.

Also, we decided to distribute a specific cash money and gift hampers to the policemen who were not supported by the government.

Now, the only problem was arranging sponsorships. I choose 60 members from the total 450 youth group members and made six teams who would look for sponsors. But, despite their efforts for two weeks, they failed to obtain even a single sponsor. At times, when our teams approached the potential sponsors, they simply wouldn’t let them in even. For my team and me, searching for interested sponsors was quite an uphill struggle.

There were times, when I was disappointed with the futile struggle and the community members made fun of me. Other times, I was hopeful that something good will turn out and our efforts will pay off. Meanwhile, the data from police stations continued pouring in and we just didn’t know what to do about it.

Finally, after two months of hard work, we were able to secure the first sponsorship from Multan Arts Council in April. This revived our spirits and we informed the police professionals about our first honorary ceremony who got very excited. This reward ceremony was the first-ever held in the history of Pakistan.

We began fixing banners around Multan and formed different teams assigned with multiple duties like, registration team, management team and a team to receive guests etc.

During the tribute ceremony, when JAGOO PAK drama club did their performance, we could see a few tears which proved our hard work has paid of.

Now I know and have proved that nothing is impossible. I am very thankful to my sponsor, Shama Bnaspati, Coca cola, Saeed sop, Khan Enterprise etc. for their inspiration and co-operation.

This JAGOO award ceremony ended at a very high note and we announced the COMMANDANT award for the first time which was won by a civil person for the first time in Pakistan’s history.

The British Council became the first drop of rain, and now many such rain drops are to come in near future.

I would like to thank the open and helpful platform of the British Council and under my father’s and the British Council’s guidance I am further motivated and energized to take up bigger challenges and do more good work for my community.