Football for peace

September 21 is marked internationally as ‘The International Day for Peace’. 'It is a day when communities are urged to consider ways in which they can promote and strengthen the ideals of peace within themselves and with other communities.

Swat is a district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, not too far from the Pakistan-Afghan border. Swat was once renowned, and still is, for its natural beauty; but Swat also has a troubled past.

Extremist elements had been gaining strength in the region ever since the Taliban established their government in neighbouring Afghanistan.

Skirmishes between extremist elements escalated in 2007 to an occupation of the region by militants. It took two years of on-and-off armed conflict between the Pakistani army and militant forces for stability to return to the region.

Like all communities that have experienced an extended period of conflict, the two years of violence have left a lasting impact on the people of Swat; skirmishes and armed operations may be over, but the memories linger on.

To mark The International Day for Peace, a group of Active Citizens from Swat organized a soccer match on September 23 2011 with the collaboration of CYAAD, a partner organization of the British Council. The chairman of the Swat Aman Committee (The Swat Committee for Peace) and other members of the peace committee also participated in the event.

The match was played in the Kabal Ground, in an area that used to be a stronghold of militants during the ‘occupation’ of Swat. In a way this was a statement by the Active Citizens group that the era of violence in Swat is over.

The football match was a welcome change for the people of Swat. More than 1,000 people were in attendance to cheer on the two teams. Besides entertaining the crowd, the match served as a way to highlight the fact that the young people of the region desired peace, and that they want to play their part to avoid and to resolve conflict.

From darkness to the light

‘Nai Roshni’ can be literally translated as ‘New Light’. This is the name of Adnan Jabbar’s Social Action Project. Adnan’s project is based on two parts, but the underlying theme is the same: highlighting acts of violence and educating people about the causes of aggression, and the consequences of violent acts.

The first part of the Social Action Project highlighted acts of violence against women. The group specifically chose to address the heinous act of acid attacks. According to the group, there are 399 new acid burn victims every five months in Punjab alone. Acid throwing incidents make up 5% – 7% of all violent crime in the region.

Flyers about these incidents and the need for their prevention were printed. The flyers were distributed by the group members amongst the residents of their neighbourhoods and to the local population.

With the help of the faculty and students of the Multan College of Arts the group organised an arts competition. The competition was a success, with participants turning in paintings and graphical renderings of the damaging and irreversible effects of the crime.

The group members also organized and participated in a theatrical performance of a play they wrote about an acid burn victim. The play opened at a local shelter for homeless women.

Adnan and his group members did not limit their Social Action Project to the city, but also visited a near-by village to get their message across. They organized awareness sessions in which they talked about the importance of curbing such incidents. 17 – 18 heads of households publically promised that they would not engage in acts of violence against women, and would promote non-violence. To show their support to the group they hung signs on their front doors which read: ‘This is a violence free village’.

Next on the group’s agenda was Police brutality, specifically incidents of torture by the Police. The group organized two workshops to which they invited officers from the city Police. The workshop was attended by a few officials, including the Superintendent of Police, and a Jailer. The motive of the group members was to hold a frank dialogue with the Police to come up with ways to reduce incidents of violence in Police custody.

According to Adnan, there was some progress made in these workshops but some participants also responded in a defensive and negative manner. Reducing violent behaviour is a process, and admitting and accepting fault is the first step. Adnan feels that before violence can be curbed, the causes of violent action need to be examined too. One phrase that he likes to repeat at these workshops is: ‘You are all victims of frustration’.

Drink pure, live more

According to a study conducted by UNICEF, 60 percent to 80 percent of all patients in Pakistan suffer from waterborne diseases. Officials at the Nishtar Hospital in Multan estimate the number of patients in the hospital suffering from infections caused by contaminated water to be 70 percent to 80 percent. The quality of water in the city and surrounding areas has further deteriorated since the floods of 2010.

A group of Active Citizens from Multan took it upon themselves to help make the quality of drinking water better in their city and advocate for the need for clean drinking water in their community. They named their group Passion Youth Group and their Social Action Project was titled ‘Drink Pure and Live More’.

The group started their Social Action Project with three objectives in mind: to provide awareness about the consequences of consuming impure water and to encourage people to drink clean water, analysis of water samples, and conservation of water. They visited a nearby slum where people usually drank tap water, or collected water from a near-by brook. The group members visited residents of the area, talked to them about the dangers of impure drinking water, and distributed around 200 flyers. A noteworthy fact is that even though a water filtration plant was located not too far from the area, people still did not bother to collect water from there.

The members of the group collected samples of drinking water from the area. The water samples were then tested at a local Water and Sanitation Association (WASA) laboratory. They also held meetings with doctors at the Nishtar Hospital to gather more information on water-borne diseases.

According to the group members, their efforts were appreciated and supported by WASA officials and the local doctors. Officials of WASA went so far as to assure the group that they would test 200 water samples free of cost.

Money was pooled together and water filtration equipment was bought and installed at one of the group member’s house, who did not live too far from the impoverished area of the city. Residents of the slum were then invited by the group to collect water from here, free of cost. According to Azeem Siddiqui, a founding member of the group, the make-shift filtration plant caters to around 200 – 300 people per week.

Awareness sessions about the dangers of consuming impure drinking water, and conservation of water were also organized by the group at local schools and universities. Says Azeem: “with the passage of time rapid population growth, urbanization, and unsustainable water consumption by the agricultural and industrial sectors have placed immense stress on our water reservoirs”.

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