Reaching out to those in need:

Size: px
Start display at page:

Download "Reaching out to those in need:"

Transcription

1 Reaching out to those in need: IKF is committed to engage communities in the disaster hit areas to rebuild safe shelter, support community livelihood, and provide access to safe water, sanitation, primary education and primary healthcare. IKF is devoted to mobilize human and financial resources to develop strategic alliances with civil society, business, financial and professional groups to make a difference in the lives of poor people. Overview: The crisis situation in Pakistan caused by mega floods in August last year is far from over after nine months.over 20 million people including 9 million children in flood-hit areas are facing a harsh summer and remain in dire need of assistance. Many of these uprooted families are still living in the tents and camps. It is an extended emergency. Agriculture was particularly hard hit during the floods with over 2.2 million hectares of crops lost. Imran Khan at a event which was organized by the youth mobilization team in Lahore o Rescue and Relief o Seed Distribution and Community Livelihood o Youth Mobilization o Social Entrepreneurship & o Microfinance Village Development Plan Along with the loss of precious human lives, the floods destroyed crops, livestock and infrastructure resulting in a huge blow to social and economic sectors of the country. The World Bank has put the total damage as a result of the floods to over 9 billion dollars. This is where national and international cooperation holds the key to making a real difference in the lives of those who have long been bearing these hardships. Pakistanis themselves contributed most generously. While the global response was swift, it slowed down with the same speed. Estimates from international organizations showed that Pakistan needed over 9 billion dollars for the gigantic task of recovery; so far Pakistan has received pledges of over 2.3 billion dollars. A homeless child in need of help

2 Obviously there is a huge deficit of resources there and Pakistan needs to mobilize more resources to help the struggling communities to pick up the thread of a normal life. Update June 2011 Flood damage assessment and social analysis have revealed a dire need for rehabilitation projects in all the affected areas. These people need properly built homes and villages with basic social services including schools, skill development centers, outlets for microfinance and essential services in health, education, water and sanitation. The challenge before the country is formidable. The process of revitalization of education, health services, provision of safe drinking water and sanitation in the post emergency context is a continuous effort. In this task of reconstruction, we believe it is important to mobilize diverse resources and partnerships with international, national and local organizations. IKF believes that current challenges are not insurmountable and are part of a process of healing and picking up the pieces after an emergency and making a difference in the lives of the people. The Way Forward: Relief goods being transferred to adversely hit districts The crisis is far from over as one fifth of the country and over 20 million people in the worst hit areas struggle to adjust with the far reaching devastation caused by the mega floods of last year. For us at IKF, providing relief is one thing but equally important is to enable the poor people to move away from dependency towards a life of dignity. Our aim is to engage communities in their own development, imparting them skills and livelihood support so that they and their children are saved from falling into the generational trap of poverty. Disasters, natural or man made, confront the society at large with a crisis as well as an opportunity to transform lives and provide social and economic amenities. We do not simply dole relief items but seize that opportunity to build a partnership with them that will ensure provision of basic services in a sustainable manner. A truck load of quality seeds on its way to distribution point.

3 We are in the process of incremental development under which communities will be supported to add progressively some of the essential services in their villages. Relief work for us is a window of opportunity to undertake principled advocacy on behalf of the underserved and marginalized people. Village Development Plan: IKF plans to develop/reconstruct 3000 houses in 9 districts in the areas affected by 2010 floods. Basti Ara (District Muzaffargarh, Punjab). Construction work on 104 houses has been completed. Chahdhramanwala (District Muzaffargarh, Punjab). Reconstruction of 59 houses has commenced. Total value of all works completed is Rs Million. Seed Distribution : As part of IKF s commitment to uplift the morale of the poor farmers who had lost their assets and crops, IKF jumped to action by purchasing quality wheat seeds and distributed it in the poor districts. The campaign was simultaneously launched in Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan, KPK, AJK and Gilgit Baltistan. A constructed home by IKF in Basti Ara, District Muzzafargarh What you can do? o Donate o Volunteer o Take action! 241,321 Bags of seed distributed and 131,530 farmers reached. Over a million people in the remote villages benefitted from the provision of quality seeds for the Rabi crop. IKF undertook a Self-Assessment Report in May 2011 followed by a Field Assessment to monitor the programme s effectiveness. An independent programme audit has been commissioned to Fergusons in harmony with IKF s core values of transparency and accountability. Farmers in District Azad Kashmir carrying the seed bags distributed by Imran Khan Foundation

4 Youth Mobilization: The goal is to involve youth in community development, bridge the gap between the rich and the poor, promote harmonious growth and create awareness in the youth of Pakistan about the difficulties faced by the common Pakistani. New seeds of Hope campaign 70 schools participated altogether Youth/Students raised Rs.24,830,332 for Pakistan s flood affected farmers Micro-Finance: The micro finance scheme aims at empowering those people who are willing to help themselves. A fund of Rs.10 million as grant-in-aid has already been set aside for the initial stage of this project in Nowshera Kalan, Nowshera. School students try their hands at construction work Never before has such a program been implemented in Gilgit-Baltistan. Director of Agriculture Gilgit-Baltistan, Sher Jahan. Behtereen tarike se saamaan taqseem kia, jis tarhaan aap ne imdaad de hai, kisi ne itne insaaf se naheen kia is se pehle. Mubarak Khan, Aid recipient from Khinar Valley, Diamer families are benefitting from the initiative. Recipients are drawn from small self-employed rural poor. Impact: IKF s programme is steadily gaining ground. A modest effort that is well-received by the communities and counterpart departments is a source of inspiration. It is heartening to share the view from the villagers with those who make it possible for IKF to serve the cause of poor and vulnerable people. The deserving recipients in Nowshera Kalan getting cheques for interest-free loans IKF began its relief, reconstruction, and rehabilitation work after the July 2010 floods. The Foundation carries out its operations from offices in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Jaffarabad. For more information visit: Facebook: Imran Khan Foundation Twitter: IKFoundation

5