Training Programme “Strengthening the Rights, Justice Framework and Agenda in Pakistan” organised by SPO
A five days training titled “Strengthening the Rights, Justice Framework and Agenda in Pakistan” was designed and organized by Strengthening Participatory Organisation from 14th – 18th Dec 2015. The training was designed and delivered under a project signed with USAID Training for Pakistan Project in October 2015 to design, implement and deliver a technical training to Ministry’s staff with the aim of meeting one of the priority development objectives stated in the USAID Pakistan’s Mission strategic framework, “Effectiveness of the justice system increased”. The key objectives of this training were: To build the capacity of the Ministry’s employees to ensure fundamental rights of all citizens, especially marginalized section of the society To enable Ministry’s employees to improve their report writing skills for better human rights reporting To enhance the capacity of Ministry’s employees for better advocacy, outreach, lobbying, reporting and hosting events in favour of human rights in Pakistan
Achievements of ‘Dispute Resolution Council’ in D I Khan
BHC and AAWAZ Programmes supported the formation of ‘Dispute Resolution Council (DRC)’ in D I Khan in July 2013. Here is the picture of recent meeting convened by DRC members in Dera Ismail Khan. Initially Jury was established and SPO Dera Ismail Khan was hosting its office. Later, Provincial Government changed its name to Dispute Resolution Council (DRC). SPO Dera Ismail Khan built capacity of its members, prepared term of references and established referral system at police stations.
Cultural event organised by SPO in Larkana on 22nd November2015
A literary and cultural festival was organized on 22nd November 2015, at Arts Council Larkana by SPO under Citizen First project funded by Oxfam Novib. A large number of senior district officials from Sukkur, Khairpur, Larkana and Shikarpur attended the event. The speakers encouraged the efforts of SPO in promoting the cultural traditions of Sindh. The speakers also emphasized on using culture as a tool for promoting peace, harmony and development in the society. The purpose of peace &cultural festival was: To provide joint plate form to people across religious, sectarian, cultural and ethnic groups for social and cultural interaction To provide opportunity to people across different identities; religious, sectarian, cultural or ethnic including men and women, persons with disabilities and transgender for joint celebrations through common cultural practices such music, theatre, poetry, child performances, traditional story telling etc. To promote common values among people across different identities including men and women, youth persons with disabilities and transgender through positive cultural practices and inheritance
Induction Event on Local Government Rules 2015 held in D I Khan
An event organised in D I Khan on 17th November 2015 where Local Government Representatives were invited. The event aimed to provide orientation on Local Government Rules 2015 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which will support the effective and efficient role of elected representatives at District, Tehsil, Wards, Neighbourhood and Village Councils. The event was attended by Mr. Rehan Marwat Naib Tehsil Nazim, Abu Ul Moazzam Turabi President ADF D I Khan and Shafi Ullah Baloch as speakers. Mr. Khalid Fayyaz Monitoring and Reporting Specialist delivered orientation session and at the end of session, participants were welcomed to take part in Question and Answer Session. 150 local government representatives of four tiers of Local Government System attended the event and received first ever orientation session.
Multi-Stakeholders Dialogue on Education in Buner was facilitated on 10th November 2015
No. of Participants: 42 (all male) Multi stakeholder dialogue Activity 2-12 held on 10th November at Buner press club. The activity was attended by District Naib Nazim Mr. Yousuf Ali Khan who presided over the meeting and Mr. Adalat Khan (Assistant Commissioner Gagra) on behalf of the Deputy Commissioner Buner was the Chief Guest. The dialogue was attended by representatives of civil society organizations, President District Bar Association, political & social activists. District Education Department was represented by Mr. Shiraz Khan, Assistant District Education Officer of Buner. Mr. Fazal Ghani (General Secretary of ADF Buner) presented the findings of a survey conducted in 2 Union councils (Amazai & Nagrai).
Open Court Lakki Marwat
The Open Court at Lakki Marwat was organised by ADF/ATF members by engaging District Nazim., In this programme, District Nazim Mr. Arab Khan Marwat, Deputy Directors of Education and Health were present. At the end of this event, participants from 10 Union Councils where AAWAZ has been working presented applications regarding health, education, water and sanitation etc. Regional Head SPO D I Khan and National Project Manager AAWAZ were also participated in the event. Formation of District Coordination Committee also impacted very deeply and pushed district government (Departments) to pay their desire attention to issues raised by the AAWAAZ forums in Lakki Marwat. While measuring AAWAZ contribution and change in lives of women and excluded groups in Lakki Marwat, it is worth mentioning that religious leaders who initially opposed AAWAZ project in Lakki Marwat talked in this event, against the early marriages which is great achievement achieved by the AAWAZ.
Stall on Climate Change setup by SPO Lahore
SPO Lahore Region had set up a stall at the two-day event on 13th and 14th October in Lahore organised by the ‘Climate Forum’, by displaying its work/publications on climate change. The programme was organised in the run up to the ‘Paris Climate 2015 Conference (COP21)’ that will take place in December 2015 in Paris, an opportunity to all Pakistani stakeholders to coordinate their action at conference. The event was attended by Salman Abid Regional Head, Shazia Bashir Program Specialist, Ayesha Rao MER Specialist and Shafqat IT expert. This Forum designed and supported by the Embassy of France, was led by a large association of INGO, NGO, academic and governmental institutions and UN agencies. The event was also financially supported by few public and private companies which are particularly committed to tackling climate change. The aim of the event was to reach one of the goals of the “Lima-Paris Action Agenda” i.e. the creation of sustainable partnership between civil society, local authorities and private sector in order to find and implement solutions to mitigate or adapt to climate change. Showcasing “made in Pakistan” solutions to tackle climate change will be one of the objectives of the forum. Four round tables: (1) Low carbon development (2) Adapting to climate change (3) Climate risk management and (4) Climate smart solutions, were held where policy makers, climate change experts and leading development organizations participated.
District Human Development Reports-Provincial launching ceremonies
Concerned with the dismal state of MDGs and Pakistan’s ranking on Human Development Index, SPO led the process of developing research based District Human Development Reports of four districts (SWABI, D I Khan, Pakpattan and DG Khan) under AAWAZ program. The initiative is first of its kind in Pakistan whereas national level Human Development Reports are routinely published by UNDP which provide ranking of various districts but no reports at district level are available.
Earthquake 2015 update – 11
November 19, 2015 More losses are reported after as a massive earthquake of 7.5-magnitude jolted northern parts of the country. The death toll has reached up to 280 with KP the most affected province where 232 people have been killed and 1,415 injured. Damages and Losses* Sr.# Province Deaths Injured School Damaged Houses Damaged Male Female Child Total Partially Completely Total 1 Khyber Pakhtunkaw 72 66 94 232 1,415 495 64,942 25,080 90,022 2 Fata 5 9 17 31 211 1,981 847 2,828 3 Gilgit Baltistan 7 3 – 10 92 4,477 671 5,148 4 AJK 2 – – 2 23 2 48 28 76 5 Punjab 3 2 – 5 4 – 20 Total 88 80 111 280* 1,745* 497 71,448 26,62 98,094* *Source NDMA *Data revised by NDMA