Mission
“Thousands of homeless country fellows are desperately looking towards us, your small contribution can help them to live a life again.” Pakistan is going through a critical juncture after government’s announcement of encountering terrorism through military operation. Due to emerging situation of conflict in various parts of NWFP; number of innocent people has lost their lives; millions become homeless and unprecedented loss of properties and belongings. People of the area have started migrating towards safer places in districts Mardan, Swabi and Peshawar, while leaving their properties and assets behind, to save their lives and protect their families from further damage.
Organogram
Capacity Building and Emergency Response
SPO, along with its partner organizations and different community institutions, has played critical role in providing relief and rehabilitation services to the affectees of disasters, notably in the flash floods in Turbat (1998), drought in Kacchi (2001-202), heavy rains and floods in Coastal Sindh (2003-2004) and earthquake in NWFP and AJK (2005-on going). In line with SPO’s vision and mission, the purpose of SPO’s disaster response strategic framework is to develop community institutions to respond to disasters effectively. These institutions include village organizations, citizen community boards, women’s groups and credit and savings groups. It is believed that community institutions not only manage development processes efficiently but also bring sustainability through community ownership. This is truer in the case of disasters, where badly affected communities are often the first level responders. Moreover, it has been observed that recovery from disasters becomes faster, and is sustained in organised communities. In disasters, as well as in regular programming, SPO’s focus has been working for and with grassroots and community institutions. For the purpose of this framework, disaster response is divided into four major components: Rescue, Relief, Recovery and Risk Reduction. The rescue operations start immediately after a disaster strikes, and require specialized resources and skills. In relief phase, focus remains on immediately responding to needs of the affected people by providing Non Food Items (NFIs), temporary shelter, emergency health services and women kits. The third component, recovery, consists of two sub-components, rehabilitation and reconstruction to help the communities restore or improve the pre-disaster living conditions. SPO’s expertise lies in working at the grassroots in the recovery phase to help community institutions rebuild shelters and livelihoods mechanisms. The fourth component is disaster risk reduction which comprises of prevention, mitigation and preparedness to increase resilience in communities, including their capacity to recover from a disaster.
Tender notice for Health & Life Insurance
SPO invites sealed bids from well reputed companies for provision of COMPREHENSIVE GROUP LIFE INSURANCE coverage to SPO’s 211 Lives and GROUP HEALTH INSURANCE coverage for 701 Lives. Group Life Insurance and Group Health Insurance will be effective from July 01, 2016 to June 30, 2017. SPO has the right to accept or reject any or all bids without assigning any reason thereof. Last date for submission of bids is May 29, 2016 on or before 1700 hrs. Please submit sealed proposals as per following details: Health Insurance requirements: Major Medical1. Major Medical coverage required limit upto Rs 300,000/- per insured (Valid for employees, spouses, children and parents. Maximum age coverage for employees and spouse is 65 years, 85 years for parents and 25 years for un-married male children and till marriage for daughter. Maternity Benefit2. Valid for all female married staff members and spouses for maternity benefits up to the age of 45 years. Valid for all female married staff members and spouses for maternity benefits up to the age of 45 years. Maternity limit for Normal delivery: Rs. 40,000/- Maternity limit for C- Section Rs. 60,000/- Pre and post natal expenses up to Rs. 2,000/- Circumcisions to be covered in maternity limit. Hospitalization3. Hospitalization coverage of Rs. 80,000/- per insured is valid for employees, spouses, children and parents. Maximum age coverage for employees and spouse is 65 years, 85 years for parents, 25 years for un-married male children and till marriage for daughter. Room Limit per day is Rs. 6,000/- Pre and post hospitalization expenses for 30 days are to be covered. Chronic Hepatitis B and C, Intra-ocular lens implant (IOL) are to be covered. All declared/undeclared pre-existing conditions are fully covered. Specialized investigations are to be covered. 50% enhancement of hospitalization limit in case of on accidents. Life Insurance requirements: 1. No of Lives 211 2. Age Limit 65 years 3. Sum Assured 36 times Basic Salary or Min Rs. 1,000,000/- whichever is higher. 4. Temporary Total Disability 100% of monthly salary upto Maximum of Rs. 20,000/- pm 5. Accidental Death Benefit 72 times Basic Salary or Min Rs. 2,000,000/- whichever is higher upto maximum 25,000,000/- 6. Natural Disability Benefit 7. Permanent Partial and Permanent Total Disability Benefits; 8. Accidental disability benefits Note:Please call on the below mentioned number to be provided with a list of staff and dependants. Bids should be addressed to, Procurement Committee Strengthening Participatory Organization, 1st Floor, Plot No. 05-C, Bazaar No. 06, Street No. 159, Sector G-13/3, Islamabad.Phone: 051 -2301221-2; 2301226-7 EXT: 137 GERERAL TERMS & CONDITIONS Vendor/Supplier should be registered with the Government of Pakistan. 5% of refundable earnest money shall be submitted along with the quotation. A vendor/supplier can apply for one or more tenders. The bid should show amount of all applicable taxes. The Vendor shall provide an invoice in accordance with the issued purchase order along with delivery challan (if required) signed by the individual receiving the items. The vendor(s) will issue a numbered receipt when they receive the payment/installment. If the numbered receipt is not available, a receipt on his/her letterhead, acknowledging the payment will be obtained. Earnest money to be released upon successful completion of contract. The general conditions should be read together with the technical specifications. In case of dispute between the parties, the same shall be referred for arbitration under Pakistani law, and the award in such arbitration shall be final and binding. The bidder(s) can also mention any specific condition, which shall be taken into consideration before the award of supply orders. Validation of quotation should be mentioned. If any bidder need clarification on any technical specifications or general conditions, he/she must do so in writing .The clarification, if any, shall be issued to all bidders.
Special Projects
SPO is recognized as a leading proponent of participatory development in Pakistan, and is engaged in capacity building of community institutions throughout the country. SPO’s presence at the grassroots, and its regular interaction and committed partnership with community institutions, have, in turn, strengthened SPO’s resolve to assist poor and disadvantaged sections of the communities to help achieve their goals for sustainable development under regular programming as well as at times of disasters. To address issues that lie outside the purview of its core programme, SPO has established Special Projects component. Through this, the issues related to emergency situations are tackled. The project area encompasses districts of Neelum, Bagh and Muzafarabad in Azad Kashmir, Gawadar, Ketch, Nasirabad, Bolan, Pishin, Ziarat, Sibi, Zhal Magsi, and Khuzdar in Balochistan, Dadu, Thata, and Badin in Sindh and Liyah in Punjab. The main components and salient features of Special Projects are: Capacity Building and Emergency Response Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) Earthquake Reconstruction Programme Pakistan Promotion of Access to Services and Protection Activities Partnerships
Partnerships
SPO has an advantage, in the relief work, of its vertical and horizontal linkages within the civil society and with the government. These linkages are valuable in working with community institutions that are dealing with a disaster situation. These linkages are valuable in working with community institutions that are dealing with a disaster situation. SPO has been working in close collaboration with Earthquake Reconstruction & Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and other government agencies including District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) during earthquake 2005, floods 2007 and earthquake in 2008 in Ziarrat. In addition, SPO is implementing various projects in different sectors with the cooperation and in partnership with Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), The Asia Foundation, Plan Pakistan and The United States Agency for International Development(USAID).
Peace and Social Harmony
Pakistan is a culturally, racially, linguistically and religious heterogeneous country. For a prosperous and peaceful society it is indispensible to create harmonious modus vivindi for cultures and denominations who inhabit the variegated cultural tapestry of Pakistan. Realising the importance of social harmony in a multi-cultural society SPO has embarked upon a programme of “Peace and Social Harmony”. The Peace and Social Harmony Programme encourages civil society networks, faith-based organisations and groups, representing a wide range of stakeholders, to jointly participate in decision-making processes for the protection of basic rights irrespective of religious, language, ethnicity and class differences. The programme is based on building social harmony among diverse groups to share and understand each other’s point of view and respect differences. Major challenges include the rising sectarian differences and inter-provincial harmony. ‘Politics of Consent’ will be encouraged resulting in informed, thoroughly debated, and positive public and policy messages of awareness raising and advocacy. The programme has been divided into 3 major components with activities. It aims to build capacity and empower civil society networks and communities around social harmony and peace with a focus on restoring social harmony and building a culture of peace and participation, and partnering with all local stakeholders in the development process. At policy level the activities of programme are operationalised by various means including knowledge generation through policy analysis, creation of data and information basis; policy awareness raising through, dialogues, networking, information dissemination and mobilising support of the civil society; and policy influencing at local, regional and national, levels by involving policy makers in the dialogue process and by contributing to preparation of national policy documents. SPO’s strategy for the promotion and defence of rights of minorities and fostering cooperation on issues related to peace and social harmony is to build linkages with other civil society networks. To disseminate the knowledge about human rights and develop supportive environment for its goals, SPO contributes to knowledge production in the discourse of rights based development, which includes policy papers, books, publications, short films, broadcasts and website entries. These multiple interventions at various tiers of society will prove conducive in achieving “improved social harmony and consensus on local and national issues among different segments of society for securing their rights regardless of caste, creed, colour or sex.” SPO strives to empower marginalized communities through its activities and interventions across Pakistan. To appreciate the struggle of women, men and communities in bringing about change in their lives and communities, SPO regularly compiles and publishes their stories in the shape of case studies. These stories do not represent an overall view of the situation but they definitely represent snippets of the bigger picture
Activities
On October 8, 2005, a massive earthquake hit the northern parts of Pakistan with its epicentre in Pakistan Administered Kashmir. Despite the massive challenges of rapid scale up, difficult access to remote locations and logistical barriers, Strengthening Participatory Organization (SPO) provided relief and early recovery support including food, drinking water, and temporary shelter to number of communities during the emergency phase of its earthquake response program. In addition, SPO also facilitated and formed a wider network of national level civil society organizations to respond to this great challenge jointly. The network joint and generate resources at national and international level to help and support the communities in early recovery and rehabilitation efforts. Once the emergency relief phase was over and long-term recovery and reconstruction efforts were initiated, SPO, through one of its partner organization and volunteers in Muzaffarbad , developed its psycho-social program for affected children at six different places in AJK. SPO run the program for one year. Later, the program was converted into a formal project supported by Open Society Institute Foundation (OSIF). Under the project, SPO provided educational support, incorporated psychosocial activities into the government schools, train teachers and organized mobile medical camps in the project areas. The program benefited about 10,000 inhabitants including teachers, children, government officials and parents. In October 2006 the Government of Pakistan acknowledged the transition from an emergency relief phase to long-term recovery and reconstruction, SPO played a crucial role in the reconstruction phase. SPO was selected as one of the leading organization to train Earthquake Relief and Reconstruction Authority (ERRA) partner organizations in both AJK and NWFP. Under the project, more than 400 social organizers of 112 local and international organizations were trained and provided follow-up support in social mobilization. The trained social mobilizers, later, formed Village Reconstruction Committees (VRCs) which led reconstruction process in the EQ affected areas. In November 2007, Oxfam’s “Pakistan Earthquake Reconstruction Program” was approved by CIDA as part of the Canadian government’s contribution to reconstruction efforts. The ooverall goal of the program is “to increase opportunities for earthquake affected people to find safe and sustainable solutions to the effects of the disaster.” This shall be done by facilitating children, women and men affected by the earthquake to claim their rights through (i) dignified livelihoods, (ii) strengthened capacity on disaster preparedness and (iii) improved access to education and health facilities. In early 2008, SPO decided to develop a partnership with Oxfam, another right-based organization, to implement a program developed by Oxfam in districts Bagh and Neelum. The program focuses on an integrated development program that builds the capacity of earthquake affected communities to restore the lives and livelihoods of households through a set of inter-linked interventions in livelihoods, disaster risk reduction and education. Particular emphasis is placed upon engagement of women and girls, so that gender inequalities do not exacerbate girls’ and women’s current and future vulnerabilities. The programs approach is rooted in its understanding of a rights-based approach that builds the capacity of women and men to advocate to “duty bearers” for the realisation of their rights. Key elements of this approach are community participation and the promotion of gender equality.
Honours
Recognized as a leading proponent of participatory development and good governance, SPO is the executive member of the Pakistan Committee of IUCN-The World Conservation Union and executive member of the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Network for Electoral Processes (NEP) formed jointly by UNDP and Election Commission of Pakistan. SPO is also a member of Insani Huqooq Itihad (IHI). SPO is currently holding the secretariats of important civil society movements including Pakistan Coalition for Education (PCE) and South Punjab NGO Forum (SPNF).