28 Feb
Reports

Construction of flood protection wall at Basho Skardu Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan ( April 2011)

BACKGROUND

In July and August 2010, Pakistan was hit by heavy rainstorms, devastating floods and landslides, with the Himalayan Karakoram Mountain valleys and Skardu & Ganche districts of Gilgit-Baltistan suffering the Region’s worst deluge in 80 years.

Khar Basho, a village of 700 people in 78 households, located in a hilly area some 53 Km from Skardu city and rich in natural forestation, is one of the worst-affected communities. The principal reason can be found in the nature of the natural ecology of steep and highly erodible mountains, visited annually by seasonal monsoons.

The livelihood of the people in this village is based on livestock farming and other agriculture. The villagers are poor, with each owning a small amount of land in this mountainous terrain. The flooding has destroyed their agriculture assets, and with it, the village infrastructure. The stream, 20 feet wide in August 2010, became a mass of water measuring some 300 feet by 6000 feet long after the deluge, destroying about 25 acres of cultivated land, demolishing hundreds of fruit and forest trees and seriously damaging the local economy.

With the flood steam banks now wider, Basho village communities were afraid that the 2011 monsoon would result in further destruction. For this reason, they appealed to the GRACE Association Pakistan to help them CONSTRUCT A FLOOD PROTECTION WALL.

PROJECT OUTCOMES

Although the villagers’ original request has been for a flood protection wall 12 times as long as the current structure, resource constraints were only able to support 500 feet of construction, installed along the most critical sections of the flood stream bank.

PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

This project, designed to protect both lives and property, was implemented through full involvement and participation of all beneficiaries. GRACE Association completed the needs identification, assessment, project planning, fundraising, coordination with the support organization (JIPPO), project management, supervision and monitoring during the entire implementation period.

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Name of the organization

GRACE Association and Anjuman Sub-e-Naveed Basho

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Funds provided by

JIPPO Japan, GRACE and the project communities

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Project

Construction of flood protection wall at Basho

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Project Start/End date

March 1, 2011 / April 30, 2011

22 Jun
Reports

GRIP a community-based model of climate change mitigation (October 2010)

On October 14, 2010, the Pakistan Ministry of the Environment, in collaboration with One UN, provided $1.2 million to fund 24 environmental projects relating to solid waste management and sanitation, community- based natural resource management and grassroots climate change mitigation initiatives.

GRACE Association was one of the 24 awardees out of a nationwide submission total of 450 project proposals. GRACE Association Chief Executive, Mr. Khadim Hussain, received the project award from the Federal Minister for the Environment, Hameed Ullah Jan Afridi. The Grass Roots Initiative Program (GRIP), a joint initiative of the Ministry of the Environment and the UN, aims to support sustainable development projects, connecting policies by government, aid agencies, NGOs, UN agencies and the private sector.

GRACE Association GRIP project aims to implement a community-based model of climate change mitigation through the sustainable use of natural resources at Skardu Baltistan. The project involves a solar pump to raise valuable reserves of subterranean water. This will enable horticulture, fruit and farming enterprises to flourish on what had been sandy and barren land. The project has additionally introduced a non-timber forest product (NTFP) cooking stove, employing local technology and resources. This involves the use of Kore stone which has the capacity to absorb large amounts of heat capable of being released over a period of many hours.

The added value comes by way of creating a tank which will collect water warmed without the need of fuel – an essential commodity for the people in Skardu during the severe winter weather.

The result will be a saving of local forestry, previously used for cooking and heating fuel in winter. Moreover, the project also raises awareness and develops local skills in the sustainable production, collection, processing and marketing of medicinal herbs which grow in profusion throughout the area.

Expected outputs: community mobilization; institutional strengthening of sustainable management of natural resources, and climate change mitigation (CCM).

02 Dec
News

May 2013 Two weeks US/Pakistan: Disability Leadership Exchange Program – Eugene Oregon

Two weeks US/Pakistan: Disability Leadership Exchange Program – Eugene Oregon May 14 – 28, 2013

Khadim Hussain Chief Executive GRACE Association was invited by Mobility International USA to participate in a two weeks US/Pakistan: Disability Leadership Exchange Program to Eugene Oregon during May 14 – 28, 2013.

Mr. Hussain participated in the program with a dynamic group of men and women professionals with and without disabilities from throughout Pakistan. The delegation included twenty professionals working in fields related to policy and legislation, education, employment, health, disaster relief, emergency response, gender inclusion, advocacy, youth leadership and community development.

The program helped improve knowledge and building leadership skills to strengthen organizations working to empower people with disabilities in Pakistan. The opportunities provided were good to develop new ideas and plans to promote inclusion of people with disabilities in civil society and political leadership; and the program definitely promoted mutual understanding and respect between the people of the United States of America and Pakistan. Many American people had a different view before meeting the delegates but after discussion they learned that Pakistanis are same people as others and they have same understanding, respect for others. The delegates also learned about American Disability Act, and implementation of the act in letter and spirits that type of culture and commitment is yet invisible in Pakistan

During the 14-day program, the delegates had opportunities to experience of physical exercise at Gym, biking, enjoyed the visit to Oregon Coast. The delegates met with U.S. professionals with and without disabilities, including disability rights advocates, educators, community service providers, government officials and international development specialists. All of them were eager to share their expertise and experiences with the delegates. All program activities, workshops and site visits were interactive, practical, and “hands-on” with an opportunity for individual participation and group interaction.

Mr. Hussain appreciates the enthusiasm in the service of human beings especially for people with disabilities and professional expertise and commitments in their jobs.

01 May
News

May 2013 Improving learning and enrolment at Al-zahra Girls School Kwardu

GRACE Association Pakistan in collaborations with Australian High Commission Islamabad
Our project is teachers training, learning hall and latrine block construction and the old school building renovation

Government investments in health, education, infrastructure and economic development of disadvantaged communities in remote and rural areas have sharply decreased over the last years. Today, an increasing number of people live in severe poverty. These developments have inevitable negative implications on the most vulnerable and underprivileged groups of society such as women and children in rural areas.

The northern region of Pakistan has been particularly hit by the aforementioned consequences. Rural communities and particularly girls lack essential primary education. Thanks to the efforts of community-led schools, a small percentage of children receive primary education and have access to basic schooling facilities in some rural villages. Nevertheless, a quarter of children cannot complete their primary education and around 35 per cent of children do not attend school at all. Unfortunately, without proper educational and professional guidance, children do not receive the essential analytical tools that would help them realize their full potential in life. More importantly, lack of good quality primary education contributes to the cycle of poverty in Pakistan, which worsens the long-term problems of poverty and illiteracy. But, we at GRACE Association believe that the aforementioned problems can be tackled by helping community led primary schools.

GRACE Association Pakistan in collaborations with Australian High Commission Islamabad is helping the Al-Zahra Girls School to increase enrolment, retention and improve learning outcomes. The school has been established in 1992 as the first girl school when it was considered a sin by parents to send their girl to school. The school is running by the village community based organization, called WAFA in Kwardu Skardu.

Our project is constructing a learning hall, latrine block for the school. The existing old school building is renovated and teachers training conducted for Al-Zahra and neighboring school teachers.

This project will have long-term benefits for the whole community. The student will obtain an improved educational quality and physical environment. With the improvements and rehabilitation of the premises, drop-out rates will significantly be decrease as more parents will send their daughters to school, which will result in higher enrolment rates among girls. The provision of sanitary latrines and upgrading sanitary services and providing sanitary education will help minimizing the risk of infectious/disease among children and their families.

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