This month, international NGO Human Appeal is celebrating 16 years of humanitarian aid & development campaigns on the ground in Pakistan.
In a longstanding engagement collaborating with the Government of Pakistan & multiple local authorities in the country, Human Appeal's life-saving humanitarian assistance & strategic development projects on the ground around the country have successfully:
• Supported 1.5 million people in 30+ districts in all four provinces and AJ&K through providing life-saving assistance, immediate relief, recovery & rehabilitation support in different emergencies since 2005.
• Supported approx. 1 million people through sustainable water, sanitation & hygiene programmes through community-led total sanitation, WASH in Schools (WinS), Life skills-based hygiene Education & Child-friendly schools (CFS) models.
• Spent approx. 2,000 million PKR in education & orphan sponsorship programmes helping more than 17,000 orphans to date. 1,500 orphans were supported to complete graduation level, and around 300 government schools were supported by providing missing facilities.
• Supported 50,000 people in the drought-hit region of Tharparkar in Sindh through the establishment of SMART villages – including solar-powered water pumps, toilet facilities, kitchen gardens, solar street lights & capacity building support on drought & climate resilience.
• Improved the lives of street children & Youth in Lahore by providing outreach and drop-in services (basic health, education, protected environment, nutrition, skills development & psychosocial & career counselling support) to reduce their sufferings (abuse, violence, neglect and exploitation) and improving their health and wellbeing. The psychosocial support and medical assistance will also cater to many children's physiological problems.
• Launched a range of education projects including establishing a girl's elementary school fitted with green energy solutions and a separate project providing education for 40 girls at a Ghonsla Orphanage.
• Supported more than 500,000 people in COVID-19 response by providing hand sanitisers & hygiene stations, food assistance, PPE & hygiene kits distributions & risk communication. Revived 51 COVID-19-affected businesses through business revival grants and training; helped 10 young entrepreneurs start e-businesses; and engaged and trained 150 volunteers on community-based COVID risk management outreach.
• Supported 843 honeybee farmers to date through the establishment of honeybee enterprises in Kashmir; helped the farmers produce PKR 400 million worth of honeybee in the last ten years.
• Launched farming initiatives, including chicken farm provision and honeybee hive projects, not only support the local environment but also provide farmers with long-term sustainable livelihoods
Recently, during an initiative supporting street children in Lahore, the organisation encountered one particular family facing several issues stemming from poverty, disease, and drug addiction. The family's youngest son Ali (17) and his brother Usman, 20 at the time, were struggling with drug addiction and had tested HIV positive; Ali was also suffering from kidney issues. He told the Human Appeal team that his family had also previously lost their father, and sadly, his brother Usama also died from drug addiction just two months after the team met the family.
Moved by the family's plight following this second tragic bereavement, Human Appeal arranged for Ali to be admitted to a rehab centre, where he went through treatment for six months. Unfortunately, just a few days after being discharged, he relapsed. After considering the plight of Ali’s mother, the Human Appeal team arranged for Ali’s rehabilitation to resume as his health was deteriorating every day.
Through Human Appeal's support, Ali was admitted to a rehab centre for the second time in March 2022, where his treatment is currently in progress. There has since been a significant improvement in his health. His kidney condition has improved, and most promisingly, his HIV is now managed.
Daud Saqlain, Human Appeal's Country Director for Pakistan, comments, “Our longstanding projects in Pakistan remind us daily just what a difference can be made through our goal to be here for every human. When faced with the daily tragedies that street children in Lahore can encounter, it seems like they face a never-ending cycle of decline once trapped in their circumstances. Ali's story is an important one - it shows that with access to the right facilities and support like Human Appeal’s Amina centre, it is possible for these children to face a much brighter future. To see a child overcoming a drug addiction that they have wrestled with for many years is a remarkable outcome. It just underlines how humanitarian aid and support can help transform the lives of those in even the direst circumstances."
For more information on Human Appeal's projects in Pakistan or to learn more about its work worldwide, please visit www.humanappeal.org.uk.
