Goodwill in Pakistan

[Dubious]

I am taking a course of leadership and management and 1 of the assignments is supposed to be on a service organization (like NGOs where profits dont matter) from my home country. So I googled to look for some NGO to have a look around and I thought it was a good idea to make a thread of all these for information!
Basically I am supposed to do on an organization that is making some form of a change at community level. Some I will just name as their websites are not working

No trolling please!! No checking, comparing or doing vs stuff....

1) Aga Khan rural support program!

THE CHALLENGE
The rugged, mountainous Northern areas and Chitral region of Pakistan support approximately 1.3 million people, who mostly live in poverty with limited or no access to electricity. The government has no plans to expand the national grid to these areas.

People frequently use wood for cooking and heating and kerosene, which is expensive and highly damaging to health and the environment, as a lighting source. Households typically spend 30% of their income on these energy sources.

THE INNOVATION
Aga Khan Rural Support Program (AKRSP) is a pioneer in community-based development approaches in Pakistan. AKRSP builds locally-managed mini hydro plants throughout the Chitral district. The community-owned and -operated plants generate electricity 24 hours a day that is clean, affordable and reliable.

THE IMPACT
Acumen’s investment in AKRSP supports the construction and management of four mini hydro plants with a combined capacity of 2.4 MW. Clean, reliable energy reduces the amount of income households must spend on energy needs while improving health and education outcomes.

These four plants directly impact the lives of 40,000, adding to AKRSP’s ability to scale their project to bring clean energy and improved livelihoods to all 1.3 million people the region.


The Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) is a private, non-profit company, established by the Aga Khan Foundation in 1982 to help improve the quality of life of the villagers of Gilgit Baltistan and Chitral. AKRSP’s development approach gives primacy to the people and their abilities. It is based on the belief that local communities have tremendous potential to plan and manage their own development, once they are organized and provided access to necessary skills and capital.

AKRSP’s past efforts have led to many notable achievements in social and economic domains. Key achievements include manifold increase in incomes, construction/rehabilitation of more than 4000 small infrastructure projects (bridges, roads, irrigation channels, hydropower units and other small projects), the planting of tens of millions of trees and the development of hundreds of acres of marginal lands, developing a cadre of more than 50,000 community activists, mobilization of nearly $ 5 million village savings, and the establishment of more than 4,993 community organisations. AKRSP supported community organisations, which have established patterns of local governance that are participatory, democratic, transparent and accountable to their members, are now federating at the union council level to establish Local Support Organization (LSOs). Currently, there 67 LSOs across Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral that are forging direct partnerships with government departments, local development partners, donors and the private sector actors to increase the scope and outreach of services for their member communities.

||........... WELCOME TO AKRSP ..............||

2) SRE Solutions

Affordable, off-grid solar solutions in rural Pakistan



THE CHALLENGE

Over 63 million Pakistanis live without access to the national energy grid. Kerosene is a major monthly expense for those in off-grid villages. Not only is kerosene expensive, it is also highly damaging to health and the environment.

The increasing cost and reduced reliability of on-grid electricity and declining prices of solar solutions has increased interest in solar technologies. The key challenges in adoption are the upfront cost of solar, the low quality of equipment available, and the lack of an appropriate after-sales support infrastructure. As a result, most customers today are weary of investing in solar solutions given the lack of effective after-sales support and warranties.

THE INNOVATION
SRE Solutions provides access to affordable, high quality solar products through its unique retail distribution network.

The upfront payment and monthly installment for the micro-credit product brings solar solutions within an affordable range for these off-grid households.

SRE reaches out to its off-grid market directly by employing local entrepreneurs, allowing them to maintain high quality customer care. The company offers replacement warranties for 1.5 years, which is not generally provided by the competition, as well as strong after-sales services to customers.

THE IMPACT
SRE intends to serve close to 40,000 households, impacting over a quarter of one million lives over the next five years. The savings from solar solutions enable households to spend more money on education, health and other basic needs of the family. In addition, it will help generate employment, as ~800 villagers will be hired and trained to serve as sales associates.

Acumen’s investment will enable the company to scale operations and undertake important pilots with micro-finance institutions.

Established in 2010, SRE Solutions (Pvt.) Ltd is provider of reliable, scalable and easy to install solar energy solutions. SRE operates in off-grid rural households, through its retail agents’ network. SRE provides the basic household necessities like lighting, cell phone charging, fan and television. Through partnership with Micro Finance Banks and Micro Finance Institutes, SRE products are available at affordable upfront payments and easy monthly installments.

Vision
Our Mission is:
“Everyone has access to clean energy sources to fulfill their basic needs while preserving a green and healthy environment”

Mission
“Improve the living conditions of off-grid population by providing high quality, environment-friendly, and affordable energy solutions customized to their needs”

SRE Solutions | Bringing Power to the Unconnected


3) Ansaar Management Company
Building affordable housing for low-income customers in Pakistan.

THE CHALLENGE
Poverty rates in Pakistan are nearing 50 percent. The country faces a housing shortage of six million homes, and forecasts predict that low-income populations in major urban centers are expected to double in the next 15 years.

Half of the urban population lives in unplanned squatter settlements that lack electricity, clean water and sanitation. Despite the deplorable conditions, residents are required to pay considerable rents. Without legal title to the land they live on, they can be evicted at any time and hold no economic collateral with which to gain access to formal credit markets.

THE INNOVATION
AMC is a low-cost housing development and management company established by Jawad Aslam, a former Acumen Fund Fellow in 2009. Its focus is on scalability and sustainability. AMC builds communities centered around commercial hubs, schools, recreational facilities and places of worship, and equip them with utilities such as electricity, water and sewage removal. AMC targets those who earn 8,000 to 16,000 Pakistani rupees ($81 to $162) per month, a segment served inadequately by both the public and private sectors.

AMC grew out of Saiban, an Acumen Fund investee known for its incremental housing model focused on self-reliance and community development, and is applying Saiban’s insight at a larger scale.

THE IMPACT
For its first project, AMC has developed 36 commercial plots and more than 1,000 residential plots, providing homes to over 6,000 people outside of Lahore. After a thriving community has been built, AMC will sell the remaining 25 to 30 percent of land at a premium. This will help ensure the company’s financial sustainability. Over time, AMC’s vision is to scale across Pakistan and become a global leader in the provision of affordable housing communities.

Scope of Business
Ansaar Management Company (AMC) provides affordable, quality housing solutions to the lower-income segment of the Pakistani population. AMC was established in January 2008 in Pakistan. AMC targets households earning PKR 8000 to 25,000, and specializes in community-based approaches.It is a for-profit, low-cost housing company, which follows the world-renowned Saiban model of development known as Khuda Ki Basti, where there is a strong emphasis on self-reliance. Differentiating itself from Saiban’s NGO model of incremental development, however, AMC focuses on scalability and sustainability through its for-profit, low-cost approach.

AMC, as a developer, identifies large tracts of land in the peri-urban areas of major cities of Pakistan and prepares business plans/feasibility studies for prospective investors. Once an investor, which could be from the public sector or the private sector, has committed to a specific project, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) is created for that investment based upon equity contributions. In order to minimize risk for investors, the SPV holds the land title. Next, the SPV obtains project financing to develop the project based upon the Saiban methodology of incremental development. In addition to this, AMC also provides project management services for low income housing developments.

Mission Statement
To provide innovative affordable housing solutions to the lower income segments of the Pakistani population, and to create vibrant and empowered communities.


Ansaar Management Company

4) Jassar Farms
Improving livestock productivity in Pakistan.

THE CHALLENGE
Milk is the largest and single most important commodity within Pakistan’s livestock sector. Yet more than 75 percent of livestock owners are poor farmers who own fewer than four cows, and most struggle with low milk productivity. On average, it takes five Pakistani cows to produce as much milk as one cow in the U.S. or Europe.

Breed improvement can be achieved through artificial insemination that uses world-class bull semen. While smallholder farmers in Pakistan currently use artificial insemination, they are unable to afford the imported semen.

THE INNOVATION
Jassar Farms was founded in 2005 in Narowal, Pakistan. The company operates a dairy farm and is establishing a Livestock Semen Processing Unit to bring high-quality bull semen to small livestock farmers at affordable prices. It is the only private sector farm in Pakistan to have acquired the technology to transfer embryos.

THE IMPACT
Using the bull semen will allow smallholder farmers to double their cows’ milk yields, potentially leading to an increase in income by 33,300 Pakistani rupees ($400 USD) per year per cow. Six male and three female calves from embryo transfers have been born to date. This first generation of hybrid cattle are already producing three times the milk as their mothers.

Jassar Farms aims to produce 125,000 semen doses annually, improving the milk productivity of more than 250,000 farming families’ livestock by 2015.


5) Kashf Foundation
Financial services for low-income women in Pakistan.

THE CHALLENGE
In Pakistan, 80 percent of the population survives on less than $2 USD a day and approximately one-third lives at or below the poverty line. There is a pronounced need for credit in Pakistan. But local moneylenders may charge up to 350 percent in annual interest.

THE INNOVATION
Founded in 1996, Kashf was one of the first microfinance institutions in Pakistan. Its vision is to become a “one-stop financial services provider” for low-income women and their families. Kashf offers general, emergency, business and home improvement loans, as well as insurance products. The organization allows for closely managed growth through a franchise model with branches in both rural and urban areas.

Acumen’s second round loan financed the launch of the Kashf Home Improvement Loan, which provides existing Kashf clients with loans to repair and expand homes, construct sheds, add rooms, and increase earning potential by working from home.

THE IMPACT
Kashf currently operates 150+ branches across Pakistan. More than one million individuals and 306,000 families have been reached, and $202 million USD in loans disbursed. Kashf has become one of the premier microfinance institutions in Pakistan and is ranked in the top quartile of the local and regional microfinance sector.

Nearly two‐thirds of clients that have been with Kashf for over four years report an increase in savings over the last 12 months.

Who we are
Kashf Foundation is Pakistan’s premier wealth management company for low income households which was created with the aim to alleviate poverty by providing a suite of high quality affordable financial and non-financial services to low income households, especially women, in order to build their capacity and enhance their economic role. Even though Kashf began its journey as a microfinance institution, today it is positioned as a wealth management group since it provides a one window solution to its clients for protecting and managing their wealth and enhancing their productivity and resources. Kashf was started in 1996 as an action research program, and over the course of its evolution, Kashf has been able to help hundreds of thousands low-income households, especially women to lead lives of dignity through economic empowerment via financial access. Kashf’s products and services are especially designed keeping in view the clients’ business and life-cycle needs.

- See more at: Kashf | Financial Services for All in a Poverty Free and Gender Equitable Society


6) National Rural Support Program (NRSP) Microfinance Bank
Financial services for rural communities in Pakistan.

THE CHALLENGE
An estimated 86% of the population in Pakistan has no access to formal financial services. Two thirds of the country lives in rural areas, where often the only sources of capital are informal lenders, who charge exorbitant interest rates and capitalize on the vulnerability of the poor.

120 million people in Pakistan directly depend on agriculture to survive. Without access to capital, smallholder farmers are unable to invest in improving their yields, an effective means of lifting themselves and their families out of poverty.

THE INNOVATION
NRSP Microfinance Bank is the only microfinance operation in Pakistan that focuses on rural, agricultural markets across the country. For the first time, rural communities will be offered services such as crop and livestock loans, savings and insurance products, as well as working capital at financing rates up to three times cheaper than those available in the informal sector.

THE IMPACT
NRSP Microfinance Bank currently has more than 170,000 active clients. The organization expects to reach nearly 625,000 borrowers over the next five years.

Acumen’s investment helps the bank provide poor farmers and unbanked rural communities with access to essential financial services that will empower them with the resources, dignity, and hope to build better futures for themselves and their families.

NRSP Microfinance Bank Limited started operations in March 2011. It has been planned to gradually transform the micro credit operations of the country’s largest provider of microfinance services (National Rural Support Programme) into a regulated microfinance bank. NRSP recognizes several advantages to the microfinance bank status. These include the ability to raise new sources of debt and equity funds, to offer savings and other non-credit services, and the opportunity to achieve scale through adopting a fully-regulated environment.

The purpose of NRSP Microfinance Bank is to reduce the effects of poverty by giving timely access to commercially viable financial products and services to the rural low income sectors of Pakistan. NRSP Microfinance Bank headquarters is in South Punjab city of Bahawalpur.

Our Mission
We believe in harnessing the potential of the people through inclusive finance, for poverty reduction and a brighter future.

Our Vision
To become the leading Microfinance Bank in Pakistan.

NRSP NGO
The National Rural Support Programme (NRSP) is an integrated rural development organization registered under companies ordinance 1984 with corporate law authority Islamabad. Its main objective is to improve quality of life of rural people through harnessing their potential to implement various development programmes by themselves. NRSP works through four sectors; the Microfinance, Human Recourse Development, Physical Infrastructure & Technology Development and Social Sector Services... More information


http://www.nrspbank.com/site/about.aspx

7) Pharmagen Healthcare Ltd
Safe drinking water for the urban poor in Pakistan.

• 
  
  
  • • To improve peoples' health and quality of life by delivering products of unquestionable quality.
    • Make healthcare more affordable in Pakistan.
    • Achieve optimum business growth for the benefit of all stakeholders.
    • Promote indigenization, self-sufficiency, foreign exchange savings/earnings and value addition in the pharmaceutical sector in Pakistan.
    • Provide opportunity to the country's skilled and qualified personnel, particular in the chemical / pharmaceuticals field, to realize their true potential.
    • Set the highest standards in corporate ethics and
    • Contribute towards endeavors that benefit and promote the country's social sectors.

Pharmagen Limited - Home

THE CHALLENGE
Water contamination is a major problem in Pakistan, where water supply lines and open sewer drains often lay side by side in the streets. This leads to chemical and bacterial contamination of drinking water which in turn causes major health hazards; 40% of illnesses in Pakistan are caused by water-borne diseases.

While the bottled water industry has burgeoned in recent years, bottled water remains unaffordable for low-income customers.


THE INNOVATION
Pharmagen purifies and distributes safe drinking water through its chain of open water shops. Each shop extracts water from underground, purifies it through a reverse osmosis plant, and re-mineralizes it. Water quality is checked to WHO Standards.

Water is affordably priced for low-income customers, who pay only 2 rupees per liter at Pharmagen’s shops.


THE IMPACT
Pharmagen plans to launch 32 open water plants and one bottled water plant, providing the urban poor in Lahore with access to affordable, quality drinking water and reducing the incidence of water-related illnesses and deaths.

Acumen’s investment will also enable the company to significantly increase the capacity of its existing water purification systems from 13,000 liters per hour to 129,000 liters per hour.

Pharmagen currently supplies more than 100,000 liters of potable water to customers in Lahore each day.



Pharmagen Limited is a Pakistani incorporated, Public Limited (non quoted) Company, which was established in 1990 for undertaking pharmaceutical business and over the years it has become the leading producer of APIs (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients) in Pakistan.

Sponsored by a group of highly dedicated professionals and technocrats having 13 years proven experience of successfully promoting and managing sophisticated pharmaceutical bulk drug projects we currently are undoubtedly the leading bulk drug producer in Pakistan manufacturing a broad range of antibiotics.

Dynamism and professionalism has been the cornerstone of our growth through the years.

Our success has sprung from a collective determination to excel in providing high quality and diverse products based on achieving high customer satisfaction.


Some of these are foreign funded I am more interested in local organizations started by our local Pakistanis can anyone please post some here!

Thank you!

 

[Dubious]

@Srinivas you read that fast?

 

[Srinivas]

@Srinivas you read that fast?

Yeah .....


Only side headings !

 

[Ahmad1996]

What kind of NGO's are you looking for? Small setup or large setup as far as your thread it's pretty cool and is all about large NGO's. There are many small setup NGO's than large setup ones in Pakistan, I think.

 

[Dubious]

8) Rozan
Who We Are
Rozan is an Islamabad-based NGO working on issues related to emotional and psychological health, gender, violence against women and children, and the psychological and reproductive health of adolescents.

Rozan’s mission is ‘to work with all people, especially vulnerable groups, to collectively strive for a society that is violence free, self aware and accepting of itself and others’.

Vulnerability is defined as historically marginalized and powerless groups with special emphasis on women, youth, children, the poor, and sexual and religious minorities.


Rozan's team consists of psychologists, social workers, volunteers, and supporters. Rozan was officially registered in December 1998 under the Societies Act of 1860 and was awarded tax-exemption status in 2005. In 2006, Rozan acquired the prestigious special consultative status with the United Nation’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

Rozan Programs | Rozan

9) Bedari

Bedari is a national level non governmental voluntary development organization in Pakistan working with women and girls for the promotion and protection of their human rights. It started its activities around awareness raising and self growth in 1991 with a land mark community conference on Violence against women and eventually setting up of Pakistan’s first crisis centre. It has developed expertise on issues of gender empowerment, addressing violence and abuse against women and girls and processes of attitudinal change.
Bedari has contributed in raising awareness on women and girls’ rights and gender issues. It has highlighted disparities towards marginalized group of society and launched advocacy campaigns on women and girls’ human rights issues by organizing events, theaters, puppet shows, talks, training, workshops and seminars and conferences. It has conducted all these activities alone as well as through alliance or partnerships with other like minded organizations.

Vision
A society where women and girls enjoy equal status as human being

Mission
Promoting equal rights of all (including women, men, boys and girls) in society through capacity building, education and advocacy

Specific Objectives
Specific objectives of Bedari are:

1. Advocacy and lobbying for appropriate legislation to address gender based discrimination and violence
2. Raising awareness and building capacities (across duty bearers and right holders) around Women’s human rights and life skills
3. Combating gender inequalities through girls’ education and life skills
4. Providing direct support to women survivors of gender based violence (GBV)
5. Promoting peace and tolerance through revival of cultural activities and by engaging young people both male and female

What is ‘Bedari’?

Bedari is a process.
When people join this process, there must be acceptance of where they are. Mutual support of the group will then facilitate their growth.
All individuals have a personal capability of achieving a positive change in them and Bedari acts as a catalyst and facilitator of this process of change. We as an organization aim to achieve empowerment through the individual, the group, and then society. Bedari does not believe in a helper/helpee approach. It creates an environment of mutual support. A community organization like Bedari should be run by the community and not by some ‘personalities’. The group focus and the process of institutionalizing strategies and efforts are crucial.
Bedari, which works towards sustainability in every effort, has chosen a gradual process towards change, as opposed to carrying out a lot of activities. We believe in quality above quantity. Bedari aims to target all groups irrespective of any class, gender, socio-economic, status, etc.
Bedari works towards changing our condition and adopting strategies according to the particular group we are working with and in this way reach out to everyone.

Conceptualization & Growth | Bedari

10) RLCC
"We hope to have a Craftsmen’s Colony which will serve as a model and an inspiration for a more desirable standard of individual and community living. This is our aim and not the mere substitution of one slum area for another for we can never truly build a strong free Pakistan on the shifting sands of social, economic and cultural discontent, depravation and despair."
Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan
Opening Ceremony 25th August 1954

MISSION STATEMENT

“To empower women through improved health, education and economic independence.”

INTRODUCTION

Founded by Begum Ra'ana Liaquat in 1954 for the rehabilitation of emigrating artisans from India, Ra'ana Liaquat Craftsmen Colony Welfare Program (RLCC) is a non profit organization situated in Shah Faisal Town, Block 1.


PROJECTS

Following the visionary path of Begum Ra’ana Liaquat, RLCC is currently running the projects listed below. Each project is focused on women’s empowerment, whether through education, training or income generation.

Health Services:

Community Health Centre

Promotive and Preventive Health Program

Education:

Primary School

Islamic Education

Vocational Training Centre:

Income Generation

Support of needy families


Affiliation:

Apwa National

11) Idara-e-Amn-o-Insaf

The Idara-e-Aman-o Insaf (Committee for Peace and Justice) was set up in 1974 by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Karachi and the Church of Pakistan in Karachi. The organisation serves the people irrespective of tribe, clan, colour or creed.

For the past 30 years, the Committee for Justice and Peace, has worked for poor and marginalised Christians and Muslims, labouring to obtain for them basic employment rights. It has also assisted women, provided information on issues such as the discriminatory Blasphemy Laws, and undertaken programmes with local human rights groups.

The Idare-e Amn-O-Insaf is an NGO. It's Pakistan-based and run by Pakistani Christians. The charity deals with social and labor issues, while it also publishes a magazine called "Jafakash" (Hard Worker).

12)Edhi Foundation

Name itself is enough said!


13) Aurat Foundation

Established in 1986, as a national, non-profit, non-governmental organization under the Societies' Registration Act 1860, Aurat Publication and Information Service Foundation (Aurat Foundation/AF) is committed to create widespread awareness and commitment for a just, democratic and caring society in Pakistan, where women and men are recognised as equals, with the right to lead their lives with self-respect and dignity. Over the last 28 years, Aurat Foundation has come to be recognised nationally and internationally as one of the leading institutions creating, facilitating and strengthening civil society groups and networks for promoting trust and collaboration among citizens to mobilize public pressure for women’s empowerment in the country.

Aurat Foundation has its Head Office in Islamabad, and five regional offices in the provincial capitals in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar ,Quetta and Gilgit, and 37 Field Offices. Further, it has a countrywide network of voluntary citizens' groups and individual activists in 128 districts in the country. These groups include Citizens Action Committees (CACs), Resource Groups and Aurat Foundation Resource Centres (AF-RCs) and Information Network Centres (INCs).

The Foundation has also emerged as a major support institution for civil society organisations working for social change at the community level.

The goals of the Foundation are to:

• To enable women to acquire great access to knowledge, resources and institutions;
• To influence attitudes and behavior for a social environment responsive to women’s concerns and people-centred issues;
• To facilitate citizens’ active participation in the process of social change and governance at all level.

What kind of NGO's are you looking for? Small setup or large setup as far as your thread it's pretty cool and is all about large NGO's. There are many small setup NGO's than large setup ones in Pakistan, I think.

Any that is successful in bringing a change that can be observed... Preferably based in PAKISTAN opened by a Pakistani and run by our people so not international NGOs but local stuff! I wanna know what good/ help / support is taking place in that country and who is making it happen!

This thread is just my homework

 

[Lord ZeN]

Good to Know. Please change the colour of highlighted points to this. As it would highlight the important points in a better way. Any way i wanted to say something about NGO's here in India but that would be completely unnecessary.

 

[Dubious]

Good to Know. Please change the colour of highlighted points to this. As it would highlight the important points in a better way. Any way i wanted to say something about NGO's here in India but that would be completely unnecessary.

Sigh! I am too lazy to change kind of baby sitting my experiment in the lab....will see how much I can and thank you for refraining! You are welcome to open your own thread

 

[Lord ZeN]

Sigh! I am too lazy to change kind of baby sitting my experiment in the lab....will see how much I can and thank you for refraining! You are welcome to open your own thread

No probs.. Actually i use a darker Red colour to highlight my points as it looks better that way. Anyway best wishes to all Pak-based NGOs.

 

[Pakistani E]

Are you not considering Edhi foundation? Or is the criteria you are using in that course different? Just curious..

 

[Dubious]

Are you not considering Edhi foundation? Or is the criteria you are using in that course different? Just curious..

I did write Edhi here (no.12) but writing about Edhi would be a book not a paper!

Actually I am considering something in agriculture, education or poverty....

But it is harder for you me to describe poverty that soo many bodys helping yet not reaching their goal of eliminating poverty....same for education but at least we can give it more years but I am not sure how to tackle poverty....

I have to choose just one! I was thinking of Shaukat Khanum hospital coz it comes under medical...but I would need to do too much research in that field in respect to Pakistan (I am zero in such)....

I just need 1 organization...their goals, pipeline to achieve such goals, an interview with some people of how they got interested and made others interested in goodwill......something along those lines....I need it by May but I know if I start now will I make it by May....interview will be a challenge esp since I am sitting here

In our lectures we call such organizations a change agent...A simple google of such a word in Pakistan led me to these:

Change agent: ‘Youth needs school uniforms, not suicide jackets’

Parliamentarians urge including young men and women in mainstream politics. DESIGN: SUNARA NIZAMI/FILE

Pakistan is yours and we value you, said National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq at a seminar titled “Youth: Future Agents of Change or Guardians of Establishment?” here on Thursday.

The event was organized by Member National Assembly (MNA) Asiya Nasir in collaboration with Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), said a press release.

The speaker lauding the role of KAS in helping parliamentarians interact with each other said there are around 88 friendship groups in the Parliament facilitating exchange visits.

Earlier, former National Assembly deputy speaker Faisal Karim Kundi said “the youth of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and FATA do not need suicide jackets but school uniforms.”

Kundi who had also been chief patron of the Youth Parliament, recalled that in the previous assembly, at least 95 of the 342 lawmakers were young parliamentarians.

Describing the Pak-German Friendship Group as “vibrant”, KAS Resident Representative Ronny Heine said, “Youth can play an important role in conflict prevention, peace building and national development.”

MNA Asiya Nasir said, “Youth has the power to act as a catalyst of change.”

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf MNA Ali Muhammad Khan in his speech highlighted corruption and its causes, effects and solution in the light of religion.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MNA Maryam Aurangzeb presented her party’s perspective on youth and various initiatives taken by the government.

In the session on “Youth in Pakistan and their attitude towards politics, democracy and political involvement”, former MNA Yasmeen Rehman said Pakistan is a conflict-hit area where opportunities for youth are nonexistent.

Pakistan Peoples’ Party MNA Imran Leghari in his talk on “Youth and Democracy: Myth or Reality” emphasised reforms within political parties. “The youth of Pakistan want genuine democracy and transparency in the system”, Laghari declared.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement member Rehan Hashmi observed that youth who were diverted to extremism have become a threat to the nation, while the educated ones are contributing to the development of nation.

“I firmly believe that now the mindset is changing about participation of youth in the mainstream politics,” Hashmi said while citing his own example.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 16th, 2014.

Change agent: ‘Youth needs school uniforms, not suicide jackets’ – The Express Tribune


But like many subjects towards positive change in Pakistan, had to be brought in from the outside (Germany in this case) and unfortunately like many of such changes, this died a sudden death!

VOLUNTEERISM: A SOCIAL CHANGE AGENT

Historically, Volunteerism is strongly embodied with the traditions and values of our society. There are different level volunteer activities taking place in our society since centuries. For example, “Wingar” in which male and female members of a rural community voluntarily give time, and help each other in harvesting wheat crops. Volunteers organize events and processions on the occasions of Eid Melad-e-Nabi or Urs of saints. Volunteers set up blood banks, open libraries, build mosques, help destitute and widows, and even play a key role in the time of any disaster.
In recent times, our society has been rapidly losing volunteer spirit due to growing greediness, lust for material gain, individualism, deteriorating morals, decline in traditional values, and increased corruption and hypocrisy. Volunteer practices are gradually reducing among the present day and upcoming generations of Pakistani Society. It is a matter of great concern that how to revive volunteerism. Volunteers are like social change agents, and hold tremendous potential in meeting the future development challenges of our country.
Volunteering makes an important economic contribution in modern day society. In the few countries where volunteer work has been empirically studied, the contributions are estimated at between 8% and 14% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Volunteers in Canada represent the equivalent of 549,000 full-time employees. Australian volunteers donate Aus$42 billion in the form of labor whereas volunteers in United States contribute more than US$239 billion worth of work. The impact of volunteerism and its activities result in enormous gains for civic participation and social inclusion.
Political scientists have identified that volunteerism helps in creating favorable conditions for good governance. The fruits of volunteerism, through a boost in citizen participation and social capital, have the promise to strengthen democracy. Volunteerism is also an agent for social transformation. Community networks and social capitals also develop through volunteer activities. Diversified forms of volunteerism also promote pluralism in society, as it potentially involves citizens from all income levels and ethnicities.
As a commitment to UN’s resolution on the promotion of volunteerism, Pakistan’s National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) established a National Volunteer Corps in 2002. NCHD is mobilizing thousands of men, women and children in extending volunteer support to the social sector interventions at the grass root levels in Pakistan.
However, we should not just bound volunteerism to the objectives of a particular program of an organization. Instead, we should do efforts at multiple levels to cultivate the culture of volunteerism in Pakistani society. In this regard, there is some urgent need to introduce specific legislation on volunteerism, and ensure long term policy commitment to establish the principle of volunteerism in the national consciousness. Volunteerism in Pakistan immediately needs recognition, facilitation, networking and promotion.
Research is a key in enhancing the recognition of volunteerism. A lot of research work still need to be done in Pakistan such as studying current forms and practices of volunteerism in Pakistan, relationship in between social development and volunteerism, and the economic value of volunteerism. Establishment of research institutes on volunteering can also contribute in research and policy making at national, provincial, and local levels.
Public and private Institutions in Pakistan can also give recognition to volunteers through organizing award giving ceremonies for them. President, prime minister, chief ministers and governors can give volunteer recognition certificates during such ceremonies. Different public departments and civic institutions can organize volunteer activities on certain thematic days such as world environment day, world population day, international peace day, etc. Pakistan postal department can introduce commemorative stamps to pay tribute to the volunteers.
Development of specific policies and legislation can also facilitate in increasing volunteerism in Pakistan. It can promote independent initiatives and can provide channels in which citizens will find opportunities to make volunteer contributions in the overall wellbeing and development of the country. Legislation should recognize and create a legal status of the volunteers in Pakistan. It requires definition of volunteer and outlining his/her corresponding rights and responsibilities.
Incentives to volunteers should also be taken as an important part of any such legislation. Such incentives may include subsidize travel facility in the public transportation, free museum entrance, or reimbursement of necessary costs at a minimal level, annual national prize for volunteers or tax breaks/incentives. Voluntary organizations should also be given incentives in expanding their volunteer programs. National and local level dialogues and advocacy campaigns can also contribute in facilitating volunteerism in Pakistan. Similarly, Networking can be increased through meetings, workshops, training courses, newsletters, web-sites. Networking also requires improved coordination and cooperation among all the stakeholders.
Print and electronic media can also play a lead role in the promotion of volunteerism. Media can present an attractive image of volunteering through appropriate coverage of the volunteer issues. Promotional strategies should also include volunteer day celebration. Many countries in the world regularly organize events on the international volunteer day (5 December). Government, media, and civil society organizations in Pakistan should celebrate international volunteer day with more vigor and enthusiasms. It can contribute well in the recognition, facilitation, networking and promotion of volunteerism in Pakistan.
Civil society, NGOs, development institutions, government, academia, private sector, mass media, and international organizations should realize their roles and responsibilities. They should work in unison for the promotion and increased practices of volunteerism in Pakistani society. Government has a more crucial role in developing volunteering infrastructure, and in ensuring that requisite legal and fiscal framework is functional and well in place.

Written By:
Fayyaz Hussain Shah

Volunteerism: A Social Change Agent

Brilliantly written!!


The one before and this one below are an example of what I want:

Change agents’ orientations to change: Experience from Pakistan


Mir Afzal Tajik, Aga Khan University, Professional Development Centre, Chitral


Document Type
Article


Department
Professional Development Centre, Chitral


Abstract
In this article, I report on a qualitative study conducted in the rural, mountain district of Chitral, Pakistan. The study examined 5 Teacher Educators (TEs’) specific actions and methods (strategies) and their underlying assumptions and core values (orientations) of change in schools. These TEs work as change agents in the schools established by the Aga Khan Education Service, Pakistan (AKES,P) in partnership with local communities. The TEs’ mandate from AKES,P insists that educational change and community development must go hand-in-hand. They therefore play a unique role as both educational reformers and community developers, stimulating change in schools on the one hand and in local communities on the other. The study’s findings captured three realms of the TEs’ world: a) the TEs’ evolving role as external change agents, b) their preferred strategies for change, and c) their conceptual underpinnings of change in schools. However, in this article, I discuss only one realm of the TEs’ world, i.e., their change orientations. I, therefore, first provide a brief portrayal of the TEs, revealing how their role is defined in the organization. I also describe the research methods employed in this study highlighting the research paradigm, inquiry question and theoretical framework, and research participants. I then discuss and analyze the TEs’ conceptual orientations to change.


Publication
International Journal of Humanities and Social Science

"Change agents’ orientations to change: Experience from Pakistan" by Mir Afzal Tajik


Another one from overseas while I am looking for a locally born and based:

15 Qualities of a Transformational Change Agent

My colleagues and I are often asked to ‘decode’ the process of business transformation and provide the repeatable ‘formula’ for success. I guess this is understandable given that widely quoted statistic – you know the one – that 70% of all change efforts fail.

In a way, this interest in our work is very humbling. In another way, it’s pretty darn intimidating. Our practices have evolved organically around our clients and our people over time, and along with it, so has our so called ‘formula’ for transformation.

One thing I do know for certain is that the role of the change agent – internal and external – is critical in any transformation process. Recently, I’ve been asked to speak quite a bit on this topic; to effectively answer the question “What does it take to be a transformational change agent? It’s been a personally challenging and exciting journey to try and articulate my thoughts, so let me share with you what I’ve learned.

THE BEING-SEEING-DOING FRAMEWORK

In our own practice, as well as in my observation of others, I’ve identified fifteen attributes that the best change agents appear to share.

These are classified as DOING (the specific skills and methods for creating change), SEEING (the ability to make sense of, and reshape perceptions of ‘reality’) and BEING (personal characteristics and qualities).

In my experience, one of the biggest traps for change agents is an over-whelming emphasis on ‘DOING’. This is understandable given it’s ‘the stuff’ of change, and is readily observable and actionable. It is now, however, my very strong belief that the most effective ‘DOING’ is preceded by ‘SEEING’, which, in turn, is preceded by ‘BEING’.

Below is how I have codified the key attributes of the transformational change agent under these three headings. While we have used these attributes as an internal benchmark in our company for a while, I’ve only begun speaking about them publicly very recently. The very positive response has only served to invigorate my belief in the value of this content.

DOING – the specific skills and methods for creating change

1. They create a setting for success, without needing to control the process

2. They artfully apply frameworks, models and tools

3. They provide correction to senior executives without causing resentment

4. They appeal to the heart (emotion) and then the head (logic)

5. They make a call to action


SEEING – the ability to make sense of, and reshape perceptions of ‘reality’

6. They see a different ‘normal’

7. They see the distinction between fact and truth

8. They see leaders in a sympathetic light

9. They see all interventions in a strategic context

10. They see a ‘higher self’


BEING – personal characteristics and qualities of transformational change agents

11. They are a role model first and a preacher second

12. They are optimistic; they inspire hope not fear

13. They are courageous and selfless

14. They are trusted, and leverage it

15. They are in service, not subservience

It would be disingenuous and inauthentic to claim that we have cracked the code. Even with many case studies in hand, my colleagues and I remain students and learners trying to perfect our craft and make sense of this complex and nuanced phenomenon called transformation. That said, we have learned from our client experiences, good and bad, that there are several common elements to successful transformation efforts.

15 Qualities of a Transformational Change Agent | Charter for Compassion Pakistan (real)

14) Shehzadi: a change agent for educational reform

Ms Shehzadi during a community gathering is talking about school development plan which was formulated by the community members with support of “My teacher my role model” project team of World Vision

Shehzadi, a 38-year-old mother of four, has long been known to many as an activist in her village of Waryam Buriro, situated in Union Council of Sangi in Sukkur District. Since 2010, she has also served her community as a Lady Health Worker (LHW) with the health department.

As a woman who is passionate for change, Shehzadi not only concerns herself with the physical care of the residents of her community, but other areas as well. While her village does have a primary school, at least a primary school building, children were still not able to access quality education as the teachers and staff assigned to the school rarely came to give classes, practically rendering the school unable to function at all.

Knowing that education is key

Knowing that education is the key to a brighter future for the younger generations in her community, Shehzadi couldn’t stand the state of the school and the lack of education opportunities available for children in her community.

As a result, she decided to raise her voice and do something to make the school a functional one and ensure the happy futures of the children from her village. First, she gathered the elder members of community and tried to convince them to talk to the school and government authorities, pleading with them to take an interest in the school and make it a functional one. But, she was disappointed by the response she received in her male-dominant society.

“I was saddened to see the response from the people of my own community,” she says. “I was not talking to have any personal gain, but rather I was trying to convince them [to do something] for the betterment of [the] children of the whole village,” she says, explaining that she believes the reason the issue was not taken up was because it was voiced by a woman.

“I was pushed back because people [were merely] listening as I [a woman] was talking to them. They didn’t bother to take any action on what I said to them,” she recalls. “Despite facing such a heartbreaking response, I never lost my hope as I have a belief that, ‘God helps those who help themselves’. I was determined that I was standing for a greater cause and a day will come when people will standby with me,” she explains.

Shehzadi’s determination and her strong belief in God allowed her to reap the fruits of her efforts through a development program started by World Vision called "My Teacher is My Role Model" (MTMRM). Under this project, the school in Shehzadi’s village was among those selected to participate.

The MTMRM team visited the village and gathered the community in the school and explained the purpose of the program, the reason behind the program’s name. They also explained that World Vision would form a committee comprised of: parents, teachers, and students who would help the World Vision team implement the project to its fullest.

“I was relieved and thanked God when I heard the statement from World Vision’s staff that, ‘without your support, we would not be able to implement this project,’ and, “in order to bring reforms into your school, we need your cooperation’. I smiled and told myself that my wish for making life better for my village’s children would come true now. World Vision became a ray of hope for me,” she says.

“I still remember that first day I had a chance to meet with Shehzadi,” remembers Meer Hassan, the social mobiliser for the MTMRM project. “Her [words] reflected her commitment for the betterment of [the] school.”

Shehzadi sat in front during every meeting. She participated actively and boosted the morale of other members of the community, who began to share the information about the school and were also committed to bring improvement to the school.

With support from World Vision’s team, Shehzadi started conducting dialogues with community members and teachers about the need for children's education to be valued so that teachers would take a keen interest in ensuring children were not only registered for school but were genuinely learning. Finally, not only were people paying attention to Shehzadi, they were echoing her words to bring about the betterment of the school and the children’s education, ensuring a better future for the next generation.

“When Shehzadi told us to be united and talk to the school management and the education authorities, we thought nobody would listen to us,” remembers Anwar, one of the community members whose children study at the local school. “But, World Vision’s team told us that the real power lies with we people, and nobody can bring the change until and unless we, ourselves, strive for it,” he says.

Along with World Vision’s team, we talked to the school’s teachers and asked them to be punctual and take keen interest in our children’s education from now onwards. We [told them, we] have a watch on you,” shared Anwar.

The difference in the quality of education is visible. “The school has totally changed now,” says Rafique, a 10-year-old fifth grade student. “I am quite happy to come to school now,” he says.

Saira, 13, also enjoys the new focus of her classes. “I enjoy the English classes,” she says. “This was previously not taught in our school. Now, we learn English beside other subjects.”

The increased quality of education has also attracted new students. Enrollment in the Waryam Burrio village school has more than doubled in the past two years—going from 56 students in 2011, to 128 in 2013 with the most significant number of students being girls.

“We came to know that if we are united and if we stand for a just cause, we can bring any reform,” shares Ibrahim a community member whose children also study in the local school, as he shares how the community was able to stop the transfer of one of the top performing teachers.

“One of the teachers of this school was transferred to another school. He was a teacher who was very hard working and always strived for the betterment of our children. We never wanted to lose him, so we told this matter to World Vision’s team and [this encouraged us] to talk to the District Officer of Education… We went to the education office and presented our viewpoint to the district officer who was a real gentleman. He obliged our request and cancelled the transfer of the teacher,” he remembers.

“It was World Vision that opened our eyes and made us realise the strength we possess,” remarked Ibrahim, who never would have dreamed approach the District Education Officer before.

Keeping Shehzadi’s passion for a proper education for the youth in her community, the village has chosen her as the chairperson of the School Management Committee. Her contributions in her own community were so great that she was also selected as the chairperson for World Visions’s committee for school development at the union council level.

“I am very happy as I have achieved what I was aspiring. Today, children [in my community] are going to school punctually and I’ll strive to further justify the trust which my community and World Vision has shown me,” she says. “I’ll make sure to put the same efforts at union council level, by working as the chairperson of the committee. And, I’ll ensure that not even a single child is deprived of an education, because education is the prime factor for a successful life!”

Shehzadi: a change agent for educational reform | World Vision International


It is rather sad when someone from outside needs to tell you what you are capable off! THIS is interesting but it was already covered and I am more interested in a local showing such interest and giving power to the people!

 

[OTTOMAN]

I am taking a course of leadership and management and 1 of the assignments is supposed to be on a service organization (like NGOs where profits dont matter) from my home country. So I googled to look for some NGO to have a look around and I thought it was a good idea to make a thread of all these for information!
Basically I am supposed to do on an organization that is making some form of a change at community level. Some I will just name as their websites are not working

No trolling please!! No checking, comparing or doing vs stuff....

1) Aga Khan rural support program!

THE CHALLENGE
The rugged, mountainous Northern areas and Chitral region of Pakistan support approximately 1.3 million people, who mostly live in poverty with limited or no access to electricity. The government has no plans to expand the national grid to these areas.

People frequently use wood for cooking and heating and kerosene, which is expensive and highly damaging to health and the environment, as a lighting source. Households typically spend 30% of their income on these energy sources.

THE INNOVATION
Aga Khan Rural Support Program (AKRSP) is a pioneer in community-based development approaches in Pakistan. AKRSP builds locally-managed mini hydro plants throughout the Chitral district. The community-owned and -operated plants generate electricity 24 hours a day that is clean, affordable and reliable.

THE IMPACT
Acumen’s investment in AKRSP supports the construction and management of four mini hydro plants with a combined capacity of 2.4 MW. Clean, reliable energy reduces the amount of income households must spend on energy needs while improving health and education outcomes.

These four plants directly impact the lives of 40,000, adding to AKRSP’s ability to scale their project to bring clean energy and improved livelihoods to all 1.3 million people the region.


The Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) is a private, non-profit company, established by the Aga Khan Foundation in 1982 to help improve the quality of life of the villagers of Gilgit Baltistan and Chitral. AKRSP’s development approach gives primacy to the people and their abilities. It is based on the belief that local communities have tremendous potential to plan and manage their own development, once they are organized and provided access to necessary skills and capital.

AKRSP’s past efforts have led to many notable achievements in social and economic domains. Key achievements include manifold increase in incomes, construction/rehabilitation of more than 4000 small infrastructure projects (bridges, roads, irrigation channels, hydropower units and other small projects), the planting of tens of millions of trees and the development of hundreds of acres of marginal lands, developing a cadre of more than 50,000 community activists, mobilization of nearly $ 5 million village savings, and the establishment of more than 4,993 community organisations. AKRSP supported community organisations, which have established patterns of local governance that are participatory, democratic, transparent and accountable to their members, are now federating at the union council level to establish Local Support Organization (LSOs). Currently, there 67 LSOs across Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral that are forging direct partnerships with government departments, local development partners, donors and the private sector actors to increase the scope and outreach of services for their member communities.

||........... WELCOME TO AKRSP ..............||

2) SRE Solutions

Affordable, off-grid solar solutions in rural Pakistan



THE CHALLENGE

Over 63 million Pakistanis live without access to the national energy grid. Kerosene is a major monthly expense for those in off-grid villages. Not only is kerosene expensive, it is also highly damaging to health and the environment.

The increasing cost and reduced reliability of on-grid electricity and declining prices of solar solutions has increased interest in solar technologies. The key challenges in adoption are the upfront cost of solar, the low quality of equipment available, and the lack of an appropriate after-sales support infrastructure. As a result, most customers today are weary of investing in solar solutions given the lack of effective after-sales support and warranties.

THE INNOVATION
SRE Solutions provides access to affordable, high quality solar products through its unique retail distribution network.

The upfront payment and monthly installment for the micro-credit product brings solar solutions within an affordable range for these off-grid households.

SRE reaches out to its off-grid market directly by employing local entrepreneurs, allowing them to maintain high quality customer care. The company offers replacement warranties for 1.5 years, which is not generally provided by the competition, as well as strong after-sales services to customers.

THE IMPACT
SRE intends to serve close to 40,000 households, impacting over a quarter of one million lives over the next five years. The savings from solar solutions enable households to spend more money on education, health and other basic needs of the family. In addition, it will help generate employment, as ~800 villagers will be hired and trained to serve as sales associates.

Acumen’s investment will enable the company to scale operations and undertake important pilots with micro-finance institutions.

Established in 2010, SRE Solutions (Pvt.) Ltd is provider of reliable, scalable and easy to install solar energy solutions. SRE operates in off-grid rural households, through its retail agents’ network. SRE provides the basic household necessities like lighting, cell phone charging, fan and television. Through partnership with Micro Finance Banks and Micro Finance Institutes, SRE products are available at affordable upfront payments and easy monthly installments.

Vision
Our Mission is:
“Everyone has access to clean energy sources to fulfill their basic needs while preserving a green and healthy environment”

Mission
“Improve the living conditions of off-grid population by providing high quality, environment-friendly, and affordable energy solutions customized to their needs”

SRE Solutions | Bringing Power to the Unconnected


3) Ansaar Management Company
Building affordable housing for low-income customers in Pakistan.

THE CHALLENGE
Poverty rates in Pakistan are nearing 50 percent. The country faces a housing shortage of six million homes, and forecasts predict that low-income populations in major urban centers are expected to double in the next 15 years.

Half of the urban population lives in unplanned squatter settlements that lack electricity, clean water and sanitation. Despite the deplorable conditions, residents are required to pay considerable rents. Without legal title to the land they live on, they can be evicted at any time and hold no economic collateral with which to gain access to formal credit markets.

THE INNOVATION
AMC is a low-cost housing development and management company established by Jawad Aslam, a former Acumen Fund Fellow in 2009. Its focus is on scalability and sustainability. AMC builds communities centered around commercial hubs, schools, recreational facilities and places of worship, and equip them with utilities such as electricity, water and sewage removal. AMC targets those who earn 8,000 to 16,000 Pakistani rupees ($81 to $162) per month, a segment served inadequately by both the public and private sectors.

AMC grew out of Saiban, an Acumen Fund investee known for its incremental housing model focused on self-reliance and community development, and is applying Saiban’s insight at a larger scale.

THE IMPACT
For its first project, AMC has developed 36 commercial plots and more than 1,000 residential plots, providing homes to over 6,000 people outside of Lahore. After a thriving community has been built, AMC will sell the remaining 25 to 30 percent of land at a premium. This will help ensure the company’s financial sustainability. Over time, AMC’s vision is to scale across Pakistan and become a global leader in the provision of affordable housing communities.

Scope of Business
Ansaar Management Company (AMC) provides affordable, quality housing solutions to the lower-income segment of the Pakistani population. AMC was established in January 2008 in Pakistan. AMC targets households earning PKR 8000 to 25,000, and specializes in community-based approaches.It is a for-profit, low-cost housing company, which follows the world-renowned Saiban model of development known as Khuda Ki Basti, where there is a strong emphasis on self-reliance. Differentiating itself from Saiban’s NGO model of incremental development, however, AMC focuses on scalability and sustainability through its for-profit, low-cost approach.

AMC, as a developer, identifies large tracts of land in the peri-urban areas of major cities of Pakistan and prepares business plans/feasibility studies for prospective investors. Once an investor, which could be from the public sector or the private sector, has committed to a specific project, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) is created for that investment based upon equity contributions. In order to minimize risk for investors, the SPV holds the land title. Next, the SPV obtains project financing to develop the project based upon the Saiban methodology of incremental development. In addition to this, AMC also provides project management services for low income housing developments.

Mission Statement
To provide innovative affordable housing solutions to the lower income segments of the Pakistani population, and to create vibrant and empowered communities.


Ansaar Management Company

4) Jassar Farms
Improving livestock productivity in Pakistan.

THE CHALLENGE
Milk is the largest and single most important commodity within Pakistan’s livestock sector. Yet more than 75 percent of livestock owners are poor farmers who own fewer than four cows, and most struggle with low milk productivity. On average, it takes five Pakistani cows to produce as much milk as one cow in the U.S. or Europe.

Breed improvement can be achieved through artificial insemination that uses world-class bull semen. While smallholder farmers in Pakistan currently use artificial insemination, they are unable to afford the imported semen.

THE INNOVATION
Jassar Farms was founded in 2005 in Narowal, Pakistan. The company operates a dairy farm and is establishing a Livestock Semen Processing Unit to bring high-quality bull semen to small livestock farmers at affordable prices. It is the only private sector farm in Pakistan to have acquired the technology to transfer embryos.

THE IMPACT
Using the bull semen will allow smallholder farmers to double their cows’ milk yields, potentially leading to an increase in income by 33,300 Pakistani rupees ($400 USD) per year per cow. Six male and three female calves from embryo transfers have been born to date. This first generation of hybrid cattle are already producing three times the milk as their mothers.

Jassar Farms aims to produce 125,000 semen doses annually, improving the milk productivity of more than 250,000 farming families’ livestock by 2015.


5) Kashf Foundation
Financial services for low-income women in Pakistan.

THE CHALLENGE
In Pakistan, 80 percent of the population survives on less than $2 USD a day and approximately one-third lives at or below the poverty line. There is a pronounced need for credit in Pakistan. But local moneylenders may charge up to 350 percent in annual interest.

THE INNOVATION
Founded in 1996, Kashf was one of the first microfinance institutions in Pakistan. Its vision is to become a “one-stop financial services provider” for low-income women and their families. Kashf offers general, emergency, business and home improvement loans, as well as insurance products. The organization allows for closely managed growth through a franchise model with branches in both rural and urban areas.

Acumen’s second round loan financed the launch of the Kashf Home Improvement Loan, which provides existing Kashf clients with loans to repair and expand homes, construct sheds, add rooms, and increase earning potential by working from home.

THE IMPACT
Kashf currently operates 150+ branches across Pakistan. More than one million individuals and 306,000 families have been reached, and $202 million USD in loans disbursed. Kashf has become one of the premier microfinance institutions in Pakistan and is ranked in the top quartile of the local and regional microfinance sector.

Nearly two‐thirds of clients that have been with Kashf for over four years report an increase in savings over the last 12 months.

Who we are
Kashf Foundation is Pakistan’s premier wealth management company for low income households which was created with the aim to alleviate poverty by providing a suite of high quality affordable financial and non-financial services to low income households, especially women, in order to build their capacity and enhance their economic role. Even though Kashf began its journey as a microfinance institution, today it is positioned as a wealth management group since it provides a one window solution to its clients for protecting and managing their wealth and enhancing their productivity and resources. Kashf was started in 1996 as an action research program, and over the course of its evolution, Kashf has been able to help hundreds of thousands low-income households, especially women to lead lives of dignity through economic empowerment via financial access. Kashf’s products and services are especially designed keeping in view the clients’ business and life-cycle needs.

- See more at: Kashf | Financial Services for All in a Poverty Free and Gender Equitable Society


6) National Rural Support Program (NRSP) Microfinance Bank
Financial services for rural communities in Pakistan.

THE CHALLENGE
An estimated 86% of the population in Pakistan has no access to formal financial services. Two thirds of the country lives in rural areas, where often the only sources of capital are informal lenders, who charge exorbitant interest rates and capitalize on the vulnerability of the poor.

120 million people in Pakistan directly depend on agriculture to survive. Without access to capital, smallholder farmers are unable to invest in improving their yields, an effective means of lifting themselves and their families out of poverty.

THE INNOVATION
NRSP Microfinance Bank is the only microfinance operation in Pakistan that focuses on rural, agricultural markets across the country. For the first time, rural communities will be offered services such as crop and livestock loans, savings and insurance products, as well as working capital at financing rates up to three times cheaper than those available in the informal sector.

THE IMPACT
NRSP Microfinance Bank currently has more than 170,000 active clients. The organization expects to reach nearly 625,000 borrowers over the next five years.

Acumen’s investment helps the bank provide poor farmers and unbanked rural communities with access to essential financial services that will empower them with the resources, dignity, and hope to build better futures for themselves and their families.

NRSP Microfinance Bank Limited started operations in March 2011. It has been planned to gradually transform the micro credit operations of the country’s largest provider of microfinance services (National Rural Support Programme) into a regulated microfinance bank. NRSP recognizes several advantages to the microfinance bank status. These include the ability to raise new sources of debt and equity funds, to offer savings and other non-credit services, and the opportunity to achieve scale through adopting a fully-regulated environment.

The purpose of NRSP Microfinance Bank is to reduce the effects of poverty by giving timely access to commercially viable financial products and services to the rural low income sectors of Pakistan. NRSP Microfinance Bank headquarters is in South Punjab city of Bahawalpur.

Our Mission
We believe in harnessing the potential of the people through inclusive finance, for poverty reduction and a brighter future.

Our Vision
To become the leading Microfinance Bank in Pakistan.

NRSP NGO
The National Rural Support Programme (NRSP) is an integrated rural development organization registered under companies ordinance 1984 with corporate law authority Islamabad. Its main objective is to improve quality of life of rural people through harnessing their potential to implement various development programmes by themselves. NRSP works through four sectors; the Microfinance, Human Recourse Development, Physical Infrastructure & Technology Development and Social Sector Services... More information


http://www.nrspbank.com/site/about.aspx

7) Pharmagen Healthcare Ltd
Safe drinking water for the urban poor in Pakistan.

• 
  
  
  • • To improve peoples' health and quality of life by delivering products of unquestionable quality.
    • Make healthcare more affordable in Pakistan.
    • Achieve optimum business growth for the benefit of all stakeholders.
    • Promote indigenization, self-sufficiency, foreign exchange savings/earnings and value addition in the pharmaceutical sector in Pakistan.
    • Provide opportunity to the country's skilled and qualified personnel, particular in the chemical / pharmaceuticals field, to realize their true potential.
    • Set the highest standards in corporate ethics and
    • Contribute towards endeavors that benefit and promote the country's social sectors.

Pharmagen Limited - Home

THE CHALLENGE
Water contamination is a major problem in Pakistan, where water supply lines and open sewer drains often lay side by side in the streets. This leads to chemical and bacterial contamination of drinking water which in turn causes major health hazards; 40% of illnesses in Pakistan are caused by water-borne diseases.

While the bottled water industry has burgeoned in recent years, bottled water remains unaffordable for low-income customers.


THE INNOVATION
Pharmagen purifies and distributes safe drinking water through its chain of open water shops. Each shop extracts water from underground, purifies it through a reverse osmosis plant, and re-mineralizes it. Water quality is checked to WHO Standards.

Water is affordably priced for low-income customers, who pay only 2 rupees per liter at Pharmagen’s shops.


THE IMPACT
Pharmagen plans to launch 32 open water plants and one bottled water plant, providing the urban poor in Lahore with access to affordable, quality drinking water and reducing the incidence of water-related illnesses and deaths.

Acumen’s investment will also enable the company to significantly increase the capacity of its existing water purification systems from 13,000 liters per hour to 129,000 liters per hour.

Pharmagen currently supplies more than 100,000 liters of potable water to customers in Lahore each day.



Pharmagen Limited is a Pakistani incorporated, Public Limited (non quoted) Company, which was established in 1990 for undertaking pharmaceutical business and over the years it has become the leading producer of APIs (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients) in Pakistan.

Sponsored by a group of highly dedicated professionals and technocrats having 13 years proven experience of successfully promoting and managing sophisticated pharmaceutical bulk drug projects we currently are undoubtedly the leading bulk drug producer in Pakistan manufacturing a broad range of antibiotics.

Dynamism and professionalism has been the cornerstone of our growth through the years.

Our success has sprung from a collective determination to excel in providing high quality and diverse products based on achieving high customer satisfaction.


Some of these are foreign funded I am more interested in local organizations started by our local Pakistanis can anyone please post some here!

Thank you!

If we post the names of Pakistani NGO's they'll be bombed tomorrow.
Already, Edhi foundation is in regular trouble...

 

[Dubious]

If we post the names of Pakistani NGO's they'll be bombed tomorrow.
Already, Edhi foundation is in regular trouble...

Why the hell will they be bombed tomorrow? And why NGOs? half of the foreign NGO are known in Pakistan if terrorists can use internet these NGOs can be located without even blinking! That is some insecurity and some really weird line of thinking!

 

[OTTOMAN]

Why the hell will they be bombed tomorrow? And why NGOs? half of the foreign NGO are known in Pakistan if terrorists can use internet these NGOs can be located without even blinking! That is some insecurity and some really weird line of thinking!

Only locals are bombed or get in some sort of political trouble.
Foreign NGOs are only on paper, they are not doing nothing as compare to local NGO.

 

[Dubious]

Only locals are bombed or get in some sort of political trouble.
Foreign NGOs are only on paper, they are not doing nothing as compare to local NGO.

Half of the list above is being sponsored by foreign agencies...Please wake up from denial mode!

 

[OTTOMAN]

Half of the list above is being sponsored by foreign agencies...Please wake up from denial mode!

Have fun... i'm not discussing it further, i was just weighing the risks.