kashar.net/technews/compleat.asp?id=1166
Faisal lauds AKDN role in Pakistan
PARIS, March 11 (Kashar News): Aga Khan Aiglemont Secretariat has expressed willingness to expand area development policy of Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) to the whole of Northern Areas and Azad Kashmir.
This offer was made during a meeting of Dr Shafik Sachedina, Director Diplomatic Affairs of the Secretariat with Minister of Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat in Paris on Friday.
The minister urged Dr Shafik Sachedina that the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) should not limit its development activities to any particular area.
Dr Shafik Sachedina said that AKDN has historical relationship with Pakistan. It has been carrying out development activities in various fields in Pakistan particularly Northern Areas and it will continue to do so.
He said that Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) was particularly focussing in the fields of education, health and environment in Pakistan.
Dr Shafik Sachedina said that AKDN was interested in society development, female exposure, tourism infrastructure etc.
He offered that Pakistan can benefit from the successful tourism experience in western China for its Northern Areas.
Faisal Saleh Hayat lauded the role of Prince Karim Aga Khan and AKDN in Pakistan's development and urged Dr Shafik Sachedina that they may contribute for development of airports and roads in Azad Kashmir which is a less developed area.
The Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas said that Aga Khan Rural Development Programme (AKRSP) was doing tremendous job in socio-economic development of Northern Areas.
He said that activities of AKRSP in Northern Areas had become an example for government set up in the area and the government was copying its activities.
Faisal Saleh Hayat praised the philanthropic activities of Prince Karim Aga Khan for Pakistan.
AKDN in Northern Areas
AKDN in Northern Areas
Last edited by Admin on Sun Feb 01, 2015 1:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
Conservation and Development in Hunza and Baltistan (PDF, 4m)
http://akdn.org/hcsp/pakistan/NA_Conservation.pdf
http://akdn.org/hcsp/pakistan/NA_Conservation.pdf
Multi Stakeholder Development Forum held
CHITRAL, 16 Sep 06: A two day Multi Stakeholder Development Forum (MSF) was held in Booni, arranged by Biyar Local Support Organisation (BLSO), in coordination with Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP). The ceremony was presided over by Shahzada Sikandarul Mulk Tehsil Nazim Mastuj, while General Manger of AKRSP Izhar Ali Hunzai was chief guest on the occasion.
The forum, fourth in the series of such fora in Chitral, aims to bring together all the local development stakeholders in order to discuss the local development issues and suggest short and long term strategies. The forum was attended by the local communities, LSO representatives, local women and village organisations representatives, local government representatives, line-department officials, AKDN and other NGO professionals and religious leaders as well as a panel of Hindukush Journalist Forum.
Tehsil Nazim, Mastuj, Sikandar ul Mulk addressed the gathering on the occasion, and appreciated the efforts of AKRSP Chitral in uplifting the social and economic conditions of local people. He hoped that AKRSP will continue guiding the local people and building their capacity to enable them avail the emerging development opportunities. BLSO board member, Ali Ahmed introduced BLSO, and briefed about its achievements in providing social sector services to people of Biyar area.
The participants were divided into nine groups around nine themes, managed by a resource person and a facilitator, who came from relevant professional fields. The themes included institutional development, poverty, social sector services, public private partnership, post-Lawari scenario, natural resource management, investment and employment, energy and infrastructure development and role of women in development. Each group came up with detail presentations on their assigned themes, which they presented to the participants next day. These presentations will be documented into development plan for the BLSO with technical support of AKRSP. (Gh Farooqi)
http://www.chitralnews.com/LN421.htm
CHITRAL, 16 Sep 06: A two day Multi Stakeholder Development Forum (MSF) was held in Booni, arranged by Biyar Local Support Organisation (BLSO), in coordination with Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP). The ceremony was presided over by Shahzada Sikandarul Mulk Tehsil Nazim Mastuj, while General Manger of AKRSP Izhar Ali Hunzai was chief guest on the occasion.
The forum, fourth in the series of such fora in Chitral, aims to bring together all the local development stakeholders in order to discuss the local development issues and suggest short and long term strategies. The forum was attended by the local communities, LSO representatives, local women and village organisations representatives, local government representatives, line-department officials, AKDN and other NGO professionals and religious leaders as well as a panel of Hindukush Journalist Forum.
Tehsil Nazim, Mastuj, Sikandar ul Mulk addressed the gathering on the occasion, and appreciated the efforts of AKRSP Chitral in uplifting the social and economic conditions of local people. He hoped that AKRSP will continue guiding the local people and building their capacity to enable them avail the emerging development opportunities. BLSO board member, Ali Ahmed introduced BLSO, and briefed about its achievements in providing social sector services to people of Biyar area.
The participants were divided into nine groups around nine themes, managed by a resource person and a facilitator, who came from relevant professional fields. The themes included institutional development, poverty, social sector services, public private partnership, post-Lawari scenario, natural resource management, investment and employment, energy and infrastructure development and role of women in development. Each group came up with detail presentations on their assigned themes, which they presented to the participants next day. These presentations will be documented into development plan for the BLSO with technical support of AKRSP. (Gh Farooqi)
http://www.chitralnews.com/LN421.htm
Special Children games in Chitral
CHITRAL,18 Sep 06: Special Olympics city games for the handicapped children were arranged here with the collaboration of Aga Khan social Welfare Board. It is the first time in the history of Chitral that such an event has been held. Hundreds of mentally retarded special people from 14 to 40 years of age participated in the Special Olympics games. 7 coaches from Booni 3 from Chitral participated on voluntary basis. Before launching the city games a special person (blind) read versus from the Holy Quran. Dr. Iqbaluddin Chairman Aga Khan Social Welfare Board Chitral expressed his views in the launching ceremony and hailed services of Olympics and AKSWB for carrying forward these special people who deserving of our special attention.
The national Anthem was also read before launching the sport festival. Mrs. Nasim Director Development and Growth special Olympics Pakistan said while expressing her views on the opening ceremony of special Olympics that these special (handicapped) people deserved our special attention. She said that some 14000 special people are registered with SOP. She said that we arranging city games for these special people and then they play on national level as well as on international level. She appealed to all volunteers to come forward and help these special people because they also members of our families. Mir Afzal Khan President Regional council upper Chitral who was chief guest on the occasion also emphasized on general public to support these special people.
Dr. Iqbaluddin administered oath to special players. Their logo was “ let me win but if I cannot win let me be brave in the attempt". The city games comprised of athletics, football, race competition. 4 heats (teams) participated in 50 meters race competition and 6 heats in 100 meters race competition. Prominent journalist Mian Mehboob Ali Shah Kaka Khel and Syed Nabi Hussain Convener special people along with chief guests distributed awards among the position holders’ players. A football match was played between Garamchashma Booni teams versus Chitral football team of special players comprising over 8 players in each team. Later on special people presented folk and local dance in a cultural show. Social and political circles of the area highly appreciated endeavors of Special Olympics Pakistan and Aga Khan Social Welfare Board Pakistan for organizing city games for special people. (GH Farooqi)
http://www.chitralnews.com/LN423.htm
CHITRAL,18 Sep 06: Special Olympics city games for the handicapped children were arranged here with the collaboration of Aga Khan social Welfare Board. It is the first time in the history of Chitral that such an event has been held. Hundreds of mentally retarded special people from 14 to 40 years of age participated in the Special Olympics games. 7 coaches from Booni 3 from Chitral participated on voluntary basis. Before launching the city games a special person (blind) read versus from the Holy Quran. Dr. Iqbaluddin Chairman Aga Khan Social Welfare Board Chitral expressed his views in the launching ceremony and hailed services of Olympics and AKSWB for carrying forward these special people who deserving of our special attention.
The national Anthem was also read before launching the sport festival. Mrs. Nasim Director Development and Growth special Olympics Pakistan said while expressing her views on the opening ceremony of special Olympics that these special (handicapped) people deserved our special attention. She said that some 14000 special people are registered with SOP. She said that we arranging city games for these special people and then they play on national level as well as on international level. She appealed to all volunteers to come forward and help these special people because they also members of our families. Mir Afzal Khan President Regional council upper Chitral who was chief guest on the occasion also emphasized on general public to support these special people.
Dr. Iqbaluddin administered oath to special players. Their logo was “ let me win but if I cannot win let me be brave in the attempt". The city games comprised of athletics, football, race competition. 4 heats (teams) participated in 50 meters race competition and 6 heats in 100 meters race competition. Prominent journalist Mian Mehboob Ali Shah Kaka Khel and Syed Nabi Hussain Convener special people along with chief guests distributed awards among the position holders’ players. A football match was played between Garamchashma Booni teams versus Chitral football team of special players comprising over 8 players in each team. Later on special people presented folk and local dance in a cultural show. Social and political circles of the area highly appreciated endeavors of Special Olympics Pakistan and Aga Khan Social Welfare Board Pakistan for organizing city games for special people. (GH Farooqi)
http://www.chitralnews.com/LN423.htm
ibtimes.com/hunza-paradise-high-literacy-gender-equality-remote-corner-pakistan-1524688
Hunza: A Paradise Of High Literacy And Gender Equality In a Remote Corner Of Pakistan
By Palash Ghosh
on January 02 2014 9:55 AM
The Hunza Valley, a region in the Gilgit–Baltistan territory of northernmost Pakistan, is renowned not only for its spectacular natural scenery of majestic mountains and glittering lakes but also for the beauty of its people, who enjoy long life expectancies. The rough mountain terrain, clean air and water, an abundance of healthy organic foods like dried apricots and almonds, and relative isolation are believed to have blessed the locals with excellent health and long lives. Indeed, Hunza Valley was reportedly the inspiration for the paradise of "Shangri La" in the book "Lost Horizons" by James Hilton.
But Hunza and its environs are renowned for something else that is quite extraordinary: At least three-quarters of people in the Valley – and virtually all the youths of both genders -- can read and write (in a country where about 55 percent of the population is literate, and millions of girls are essentially blocked from attending school). Almost every child in Hunza attends school up to at least the high school level, while many pursue higher studies at colleges in Pakistan and abroad.
Outside of Hunza, education in Pakistan is rather bleak. In fact, Arshad Saeed Khan of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) said Pakistan spends only 2.3 percent of its GNP and 9.9 percent of its total government budget on education (versus figures of 4.5 percent and 12.7 percent, respectively, for India; and 2.1 percent and 14.1 percent for Bangladesh).
Dawn, an English-language Pakistani daily, reported that one of the principal factors behind Hunza's stupendous literacy figures traces back to the educational advocacy efforts of the Aga Khan III, Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah. In the early part of the 20th century, he persuaded the mirs [rulers] of Hunza state to educate their peoples. By 1946, 16 "Diamond Jubilee" schools were established in the Valley, followed by a decision from the Pakistani government to open up public schools in the Northern regions, including Hunza. In 1983, Prince Shah Karim Al Hussaini, Aga Khan IV, introduced The Academy, a high-quality school (including dormitory facilities) exclusively for girls in Hunza. By the early 1990s, the government created “community schools” in Hunza, including the Al-Amyn Model School in the village of Gulmit, which permitted the students' families to participate in lessons.
Dawn noted two other major developments in regional education gains: the establishment of the Karakoram University in Gilgit, and the founding of organizations by the Aga Khan dynasty that encourage universal education, training and scholarships. The present Aga Khan has also financed local agricultural and other economic endeavors through the Aga Khan Development Network. “There seems to be urgency in terms of acquiring education,” wrote Dr. Shahid Siddiqui, director of the Centre for Humanities and Social Sciences at the Lahore School of Economics, in an article in Dawn. “Parents in Hunza are convinced that the best thing they can do for their children is to help them get a good education. There is a growing interest in higher education for girls.”
Siddiqui explained that given the limited chances of higher education in the Valley, the boys and girls of Hunza go to large cities such as Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Islamabad for higher education. He also emphasized that parents in Hunza encourage their daughters to gain an education and are even willing to send girls to all parts of Pakistan to obtain a quality degree. “It is an approach that distinguishes Hunza from the rest of the Northern Areas,” he added.
Friday Times, an independent Pakistani newsweekly, described Hunza as “an oasis of education.” Janeha Hussain in the Times wrote that education and the attainment of knowledge are given top priority in the Valley. “Boys and girls alike approach their schooling with endearing exuberance,” Hussain wrote. “They can be seen walking along the roadside, lunchboxes swinging on their arms and books hugged closely to their chests.”
Even more extraordinary, Hussain indicated, the importance of education in this Valley has raised the status of women to equality with men. She cited that in Hunza (in stark contrast to virtually all other rural parts of Pakistan), “women and girls stroll the bazaars after dusk without male relatives, and no one dares to bat even an eyelash at them, let alone stare sleazily and make risqué comments as is tradition elsewhere.” Women have also become an “integral part” of the local economy, including those who weave Hunza's famous handicrafts.
Hunza differs from the rest of Pakistan in other ways too: The majority of the people there follow Shia Islam, and many are Ismaili Shia Muslims, followers of His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan. (Most other Pakistanis adhere to Sunni Islam). Also, although most people in Hunza understand Urdu, the national tongue of Pakistan, their primary languages comprise Shina, Burushaski, Wakhi among others.
Syed Irfan Ashraf, a Pakistani-based journalist, said in an interview that since the people of Hunza belong to a religious minority, education is their main support system that is required for social mobilization. “Luckily, the Aga Khan Foundation has done enough to set up an infrastructure of schools and colleges,” he said. “Otherwise, this part of the country would have been totally ignored.”
Muftah.org reported on a young 23-year-old woman from Hunza named Parveen, who boasts a post-graduate degree and works at an IT center in the village of Gulmit. In her data entry training class, boys and girls are in roughly equal numbers. “For them, earning a paycheck at the IT center by working online with computers, doing data entry, and generating content for e-commerce portals, is a big step up from tilling the land,” wrote Maria Umar, founder and president of the Digital League. “Earning roughly $100 per month through this work is a welcome change for Parveen -- one never before imaginable in her town, or more generally in Pakistan, which has the lowest GDP per capita for women in South Asia.”
However, Umar cautioned that not everything shines brightly in Hunza. For while literacy sparkles, jobs are scarce – she estimated that some 90 percent of Hunza’s educated population is unemployed. “With each household averaging eight people, only male household members typically earn an income,” she wrote. “The largely unemployed female population works in the fields or helps with household work.”
One answer to the immense unemployment may lie with IT endeavors like the one Parveen works at. Now, hundreds of well-educated young Hunza residents are involved in IT centers, many of which are funded by foreign NGOs, studying e-marketing, e-accounting, content writing, programming, foreign exchange market trading and web design. It is hoped these courses will lead to gainful jobs, both online and offline. Indeed, Umar indicated that Pakistan is a leader in online work, ranking fourth in skills on a list of 158 countries and third in total earnings. “This alone speaks to the talent in the country,” she said. “Women are at the forefront of this surge. Online work is transforming the role of women across Pakistan and offering opportunities for them in IT and beyond.”
Although some of the remote mountainous regions of northern and northwestern Pakistan have been scarred by militant fundamentalism and terrorism, Hunza has largely avoided such associations. Ashraf explained that groups like the Taliban or Lashkar-e-Taiba do not have strong presence in Hunza, but he contended that such militants do exist in the nearby Gilgit and Chilas regions and could potentially reach the Valley to disrupt the law-and-order situation there. “But people in Hunza valley are peace-loving [and] usually avoid becoming part of any extremist ideology,” Ashraf said. “Similarly, they have so far successfully discouraged extremist religious groups from spreading their influence to Hunza.”
Nonetheless, the sheer image and reputation of northern Pakistan as a haven for militancy and sectarian violence has severely hurt the key tourism industry in Hunza in recent years. “Hunza people earns from international tourism, not local tourism,” Ashraf stated. “Therefore, terrorism in other parts of Pakistan is suicidal for international tourism in the northern part of the country.”
One of the most famous of all young Pakistani women, Samina Baig, who has become an icon of sorts after climbing the highest mountains around the world, including the tallest peak of all, Mount Everest, hails from Hunza. Baig, only 21 years old, wants to use her fame to promote human rights and education for women in Pakistan. “I want to tell women in developing countries that they are as powerful as their male counterparts and they can play an equal role in their respective societies,” Samina told Agence France Presse. Speaking of her native Hunza, she gushed: “a girl child has as equal rights as their male counterparts and our community does everything to educate female children.”
Indeed, she said she was shocked by how different the rest of Pakistan seems from her beloved far northern Valley. “When I came to the city for the first time, I saw a completely different world, where people are less educated, poverty is widespread and [the] female is a non-existent species compared to their male counterparts” she lamented. “But in my community, women are as important as males and they are playing an equal role in the society.”
Hunza: A Paradise Of High Literacy And Gender Equality In a Remote Corner Of Pakistan
By Palash Ghosh
on January 02 2014 9:55 AM
The Hunza Valley, a region in the Gilgit–Baltistan territory of northernmost Pakistan, is renowned not only for its spectacular natural scenery of majestic mountains and glittering lakes but also for the beauty of its people, who enjoy long life expectancies. The rough mountain terrain, clean air and water, an abundance of healthy organic foods like dried apricots and almonds, and relative isolation are believed to have blessed the locals with excellent health and long lives. Indeed, Hunza Valley was reportedly the inspiration for the paradise of "Shangri La" in the book "Lost Horizons" by James Hilton.
But Hunza and its environs are renowned for something else that is quite extraordinary: At least three-quarters of people in the Valley – and virtually all the youths of both genders -- can read and write (in a country where about 55 percent of the population is literate, and millions of girls are essentially blocked from attending school). Almost every child in Hunza attends school up to at least the high school level, while many pursue higher studies at colleges in Pakistan and abroad.
Outside of Hunza, education in Pakistan is rather bleak. In fact, Arshad Saeed Khan of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) said Pakistan spends only 2.3 percent of its GNP and 9.9 percent of its total government budget on education (versus figures of 4.5 percent and 12.7 percent, respectively, for India; and 2.1 percent and 14.1 percent for Bangladesh).
Dawn, an English-language Pakistani daily, reported that one of the principal factors behind Hunza's stupendous literacy figures traces back to the educational advocacy efforts of the Aga Khan III, Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah. In the early part of the 20th century, he persuaded the mirs [rulers] of Hunza state to educate their peoples. By 1946, 16 "Diamond Jubilee" schools were established in the Valley, followed by a decision from the Pakistani government to open up public schools in the Northern regions, including Hunza. In 1983, Prince Shah Karim Al Hussaini, Aga Khan IV, introduced The Academy, a high-quality school (including dormitory facilities) exclusively for girls in Hunza. By the early 1990s, the government created “community schools” in Hunza, including the Al-Amyn Model School in the village of Gulmit, which permitted the students' families to participate in lessons.
Dawn noted two other major developments in regional education gains: the establishment of the Karakoram University in Gilgit, and the founding of organizations by the Aga Khan dynasty that encourage universal education, training and scholarships. The present Aga Khan has also financed local agricultural and other economic endeavors through the Aga Khan Development Network. “There seems to be urgency in terms of acquiring education,” wrote Dr. Shahid Siddiqui, director of the Centre for Humanities and Social Sciences at the Lahore School of Economics, in an article in Dawn. “Parents in Hunza are convinced that the best thing they can do for their children is to help them get a good education. There is a growing interest in higher education for girls.”
Siddiqui explained that given the limited chances of higher education in the Valley, the boys and girls of Hunza go to large cities such as Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Islamabad for higher education. He also emphasized that parents in Hunza encourage their daughters to gain an education and are even willing to send girls to all parts of Pakistan to obtain a quality degree. “It is an approach that distinguishes Hunza from the rest of the Northern Areas,” he added.
Friday Times, an independent Pakistani newsweekly, described Hunza as “an oasis of education.” Janeha Hussain in the Times wrote that education and the attainment of knowledge are given top priority in the Valley. “Boys and girls alike approach their schooling with endearing exuberance,” Hussain wrote. “They can be seen walking along the roadside, lunchboxes swinging on their arms and books hugged closely to their chests.”
Even more extraordinary, Hussain indicated, the importance of education in this Valley has raised the status of women to equality with men. She cited that in Hunza (in stark contrast to virtually all other rural parts of Pakistan), “women and girls stroll the bazaars after dusk without male relatives, and no one dares to bat even an eyelash at them, let alone stare sleazily and make risqué comments as is tradition elsewhere.” Women have also become an “integral part” of the local economy, including those who weave Hunza's famous handicrafts.
Hunza differs from the rest of Pakistan in other ways too: The majority of the people there follow Shia Islam, and many are Ismaili Shia Muslims, followers of His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan. (Most other Pakistanis adhere to Sunni Islam). Also, although most people in Hunza understand Urdu, the national tongue of Pakistan, their primary languages comprise Shina, Burushaski, Wakhi among others.
Syed Irfan Ashraf, a Pakistani-based journalist, said in an interview that since the people of Hunza belong to a religious minority, education is their main support system that is required for social mobilization. “Luckily, the Aga Khan Foundation has done enough to set up an infrastructure of schools and colleges,” he said. “Otherwise, this part of the country would have been totally ignored.”
Muftah.org reported on a young 23-year-old woman from Hunza named Parveen, who boasts a post-graduate degree and works at an IT center in the village of Gulmit. In her data entry training class, boys and girls are in roughly equal numbers. “For them, earning a paycheck at the IT center by working online with computers, doing data entry, and generating content for e-commerce portals, is a big step up from tilling the land,” wrote Maria Umar, founder and president of the Digital League. “Earning roughly $100 per month through this work is a welcome change for Parveen -- one never before imaginable in her town, or more generally in Pakistan, which has the lowest GDP per capita for women in South Asia.”
However, Umar cautioned that not everything shines brightly in Hunza. For while literacy sparkles, jobs are scarce – she estimated that some 90 percent of Hunza’s educated population is unemployed. “With each household averaging eight people, only male household members typically earn an income,” she wrote. “The largely unemployed female population works in the fields or helps with household work.”
One answer to the immense unemployment may lie with IT endeavors like the one Parveen works at. Now, hundreds of well-educated young Hunza residents are involved in IT centers, many of which are funded by foreign NGOs, studying e-marketing, e-accounting, content writing, programming, foreign exchange market trading and web design. It is hoped these courses will lead to gainful jobs, both online and offline. Indeed, Umar indicated that Pakistan is a leader in online work, ranking fourth in skills on a list of 158 countries and third in total earnings. “This alone speaks to the talent in the country,” she said. “Women are at the forefront of this surge. Online work is transforming the role of women across Pakistan and offering opportunities for them in IT and beyond.”
Although some of the remote mountainous regions of northern and northwestern Pakistan have been scarred by militant fundamentalism and terrorism, Hunza has largely avoided such associations. Ashraf explained that groups like the Taliban or Lashkar-e-Taiba do not have strong presence in Hunza, but he contended that such militants do exist in the nearby Gilgit and Chilas regions and could potentially reach the Valley to disrupt the law-and-order situation there. “But people in Hunza valley are peace-loving [and] usually avoid becoming part of any extremist ideology,” Ashraf said. “Similarly, they have so far successfully discouraged extremist religious groups from spreading their influence to Hunza.”
Nonetheless, the sheer image and reputation of northern Pakistan as a haven for militancy and sectarian violence has severely hurt the key tourism industry in Hunza in recent years. “Hunza people earns from international tourism, not local tourism,” Ashraf stated. “Therefore, terrorism in other parts of Pakistan is suicidal for international tourism in the northern part of the country.”
One of the most famous of all young Pakistani women, Samina Baig, who has become an icon of sorts after climbing the highest mountains around the world, including the tallest peak of all, Mount Everest, hails from Hunza. Baig, only 21 years old, wants to use her fame to promote human rights and education for women in Pakistan. “I want to tell women in developing countries that they are as powerful as their male counterparts and they can play an equal role in their respective societies,” Samina told Agence France Presse. Speaking of her native Hunza, she gushed: “a girl child has as equal rights as their male counterparts and our community does everything to educate female children.”
Indeed, she said she was shocked by how different the rest of Pakistan seems from her beloved far northern Valley. “When I came to the city for the first time, I saw a completely different world, where people are less educated, poverty is widespread and [the] female is a non-existent species compared to their male counterparts” she lamented. “But in my community, women are as important as males and they are playing an equal role in the society.”
thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-6-298851-Seminar-highlights-conclusion-of-safe-water-and-sanitation-project
Seminar highlights conclusion of safe water and sanitation project
Friday, January 30, 2015
From Print Edition
Islamabad
Longstanding partners, the German Federal Foreign Office through Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW) Development Bank and agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) -- Aga Khan Foundation, Pakistan (AKF-P) and Aga Khan Planning and Building Service, Pakistan (AKPBS) -- have concluded a successful four-year project to help improve the quality of lives for over 200,000 people by providing safe drinking water and sanitation facilities in Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral, says a press release.
A seminar was organised to share key learning from this project that demonstrates a unique public-private partnership between AKDN, the Government of Gilgit-Baltistan, the Government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the local communities.
As part of KfW's grant of €9.4 million (Rs1.25 billion) announced in 2010, safe drinking water, sanitation and sewerage facilities were provided in northern Pakistan, through the implementation of the Water and Sanitation Extension Programme (WASEP), one of Aga Khan Planning and Building Service's award-winning, flagship programmes. The project included provision of potable water to people in over 12,000 homes, installation of 10,000 latrines and more than 12,000 household tap stands, as well as 500 communal taps. Three mega integrated area up-gradation projects were constructed in Aliabad- Hunza, and capacity building training conducted for over 500 members of Water and Sanitation Committees that manage the Operations and Maintenance of WASEP schemes.
During the seminar, KfW Country Director Wolfgang Moellers, emphasised the role of WASEP in promoting peace and harmony amongst the communities by mediating the sharing of water resources. "We appreciate the combined efforts of the concerned government departments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan and the Aga Khan Development Network in addressing the local development issues with effective public participation. This synergistic approach is the reason why Germany has supported AKDN over the last 20 years," said Moellers.
In his opening remarks, AKF CEO Akhtar Iqbal said, "WASEP not only provides support to address basic water and sanitation needs of the people but facilitates the communities to put in place structures for long term development in their respective areas. WASEP's approach of "working with the communities" has helped in building capacities of the local people, and empowering women. We are indebted to our German partners for this splendid support and uncompromising collaboration."
Seminar highlights conclusion of safe water and sanitation project
Friday, January 30, 2015
From Print Edition
Islamabad
Longstanding partners, the German Federal Foreign Office through Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW) Development Bank and agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) -- Aga Khan Foundation, Pakistan (AKF-P) and Aga Khan Planning and Building Service, Pakistan (AKPBS) -- have concluded a successful four-year project to help improve the quality of lives for over 200,000 people by providing safe drinking water and sanitation facilities in Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral, says a press release.
A seminar was organised to share key learning from this project that demonstrates a unique public-private partnership between AKDN, the Government of Gilgit-Baltistan, the Government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the local communities.
As part of KfW's grant of €9.4 million (Rs1.25 billion) announced in 2010, safe drinking water, sanitation and sewerage facilities were provided in northern Pakistan, through the implementation of the Water and Sanitation Extension Programme (WASEP), one of Aga Khan Planning and Building Service's award-winning, flagship programmes. The project included provision of potable water to people in over 12,000 homes, installation of 10,000 latrines and more than 12,000 household tap stands, as well as 500 communal taps. Three mega integrated area up-gradation projects were constructed in Aliabad- Hunza, and capacity building training conducted for over 500 members of Water and Sanitation Committees that manage the Operations and Maintenance of WASEP schemes.
During the seminar, KfW Country Director Wolfgang Moellers, emphasised the role of WASEP in promoting peace and harmony amongst the communities by mediating the sharing of water resources. "We appreciate the combined efforts of the concerned government departments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan and the Aga Khan Development Network in addressing the local development issues with effective public participation. This synergistic approach is the reason why Germany has supported AKDN over the last 20 years," said Moellers.
In his opening remarks, AKF CEO Akhtar Iqbal said, "WASEP not only provides support to address basic water and sanitation needs of the people but facilitates the communities to put in place structures for long term development in their respective areas. WASEP's approach of "working with the communities" has helped in building capacities of the local people, and empowering women. We are indebted to our German partners for this splendid support and uncompromising collaboration."
https://pakobserver.net/khushhali-bank- ... s-economy/
Khushhali Bank, AKRS to boost GB’s economy
June 5, 2018
Staff Reporter
Islamabad
Khushhali Microfinance Bank (KMBL) has entered in to an agreement with Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) for value chain partnership in Gilgit-Baltistan region. Under this agreement, AKRSP will support KMBL in developing customized financials services as per the needs of the region’s people. The aim is to increase financial inclusion in the area and give the locals an opportunity to reach their optimal economic potential.
The signing ceremony between the two entities was graced by Ghalib Nishtar, president – KMBL and Muzzaffar Uddin, GM – AKRSP, including senior management. They both also agreed upon carrying out awareness campaignsto increase understanding about the benefits of formal financial services – on an individual and community level.
“There is a need in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of a robust financial infrastructure, whereby the formal financial sector is extended into a previously underserved area. I am sure this partnership with Aga Khan Rural Support Programme will allow us to provide the people of GB customized, much needed financing for their business activities, which in turn, will improve economic activity and livelihoods,” said Ghalib Nishtar, while speaking on the occasion.
Since 1982, AKRSP has been actively working in the Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral areas on development and uplift of local communities. The organization manages multiple programmes including skill enhancement trainings as well as employment generation opportunities through third party initiatives with the overall aim to improve the quality of life for the areas’ people.
“We believe that access to appropriate financial services is a key enabler for long-term economic progress and human development, not just in Gilgit-Baltistan, but across other underserved areas too. Our partnership with Khushhali Bank looks to create a robust financial system in this area, so individuals can take maximum benefits out of their various microfinance offerings. We will work together todevelop financial services, including digital offerings, in order to boost the local economy through improved access to finance for all,” said Muzzaffar Uddin.
Khushhali Bank, AKRS to boost GB’s economy
June 5, 2018
Staff Reporter
Islamabad
Khushhali Microfinance Bank (KMBL) has entered in to an agreement with Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) for value chain partnership in Gilgit-Baltistan region. Under this agreement, AKRSP will support KMBL in developing customized financials services as per the needs of the region’s people. The aim is to increase financial inclusion in the area and give the locals an opportunity to reach their optimal economic potential.
The signing ceremony between the two entities was graced by Ghalib Nishtar, president – KMBL and Muzzaffar Uddin, GM – AKRSP, including senior management. They both also agreed upon carrying out awareness campaignsto increase understanding about the benefits of formal financial services – on an individual and community level.
“There is a need in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of a robust financial infrastructure, whereby the formal financial sector is extended into a previously underserved area. I am sure this partnership with Aga Khan Rural Support Programme will allow us to provide the people of GB customized, much needed financing for their business activities, which in turn, will improve economic activity and livelihoods,” said Ghalib Nishtar, while speaking on the occasion.
Since 1982, AKRSP has been actively working in the Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral areas on development and uplift of local communities. The organization manages multiple programmes including skill enhancement trainings as well as employment generation opportunities through third party initiatives with the overall aim to improve the quality of life for the areas’ people.
“We believe that access to appropriate financial services is a key enabler for long-term economic progress and human development, not just in Gilgit-Baltistan, but across other underserved areas too. Our partnership with Khushhali Bank looks to create a robust financial system in this area, so individuals can take maximum benefits out of their various microfinance offerings. We will work together todevelop financial services, including digital offerings, in order to boost the local economy through improved access to finance for all,” said Muzzaffar Uddin.