Along with a group of friends (who also happen to be Doctors) both Ripon & Me are founders of the registered charity 'Hope for Humanity' (HFH). We have completed a number of small projects such as buying a centrifuge machine & storage unit for a blood bank in Pakistan. We have also donated money to a library for the blind as well as contributed to other charities including Doctors Worldwide (DWW) & the 'Orphan Child'. We are open to projects from all comers (See below for proposal template)
Once back in Mardan we discussed opportunities for a HFH project. With the help of Abdul Wahab we have come with a possible project. Below is a provisional plan which we will discuss with our fellow trustees once back in England.
Ganderi Village (Nowshera) Sewing Class Project Proposal
Project Aims
- Approximately 150 women to be trained during a one year period; all will be given a sewing machine on completion of training.
- Empower women with a new life skill so they can earn money & not rely on donations.
- These women can make clothes for themselves & their families (reducing living costs).
- Give these women more financial independence
- Improve living conditions for these women & their families.
- Additional benefits include psychological wellbeing e.g. through social interaction.
- Pilot project; if successful can be expanded to other areas.
Time Frame
- Start as soon as possible, lasting for an initial period of one year.
Location & Facts
- Location = Ganderi village, District Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtun Khwa (KPK), Pakistan.
- Population of Ganderi village: ~30,000
- Ganderi is next to Risalpur, behind the Pakistan Air Force Academy base.
- The adjacent village ~ 0.5km away is Saees Mandi (submerged by the floods).
- 1km away is the Afghan Kheshki refugee village (very badly affected by the floods).
- Nowshera city is ~ 3.5km away.
Target Population
- Initially women from Ganderi, Saaes Mandi, Kheshki & Nowshera. All ages will be considered. Children will be allowed to attend the afternoon classes after school.
Background
- Ganderi is an old village from the British Colonial Period. It was used by the British Colonials as a Cant for their horses. The majority of the people here are Pushtoon. There first language is Pushto. The people here are very poor & the majority of those who work do so as manual labourers (e.g. brick work, building, farming etc). ~ 20% of the men are literate whilst most women are illiterate. However both boys & girls now go to school. The women are mostly housewives. These women do not have any means of income & it is difficult to feed even a small family with the basic earnings from a husband’s wages. The average wage is 6000.00 Rupees per month.
- Ganderi was ~ 1/3 submerged by the floods in July 2010. The people who are already struggling to live above the bread/roti line are now poorer after the flood. The floods have put this area further behind. Many families can only afford one meal a day.
- The Basic Health Unit (BHU) in Ganderi was one the bases for Doctor Worldwide.
Local Coordinator/Contact
- Mr Abdul Wahab (AW), Field officer for DWW since 2001. Lives in Ganderi village & will be able to oversee the running of the project from start to finish (e.g. acquiring site, sewing machines, hiring teachers etc – already in the process). This will not affect his current work & responsibilities for DWW.
Method & Costs
- The approximate cost of the project to set up & run for one year is approximately (350000rupees/£2500).
- Setup costs (i.e. buy the machines, tables, chairs etc) = £1000
- Monthly running costs = £125/mth (2 teachers from Nowshera for 6hrs/day - monthly salary = 8000 rupees each, & electricity, cloth & room hire).
- AW is currently trying to procure some free/donated machines (from ‘Five Pillars Charity’) which may help reduce the start up costs.
-How will women find out about this project? Word of mouth & flyers. We will pick the poorest people & there will only be one person per household.
- We are hoping to transfer the funds to a registered charity account (e.g. DWW Pakistan) in order to maintain a transparent audit trail. AW will keep a record of the costs & receipts. Once the project is started, AW will forward pictures/videos in due course & keep all donors updated.
The Teaching Plan
- The teaching plan is for 2 full time teachers to teach a group of 20-30 women sewing over a 3 month period.
- The women will be taught in 2 sessions: morning & afternoon classes (3hrs each). Each class will have about 10-15 women. There will be classes 5 days a week.
- Therefore every 3 months there will be a new set of pupils.
- On finishing the course, the plan is to try & donate a cost effective sewing machine (~3000 rupees) to each woman to get them started.
Project Evaluation
- AW to keep a register of the women trained for audit purposes.
- One year on, if deemed successful we can decide on either continuing in this location or moving to another village
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