Category: Success Stories

Shamshad Bibi

‘A woman’s place is in the house, devoting her life to take care of her husband and her children’, this was the mindset that Shamshad bibi was raised in. Married at the age of 20 she is now a mother of one daughter and three sons, traditionally her life was supposed to be centered on her family but Shamshad bibi did not conform to the societal expectations and worked to make lives of women in her village better.

Shamshad bibi has worked with HANDS for four years to spread awareness about childbirth, family planning and maternal health. Working for this cause is not just a passion for her but rather it stems from personal experience. Her fourth pregnancy was filled with complications which became fatal during childbirth, and despite being able to go to the hospital people in her community suggested to not waste money on her as ‘she is going to die anyways’. The reason she survived her pregnancy was because her husband took her to the hospital when her condition became too serious. But instead of resenting her community she decided to help other women in need of help. Several women in her village have lost their lives due to complications during childbirth and not being able to get professional maternal healthcare in time.

With the help of HANDS Shamshad bibi carried out door to door intervention going to more than 300 houses to spread awareness on the importance of mother’s health during pregnancy and birth, and the importance of having a gap of three to four year between children. Despite facing backlash from the people in her community who accused her of ‘trying to end their bloodlines’, Shamshad bibi braved on and her efforts were paid off in the coming years. Women were now adamant about going to the hospital during childbirth which was possible through an ambulance service and under the pretext of buying household items women will buy contraceptives from her. The number of deaths in her village due to childbirth has decreased accredited to her efforts.

Her generous efforts were not only limited to helping women and expecting mothers but in the time of need, she joined the HANDS intervention for COVID prevention and advocated for better hygiene and washing habits among her community. Community like hers was affected severely due to COVID where around 20,000 people were unemployed and many had to sell their personal items or take loans to put food on the table. Even though Shamshad bibi was not able to help her community financially, she made sure to protect the health of the people in her community.
Now at the age of just 35 Shamshad bibi is a respected member of the community, especially for women, and her unfailing efforts have paid off for the betterment of women in her community.

Mukamil Khan – (Dande Sundiya, District Shangla from KPK)

The 2015 earthquake in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa claimed the lives of many and left disaster in its wake. Mukamil Khan, a 30 year old resident of Dande Sundiye KPK is one of the many people whose life was uprooted due to the earthquake. Father of 2 children, one girl and one boy, Mukamil Khan works from morning to evening to make ends meet. As a contract worker he has worked on construction sites, cloth mills, and tailory. Lack of employment opportunities in his hometown has led him to work in Karachi earning up to 700 rupees and sending his earnings back home to pay for his children’s education and upbringing.

Mukamil Khan’s house that was already weak due to lack of quality construction came down completely from the earthquake leaving his children and wife homeless. His home before the earthquake was already in a bad condition due to an informal roof that led to snow and rain falling in his house, making it unlivable at times.

HANDS intervention at the town of Dande Sundiya was to provide housing to the ones who became homeless in the earthquake and provide them with financial help so that they can get back on their feet. HANDS provided the effected people with shelter, distributed money and seeds along with equipment to help them farm and earn a living in their hometown. He states that without the help of HANDS his family would have remained homeless as they could not afford to rebuild their house in 6 to 7 years due inflation. Mukamil Khan applauds HANDS and its efforts to provide housing to the people affected by the earthquake and hopes to contribute to the well-being of his community in the future.

Kausar – Rebuilding lives

Unplanned spread of developments in urban areas weakens the infrastructure. The problem is exacerbated when natural events such as rainfall exert more pressure on the already fragile systems. HANDS has helped people like Kausar in Yousuf Goth in Surjani Town to deal with disasters caused by urban flooding.

I am Kausar, a mother of 3 living in Yousuf Goth Surjani Town. Yousuf Goth gets flooded every year when heavy rains inundate our roads, drains, and homes. It is a terrible situation as the rain-water gets mixed with clean water, the drains overflow, and there is nothing but debris, dirt, and chaos everywhere.

We faced disastrous flooding four years ago. As we scurried to safety with our children to a nearby high wall, all of our belongings were swept away. The HANDS team came in to help us. We were stranded amidst the water, but the team aided us by providing us with food and water. Eventually, as the flood abated, HANDS also helped repair the drains and sewerage systems and gave us money to rebuild collapsed walls.

We face multiple issues such as no gas supply, open drains, and diseases due to a non-existent garbage disposal system. But the situation is not as dire today thanks to HANDS. Previously, there were many cases of diarrhea, food poisoning, and dengue, but as the sewerage drains have been repaired, the incidents of these diseases have decreased.

In the 15 years that I have been living here, I have seen a lot of improvements made by HANDS. The team has worked on safe water provision and has also repaired the bridge, which eases our transportation problems. Whereas many officials have come, observed, and gone, HANDS has consistently supported us.

A lot of our family members tell us to move away, but my family cannot afford to move anywhere else because we can barely make ends meet. My husband works as a tailor in a hosiery factory, and I work as domestic help nearby. But with three small kids and my widowed mother to support we are barely surviving. We have bought this house in installments and a large chunk of our income goes towards paying the installments for my house – there is still three years’ worth of payments left. My children don’t go to school because we cannot afford their fees. Government schools are too far away for my young children to commute.

I am grateful to HANDS for their support, they not only rebuilt the infrastructure, but they also helped us rebuild our lives. My immediate aim is to get my children into school soon, and with HANDS helping us, I am sure I will be able to have a better environment and future for my children.

Empowered Marvi as a Change Agent

Village Allah Ditto Lashari is a remote village in district Sujawal, Sindh, Pakistan with 165 households and population of around 1000. Marvi worker Ameena is resident of this village, she is 45 years old with four children, and had a wish to educate her children but could not because of lack of resources as her husband was an agricultural laborer.

As Ameena was committed to serve her community, she was selected to work as Marvi worker and was provided skill-based training to provide counselling service for Reproductive Health and Family Planning through use of videos in local Sindhi language on digital tablets.

Ameena provides counselling services to Married Women of Reproductive Age (MWRAs) on FP methods especially to young couples, and encourages inter-spousal communication and women participation in decision-making about FP. A Marvi Markaz was established at her house where a Lady Health Visitor visits every fortnight to provide skill based FP services including insertion and removal of Intra Uterine Contraceptive Device (IUCD) and injectable contraceptives while Ameena provides Condoms and replenish dose of contraceptive pills.

She established an enterprise at Marvi Markaz with the support of HANDS. She sells health, nutrition, and hygiene products as well as basic food items and vegetables at affordable prices. The women who were previously dependent on their male relatives for their basic purchases are now Ameena’s customers, enabling her to start earning an income.

From her income and savings, she purchased a motorbike for her husband which is now being used for taking her children to school and her wish to educate her children has come true with her financial gains. Whenever required, the motorbike is also being used to take sick people from the village to a health facility. Her husband also supplies milk to the nearby town, which further supplements their family income. For Ameena it is not only source of earning money but she also gained respect and recognition in village for which she feels delighted.

Today, the program has extended from 300 Marvi workers in one district to 3,950 Marvi workers in 15 districts across the country, serving a total population of more than 4 million including more than 850,000 women and adolescent girls.

Where There is a will There’s a Way

The village Haji Pirani Phull, UC Daraza Sharif, Taluka Gambat, District Khairpur consists of 59 households. The main occupation of majority of the villagers is farming, mason and labour work.

Wazir Ali aged 30 years, resident of village Haji Pirano Khan, working as a mason is the only bread earner of his family. HANDS intervened in Haji Pirano Khan village, and conducted awareness sessions to stop open defection and informed of the diseases related with open defecation and they met many community members including Wazir Ali.

Village members formed the Village WASH Community (VWC) in order to support the community to keep an eye on the hygiene and health issues, Wazir Ali was part of this committee as a member. He started regular meetings with Community Resource Person (CRP) and other VWC members along with community. The meetings and awareness sessions were a chance to learn about hygiene which he never knew. ”I made a promise to myself to create a sustainable community. It was also important that ‘new practitioners’ fully understand how to use the toilet properly, and that they introduce systems of keeping the toilet clean and its maintenance, making them realize that fingers can be a means of passing on disease and how important handwashing is”, Wazir explained.

Saleh Khan

Introduction

HANDS Pakistan has been committed to helping underprivileged communities progress. The IDEAS (Infrastructure Development, Alternate Energy and Shelter Department) initiative has helped villages, such as those that Saleh Khan belongs to by providing shelters, infrastructure development, and provision of energy through alternate sources.

Case

The earthquake in 2015 shook up the lives of my people in Dande Sundiya. One moment we were all fine, and the next there were 20-25 people who had died, while hundreds were left without a roof over their head. I am Saleh Khan from Dande Sundiya, District Shangla from KPK, where the earthquake left devastation in its wake.
HANDS stepped in to help us by giving us materials for shelters because many of us had our homes were badly damaged. However, unlike most other organizations, HANDS did not just help us at that moment. Following their true spirit of work and values, they continued supporting us. They helped during the disaster with temporary shelters but also aided us to make better, more durable shelters that would accommodate us for a longer period.

But our village was not only in need of homes. Our livelihood and agriculture had been badly impacted, as had our roads infrastructure. The HANDS team helped us to rebuild the roads using a sustainable strategy called Cash for Work. Under this program, HANDS helped us financially, and at the same time, they hired our villagers to make the roads. This was a brilliant strategy that was not only limited to charity but also helped retain our sense of dignity. They gave us jobs that helped us uplift our village.
Because I was actively engaged in the work, I got to bond with my villages very closely, and my supporters urged me to represent them in the elections. I was elected as a Nazim, and during my tenure, I worked extensively on ensuring water and alternate power supply to homes.
HANDS has been a valuable partner in the development of Dande Sundiya. As a Nazim of the area, I am responsible for the well-being of my constituents, but HANDS has been a great source of support and inspiration.

Azhar Abbas – Unstoppable courage

Introduction

HANDS has championed laws to encourage the inclusion of people with disability in all walks of life. Azhar Abbas was losing hope of being independent, but the support of HANDS has enabled him to help himself and others like him.

Case

I am a teacher, brother, father, shop owner, and a family man. These are the things that define me, not my disability. I am Azhar Abbas from Jhandewali Muzaffargarh, and while people might think that my life is not worth much, I have proved them wrong.

Muscular Dystrophy is a progressive disease that has afflicted three of my six brothers and me. I found out about my condition when I was studying in the city for my FSC exams. I was sad, but I did not let it pull me down. I continued with my studies and got admitted to attend a local university to do my PHMSC (homeopathic degree). But here, I was unable to continue because there was no disability access.
As my health deteriorated, I was forced to come back home. But I didn’t want to give up, so I did a diploma in homeopathy, studied for my Bachelors in Arts (BA) degree, and also completed a dispensary course. I started work as a teacher when I cleared the test and got approved on the disabled quota in 2017.

My studies, work, and home life was being adversely affected with time. I was fortunate then, that the HANDS team visited my village. They offered my brothers and me, wheelchairs to help us become independent. But when they saw that my house was not wheelchair accessible, they renovated it so that now we can do many things without support from other people. Moreover, I can easily commute to school and also to the small shop I have opened for homeopathic and allopathic medicines and other items.
I am working with the HANDS team to create awareness about the causes of my condition – inter-family marriages. With the help of HANDS, I encourage people to marry out of their families.
I am grateful to HANDS because they have taken a long-term perspective. Not only have they helped people like me individually, but have also actively lobbied for better laws that help persons with disabilities to be a constructive part of society.

HUSNA KARIM –– The Hygiene Champion

Introduction:
Lack of hygiene and open defecation is the root cause of many problems faced by people living in rural areas. The HANDS Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Department has identified that the solution to this problem lies in creating awareness and bringing about behavioral change. Husna is one of the women in rural areas of Pakistan that have benefitted from our WASH initiative and is, in turn, helping her community.

Case:

I am Husna from Islampur, Larkana Sindh and I am a proud member of the HANDS WASH Committee. As a mother of 9 children, I have always worried about the health and welfare of my children and luckily for me, HANDS team came in a few years ago. They carried out a PRA (Participatory Rural Assessment) and analyzed that the main issue affecting our village was that of the unhygienic conditions due to open defecation. The HANDS team explained to us that the diseases that our people were suffering from, and the abject poverty we faced, was due to the germs in the environment caused by human waste not being disposed of properly.

The CRP (Community Resource Person) sessions held by the HANDS team were an eye-opener, and some of our community members built washrooms. We immediately noticed that the health of our people was improving due to this development. Initially, my daughters used to go to the neighbors’ homes to use the bathroom, but this was not a comfortable arrangement.
It occurred to me to use the gold I got for my dowry, because it was just lying there, when in fact, I could use it to make my family’s life better. I sold the gold from which we renovated our house and made washrooms. Using some of the money I had also set up a small kiosk selling vegetables and other grocery items.
At 65 years of age, I am a matriarch of my family and am well-respected in the community, which is why HANDS chose me to create awareness. At the store, I make it a point to tell my customers to wash the vegetables properly and also to take care of hygiene. I am grateful to HANDS because they have helped improve not only my family’s lives, but have also motivated me to help the community get better.

Mohammad Imran – A Hardworking Journey to Success

Mohammad Imran a fortunate young beneficiary of the HANDS livelihood program. He was able to overcome obstacles such as the lack of funding ,education, and awareness and set up his own business.

I am Mohammad Imran from Jamali Goth in Hub Balochistan. I am a father to three young children, and am the sole bread-winner for my family.
I was financially stable as a community mobilizer, but when COVID-19 hit, things took an unfortunate turn- I was laid off. I managed on my meagre savings for a short time, but as the money dwindled, my family reached a point of starvation. Things were bleak, when I approached HANDS to help me.

I knew that HANDS helped people to earn their livelihood, and they gave me a small sum of money. I used the money to set up a table near a truck stand on the highway and started Easy Load mobile network recharge services . My services were in high in demand because there was no other service provider there. I was getting good business, but I did not have enough money to invest in a shop to avail the high demand.

I sought help from HANDS again by applying for a loan. The process of applying for the loan was simple. I was asked to get together a group of 3-4 like-minded entrepreneur. All verification and background checks were quickly completed and I was approved a loan of PKR 30,000. I used PKR 15,000 to purchase a computer, and PKR 5,000 to purchase a table and set up shop selling mobile network packages, remittances, and mobile accessories.

This micro set-up, however, has just been the beginning for me. On the villagers’ demand, I also started offering mobile network packages for my customers through Easy Paisa and Jazz Cash accounts that I set up with the PKR 10,000 remaining from the loan amount.

I was previously earning 15,000-16,000 in salary, but thanks to the loan that HANDS gave me, I now have rented a shop and expanded my offerings to include mobile accessories and SIMs as well. My community has also benefitted because of my business. Where previously the villagers had to go to Hub Chowki -30 km away to collect remittances, they can now simply collect them from my shop through the Easy Paisa and Jazz Cash services.

It is due to the support of HANDS that I am now able afford to study for my Online Bachelor’s Degree and support my family. I also try to encourage more people from my community to avail the support that the organization offers.

Yasir Nawaz – Unfettered Hope

Yasir Nawaz is a name you can give to the hundreds and thousands of children who have been burdened with the responsibility of supporting their family’s livelihood in our country. Many are orphans, while others come from families riddled with diseases, poverty, and a lack of education. HANDS aims to give structure and direction to these children’s lives by striving to give them quality education.

I am Yasir Nawaz a 12-year-old, studying in grade 4 at the Government Higher Secondary School run by HANDS in the village of Pir Essa in Sukkur. Sadly, I am not merely a student, I am also a bread-winner for my family. My father is critically ill with cancer and cannot provide for my family, which is why my brother and I had to start work in the fields.

My life is not easy – at my age, I barely get time to play – the only time I get is at school. We have the time, the space and the things that we need to play. When I get back home, I go to the field to take care of the crops and animals. Before working in the fields, I used to work with my uncle at our Kiryana store, but now I am mainly in the field, while my brother works as daily wage laborer earning 500 rupees a day. Our meagre income is barely enough to make ends meet, especially as we also have 3 younger siblings, an ill father, and a mother to look after. But we have no choice. My brother and I do what we can to make ends meet.
Despite all my struggles, I still want to continue to study. School is the only time when I can forget about the situation at home and be like other children – carefree, and happy. I come to school regularly because of my teachers who care about me, they encourage me to come, even though I have issues at home. It is also my dream to make the lives of other children better in the same way that my teachers make my life great. In
I love studying Urdu and am inspired by my Urdu teacher, who not only helps us learn the subject but also tells us about many different things in the world. My teacher makes a special effort to connect with me and to help me with my studies, because she knows all about my family background. She inspires me to learn and be better. When I grow up, I want to be a teacher just like her, so that I can also positively influence the lives of my students.

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