2024.07.04

Ghulam Nabi’s account of the situation at his school

In areas prone to natural disasters such as Dadu District in Pakistan's Sindh Province, schools have been severely damaged by floods and other environmental disasters.

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Pictured is a school affected by flooding. Water reached as high as the fabric on the left side of the building.

 

The 2022 floods destroyed many schools, forcing students to study in temporary tents. Said tents lacked functional toilets, creating unsanitary conditions that threatened school dropouts and jeopardized the educational prospects of many children.

Ghulam Nabi is a boy who is living under such circumstances. He is a third grader at a public elementary school in the flood-affected Dadu district. According to his teacher, Nabi is one of the brightest students in the school. Despite his family's difficult economic situation, he is eager to learn and is working hard at his studies.

Ghulam Nabi was devastated when he learned that his school had been hit by the 2022 floods. He asked his father to send him to another school, but this was not possible due to the family’s economic situation.

The government initially closed schools due to the flood emergency. Nevertheless, Nabi continued his studies at home, with the free assistance of a teacher who lived nearby. Despite the situation, his determination to continue his education remained unwavering. Today, his attends school out of a tent.

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His school currently operates out of a temporary tent.


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Children taking classes in a tent


JEN will be implementing a project to improve the educational environment in Dadu County. Nabi’s elementary school has been selected for the project and he was happy to learn that his school would be renovated and equipped with the necessary educational facilities.


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From May onwards, temperatures reach around 40 degrees Celsius or higher. This makes taking classes from tents hot and uncomfortable.

Nabi told his parents and teachers that he intends to make the most of this opportunity and continue his studies with enthusiasm. He also expressed his gratitude to JEN and the Ministry of Education for helping his school.

JEN’s work gives hope to children like Nabi. With your support, we can continue to bring smiles to children. Please consider helping us in our efforts

 

*This project is funded by a grant from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan's "Grant Assistance for NGO Cooperation" and donations to JEN.

 

Thank you for your support.

JEN is committed to helping people in difficult circumstances,

JEN provides support activities focusing on "restoring independent lives" and "psychological care.

Please support "the power to live" with JEN.

Click here to make a donation.

 

 

July 4, 2024 in Pakistan |

2024.05.09

Recovering from the Floods: Mohammed Rises Again with Seed Sharing

My name is Mohamed Ali. I am a resident of Dadu District.

My family consists of seven people: myself, my wife, my son, and four daughters. Each of my children is working hard in their studies and my eldest daughter is pursuing her university degree.

The flood of 2022 destroyed our houses and infrastructure. We lost crops, seeds, agricultural materials, two goats and three cows. We will never forget the pain. For a long time after this disaster, we could not buy seeds or prepare our land for cultivation.

Then one day I learned about JEN, an NGO that provides agricultural assistance to flood-affected farmers in our area. Fortunately, our village became the target of the agricultural assistance project.


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Receiving the "Best Farmer Award"

After much work, we are finally able to harvest wheat and vegetables and it is expected that we will continue to be able to produce enough for my family. From the seeds we harvested, we will distribute to two new farmers, so that more farmers will be able to grow their own crops and continue the JEN implemented activity.

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Harvesting crops


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Mohamed holding the harvested wheat

We heard the good news that JEN will be distributing additional summer vegetable seeds. This will be very useful not only for home use, but also for selling in the market. We have already received these seeds and are excited to start growing them right away.

We are truly grateful to JEN for providing us with the seeds, materials, and modern agricultural technology.

Mohamed Ali told us this story with a smile. I watched closely as Mohammed worked hard on his farm. He initially told me that he was helpless during the floods. I am very pleased to learn that he has become self-sufficient and that our project has opened up new possibilities for him. Mohamed is looking forward to providing some of the harvested seeds to other households and to passing on the knowledge he has gained to others. I sincerely hope that people in the affected areas will be able to live better lives like Mohamed.

(Qaisar: Project Officer)

 

 *This project is funded by a donation from Zensho Holdings, Inc. and a donation to JEN.

Thank you for your support.

JEN is committed to helping people in difficult circumstances,
JEN provides support activities focusing on "restoring independent lives" and "psychological care.

Please support "the power to live" with JEN.

Click here to make a donation.

 




 

May 9, 2024 in Pakistan |

2024.04.11

Water Supply Project Provides Hope, Health, and Happiness

Below is the story of one of our project participants: Mr. Qaista, a 57 year old man who has lived in a village in the former FATA region of KP Province, Pakistan for a long time with his wife and three daughters.


Mr. Qaista’s village is located in the highlands, and the villagers travel long distances each day, by using donkeys or wheelbarrows, to obtain drinking water from a mountain spring. The main water source is 1,500 meters away from the village, resulting in a great challenge to the villagers as water scarcity has been an issue now for many years.

During drought periods, community members struggle to find drinking water and have little time and money to spend on sanitation, which worsens the sanitary conditions of the community. The only source of water, located on a hill far from the village, is also prone to contamination due to the lack of a lid.

After years of suffering from water problems, Mr. Qaista remembers the day JEN came to the village with a water supply plan to provide a water pipe and a communal water tap right next to the village. This plan included the construction of a water tank and a water fountain for livestock.

Mr. Qaista stated, "JEN's water supply project has made it easier for the community to have access to clean water. The rehabilitation work was carried out quickly, taking into account the needs of the community, and the restoration of the water source was completed in a short period of time, greatly improving the situation in the village," he said.

Mr. Qaista added, "JEN also worked with community volunteers to conduct sessions on water and sanitation. These sessions were very informative and increased the sanitation knowledge and awareness of the villagers. I am deeply grateful that after the completion of the water scheme, the community has clean drinking water and improved water sanitation promotion and health activities. It has given us hope, health, and happiness," he said  with a smile.

JEN is working to improve water sanitation in Orakzai District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Province (formerly FATA), so that people affected by conflict and terrorism can secure and maintain safe drinking water.

Currently, water and sanitation promotion activities are being carried out in 7 villages (1,553 households), and water supply facilities have been successfully completed in 5 villages (1,188 households). 


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Mr. Qaista and his family  


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Successful implementation of hygiene training programs


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Staff and participants during monitoring

 

*This project is funded by a grant from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan's "Grant Assistance for NGO Cooperation" and donations to JEN.

 

Thank you for your support.

JEN is committed to helping people in difficult circumstances,

JEN provides support activities focusing on "restoring independent lives" and "psychological care.

Please support "the power to live" with JEN.

Click here to make a donation.





April 11, 2024 in Pakistan |

2022.07.27

Distribution of Hygiene Kits at Girls' Elementary School "Ali Sharai"

JEN is improving school infrastructure in Kurram District, the most marginalized district in Pakistan, where schools and sanitation facilities have been destroyed due to terrorism, conflict, and sectarian strife. The aim is to improve sanitation and increase student enrollment, especially among girls. In addition, we are providing hygiene education.

Photo 1 shows the distribution of hygiene kits to students at Ali Sharai, a government girls' elementary school in the upper area of Kurram District, after conducting hygiene education (Photo 1). After explaining the contents of the hygiene kit, the JEN staff reconfirms that all students have received the hygiene kit.

The hygiene kit bag contains 4 soaps, 1 nail clipper, 1 toothbrush, 2 pieces  of toothpaste, 1 soap rest, 2 sets of towels, and 1 comb.

On the same day, we distributed hygiene kits for schools. The kit includes drinking water containers (1 for teachers and 3 for students), steel cups (5 for teachers and 10 for students), 6 plastic water jars for toilets, and 48 pieces of soap. Photo 2 shows the principal (left side) signing the handover form in front of the JEN staff (right side).

We are making good progress in educating students on hygiene and distributing hygiene kits. We hope to continue to keep everyone informed of our progress.

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Students receiving hygiene kits

 

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Handover of hygiene kits to the school

July 27, 2022 in Pakistan |

2022.06.23

Girls' Elementary School "Ali Sharai" before the Project

JEN is improving school infrastructure with the aim of improving sanitation and increasing student enrollment (especially among girls). As part of this project, we are repairing facilities and building new ones.

Photo1 is a pre-project view of "Ali Sharai," a government girls' elementary school in the upper area of Kurram District.

This school has 225 students studying in two classrooms that need to be restored. Therefore, students sometimes attend classes in tents. Due to the shortage of classrooms, a new classroom is being constructed at the location where this tent was erected (Photo 2). At the same time, two existing classrooms are being repaired.

Construction of the classrooms at this school began in early March, with the foundation work completed and bricklaying for the walls underway. We will continue to keep everyone updated on our progress of activities.

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Students studying in the tent (Before the COVID-19 pandemic)

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Brickwork in progress for the classroom wall.

 

June 23, 2022 in Pakistaneducation |

2022.01.28

Support activities for "Hygiene Education for Students”

JEN's education staffs are coordinating with the district authorities, schools and communities on hygiene education training. We have prepared teaching materials together with the teachers of each school and started hygiene education for students in early December last year.

The training is currently on break due to the school's winter vacation (from late December to the end of February of the following year), but is scheduled to resume in early March this year.

The photo shows a hygiene education class being conducted in a corridor called “balcony”. Due to the ongoing construction and restoration of the school, the training may be held on the balcony.

 

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Female students receiving hygiene education on the balcony

 

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Students practicing washing their hands with soap.

The student in the middle is showing her washed clean hands to other students.

 

January 28, 2022 in Pakistan |

2021.11.05

Chief engineer Yousaf Ali introduces himself

My name is Yousaf Ali. I am from the Swat Valley in the mountains of northwestern Pakistan, about 245 km from Pakistan's capital (Islamabad). My hometown, Swat, is famous for its natural beauty and is called "Switzerland in Pakistan".

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View of Swat, my hometown

I majored in structural engineering at graduate school and I am a civil engineer. I have 13 years of practical work experience in various fields and projects. I have worked with various communities. I have much experience in the construction of schools, medical facilities, other infrastructure facilities, and water sanitation facilities. Through my civil engineering skills, I am working on preservation, creation, and improvement of the environment in which we live.

I have been looking for a job since I lost my job in September 2020. The JEN Pakistan office started recruiting chief engineers in July 2021. The job was so appealing to me that I applied and remained on the shortlist. I was fortunately selected for the position of chief engineer after the interview. As a JEN staff member, I would like to devise long-term engineering solutions that meet the needs of the next generation.

It's been a week since I started working at the JEN Pakistan office and I have found that all the staff are very professional and cooperative. I am honored to work with the professional staff at the office. Working in such an environment is a great opportunity to improve my career. I will be able to contribute to society based on my experience and technical expertise. I strongly hope that I will start working in Kurram district, and I would like to utilize my skills to improve the learning environment for students.

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Yousaf Ali, chief engineer working on various documents in the "Japan NGO Cooperation Grant Aid (commonly known as N-ren)" project in Kurram district

November 5, 2021 in Pakistan |

2021.09.22

Mask circumstances under the Covid-19

The Covid-19 was widespread in Pakistan like other countries. People with limited knowledge and supplies could not protect themselves from the decease, and the number of victims increased. Although the government implemented lockdowns or smart lockdowns in various cities in Pakistan and began vaccinations, the emergence of corona variants and lack of care about infectious diseases are still afflicting people.

JEN assisted families affected by Covid-19 in District Mirpur, AJK and District Kurram, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by providing food rations enough for 2 months. The projects were much appreciated by the community and government as the distribution was conducted at the peak of COVID-19. Beneficiaries lost their loved ones and lost their jobs. They couldn't afford the food for their families.

JEN completed a livelihood support project in District DI Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and Tharparker, Sindh province. The number of beneficiaries was large, and JEN had to distribute cattle feed, equipment and medicines to them. JEN always urged the people to wear masks during the project, but many people could not wear masks because masks were not available in some remote areas of Sindh province and District DI Khan in KP province. People in the communities followed an alternative way to protect them against the virus. Both women and men were using shawls to cover their mouths and noses.

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September 22, 2021 in Pakistan |

2021.08.04

The plight of education in Kurram district

In the Kurram district, the field of education has historically not received much attention. The JEN team decided to implement a project focused on education in this area, taking into account the current poor educational environment discovered from our initial survey. The survey revealed the deterioration of education and the school environment as follows.

The school buildings are in poor condition and most schools do not have toilets. There are some cases where open defecation is practiced, which is unhygienic and poses a constant threat to the students’ health. Additionally, conflicts between radical and/or religious sects have a negative impact on all people, but especially on children. Similar conflicts in the project area severely impaired the mental health of children in particular.

The JEN team interacted with students and teachers and recorded their views and opinions. Miss Zara is a bright student at the Government Girls Primary School (GGPS) "College Colony". When asked about hygiene education, she replied, "I know a little about hand washing, but I don't have any proper knowledge." She didn't know how to wash her hands, but she showed keen interest in hygiene education.

We also investigated the psychological problems that arise from conflicts or clashes in the area. Miss Zara said, "I love art and want to express my feelings through painting. For years we faced sectarian battles in our area. We are sick of these problems and want to live a happy and fearless life. When the conflicts were fierce in the past, we always felt scared when we went to school, visited the bazaar, and attended events. We thank God that things are getting a little better. However, there is always a possibility that sectarian conflicts will occur again in our area."

Ms. Meena Naz, principal of GGPS “College Colony” said, "In my opinion, the sectarian clashes have caused school dropouts and financial problems. I vaguely remember that many children were absent from class because both the child and their parents showed hesitation in attending school. Moreover, school closures due to the conflicts have negatively affected the children's behavior. The children were restricted to staying at home and could not play freely. They were deprived of the opportunity to see their friends, which clearly had a negative impact on them.”

When asked about hygiene education at school, the principal said, "Our school teachers have basic knowledge of hygiene education, such as washing hands, trimming nails, and wearing clean clothes, but they have not received formal training. We want to teach this basic knowledge to our students."

Regarding our support, she smilingly said, “I have a keen interest in learning about hygiene education and am looking forward to it. I want to covey it to my students and also apply it to my own home. I also look forward to the psychosocial awareness and care training. Our community has suffered a lot, but now is the time to move forward without fear.”

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August 4, 2021 in Pakistan |

2021.07.13

Completion of support program for pest damage in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province

We report on the livelihood support project centering on pest control, monitoring and management for farmers in two affected districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province(* hereafter referred to as KP province) by pest damage.

Locust control groups (LCG) for farmers (68 households: 476 people) who were seriously damaged by pests in two districts (DI Khan and Tharparker) in KP and Sindh province were formed. After that, necessary materials for pest control (insecticide spraying equipment, protective equipment (masks, gloves, glasses, hats)) were distributed as emergency relief supplies, and pest control training was conducted on-site.

At the same time, we promoted cooperation between the locust control room of the Agriculture Department in each district and LCG members. In preparation for the future locust attacks, we launched the locust early warning mechanism of the agricultural department and strengthened the monitoring and control system.

Furthermore, for the 4,680 target households (about 32,760 people) of livestock farmers, we provided livestock feed as an emergency response, anthelmintic drugs for parasites, and vaccinations. By holding livestock health management awareness sessions and providing relevant livestock breeding knowledge, we helped alleviate feed shortages directly linked to the food crisis. Equipment for anthelmintic treatment and vaccination was provided (including management) to each leader of a group of about 12 households. The equipment will continue to be available for livestock farmers.

This project was completed in May 2021.

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Livestock farmers seriously listening to the livestock health care awareness session

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Anthelmintic treatment and vaccination for livestock

※This project was carried out with a grant from the Japan Platform and a donation to JEN.

July 13, 2021 in Pakistan |

2021.06.18

Voice of Project Participant - DI Kahn district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province

Mr. Qamar-ud-Din is 55 years old and a father of four children. He was left with disability due to a traffic accident four years ago and he has not been able to move now. He said his salary was the only source of income for his family. His village is very far from the main city of D.I.Khan. There is no proper road infrastructure and transportation is inconvenient. It was really hard for him to go to major cities every day to earn something. Currently, his livelihood is entirely dependent on livestock, but terrible locust attacks deprived livestock of grazing feed. Livestock is getting weaker due to shortage of feed, but he cannot afford to buy feed.

In this way, JEN's pre-project survey revealed that Mr. Qamar 's life is in a very difficult situation. JEN team provided feed for his cattle and will vaccinate and deworm his cattle soon.

Mr. Qamar said, “On behalf of my family and my community, I would like to thank the Government of Japan, Japanese people, and JEN for their humanitarian efforts to feed our livestock.  Training community members to handle future locust attacks will keep our agriculture and livestock safe.”

June 18, 2021 in Pakistan |

2021.05.06

Water and sanitation support program: Interview with a beneficiary

Ms. Mehnaz Bibi is a 41-year-old housewife living in a village Pewarh, Tribal District Kurram and a mother of five children. She visits Zanana Hospital, Parachinar to receive medical treatment for her family. JEN team interviewed her during post-project monitoring.  She said, “I often come to this hospital especially in winter when my children are sick. Most of women from our area prefer to visit this hospital because it has very excellent doctors.”

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Ms. Mehnaz Bibi interviewed by JEN staff

Regarding the situation before the start of the project, Ms. Mehnaz Bibi said, "If necessary, my children excreted outdoors and I went to a nearby house (next to the hospital) to use the toilet. The neighbors voluntarily let us use the toilet, but sometimes they did not allow us to use it. In that case, I went to Imam Bargah (Shia mosque) located at 10-minute walk from the hospital, and it was painful to walk such a long distance. Additionally, it was embarrassing as there were so many men in Imam Bargah."

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A toilet at the hospital before the start of the project

Furthermore, she added, "This hospital is mostly visited by women. I met several women who visited the hospital during menstruation and they were so anxious about their problems. Some women have problems specific to female, and they also need to go to the toilet frequently to replace the sanitary cloths or pads. For women, especially people with disabilities, visiting a hospital without a toilet was a nightmare. Thank you so much for giving women great peace of mind." In this project, women's toilets were equipped with trash cans so that sanitary napkins could be disposed of. These toilets also have mirrored shelves where women can place sanitary napkins and cloths. A wall was also built in front of the toilet to protect the privacy of female patients.

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A wall-mounted women's toilet designed to protect privacy

Unlike before, patients now have access to enough toilets in number, suitable in the hospital. JEN constructed sanitary facilities with two separate toilets for women and two for men. In addition, out of the two separate toilets for both men and women, one is equipped with a Western-style toilet for people with disabilities to access it easily. Patients can now visit the hospital in a much more relaxed and better environment.

※This project is being implemented with a grant from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and a donation to JEN.

May 6, 2021 in Pakistan |

2021.04.06

Interview with a beneficiary on COVID19-related emergency aid

Mr. Syed Habib Hussain is a resident of Zerhan town. There are 17 people in his family.

In the interview, he told us, "I tried to avoid outdoor activities during the pandemic. But I needed to open my shop because there was no livelihood to support my family other than running the store. I abided by the rules of the Standard Operation Procedure (SOP) from the government. But unfortunately, I got infected with coronavirus through the business. My own quarantine was too late to stop the infection in my family, which worsened our situation. District administration department forced us to keep staying home, and none of my family was permitted to go outside. I had some savings, but that wasn't enough, and I needed to borrow money from my friends to buy what we need every day. I closed my shop, and the situation was getting worse."

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Mr. Syed Habib Hussain explaining the situation of his family to JEN staff.

He further stated, "Now I was allowed to open the shop, but I had to borrow a lot of money from my friends. I was worried about the repayment very much, but I felt relieved to know that JEN distributes food to the families affected by the new coronavirus. It makes a lot of sense to me, because this help can save me food and pay back to the people who helped me. "

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A JEN staff taking a note of some comments on JEN's support from Mr. Syed Habib Hussain.

April 6, 2021 in Pakistan |

2021.02.09

Development of Safe & Healthy Environment for Female Education

Amra is a 12-year-old girl living in Sarpakh village. She told JEN staff, “Education meant a lot to me in my life. Educated people can help and support others more effectively.” Amra also said, “I was disappointed of losing my friends because they were stopped from going to school by their families due to the lack of appropriate boundary walls. At that time, we were seen from the outside because the boundary wall was not high enough. But, since new boundary walls were installed now, we can walk around freely, enjoying sports. I told my friends that JEN made the wall. I hope my friends will come back to school again, as it’s safe and private.”

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Amra also said, “I was excited with new books given by JEN. As a lover of embroidery and cooking, I want to study to take in new knowledge and techniques in a spare time with some books on embroidery and cuisine I found.”

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Amra reads a cooking book at the library.

February 9, 2021 in Pakistan |

2020.12.17

Aid Activities To Ensure the Access to Water and Hygiene

Syed Najmul Hassan lives in the village of Zeran. He has a job, which is the only source of income to support his family. His monthly wage is 18,000 rupees (equivalent to about 12,000 yen), which is not enough to support the family of 8; a wife, parents, unmarried brothers, and 3 children (2 boys and 1 daughter). His mother has a chronic illness with high blood pressure.

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Mr. Hassan during the interview

For the treatment of his mother, he visits the Zeran outpatient ward of Basic Health Unit (BHU). It is the only medical facility in the village, where a doctor and two pharmacists provide medical care.

Whenever his hypertensive mother needed to go to the bathroom, the family had to look for the bathroom and walk to a distant Imam Bargah (a religious facility) or someone's home nearby in the area, as there were no public toilets available to patients either at BHU or in the neighborhood.

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At the hygiene session

It has long been a problem that not a single toilet is installed at or around BHU for the outpatients visiting the clinic every day. But, at his last visit to the clinic, he was so excited to find that an NGO called JEN had installed men’s and women’s toilets, washstands, and drainage facility for patients. “We are grateful that JEN has taken the initiative to support our patients,” he told us during the interview.

He also participated in the hygiene session, which he found useful. Knowing that female staff of JEN visit BHU to provide hygiene sessions to female medical providers, he encouraged his wife to join. The couple participated in the session together to learn new lessons. Until taking the session, they had never known how important it is to wash hands properly.

Toilet construction and the hygiene session can bring in positive effects on people’s life. The unavailability of toilet used to be a huge problem, but now they feel at ease as there is no need to go outside for a toilet.

* Toilet construction and hygiene sessions were held in the "Provision of WASH facilities to returnees in Upper and Central Kurram areas of Tribal District Kurram, KP Province" project. This project has been carried out with a grant from the Japan Platform and a donation to JEN.

December 17, 2020 in Pakistan |

2020.08.07

Completion on Pakistan earthquake wintering support

The project “provision of winterized tents and associated non-food items and psychosocial support to earthquake affected people in Mirpur District, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Pakistan”, which has been implemented since mid-January this year, has been completed. We distributed winterized tents, plastic mattresses, and plastic sheets as emergency relief supplies, such as, to 640 households severely damaged by the earthquake.

At the same time, we implemented psychosocial education sessions in communities for people who were affected by the earthquake and were  worried about rebuilding from scratch. We were able to implement this project with the warm support of the Japan Platform and everyone. We express our deepest gratitude for the efforts of all those supporting this project.

In the middle of March, due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection, meetings and outdoor activities were banned in the Kashmir region, making temporarily difficult to implement this project. However, thanks to the cooperation of the members of the women's committee established in the business area of ​​Mirpur prefecture to receive complaints and inquiries, we could continue the work, such as checking the usage status of the winter tent.

We could continue implementing psychosocial education sessions  by switching alternatives such as FM radio broadcasting, local TV, and social media. In addition, “people who participated in JEN study group as contact points for residents” who could connect the victims with severe psychosocial distress to experts and related parties supported the distribution of the booklet.

In the implementation of this project focusing on mental care, earthquake victims could survive the cold in a winter tent and learned how to get out of psychological pain, and we could connect those with severe conditions to specialists". We are grateful for the successful completion with the cooperation of the residents.

 

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JEN could hand over the psychosocial education-related IEC(Information, Education and Communication) materials to the local resident of Samwal Sharif town in Mirpur district.

August 7, 2020 in Pakistan |

2020.04.17

Progress of Psychosocial Support Project

JEN is currently cooperating with department of health in order to create system to introduce people carrying PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress disorder) to hospital and follow-up them. The system aims to support the affected people carefully to recover from PTSD, and female mental care expert is working on.

The psychologist made door-to-door visits, confirmed the situation at the site, and supervised materials (main agenda: “How to deal with post-loss stress”) related to psychosocial support based on the evaluation results. The materials are provided to help people affected by the earthquake to better understand their psychosocial sessions. As of March 8, five psychosocial sessions were held and 75women, 25men, 8 boys and 17 girls received a proper professional education from psychologists.

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April 17, 2020 in Pakistan |

2020.04.10

Monitoring Usage of Winterized Tents

JEN will continue to monitor the usage of winterized tents after distribution. As of March 8, JEN visited 360 households out of 640 households to which the tents were distributed. JEN recognized that these tents are extremely important especially for newborn babies, elders and women. JEN will continuously help households to set up tents properly.

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April 10, 2020 in Pakistan |

2020.02.05

Update of wintering support for people affected by the earthquake in Mirpur district, Kashmir province

During last week, JEN continued organizing coordination meeting and shared result of beneficiary selection (identification and registration) and NFI (non-food item) distribution plan with provincial government. We also hired new members and all staffs are working hard in the field.

For the winterized tent, initially the plan was to distribute for 550 households. Though, the needs of this item was extremely high and therefore coordinated with other aid organizations, conducted urgent meeting with assistant governor and agreed to distribute another 90 tents.

By the previous week, beneficiary selection for all 640 households were completed and 410 winterized tents were distributed. Including the previous progress, 480 households in total received tents and NFI items. In addition, 6 female volunteers from the community joined us and supported JEN’s field team for beneficiary selection.

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On the other hand, our preliminary assessment showed that many people, regardless of gender, are having psychological distress due to the damage of house, family/friends, livestock and loss of other resources. To respond this situation, we started psychosocial support from last week. Our psychologist conducted visits to household and distribution venue to identify people having anxiety for reestablish their life from earthquake damage.

On 4th February, we completed distribution of winterized tents and NFI items to the remaining 160 households, and reached 640 households in total. The next activity will be the monitoring of usage for the distributed item.

JEN highly appreciate your continuously support.

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February 5, 2020 in Pakistan |

2020.01.14

Distribution of winterized items and psychosocial support started in Mirpur district, Kashmir province, Pakistan

JEN will start distribution of winterized tents and water proof sheet with plastic mattress to 550 households (about 3,850 people) who had serious damage by the earthquake. Also, for people having deep anxiety to rebuild their life, JEN will provide physiologic support of counselling and psychosocial education focusing on mental care. By providing both shelter material and physiologic approach, we will support improvement of living condition and also reduce of life anxiety.

January 14, 2020 in Pakistan |

2019.12.05

A Survivor’s Story

In November 2019, local people who live in two districts of Azad Jammu and Kashmir(AJK) (Mirpur and Bhimber) were affected by 5.6 magnitude earthquake. 40people were killed and around 1,600 people were injured. This earthquake damaged infrastructures such as houses, roads, schools and hospitals in two provinces of AJK.

JEN assessment team visited Mirpur and held a meeting with District administration, Social welfare office. JEN also visited damaged houses in Mirpur. While visiting the project site, JEN staff visited Mrs. Nusrat Matloob in Mohra Kekeri village in Samwar Sharif. Her husband is a labourer, and he could earn 600 rupees a day if he finds jobs. He had to make a living in order to support old parents and 4 children, and Mrs. Nusrat Matloob was supporting her family financially by sewing clothes of local people. She sewed one suit and earned 200 to 300 rupees.

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According to Mrs. Nusrat Matloob, their house has 4 rooms and other rooms for livestock such as cows and goats. Their house was completely collapsed by this disastrous earthquake. Their young daughter was wounded, and she let her grandfather evacuate. Her husband got a trauma after this earthquake and he was not able to work. Although he started working for his family, he sometimes quit the job. This depression continued for two weeks, but then a NGO visited the family and gave counseling for a couple of days. After counseling, he and his wife started cleaning up rubbles at home and began collecting valuables such as ID cards.

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They owned cows which could produce enough milk, however, they had to sell them at cheap price after the earthquake. It is because that they could not afford to take care of them or to cure their wound by this earthquake. Also, they had three goats but one was killed by the earthquake. They still have two goats. The only source of income was Mrs. Nusrat Matloob’s sewing machine but it was broken by the earthquake. They let their grandfather care their adolescent daughter in order to avoid an uncomfortable situation like no partition wall and room. Also, she spent worst few days in a broken kitchen with eight feet during the night of the day when the earthquake occurred in the heavy rain and hailstorm.

During emergency support, AJK state government offered tents for households which were totally collapsed. At first Mrs. Nusrat Matloob got two tents but they are not enough to keep warm at night. Winter is approaching already, and it is impossible for children and elderly people to live together in those tents. In addition, the evacuation hut was necessary for their livestock. All household goods such as furniture, kitchen utensils and livestock feed crushed by rubble were broken. She wanted a sewing machine to produce a tent preventing them from cold and to earn money to fix their kitchen. Therefore, at the last visit JEN staff told her that Social Welfare department can provide sewing machines to women who have sewing skills, and JEN staff introduced her to the department. JEN hopes to support rebuilding life of those people who are affected by the earthquake.

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December 5, 2019 in Pakistan |

2019.11.12

Motivating and Moving the Community for Change

Village Angori is located in within JEN’s support coverage region of Para Chamkani in the Central Kurram District. The local infrastructure of village Angori are lacking in various aspects (Ex: health, education, lifestyle facilities), which is similar to what is seen throughout the entire region. In terms of hygiene, neither the area nor the villagers are in good condition. The village lacks any form of sanitation facilities. The majority of the residents of village Angori simply use the restroom outside, as using a toilet has not become a social norm in the village.

Hussain Gul is a resident of village Angori. Although he has a job, he does not make enough to provide for his family. His family consists of 20 people, and both men and women have no other choice but to use the restroom outside of their homes. They have one toilet within their home, but it is not in usable conditions. Although he has considered repairing the toilet, he has not been able to execute it. By participating in JEN’s sanitation and hygiene sessions hosted in the village, he was able to recognize the significant necessity of repairing the family toilet.

He was surprised to hear that JEN would provide tools for constructing a new toilet. After creating a construction plan and receiving the tools, he quickly began the construction process.

              “It’s so hard to see my children going to the nearby stream to use the restroom. I have heard stories of my friends’ children getting injured while going to a field or a river to use the restroom.He stated. During JEN’s hygiene kit distribution period, he received an indoor toilet set and toolkit and immediately began constructing a new bathroom. He has stated that the tools inside the hygiene kit were very useful, not only in constructing the bathroom but also to be used for agriculture and farming purposes.

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              He stated as follows. “We are currently able to use the bathroom in our house. We were able to realize the numerous positives that comes along with having a bathroom in

our house. It not only helped us sanitation wise, but also got rid of the stress associated with using the restroom. We now have a vacuum cleaner in our house which further improves the conditions of our home. It was especially good for the children and women of the family because the bathroom provided a sense of respect of personal dignity.

              Hussain Gul’s story is just one of constructing a bathroom, and JEN will need to further work with the people to achieve behavioral and awareness changes within the community. In order to achieve that, JEN hosted a sanitation and hygiene session for the men, women, and children living in the area. Hussain Gul’s bathroom construction after attending our sanitation and hygiene session is just one example that reveals how this project, made possible by the PHPF (Pakistan Humanitarian Pooled Fund) grant-in-aid, can be an effective and sustainable method in achieving changes in behavior and awareness regarding hygiene.

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              Hussain Gul expressed his gratitude towards PHPF and JEN’s support, and additionally stated that “A major issue of the village is the waste water and rain water that runs through the neighborhoods, cemeteries, and croplands. Our crops are severely damaged every rainy season. With the support from JEN, we hope to create a drainage system that will change the flow direction of the nearby river. I want to thank JEN and PHPF on behalf of the village, and I hope that JEN will continue to provide support for us in the future!

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Completed bathroom

 



November 12, 2019 in Pakistan |

2019.09.13

Sanitation and Hygiene Project in the Kurram District: Project Participant Alif Noor’s Story

              Alif Noor is a resident of village Manray located in the Central Kurram District. He works as a chauffeur, and that is the only source of income he has to provide for his family. His monthly income is about 10,000 rupees (approximately $65 USD), and that has not been enough to sufficiently support his family.

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              According to Alif Noor, he lives in a house with three rooms along with 7 other family members. There is only one bathroom inside the entire house, and it is not enough to meet the needs of the family members. The bathroom is generally used by the women of the family, and the men typically go outside to use the restroom. The men of the family only use the bathroom when there are possible dangerous threats in leaving the house. “We know that using the restroom in the outdoors can have various health risks and should be avoided, but we have no other choice.” He stated. He added on, saying “the hygiene kits and hygiene education provided to us by JEN have been very timely and spot-on. I am very thankful for JEN’s generous support.” Because his family was in need of a toilet, he declared that he would immediately construct an indoor bathroom in his home. The staff members of JEN promised to visit at an appropriate time to provide technical support for the construction of the bathroom.

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              Additionally, JEN hosted lectures on environmental hygienics, and food hygiene, and personal hygiene and home sanitation. We also gathered members of the community to explain the disadvantages of using the restroom outdoors. We advised the participants to drink clean water whenever possible, and to wash their hands when they wake up, before and after meals, after playing outside, and after using the restroom, as dirty hands often lead to infectious diseases. Furthermore, we performed a demonstration on how to properly wash one’s hands, and also had the participants practice proper hand washing techniques.

Regarding the hygiene session hosted by JEN staff members, Alif Noor stated, “Before attending the session, I did not know how to properly wash my hands. After the session I was able to think about the current conditions of my village and the roads, and how dirty they were. I will communicate what I learned at the session to my family, and tell them to be conscious about what they touch, especially in the kitchen, house, and the surrounding areas.”

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              Finally, he revealed to us that JEN was the first organization that conducted a project like this in their village, and mentioned that this type of support will have major positive effects on their surrounding environment, health conditions, and daily lifestyles. He also stated that he hopes for JEN to continue supporting the village and the residents, and also offer new projects in the near future.

September 13, 2019 in Pakistan |

2019.06.01

Mrs. Pameena’s Story: A women who spends a majority of her time collecting water

              Mrs. Pameena is a housewife who lives in village Maghrebe Sarpakh with her 4 children. Accessing the village from outside is extremely difficult, as the roads that lead to the village are not paved. According to Mrs. Pameena, “There are a couple of major issues to this village. The biggest issue is the lack of safe drinking water. It is extremely hard for us women in the village because it becomes our responsibility to fetch the water. We have to travel over twice a day to collect water for our families. The road to the nearest water source is extremely dangerous. Women often get hurt during the trek there. Additionally, using that water has led to our children getting infected with various diseases. This creates a major economic burden for our families. Also, we have no other choice but to dispose our bodily waste in a nearby empty field, because we don’t have a location or a facility to dispose that type of waste. This creates another threat for illness. In addition, because our village lacks a proper health care facility, we must travel to the city of Sadda to get medical treatment. For example, last year, my son came down with a bad case of diarrhea, and we had to go all the way to the city of Sadda to receive treatment.

              Mrs. Pameena is very thankful of JEN for the construction of a water supply facility in their village. “We are all very excited about the construction of the new water supply facility. This will solve the clean drinking water problem that has persisted in this village for a very long time. The women have used the majority of our time during the day collecting water,” she says. Furthermore, she mentioned “Although we have a toilet in our house, it is in very poor condition. We have no sewage system, and the children have no knowledge regarding hygiene. It would be greatly appreciated if JEN could provide us with education and training on health and hygiene.

              Mrs. Pameena stated, We will work with JEN. We hope that JEN will continue their support in our village. Our village has been abandoned by others in the past, and so we are very thankful of JEN’s support.”

 

June 1, 2019 in Pakistan |

2019.04.26

Nowruz Celebration in the Former Central Kurram District

In many regions of the world, New Year’s takes place on January 1st. However, there are various different New Year`s all around the world that are celebrated on different days in different ways. The Chinese Lunar New Year is a well-known New Year`s celebration, but there are many more New Year`s celebrated by different cultures, countries, and religions.


  Nowruz, also known as Persian New Year`s, is celebrated in different countries around the world. Although it originates in Iran, Nowruz has been celebrated in many communities. For people following some religions, this is a fun holiday, but for the Shi`a Muslims, it represents a holy day.


  Nowruz marks the start of spring, and the first day of the first month on the Iranian calendar. Family members come together and perform certain rituals. On the Gregorian calendar, it typically takes place on March 21st, or a day before or after that. This year, Nowruz was celebrated on the 21st of March, 2019.


  The main events of Nowruz are cleaning the house and shopping, and also visiting friends and family. Of the events, some unique ones include “Haft Seen”, “Haft Mewa (7 different types of nuts and dried fruits soaked in syrup)”, “Khoncha (traditional displaying method of seven dishes, placing wheat and barley dishes in the middle)”, “Amu Nowruz and Haji Firuz (figure wearing bright red clothing and a hat, comes with Amu Nowruz and sings traditional songs while playing the tambourine)”, and “Kampirak (old man figure with a long beard, representing nature and grace, and conducts charity at various villages during the celebration)”. Some of them will be mentioned in this blog post.


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“Haft Seen” is a very interesting custom, and represents the seven food items that start with the Persian letter “س” (S letter in English). This includes wheat, barley, samanu (a type of sweet pudding), apples, garlic, vinegar, gummy fruit, and spices from sumac plant fruit. Seven of these items are placed on the table and the family members sit around the table.


In Iran, the traditional emissaries for the celebration are “Amu Nowruz and Haji Firuz” and they appear in the streets to celebrate the new year.


“Amu Nowruz”delivers presents to children, similar to what Santa Claus does on Christmas. He is the husband of Nane Sarma, and they are only able to meet once a year, so the love story says.


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This year`s Nowruz celebration took place in the Parachinar region. The Shi`a community of the Parachinar and Ali Zai regions celebrated Nowruz in the evening of March 21st, 2019. In the morning, most famous mosques put out a massive flag. Over a few thousand people celebrated Nowruz with religious virtue. The people of Parachinar visited various mosques and also family and friends as part of the celebration. Additionally, children purchase new clothing to celebrate this day. At home, various dishes are prepared and are offered to family and friends. Musicians perform songs to excite the people of the community for this special occasion.


  The local JEN staff members had a chance to eat several dishes offered at the nearest imambargah (holy place for Shi`a Muslims). Overall, the city was filled with happiness and festiveness during the entirety of Nowruz. The celebration lasted between 15 to 20 days.


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April 26, 2019 in Pakistan |

2019.04.18

Unexpected Snowfall Delays Progress

 JEN is currently providing WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) project aid to over 2300 households located in 28 regions of the world. The weather conditions in these regions this year are vastly different from before. The length of the snow season and the intensity of each snow storm from 2018 to 2019 have exceeded records from previous years. Because of this, our water supply plans and hygiene facility reconstruction plans have been greatly setback.

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    In some of the villages, roads and trails became inaccessible due to the snow, as they became thin, slippery, and damaged overall. Access by car has become very dangerous due to the unfavorable road conditions, and as a result, many local JEN staff members walked to visit project participants and villages in the area, and walked to collect water samples as well. When the snowfall becomes too intense, the staff members have no other choice but to delay site visits.

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    These conditions make it difficult to move on with the project, and therefore, although the project feels rewarding (even though it is difficult to conduct), the amount of work that has to be done after winter passes keeps increasing. However, one good thing has been that we have been given an extension to complete the project, thanks to JEN’s understanding of our situation. Additionally, after a thorough discussion with all of the local staff, we were able to sign contracts with 3 contractors for our water source reconstruction plans.

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     The water source reconstruction plans have always been completed by the work of 3 contractors, each contractor doing a separate task. One contractor focuses solely on the reconstruction of the toilets. After that contractor is finished with their task, the plans are passed on to another contractor. The objective behind this approach is to maximize reconstruction efforts in the shortest amount of time. As of now, we predict that the reconstruction operations will be finished either in June or July of 2019, after Eid al-Fitr (Eid al-Fitr is a religious holiday celebrated by Muslims celebrating the end of Ramadan, and takes place on June 5th to June 7th).

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      Additionally, the procurement of sanitation kits is in its final stages. The distribution of these kits will begin in a few weeks, and the local staff members are currently looking for a storage unit to store the kits and a security guard to ensure the safety of the kits until the time of distribution arrives. We hope to complete all of the projects we have planned without any further delays or setbacks.

April 18, 2019 in Pakistan |

2019.02.20

Analysis of the Drinking Water Source Schemes

JEN has successfully completed the Feasibility Evaluation for the Water Source Schemes to be set up in the Para chamkani area, as part of the WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) Project that is taking place in the central region of Kurram District. The Kurram Regional Administration appointed this proposed project to JEN, and the JEN staff members have visited over 30 structures that specifically provide safe drinking water.

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Our results showed that indeed, the main source of drinking water in the Kurram District was a natural spring. Natural springs are a special type of underground water source, where water is pushed out from underneath flowing water due to pressurization. All naturally occurring springs are derived from aquifers, an underground layer composed of water-permeable rock. In the Kurram District, different types of wells are struggling to provide a safe water source for the members in the community, mainly due to the topography of the region and it being prone to landslides.

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Access to this region is extremely difficult, as all the roads are “Kacha”, meaning not concrete and not paved in the Urdu and Pashto language. Along with the afternoon showers and lightning storm season, the winter season has already begun. Temperatures have dropped approximately 5 degrees, and construction work will come to a halt until February. These conditions make it difficult and dangerous for local JEN staff members to visit project sites and participants, as the already thin roads become extremely slippery during this season. Because the region is located in a mountainous area, risks of traveling are very high, especially if safety measures are not recognized and acted upon.

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In order to prepare the Feasibility Evaluation Report, the engineers in charge of the program must visit the water source sites, which include travel of approximately 4 to 5 hours, both by car and by foot. This makes the visits very difficult and dangerous. Although none of the water supply scheme locations met the criteria established by JEN, these water supply schemes were identified by the village residents to be an immediate need. A few reasons include non-feasibility of schemes technically, community mutual disputes and lower number of population on a high-budget scheme. Ultimately, the team selected 10 locations to set up the water source schemes. These locations were chosen based on the amount of damage unrest has left on the area, and all of these locations also met the technological standards set by JEN. We hope to begin the water source projects in early March, or whenever the weather starts clearing up.

February 20, 2019 in Pakistan |

2019.02.01

Main findings from the preliminary -KAP Survey in Parrha Chamkani area, Central Kurram, Former FATA

The local JEN staff members have started conducting the Preliminary KAP (Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices) Survey. The main objective of conducting this survey is to gain an understanding of the current sanitation conditions and water and sanitation needs of the people of the area, before executing the project developed by JEN. Up until now, the staff members have visited a total of 27 regions and conducted this survey.

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              The results of the survey mirrored that of the actual conditions of the region. The residents are extremely impoverished, and the area lacks any form of infrastructure. Road conditions are also poor. Knowledge about sanitation and sanitation habits is low compared to the people of KP province*. The main issue found in this region remains to be clean water, as residents of the area use spring water sources and surface water found in rivers and lakes for drinking water and for everyday use. Spring water sources lack appropriate preservation and protection methods, and as a result, may be contaminated.

              Drains often remain uncovered and broken, and in most villages in the area, these drains are clogged with plastic bags and bottles, as there is no established trash and waste disposal system. Additionally, although there are bathrooms, these bathrooms are for the most part, unusable.

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              The main source of income in this region comes from daily wage jobs. The majority of those living in the region find work outside the area, as the region provides very little to no opportunities for employment and business.

              JEN has been conducting water supply and sanitation projects in this area and the people seem to be excited about the projects in progress. In the future, we hope to provide support for the increase and development of agriculture, livestock, and technology, which will all ultimately lead to a sustainable lifestyle.

 

*FATA was the area adjacent to Afghanistan previously governed by tribes. It was integrated into KP province following the constitutional reform on May 31st, 2018.

(MOFA Overseas Travel Alerts in Pakistan, 31 July 2018)

February 1, 2019 in Pakistan |

2018.11.27

Water is Life; Providing safe drinking water to those in the District Kurram

Drinking safe and clean water is a basic right all humans possess, but over time, as the world population increases, it becomes more difficult for everyone to access clean drinking water. Pakistan is one country that has been facing this issue, and requires immediate attention in order to find a solution to the issue. According to WaterAid, a non-governmental, non-profit organization focused on water and hygiene problems globally, Pakistan has ranked ninth in the ″The list of top 10 countries with lowest access to clean water″, and of the 207 million people living in Pakistan today, over 21 million of them have no means of accessing clean water.

Along with UNOCHA, our partner organization, JEN has been working on constructing and repairing water supply schemes in the most underdeveloped regions of Kurram district of Pakistan. JEN is currently in the research phase, and has been visiting low-income regions and regions especially in need of clean water to conduct analysis of those areas.

These areas are surrounded by beautiful forests and spring water sources, but there is no means of transporting that clean spring water to villages and individual houses, and therefore, the area continues to suffer from the lack of access to clean water. Additionally, water transportation pipes that were previously constructed have completely worn out, and now carry contaminated water. Sources of spring water themselves lack any means of preservation, and have become contaminated leading to problems such as frequent diarrhea and other illnesses related to ingesting that water.

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Spring water sources exist in some villages, but due to the increase in population and the lack of an established system to distribute the limited water source to all, not everyone is able to access the water. For example, in the village of Manrho kalay, a spring water source exists, but residents of the village are unable to access clean water.

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Because this village is in serious need of a clean water source, the JEN team chose to set up the water supply scheme in this location. Upon conducting technological analysis of the region, the team came to the realization that this village is the most in need of this water source scheme. The people of the region were very excited and eager about being able to drink safe water in the near future. The elder of the village warmly welcomed the team, and supported them throughout the analysis period, and were very thankful of the team`s contribution to the village.

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November 27, 2018 in Pakistan |

2018.10.12

A new project launches on August 20th to support the improvement of infrastructure, specifically the restoration of water sanitation facilities

As the anti-government forces began to mop up regions of Pakistan, many families were forced to flee their homes. However, following the completion of the operation in December of 2014, many families began to return home. 40,000 families have already returned to Central Kurram district, with approximately just 5,000 families remaining under displacement (Source: UNCHA Humanitarian Snap Shot, as of July in 2018, ). JEN has launched a new project to support the improvement of infrastructure, specifically focusing on the restoration of water sanitation facilities for those who have repatriated in the Central Kurram District, located in the Federally Administered Tribal Area on the boarder of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

 

  1. To repair 7 water supply facilities for 2300 returned families in 35 villages in FATA Central Kurram district in Pakistan, including water storages and water supply tanks, as well as the installment of new 19 manual water pumps to ensure access to clean water for drinking and irrigation.

 

  1. To aid in the foundation of 10 water management committees, and provide training on maintaining the facilities to ensure that the repatriated individuals themselves can be responsible for the maintenance and management. Additionally, to distribute basic sanitation kits to the repatriated families to maintain and improve the quality of sanitation via sanitation and hygiene awareness.

 

  1. To restore sanitary facilities at 4 schools and 4 clinics in the district, with 16 and 8 toilets installed at the respective facilities; to provide hygiene education to 520 students at the 4 schools, 130 students from each school, with the aim to maintain and improve the quality of sanitation.

 

Prior to starting this new project in Pakistan, the JEN staff members have relearned the CHS, or Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability. As a responsible trustee of subsidies and donations, we will keep striving to improve the quality of our aid activities through the evaluation and review of each achievement while continuing our studies, so that we can carry out our mission in a way that allows for our practice and aid activities to accurately reflect what we have learned.

October 12, 2018 in Pakistan |

2018.05.24

A meeting among LRC (Livelihood Recovery Committee) members and Project beneficiaries

The LRC is functional and the community elders and LEWs (Livestock Extension Workers) are providing support to the community.  The LRC members hope that with the passage of time the beneficiaries’ income from cows and small livestock will keep improving. The project beneficiaries have started receiving benefits from the 2 years project like selling milk by-products and getting baby calves of the cows.

The LEWs, during their engagement with the project beneficiaries have realized that the project is benefiting them in terms of livelihoods support through income generation. They have observed increased production from their livestock by utilizing healthy feed, implementing good livestock management practices and AI services.

During the meeting, the beneficiaries asked LRC members to communicate their request to JEN regarding the continuation of the same project in future. The project beneficiaries further shared that this project was unique because they were engaged by an NGO continuously for 2 years. Such long term project with consistency was never implemented by any organization in their area.

The most vulnerable beneficiaries in the meeting shared that they need support in terms of livestock shelter. Few of them expressed about the importance of awareness raising in women on modern livestock management practices. One of the village elders told that training on feed and feeding practices would be very productive.

The LRC informed that although the community received support in this 2 years project and learned about managing the livestock effectively, however, the needs on the ground are still high and everyone is hoping for such project in the future. It was shared that such projects strongly build the foundation for uplifting the livelihood of the community.

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May 24, 2018 in Pakistan |

2018.04.12

Good practice

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It was in February 2017 when JEN took 10 progressive farmers for exposure visit to let them gain awareness on modern livestock management techniques and practices. The visit was carried out at four locations namely, AHITI (Animal Husbandry In-service Training Institute) in Peshawar, Harichand Dairy Farms in district Charsadda, and Achai Breeding Farm in District Dir and Jaba Research Center in District Mansehara. After the exposure visit, one progressive farmer built a separate proper livestock shelter for his livestock. It took a couple of months for him to build it due to managing and organizing money for the construction.  The remaining progressive farmers also started to build separate shelters for their livestock in February and March 2018. So 9 households constructed such shelters utilizing their personal resources.

 

In our monitoring visit to the project site in March 2018, these farmers informed that initially they learned about the importance of a shelter for livestock in the training and later on, in the exposure visit, they observed real instances. This practice was contrary to their past knowledge that they have to keep the animals in closed rooms so that weather doesn’t affect their health. They brought out their animals from closed rooms or made the rooms ventilated. Though they wanted to build shelters, their financial constraints kept them from starting it. But they finally did it with their limited resources. These farmers said that utilization of a shelter for livestock has improved their health as well as their production capacity.

 

It is encouraging that the people have started to work on their own to improve  conditions for their livestock, which is a very important source of their livelihood and food security. This is a positive change in  people’s practice. However, still more encouragement from the humanitarian community is required constantly to enable the people to get back normal and decent lives.

April 12, 2018 in Pakistan |

2018.03.29

Demand of Mott Grass

People take their livestock to the field for grazing, but it’s not enough to rely only on grazing. Farmers who can afford provide other sources of feed to their livestock to get maximum dairy production.   This article is again about Mott grass we let you know about the other day.

In 2016, during coordination meetings with the livestock department, JEN came to know about Mott grass seedlings which are evergreen, green fodder and contains much protein. In the government dairy farms, the grass is cultivated in wide areas for their livestock. JEN requested the farms’ director to provide Mott grass seedlings for our beneficiaries as the majority of population lacked balanced diet for their livestock.

Initially, JEN collected seedlings and distributed them to progressive farmers on a trial basis. After their successful cultivation, JEN again requested the director to provide more seedlings to cover maximum beneficiaries. Then the farm provided 7,000 seedlings, which are being distributed to 70 HHs.

During the seedlings distribution, their demand raised as the progressive farmers shared people how successful they grew seedlings. People from outside JEN’s targeted areas approached us through livelihood recovery committee (LRC) members for provision of seedlings. JEN coordinated with the government dairy farm director and requested to provide more seedlings to people having livestock. The director promised their further support in the coming season. It was decided with LRC that they would enhance the farmers, who are requesting for seedlings, to go by themselves to collect ones. Progressive farmers will demonstrate the cultivation method for those people.

Previously, people were not aware of this fodder and did not grow it, so the credit goes to the current project, JEN and the livestock department to introduce it to FATA.

[Farmers' meeting on Mott grass seedlings]
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[Mott grass seedling distribution]
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[Mott grass seedling collection in government dairy farm]
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March 29, 2018 in Pakistan |

2018.03.15

Climate and Agriculture of Pakistan

Pakistan is blessed with a beautiful landscape, four seasons and best soil which is perfect for agriculture. Agriculture is the source of income for about 40% population of the country. Geographically, Pakistan is located in an area with plenty of snow in the north, which results in enough water used for drinking and agriculture. That is why Pakistan is famous for best quality of crops such as rice, wheat, corn, cotton and fruits. Pakistan also produces quality mangoes, apples, oranges, cherries, bananas and guavas abundant enough for domestic population and export.

[Guava ready to reap]
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[Guava seller]
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[Sliced guava]
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But sometimes those blessings become tricky for Pakistan in the shape of floods, landslides and other disasters. We are saying climate change has been exacerbating natural disasters, but it is not good to blame only the nature because humans are equally responsible for all its destruction.

We can’t properly manage the water resources and it is getting lesser and lesser with time. At the household level, people don’t have awareness to save water and we are regularly misusing it. We don’t have proper planning to store the rain water by means of dams where no rivers are available. We don’t have tradition to preserve our precious forests and due to deforestation, it is feared our climate is getting worse, increasing and escalating natural disasters.

[Deforested mountains]
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There are some initiatives from governments and organizations such as plantation of trees, saving the water and other natural resources, but the lack of proper awareness among common people will never make those projects successful. Governments, civil societies and NGOs should jointly work on this very important issue to save the future generations who will be vulnerable.

[Tarbela Dam]
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March 15, 2018 in Pakistan |

2018.02.22

Female Involvement in Kitchen Gardening

In Pakistan, little by little people are returning to their homes following
the mop-up campaign against the armed groups. Look at the details here.

With the help of JEN’s supporters and the Japanese government JEN is working
on a livelihood improvement program, targeting the repatriated inhabitants of
FATA (Federally Administrated Tribal Area) Khyber Agency.
This program focuses on breeding livestock.

******

JEN has been providing returnees to Khyber Agency in FATA with livelihood support for them to restore economic activities. Hardworking women of the region not only run domestic responsibilities but also  perform firsthand livestock management as well as provide support in agricultural management, particularly kitchen gardening.
Mrs. Khanam is one of the women. JEN has supported them providing vegetable seeds and training back in 2015. Her daily morning routine starts with sending her three children to school and concluding domestic tasks such as cleaning/washing in the next couple of hours before she turns towards her small farm in the backyard of her home for kitchen gardening. In winter, she sows spinach seeds for the usage of her entire family members. Preparing the field for the seeds, watering them and taking care of the plants is her sole responsibility. Her husband supports in bringing organic fertilizer.

She explains in her own words, “After cultivation, we have fresh and home-grown spinach available which we cook frequently. It saves us money and is nutritious. I sometimes gift it to relatives and neighbors in my community.” She is a wise woman and keeps some quantity of seeds from the produce every season to sow in the next season for sustainable yield.

[Mrs. Khanam is cultivating spinach to prepare lunch for her children. She is holidng one of her relative children]
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[Green field of spinach in the backyard is ready for cultivation]
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[Seeds from the spinach plants to sow in next season]
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February 22, 2018 in Pakistan |

2018.02.15

Government Middle School Speen Qabar in Bara Khyber agency

In Pakistan, little by little people are returning to their homes following
the mop-up campaign against the armed groups. Look at the details here.

With the help of JEN’s supporters and the Japanese government JEN is working
on a livelihood improvement program, targeting the repatriated inhabitants of
FATA (Federally Administrated Tribal Area) Khyber Agency.
This program focuses on breeding livestock.

******

Tehsil Bara Khyber Agency is one of the most affected areas by militancy. There were many schools,  but the education facilities were not enough before people’s displacement. Students’ furniture, water and sanitation (WASH) facilities were lacking. Therefore parents didn’t send their kids to school, and the enrolment rate was low.

When the situation became worse, people started moving to settled areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and  temporarily dislocated persons (TDPs) camps mainly in Peshawar. Humanitarian organizations were working in the education sector inside those camps. Transitional shelters with proper WASH facilities in schools were installed, and awareness campaigns were carried out by organizations regarding the importance of education for both boys and girls. With all these efforts, the TDPs slowly came to know why education is important for  future success and peace.

After the situation became normal, and people started to move back to their places of origin, the scenario was totally different there. Many houses, schools, hospitals and other infrastructure were destroyed due to war in their areas.

One of the examples is the Government Middle School Speen Qabar. The building is totally destroyed, and now they don’t have permanent structure. Before people’s displacement, there were around 900 students.  After people’s return to the area in 2014, UNICEF provided shelter classrooms and temporary tents for classes, but the school is still deprived of basic facilities, such as electricity, water and toilets. Due to lack of facilities, children have to study in open air areas and disturbs their education once it gets rain. The number of students still remains 600.

A school teacher during our interview said, ”there is a change and people have started to know about the importance of education, but the lack of facilities again is affecting for the education. It is intense need to provide proper buildings with full facilities.  People raise new hope and that hope is incomplete without education and good education is impossible without facilities.”

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【JEN is now accepting donations. Your help would be very much appreciated.
DONATE here

February 15, 2018 in Pakistan |

2018.02.01

Cultural Heritage in Peshawar

In Pakistan, little by little people are returning to their homes following
the mop-up campaign against the armed groups. Look at the details here.

With the help of JEN’s supporters and the Japanese government JEN is working
on a livelihood improvement program, targeting the repatriated inhabitants of
FATA (Federally Administrated Tribal Area) Khyber Agency.
This program focuses on breeding livestock.

******

Peshawar is one of the historical cities of Pakistan having several cultural heritage places. The cultural heritage indicates the fantastic art work in terms of construction. The historical profile of the city dates back to the 3rd century BC, which makes it one of the oldest existing cities of South Asia. It reveals the rich archeological signs of Peshawar. These cultural heritage places are located in 10 km distance from JEN field office.

One such heritage place is called “Gorkhatri”. It is a typical Mughal sarai (guesthouse) built in the Mughal Era by Jahan Ara Begum, a daughter of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, in 1641. It is a refreshed yet complex compound, spread over an area of 90 Kanal (45,527 square meters). She renamed it as 'Sarai Jahanabad', constructed a mosque and had dug wells up with stairways inside them, allowing people coming from long distance to either drink or fill their pitchers of water.  The compound used to serve as a safety inn for camel caravans loaded with merchandise. There are two main gates on its western and eastern sides, each with double-storied pavilion and a 10-room apartment.

[The Gorkhatri (guest house)]
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Sethis Mohallah is another place in the heart of Peshawar city. It contains seven houses including the famous “Sethi House”, a cultural heritage, built by the Sethis family. These unique houses are a blend of the art and architecture of Ghandhara and Central Asia cultures. The first was built by Haji Ahmed Gul in 1884.

[Sethi House Balcony Windows]
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[Sethi House First Floor]
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It is located close to the Ghanta Gar (clock tower) in Peshawar old city. The Ghanta Ghar was constructed in 1900 and was open to the public. It’s 85 feet tall and give an attractive historical look as a cultural heritage. The ‘Sethis’ were traders, who had business in China, the sub-continent, Afghanistan, Iran and Central Asia, with trade centers at Mazar Sharif, Tashkent, Bukhara, Samarqand and other cities in the Asia region. In the Sethi House, merchandisers used to exchange currency.

[The Ghanta Gar (Clock tower)]
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It is constructed from wood and took thirty-five years to complete.

[Street in old Peshawar city where the Sethi houses are situated]
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【JEN is now accepting donations. Your help would be very much appreciated.
DONATE here

February 1, 2018 in Pakistan |

2018.01.11

Nutrition and Profit from Cow’s Milk

In Pakistan, little by little people are returning to their homes following
the mop-up campaign against the armed groups. Look at the details here.

With the help of JEN’s supporters and the Japanese government JEN is working
on a livelihood improvement program, targeting the repatriated inhabitants of
FATA (Federally Administrated Tribal Area) Khyber Agency.
This program focuses on breeding livestock.

******

Livelihood support is the major subject of JEN’s ongoing project for returnees in Khyber Agency, FATA. JEN’s female beneficiaries take care of their livestock at their homes through feeding, watering and milking. Mrs. Shaista Gul is one of them. She has two daughters and two sons. Three of them are going to school and one is just two and half years old who stays at home with her. Her husband works as a laborer on daily wages.   

In an interview with JEN’s staff, she said, “We spent all of our resources on the reconstruction of our house. It affected our budget especially for the food and nutrition. In the past, we used to rear goats at home with a little milk production. Now my family has got one cow from JEN which gives around three liters of milk a day. Most portion of the milk, around two liters, we use at home. We make yogurt and butter and also my children drink some milk. I also sell one liter of milk to my neighbors and earn around one hundred rupees from it. Though it is difficult, I try to save the profit from the milk selling to meet some of our needs”.

The rehabilitation phase is ongoing in all FATA and Khyber Agency and situation is improving gradually. Her husband who is a laborer continues working in Khyber Agency or Peshawar to help in livelihood of his family and the cow is also supporting it and in his family’s nutrition.

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【JEN is now accepting donations. Your help would be very much appreciated.
DONATE here

January 11, 2018 in Pakistan |

2017.12.14

Entrepreneurship Training for Youth

In Pakistan, little by little people are returning to their homes following
the mop-up campaign against the armed groups. Look at the details here.

With the help of JEN’s supporters and the Japanese government JEN is working
on a livelihood improvement program, targeting the repatriated inhabitants of
FATA (Federally Administrated Tribal Area) Khyber Agency.
This program focuses on breeding livestock.

**********

With the help of JEN’s supporters and the Japanese government JEN is working
on a livelihood improvement program, targeting the repatriated inhabitants of
FATA (Federally Administrated Tribal Area) Khyber Agency.
This program focuses on breeding livestock.

JEN conducted a three-day entrepreneurship training for the youth groups in the project area. The objective was to engage the unemployed youths in economic activities such as income generation. This kind of training was the first ever one as informed by the youth groups and village elders in the target area.

Before the training, JEN staff carried out screening to select the suitable youths. In the process, 20 youths were selected for the training. Since this activity was new for youth members, they showed a lot of curiosity in the beginning of the training.

[Youth group members screening]
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The training focused on improving business knowledge of the youths, how to develop linkages with local market and how to generate income from selling milk from our beneficiaries as well as other available local resources. Some of the youths already had some experience in small scale businesses before their dislocation from the area such as selling eggs, vegetables  and small livestock.

They actively participated in the training. The training facilitators found them interactive during the training. They asked different relevant questions during the session and the facilitators answered their questions.

[Youth group Training]
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From this training, JEN aims to encourage the youths to start entrepreneurship as an income generating activity. In the current situation, the government is not able to accommodate the huge number of youths in jobs. On other hand, the private sector could not grow due to the long emergency situation in the area.  Although the private sector has started blooming, it will take time to develop.

In this way, they can earn more profit than from jobs as well as they can accommodate several unemployed youths with them. Entrepreneurship has huge potential in many of the untapped areas and sectors in the region.

JEN staff ensured the youths that they would guide them in every step of their entrepreneurship journey. JEN will conduct a refresher training in 2018 to strengthen their capacity.

【JEN is now accepting donations. Your help would be very much appreciated.
DONATE here

December 14, 2017 in Pakistan |

2017.11.30

Sports in Bara, Khyber Agency

In Pakistan, little by little people are returning to their homes following
the mop-up campaign against the armed groups. Look at the details here.

With the help of JEN’s supporters and the Japanese government JEN is working
on a livelihood improvement program, targeting the repatriated inhabitants of
FATA (Federally Administrated Tribal Area) Khyber Agency.
This program focuses on breeding livestock.

******

With the return of displaced people to Bara, the government and humanitarian organizations started projects to restore the normal life of the people. Prior to displacement, the famous sports in Bara were cricket, hokey, volleyball and football. In particular, cricket was considered the game of the area as it was played all around Bara. After the return, people have lost the passion for cricket and other sports as they were busy with their settlement which always takes time.  Children, however, can be seen in some parts of Bara playing cricket. The schools were the first facilities for the children for promotion of sports, but after the war and long displacement, there is not much left with the schools as well in this regard.

Considering the needs and to promote sports in the area, the government has taken its first step. In November 2016, the head of Army inaugurated a sports complex in Bara Khyber Agency together with the most famous cricketer of Pakistan, Shahid Khan Afridi. The cricket stadium-cum-sports complex is named after him as Shahid Afridi Sports Complex. The complex is composed of a cricket ground, football ground, basketball ground and net practice areas. There will be one children park as well within the sports complex. One water supply plant (solar system plant) will be installed as well in the sports complex.

Although at the moment, the stadium and other facilities are not so crowded but in the future after people fully settled, they will start using it. Local people say that there is much talent in the area, however due to unavailability of resources and facilities, the talents can’t be brought forward. They are confident that with such facilities available for the people of Bara, many athletes of national and international standards will emerge. However, it’s a long journey ahead and this sports complex project is just a first step.

[Complex model]
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[Cricket net practice place]
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[football ground]
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[basketball court]
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[Solar power water tank]
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【JEN is now accepting donations. Your help would be very much appreciated.
DONATE here

November 30, 2017 in Pakistan |

2017.11.16

Tour of Gilgit-Baltistan

In Pakistan, little by little people are returning to their homes following
the mop-up campaign against the armed groups. Look at the details here.

Today I will take you for a small tour of northern areas of Pakistan, currently known as Gilgit-Baltistan.

One day, sitting with friends, bored from our highest level, hectic busy daily work routine, we decided to escape from our offices and planned a holiday trip. As we wanted to go to any peaceful area out of city life, finally after some discussion, we decided to go to Gilgit-Baltistan.

Our first destination was Hunza passing through Kaghan, Naran, Babusar top, Chillas and Gilgit. We took our route through the famous Karakoram Highway. This highway is often referred as eighth wonder of the world as being one of the highest paved roads in the world passing through Karakoram mountain range, connecting Pakistan with China. On the route, we sighted Nanga Parbat mountain (9th highest of the world), Rakaposhi (27th highest of the world). View of Rakaposhi peak at sunset was miraculous (not describable and you cannot capture what it looks like unless you go there yourself).

[Karakoram highway]
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[Rakaposhi at sunset]
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Hunza has enriched history having Altit Fort (founded in the 11th century) and Baltit fort (founded in the 8th century) along the silk route. Long time ago, Gilgit-Baltistan was divided into many small states. Among them, Hunza Kingdom was most wealthy and their rulers were called Mirs. Then we travelled towards Pak-China border and sighted the Attabad Lake formed due to massive landslide back in 2010 which blocked the flow of Hunza River, the Passu cones and the Khunjerab Pass (Pak-China Border).

The peace that we found in Hunza Valley overnight was astonishing. No noise, even we could hear sound of a river from miles away while lying on our bed at night. This is all because of no factories, no machines, no such traffic like we have in cities. Even after 15 hours of drive from Rawalpindi to Hunza, we were not feeling tired  because of such a calm atmosphere that we were enjoying there.         

BY: Samar Butt
      National Finance & Accounts Officer



【JEN is now accepting donations. Your help would be very much appreciated.
DONATE here

November 16, 2017 in Pakistan |

2017.11.02

Cattle Market Sarband Peshawar

In Pakistan, little by little people are returning to their homes following
the mop-up campaign against the armed groups. Look at the details here.

With the help of JEN’s supporters and the Japanese government JEN is working
on a livelihood improvement program, targeting the repatriated inhabitants of
FATA (Federally Administrated Tribal Area) Khyber Agency.
This program focuses on breeding livestock.

Livestock is primary source of livelihood for many people across rural areas in KP and FATA. For the reason, weekly cattle markets take place in these areas. These provide business opportunities to farmers to sell their livestock. According to the administrators of Sarband cattle market, before dislocation of masses this cattle market used to be held in BARA Khyber agency. However this was shifted to a location called Sarband located at the entrance of Bara Khyber Agency.

Huge numbers of small and large ruminants are sold out on every Thursday at this location. Before dislocation, BARA market was generating high-income for local communities. This location is relatively safe so the business volume has increased over the time. Farmers bring many different types of animals to the market like Friesian cow, Sahiwal cow, Achai cow, Bulkhi Sheep, Waziristani sheep, Beetal goats and damani goats.

There is an administration team from government side who takes care of the whole event. The sellers pay PKR 200-300 per large animal and PKR 50-100 per small animal as administration charges each time the they come to attend the market. Each week around 4 hundred small ruminants and 3 hundred large animals are sold in this market.

Many other people also get benefit from this market like transporters, livestock feed vendors and the local restaurants. There are two private veterinary facilitation centers located in Sarband cattle market. Livestock Farmers can avail the opportunity to consult private veterinary officers regarding vaccination, treatment and first aid for their livestock. This cattle market will serve as a potential business point for our beneficiaries in the future resulting in the development of their livelihoods.

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【JEN is now accepting donations. Your help would be very much appreciated.
DONATE here

November 2, 2017 in Pakistan |

2017.10.12

Activity Exhibition

In Pakistan, little by little people are returning to their homes following
the mop-up campaign against the armed groups. Look at the details here.

With the help of JEN’s supporters and the Japanese government JEN is working
on a livelihood improvement program, targeting the repatriated inhabitants of
FATA (Federally Administrated Tribal Area) Khyber Agency.
This program focuses on breeding livestock.

******

The government and NGOs jointly hosted an event on October 10 in Pakistan. The attendees looked back on aid given to North-West Pakistan and discussed about future support.

【Exhibition site】
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Representatives from the government, academia, the United Nations, and NGOs made speeches, and discussed the importance of self-help efforts, cooperation, and resilience when disasters strike. Also, 20 NGOs including JEN exhibited their activities.

【JEN’s booth】
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JEN displayed photos of its activities and some supplies and equipment used in its support activities.

【Visitors eagerly asking questions】
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The attendees visited each NGO’s exhibition booth and asked about their activities. They were impressed after learning that JEN has been supporting people by helping them to generate income through dairy farming.
Some attendees were students, and they asked us many questions. We explained some of our activities such as educational programs and technical transfer of livestock management.

October 12, 2017 in Pakistan |

2017.10.05

Children as “the Future”

In Pakistan, little by little people are returning to their homes following
the mop-up campaign against the armed groups. Look at the details here.

With the help of JEN’s supporters and the Japanese government JEN is working
on a livelihood improvement program, targeting the repatriated inhabitants of
FATA (Federally Administrated Tribal Area) Khyber Agency.
This program focuses on breeding livestock.

******

Children, who will lead the next generation, are the main victims wherever there are conflicts and battles. The situation is the same in FATA and many kinds of support programs are being carried out. However, there is more work to do for children.

Not many children go to school. According to their parents, public schools are too far, while they cannot afford to let their children go to private schools.

The parents work hard and spend the money they earned on clothing and medical services. They save what little money left against unforeseen expenses.

We expect that the parents will spend money on their children’s education if they can earn a secure income through livestock with the help of JEN.

We often see children playing with livestock. They look happy, but their smiles should be seen not here but at schools. Support for children’s education is far from sufficient. It is smiles of more children at schools that will lead to the future.

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Situations of girls’ education can be said to have worsened. It is necessary for people to deepen their understanding of the importance of education. FATA’s situations will be improved only when various efforts like this succeed.

JEN is raising contributions. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

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October 5, 2017 in Pakistan |

2017.09.14

Training in Animal Husbandry 2

In Pakistan, little by little people are returning to their homes following
the mop-up campaign against the armed groups. Look at the details here.

With the help of JEN’s supporters and the Japanese government JEN is working
on a livelihood improvement program, targeting the repatriated inhabitants of
FATA (Federally Administrated Tribal Area) Khyber Agency.
This program focuses on breeding livestock.

******

Previously, we reported on the two-month training for the staff of the Bureau of Livestock as well as the livestock management volunteers. The training has been completed.

[A training on supplemental feed]
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[A lecture scene]
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The participants learned various things, and were awarded course completion certificates.

In the future, they are expected to play a big part in helping the repatriates with livestock management, production expansion, breed improvement and damage control.

[Participants at the end of the training]
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September 14, 2017 in Pakistan |

2017.08.31

Pest control for prevention of infectious diseases

One of the traditional events in the Islamic world is a sacrifice festival. People’s contacts with livestock increase as animals are brought in to the ritual site. In such a situation,  infection of Crimea Congo hemorrhagic fever becomes a major concern as it is a disease that can spread from livestock to people.

FATA was also in danger of the disease, so last year JEN disinfected over 37,500 livestock in cooperation with the livestock department in charge of exterminating mites, the vector of this disease.

In order to prevent the disease this year, JEN delivered chemicals to the livestock department so that they can spray over the animals for the sacrifice festival scheduled during the first week of September.

Pest control will mainly be carried out at the center of distribution course which is the entrance to the livestock market. Moving in to 2018, JEN will be promoting this activity to increase the target number for disinfection, and thus continue supportingthe livestock department’s efforts. 


[Delivery of chemicals for spray]
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[Disinfectants and a banner for awareness raising]    
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【JEN is now accepting donations. Your help would be very much appreciated.
DONATE here
   

August 31, 2017 in Pakistan |

2017.08.10

Training in animal husbandry

Now, some of the staff of the Bureau of livestocks and dairy farmers, who voluntarily engage in livestock management activities, are taking a two-month training at the center of animal husbandry.

[A study tour of the center by JEN's staff]
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The center was established in 1986 with the support of the Netherlands. The center offers various types of trainings for specialists and dairy farmers. It also offers special courses for women, who take care of livestock everyday, yet have fewer chances of training than men.

[A meeting between JEN and the Center]
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One main focus of these trainings is to train the participants on how to breed healthy livestock, so that the livestock do not get sick often which would require immediate medical care.

Participants study the skills of livestock management and artificial fertilization in order to breed healthy livestock, which would increase milk production and livestock themselves. After the training, they are expected to pass on their new knowledge to other dairy farmers.

[A training scene (study tour of the livestock sheds)]
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【JEN is now asking for donations. Click here to donate】

August 10, 2017 in Pakistan |

2017.07.13

Mott Grass

In Pakistan, little by little people are returning to their homes following
the mop-up campaign against the armed groups. Look at the details here.

With the help of JEN’s supporters and the Japanese government JEN is working
on a livelihood improvement program, targeting the repatriated inhabitants of
FATA (Federally Administrated Tribal Area) Khyber Agency.
This program focuses on breeding livestock.

******

This time, we are going to talk about a useful livestock feed, “Mott grass”.

Mott grass is more nutritious than other feed crops. It can be grown continuously in impoverished soil or areas with low rainfall, and it possesses a resistance to injurious insects. Its stems and leaves are soft, so farm animals can chew the cud easily. It grows in the seasons other crops don’t, and it also prevents the erosion of highland and mountains.

One of the characteristics of Mott grass is that it can be harvested for several years once it is cultivated. The cost of feed usually takes up 75 – 80% in a dairy business, but the cost can be reduced considerably by using Mott grass.

Mott grass is great, isn’t it? It is very helpful for the people who have returned home to restart their dairy business.

【Mott grass growing luxuriantly】
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【Photo: Chopped Mott grass. Don’t they look like green onions?】
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【Photo: Cows eating Mott grass】
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July 13, 2017 in Pakistan |

2017.06.29

The Effect of the Field Study

Because of the operation to clear the militant groups in Pakistan, many people were forced to evacuate. These people who had left are slowly returning home. The details can be found here.

Under this situation, JEN is working on a livelihood improvement project through livestock development for the people returning to Khyber Agency, a tribal area in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), with the cooperation of the supporters and the Japanese government. 

This project is now in its second year. During the first year, we picked a small number of dairy farmers to support their change from traditional farming to one that can produce more cash-generating products. Therefore, we planned a field study and had 10 participants. In this field study, we visited various dairy farms and learned about livestock housing, feeding, milking, vaccinating, parasite control, and caring for calves.

One of the participants, Said Karam, was impressed and decided to construct a livestock hut. He asked for advice from JEN's staff in charge and the staff provided the required information, and then the hut was constructed.

[Constructing the livestock hut]
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Previously, one of his rooms was used as a livestock hut and he did not bother about ventilation and hygiene. The livestock management program provided by JEN gave the opportunity to learn about the importance of constructing livestock housing and he was convinced of it during the field study.

[The livestock in the new hut]
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He felt great to be able to build a livestock hut by himself. He began paying attention to his livestock by providing better nutrition and hydration, and preventing diseases through immunization and parasite control.

Neighbors that visited him asked about the costs and the materials required for a livestock hut. They will probably build their own livestock huts later but there are many people who cannot afford it. Mr. Said Karam asks JEN to support those people.

[The dairy farmers]
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【JEN is now asking for donations. Click here to donate】

June 29, 2017 in Pakistan |

2017.06.15

Making money from a wheelbarrow

People who were forced to evacuate have slowly started coming back home to Pakistan.

With the help of JEN’s supporters and the Japanese government JEN is working on a livelihood improvement program, targeting the repatriated inhabitants of FATA (Federally Administrated Tribal Area) Khyber Agency.
This program focuses on breeding livestock.
More details are available.

======

JEN selected this area because the economic infrastructure was extremely fragile, there were a large number of households and the area was good for farming. The soil in the area is fertile.

The Government Agriculture Agency had already set up the Agriculture Supporting Committee and JEN distributed seeds and tools to the farmers. 

When the military operation was deployed near Muhammad Ayub’s house, Muhammad left all his belongings and escaped. After the conflict, he returned with his family. 

We registered him as eligible for agriculture support, providing him with seeds, tools, a wheelbarrow and lectures on farming.

He uses his wheelbarrow on his own farm, but when he is not using it he rents it to other farmers so that they can carry fertilizer.

Mr Ayub earns additional money by using his wheelbarrow to carry back food from the market.

Mr. Ayub is working part time irregularly at his hometown’s NGO. He uses his wheelbarrow there too but for this kind of work it is more important to help people to rebuild their lives rather than make money.

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【JEN is now accepting donations. Your help would be very much appreciated. DONATE here

June 15, 2017 in Pakistan |

2017.06.01

Scabies Treatment and Enlightenment

In Pakistan, a number of people who had been forced to evacuate have started slowly coming back home.

With the help of JEN’s supporters and the Japanese government JEN is working on a livelihood improvement program, targeting the repatriated inhabitants of FATA (Federally Administrated Tribal Area) Khyber Agency.
This program focuses on breeding livestock.
More details are available.

******

Several weeks ago, it was found that livestock in Toot Talab village in Khyber Agency, which is one of our working locations, has scabies.

We immediately informed the local livestock department of the situation and an investigation took place found that 178 livestock from 77 families have scabies.
We began to talk with the livestock department to take basic measures beforehand to prevent large-scale spread of infection.

Consequently, we agreed to cope with the problem in cooperation with each other, and decided that the livestock department would treat sick livestock and JEN would at the same time carry out an enlightenment campaign.
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20170525_pk_cow_care2
[Medical treatment for scabies by the livestock department]
At the first group treatment, we treated 45 large livestock and 25 small livestock.

Before treatment, JEN’s staff educated raisers about scabies and economical treatment based on the household income level and enlightened them about preventive measures such as cleaning of sheds or regular application of insecticide for the livestock.

Then, the staff of the livestock department vaccinated the livestock.
20170525_pk_awareness_session3
[Enlightenment on scabies by JEN’s staff ]

The next group treatment and enlightenment will be held 2 weeks later.    



【JEN is now accepting donations. Your help would be very much appreciated. DONATE here

June 1, 2017 in Pakistan |

2017.04.27

A family who got a cow

In Pakistan, a number of people who had been forced to evacuate have started slowly coming back home.

With the help of JEN’s supporters and the Japanese government JEN is working on a livelihood improvement program, targeting the repatriated inhabitants of FATA (Federally Administrated Tribal Area) Khyber Agency.
This program focuses on breeding livestock.
More details are available.

*****

Today, we will show you the case of Mrs. Itebara, (50 years old). She has difficulty walking, three years ago she lost her husband during the army’s operation to mop-up terrorists.
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She has five daughters and two sons. Her husband had several wives and Mrs. Itebara lives with the second one.
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Mrs. Itebara and her family used to live only on her husband’s daily wages. Her sons are still students and are not able to earn an income. Two of her daughters are married, and the other three help her with the housework.
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The second wife works for the neighbors in exchange for wheat flour, sugar and vegetables in order to maintain the family’s minimum standard of living.
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Mrs. Itebara used to have three livestock, but had to sell one of them because she needed the money. Because of her situation Mrs. Itebara qualified to receive support from JEN. JEN provided a cow, feed and insecticides.
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Mrs. Itebara was very pleased to get a cow, she never thought she would have one. The family hopes that this support will improve their standard of living.
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20170427_pk_the_widows_cow
[The cow has brought to Mrs. Itebara and the family members a lot of opportunities]
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The second wife took part in livestock management training organized by JEN. She learned the importance of stalls, watering and timely vaccinations.
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Mrs.Itebara hopes to earn a higher income so improving her family’s standard of living thanks to JEN’s support.
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【JEN is now accepting donations. Your help would be very much appreciated. DONATE here

April 27, 2017 in Pakistan |

2017.04.13

Basic Training for livestock management

In Pakistan, a number of people who had been forced to evacuate have started slowly coming back home.

With the help of JEN’s supporters and the Japanese government JEN is working on a livelihood improvement program, targeting the repatriated inhabitants of FATA (Federally Administrated Tribal Area) Khyber Agency.
This program focuses on breeding livestock.
More details are available.
*****
Basic livestock management training is an important part of the promotion of the livestock industry which JEN is leading.

20170413_pk_livestock_management__2

JEN chose the Khyber area because it is famous for the variety and fertility of its livestock. For the training, the government provided their support by sending a chief educator from their livestock department.

The training targets both men and women. A maximum of 25 people can attend the one-day session. They learn the fundamental skills of livestock management. For example, they learn about breeding cows, the best shelters for animals, watering, balanced diet, artificial fertilization, anti-parasitic, vaccination schedule plus various diseases. For example foot-and-mouth, enterotoxemia, haemorrhagic septicemia and mastitis.

In addition, the trainer asks the trainees about their daily problems, and answers each in detail with a demonstration if necessary.

Another purpose of the training is to strengthen the connection between the staff from the livestock department and the trainees. Unlike JEN, the staff in Khyber area are always there to support the trainees.
So by helping to develop these relationships JEN is creating a more sustainable system.

During the sessions, trainees and trainers exchange their contact details.  So in the future the farmers can contact the livestock department easily. 
Plus the livestock department can make sure they send out details of their activities e.g. free vaccination and artificial fertilization to the people that need them.

20170413_pk_livestock_management__3

【JEN is now accepting donations. Your help would be very much appreciated. DONATE here

April 13, 2017 in Pakistan |

2017.03.30

Our Dream to Breath Clean Air

In Pakistan, little by little people are returning to their homes following the mop-up campaign against the armed groups. Look at the details here

With the help of JEN’s supporters and the Japanese government JEN is working on a livelihood improvement program, targeting the repatriated inhabitants of FATA (Federally Administrated Tribal Area) Khyber Agency.
This program focuses on breeding livestock.

*****

Several decades ago, who would have imagined that having clean air for free would become our dream? The current situation is only getting worse, and we worry that it might become impossible to go outside without wearing masks.

In Lahore, north Punjab Province, and other regions, winter has brought dense fog that affects people’s daily lives. According to the media, highways have been closed and flights have been delayed or cancelled.

Moreover, what was thought to be just dense winter fog has been found to be smog which causes serious health problems.

The dense smog causes severe pain in the eyes and difficulty breathing. In Pakistan, air pollution has reached dangerously high levels. Ironically, as people’s standards of living have got better, air pollution has rapidly got worse in recent years.

The reasons being that the number of cars has increased, areas are becoming more highly populated, more businesses are engaged in chemical and manufacturing industries and deforestation.

Although the government needs to take action to reduce the pollution, Pakistan doesn’t have the money to do so and has failed to respond to the situation. In Karachi, the largest city in the country, the issue of waste management has become a big problem.

The government lacks funds to keep waste off the streets. But we have to start somewhere to solve the problem.

20170330_pk__2
[Roads in Pakistan with dirty water and trash due to clogged waste water pipes]

People feel helpless to affect a change but we can all participate in activities to reduce air pollution, even by doing something quite small.

Most importantly we can use electricity and other sources of energy efficiently and dispose of household waste appropriately. We can also recycle plastic bags, clothes, paper, bottles etc.

20170330_pk__4
[Urban life in Pakistan surrounded by loads of trash and dirty water]

Companies are responsible for disposing of their waste appropriately. As they benefit from production activities, it is their responsibility to return a part of their profit to the society, which also benefits the companies themselves.

Addressing pollution in order to protect people’s health and the environment is a global issue. As we are all citizens of planet Earth, everyone is responsible and we can all do something to reduce pollution and work towards providing a sustainable future for future generations.

"Healing the earth is like healing ourselves."

Samar Butt
National Finance & Accounts Officer
JEN Pakistan

【JEN is now accepting donations. Your help would be very much appreciated. DONATE here

March 30, 2017 in Pakistan |

2017.03.16

Angora rabbits

In Pakistan, a number of people who had been forced to evacuate have started slowly coming back home.

With the help of JEN’s supporters and the Japanese government JEN is working on a livelihood improvement program, targeting the repatriated inhabitants of FATA (Federally Administrated Tribal Area) Khyber Agency.
This program focuses on breeding livestock.
More the details are available.

*****

Humans have raised rabbits for centuries. They breed quickly and their meat is good to eat.  It is healthy due to being rich in protein but low in cholesterol. In addition, rabbit fur fetches a good price. Among rabbits, the Angora rabbit is the most beautiful, edible and has the most valuable fur.

JEN found out about Angora rabbits when we visited a livestock research station in Jaba-Hari Pur District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, for a study tour of livestock farmers who were participants in JEN’s project.


20170316_pk_angora_rabbit1_2
[Angora rabbit]

The Livestock & Dairy Development Board in the Provincial Government began raising Angora rabbits in this livestock research station as a pilot program. At the start, a species native to Nepal was introduced.

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[Project participants lectured about Angora rabbit by an government official in charge of the program]

After breeding, Angora rabbits were distributed to local NGOs which operate in Manshera and Abbottabad and used to improve the livelihood of predominately female communities. The market price of a breeding pair of Angora rabbits is 8,000 Pakistani Rupees (Equivalent to 9,000 Japanese yen).

Angora rabbits are raised in special cages in a sunny and quiet environment maintained at 15-20 degrees Celsius with proper airflow, to protect their valuable fur. They are fed three times a day. They are vulnerable to disease, so special attention needs to be paid to hygiene. A female Angora rabbit has 20-40 babies a year.

The participants in JEN’s project are also interested in Angora rabbits so they discussed with  the authorities whether it would be possible to raise Angora rabbits at home. It is worth considering the possibility of incorporating raising Angora rabbits to our support project.

20170316_pk_jen_staff_showing_ang_2
[JEN staff showing an Angora rabbit]


【JEN is now accepting donations. Your help would be very much appreciated. DONATE here

March 16, 2017 in Pakistan |

2017.02.23

Livestock Management Training for Women

In Pakistan, little by little people are returning to their homes following the mop-up campaign against the armed groups. Look at the details here.
.
With the help of JEN’s supporters and the Japanese government JEN is working on a livelihood improvement program, targeting the repatriated inhabitants of FATA (Federally Administrated Tribal Area) Khyber Agency.
This program focuses on breeding livestock.

======

JEN is focusing on improving livestock management in the Akaher District, Khyber Province. In Pakistan women usually take care of livestock, so JEN is providing cattle and livestock management training to women.

The women will be able to sell the meat and milk as well as provide for their own families.
However in Pakistan men are traditionally the head of the household and the community.

In order for the women to be able to participate in the training JEN spoke with the women’s families especially the older relatives to help them to understand our project and to ask for their help and support in letting the women join in the activity.
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JEN invited a female livestock management officer from the Livestock Industry Bureau in Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA). So far about 1,000 women have participated in the training.
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[Instructor giving livestock management training]

The training is interactive with the women openly sharing their experiences and knowledge with each other.
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The program uses a lot of photos to help make the subjects as easy as possible to understand. It covers breeding, feeding, barn management, diseases and vaccinations.
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The women are looking forward to using their newly found skills and knowledge.


【JEN is now accepting donations. Your help would be very much appreciated. DONATE here

February 23, 2017 in Pakistan |

2017.02.09

Federally Administrated Tribal Area (FATA)

Pakistan_rev
[JEN’s support area in Pakistan as of 2014]


In Pakistan, military operations were carried out to clear the armed groups, and little by little, people who were forced to refuge have been coming back to their home towns. Today, we will show you how things came about and what is expected to happen in our support area.

Federally Administrated Tribal Area (FATA) is located in the northwestern part of Pakistan. Geographically, FATA consists of seven Agencies - Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Orakzai, Kurram, North Waziristan and South Waziristan - and six Frontier Regions - Peshawar, Kohat, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Tank and Dera Ismail Khan - FATA is directly controlled by the federal government of Pakistan based on a set of special laws called the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR).  Each agency’s representative is called Political Agent, and substitutes for the governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.

The eastern and southern parts of FATA are close to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan Provinces, respectively. Its western and northern parts border on Kunar, Nangarhar, Paktia, Khost and Paktica Provinces in Afghanistan.

In 2001, Pakistan Army started military operations in order to stop terrorist activities, which were growing in number in this area. As a result, a lot of people refuged to other areas, from 2008 to 2014, in particular.

Today, it is announced that most of the FATA area is safe and more than 75 percent of the refugees have come back to their homelands. Once public order is restored, full-scale supports will be offered. Now, several groups such as the United Nations and local and international NGOs, including JEN, provide supports.

For the purpose of FATA recovery, the national congress is discussing a bill to unite FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It was officially proposed on 24 January this year. Many political parties support the bill. A budget of 100 billion Pakistan Rupee a year has also been proposed. FATA will greatly benefit from this  unification.

By sharing the same administrative system with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, public services such as education, healthcare, social welfare, legal and security will be offered effectively. People will be able to get jobs in their local areas. Several business opportunities will be created. After all, the biggest advantage from the recovery is that peace will be achieved in this area.


【JEN is now accepting donations. Your help would be very much appreciated.
DONATE here

February 9, 2017 in Pakistan |

2017.01.26

Dung fuel: Secondary product from farm animals

In Pakistan, people who were forced to evacuate due to mopping-out operation of the armed forces have gradually returned to their hometown little.

The residents in Tehsil Bara Khyber Agency, which is subject to support, produce fuel from the dung of cow and water buffalos. This is mainly a woman’s job. This fuel is called “SAPYAKA” in local area.
20170126_pk_big_cake_of_dung4
[Mountain of fuel]
Dung fuel is produced as follows:
1. Gather dung of water buffalos and cow
2. Make muck disc
3. Put it on the wall
4. Dry it for two days
5. Use it as fuel after taking off from the wall
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20170126_pk_dung_on_the_wall2
[Dung fuel put on the wall to dry ]
Four, five dung fuels cover the power to make vegetable dishes. These are also used to make boiled water for bath during winter. These fuels are stored in bulk and sold in the market from time to time. The cost is around 3 rupees (about 3 JPY) per fuel and people sell 250-500 of them and earn 750-1,500 rupees (about 750-1,500 JPY). It is an adequate income for many women from families who own farm animals.
20170126_pk_dung_cake_for_selling3
[Dung fuel after drying, it is used at home and sold in the market]


【JEN is now accepting donations. Your help would be very much appreciated.
DONATE here

January 26, 2017 in Pakistan |

2017.01.12

Distributing farm animals at Aka Khel, Bara, Khyber Agency

20170112_pk_cow_distribution1_2
[The 4
th meeting for cattle distribution by JEN]

The residents of Aka Khel, Bara, Khyber Agency had conducted cattle-breeding before evacuating to other areas. In particular, the Achi species were the most suitable cattle to the weather and geological features of this area.

However, there wasn’t any organization who would support people by distributing lost farm animals, especially cattle, because of the dispute, even after people were back to Bara. Therefore, JEN has started distributing cattle to the most vulnerable groups, such as families whose householders are above 60 years old, handicapped people, women and orphans.

All of those who received cattle and the elders of the village said in a breath that they didn’t expect to be able to receive cattle. Even though cattle play an important role on improving their livelihoods, no one expected to be given valuable cattle.

20170112_pk_booked_a_car_to_take__2
[A borrowed car to take distributed cattle to his village]

Cattle are quarantined for 7 days before being distributed to people. During this period, officers of the livestock bureau gave vaccination to cattle to protect them against various illnesses. After 7 days, healthy cattle without any doubt of illness were given to people along with vanda (foodstuff for alimentation) and anthelmintic.

The elders of the community said that the distribution of cattle is a big help for those who are in a vulnerable situation. People who received cattle now can get milk by themselves. This is an important source of nutrition especially for children.

Moreover, it makes a substantial contribution to save food expenses  such as on milk, yoghurt, butter, etc..

This support aims to improve people’s livelihood through cattle-breeding, which is their original occupation (livelihood). In addition to this, JEN enhances their knowledge about management of cattle-breeding and teach them to make foodstuff by themselves without requiring much expenses, even providing them with vanda at first.

We will proceed with selective breeding by artificial insemination and conduct vaccination and extermination of parasites to support people and protect the health of farm animals. Also by distributing young cattle, JEN supports to generate income by selling milk.

20170112_pk_cow_distribution3_2
[Not only distributing cattle, but also explaining effective management of cattle]

【JEN is now accepting donations. Your help would be very much appreciated.
DONATE here

January 12, 2017 in Pakistan |

2016.12.22

The life told by Salma bibi, a participant in JEN’s activity

Salma bibi is a woman who lives in Bara area of Khaybar division with her 4 children.This is the area where JEN is working for the people who came back home. Her husband died 8 years ago while her family was forced to become refugees.

In 2008, Salma bibi’s family escaped to Peshawar from their home land. After her husband died, she says, she faced some hardships for 6 years during the life in the refuse. Before becoming refugees, they had 3 cattle and 2 goats, all of which they had to sell cheaply to make a living.

After peace returned to their village, the government started registration procedures on refugee families. After having her name registered as a female head of the family, she returned home.

JEN chose her village as a subject of support Salma bibi , who had her name registered as a subject of support, received a cow, 3 bags of nutritious feed and a bag of insecticide.

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[Villagers are accepting a cow]

The cow given to Salma bibi was in the late month of pregnancy and gave birth to a bull a week after she accepted it. She was very happy because the birth of a bull made it possible to get 3-4 liters of milk a day.

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[A baby bull is clothed over as protection against the cold]

Before receiving the aid, she was financially incapable of surviving daily life. Neighbors shared milk and yoghurt with her. Since she accepted and milked a cow, she has been able to lead a daily life at ease.

JEN advised her on how to properly take care of the cattle (such as proper feeding and watering or maintaining its health) to produce more milk.

From now on, JEN is going to carry out a two-day detailed training for cattle control in co-operation with the Cattle-Breeding Bureau.


【JEN is now accepting donations. Your help would be very much appreciated.
DONATE here

December 22, 2016 in Pakistan |

2016.12.08

First distribution of relief supplies to the returnees in Bara area of Khaybar division within the FATA

In order to help recover from the economic difficulty the returnees in Bara area of Khaybar division are experiencing, first distribution of cows and feed was carried out on November 29th, 2016.

A total of 16 people received one cow, three vanda (feed for nutritional support) and one anthelmintic each.

Distribution was conducted in accordance with the procedure decided in advance. Prior to the distribution, JEN’s livestock officer explained how to take care of the cow at home to the recipients. The contents of explanation include how to bring cows safely to their homes, how to give feed or water, and how to prepare for the cow’s shelter.

20161208_pk_distribution_of_cows1
[Distribution of the cow]

On the day before distributing cows, we gave exchange tickets to the participants, as well as a notice regarding date/time, place and arrangement for transportation. In addition, we explained the purpose of this support and the role of participants and other people involved, including JEN and the livestock bureau.

20161208_pk_distribution_of_cows3
[Previous day’s briefing regarding distribution of cows]

We conducted quarantine before providing exchange tickets. As a result, we found out that two cows were not in good condition. Therefore, we replaced them with other two healthy cows.

Furthermore, in cooperation with the livestock bureau, JEN gave vaccination to all of cows along with parasite removal. By doing so, the livestock bureau granted distribution of all the cows.

20161208_pk_token_delivery4
[Distribution of exchange tickets]

This project is going to be implemented in three steps from 2016 to 2018. This time, in addition to the distribution of cows, we are planning to conduct artificial insemination and improve skill for management of cows with the aim of recovering livelihood.

201612008_pk_the_cows_and_their_sup
[Cow and feed for nutritional support to be distributed]

【JEN is now accepting donations. Your help would be very much appreciated.
DONATE here

December 8, 2016 in Pakistan |

2016.11.24

Case Study of Hanzala Khan of Chenai, SWA-FATA

Hanzera Khan led an ordinary life in Chenai village, Sarwakai district, South Waziristan until October 2008.

He is the oldest son of six brothers and he was the breadwinner of a family of 13. He has a 6 acre farmland, small "Kacha House" (house made of mud) and was expecting a good harvest from the farmland.

20161124_pk_mr_hanzala_khan_at_his_
[Hanzra Khan and his house]

However, his family had to leave the village due to an emergency. His family moved to Tank District and stayed with their relatives. He and his old parents, small children and women evacuated from his village, walking through the hilly land over two days.


Back in his home, he was working day by day so his income was not sufficient to support his family.

After having spent half a year in Tank District, he moved to Karachi with relatives and had lived there until May 2015. He and his family led a poor life there as well,  by working as a day worker. He said that his father passed away there.

After the government’s announcement of the return of IDPs (internally displaced persons) in 2016, his family returned to the village they used to live with hundreds of other families.

Once home, they were shocked to see that their houses were totally destroyed.
Fertile farmland had changed to infertile land because of 8 years of being untouched.

Agricultural infrastructures such as irrigation facilities and pump wells have also been completely destroyed. Fruit ranch was also in complete destruction, as all of the fruit trees were gone.

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[Desolate farmland after Mr.Khan’s return]

With the support of the United Nations, JEN and local partner, State Development Organization(SDO), are supporting the return of the third batch of IDPs to Saruwaki and Tiarza District.

One day in June 2016, Khan found out JEN and SDO team were going to visit their village and talk with the elder of the villages. Mr. Khan attended the meeting and was able to receive an agricultural support package. Mr. Khan is one of the first eligible recipients of this package.

20161124_pk_revitalised_mr_khans_fa
[Mr. Khan’s reclaimed farmland]

Mr. Khan is planning to plant corn in a 0.5 acre land for the next farming season.
In addition, one pond was dug next to his house to provide irrigation water and drinking water.

He also underwent a technical training on agricultural technology and now he should be able to harvest enough corn in a few months to support his family.
“Even though my life looked miserable upon return from the  conflict, life changed for the better because I received the necessary tools and materials, took the training, and the land was cleared.”

Mr. Khan expressed his gratitude to JEN, SDO and United Nations.

20161124_pk_mr_hanzala_khan_agricul
[Mr Khan's corn field]

November 24, 2016 in Pakistan |

2016.11.15

Distributing farm animals at Aka Khel, Bara, Khyber Agency

20170112_pk_cow_distribution1
[The 4
th meeting for cattle distribution by JEN]

The residents of Aka Khel, Bara, Khyber Agency had conducted cattle-breeding before evacuating to other areas. In particular, the Achi species were the most suitable cattle to the weather and geological features of this area.

However, there wasn’t any organization who would support people by distributing lost farm animals, especially cattle, because of the dispute, even after people were back to Bara. Therefore, JEN has started distributing cattle to the most vulnerable groups, such as families whose householders are above 60 years old, handicapped people, women and orphans. 

All of those who received cattle and the elders of the village said in a breath that they didn’t expect to be able to receive cattle. Even though cattle play an important role on improving their livelihoods, no one expected to be given valuable cattle.

20170112_pk_booked_a_car_to_take_co
[A borrowed car to take distributed cattle to his village]

Cattle are quarantined for 7 days before being distributed to people. During this period, officers of the livestock bureau gave vaccination to cattle to protect them against various illnesses. After 7 days, healthy cattle without any doubt of illness were given to people along with vanda (foodstuff for alimentation) and anthelmintic.

The elders of the community said that the distribution of cattle is a big help for those who are in a vulnerable situation. People who received cattle now can get milk by themselves. This is an important source of nutrition especially for children.

Moreover, it makes a substantial contribution to save food expenses  such as on milk, yoghurt, butter, etc..

This support aims to improve people’s livelihood through cattle-breeding, which is their original occupation (livelihood). In addition to this, JEN enhances their knowledge about management of cattle-breeding and teach them to make foodstuff by themselves without requiring much expenses, even providing them with vanda at first.

We will proceed with selective breeding by artificial insemination and conduct vaccination and extermination of parasites to support people and protect the health of farm animals. Also by distributing young cattle, JEN supports to generate income by selling milk.

20170112_pk_cow_distribution3
[Not only distributing cattle, but also explaining effective management of cattle]

November 15, 2016 in Pakistan |

2016.11.10

Milk and its by-products: A source of livelihood for people in rural and urban areas

Milk and its by-products serve as the main source of livelihood for people in rural as well as urban areas in Pakistan. Each day, livestock farmers bring milk from rural areas to urban areas and sell it to milk shops. One such example provides a story for the area where JEN’s office is located in Peshawar city where the milk is brought from JEN’s target area in Aka-khel, Bara Khyber Agency.

Farmers bring milk to shops and markets in Peshawar and sell it there. One kilogram of milk is sold at Rs.80/kg. One farmer sells approximately 8 to 10 kg of milk from 2 cows per day. This earns around 640 to 800 rupees for a farmer in a day. A large portion of this income goes to pay for kitchen expenses of the farmer’s family.

Image001
[A big plate full of yogurt]

Image002
[Yogurt plates ready to sell on a shelf]

According to one shop owner near JEN’s office, around 550 to 600 kg of milk is purchased and sold on a daily basis from morning to evening. Half of this portion of milk is converted to milk by-products such as yogurt and butter which customers use on daily basis. It takes around one hour to deliver the milk to market from the rural area. Milk trading is not only a source of livelihood for livestock farmers and milk shop owners but also contributes to the improved food security of the market. JEN staff are working on the supply chain for the milk market to capitalize upon it and to meet its project objectives in the future.
Image003
[Selling depending upon how much customers wish to buy. The price is 250g for 30 yen]


【JEN is now accepting donations. Your help would be very much appreciated.
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November 10, 2016 in Pakistan |

2016.10.27

Recycling in Agriculture Activities

Recycling in food process for the local community is necessary in our agriculture project in South Waziristan Agency. The project brings arable land into life as organic seeds of maize crop and vegetables are cultivated and food cycle of the 1,850 farmer families revived again. The project brings re-cultivation of 925 Acers of farming land belonging to those of the families.
The law enforces agencies prohibit transportation of chemical fertilizer for agriculture purposes because it can be used for explosives. Thus, the farmers are worried about fate of their crops. JEN is training 3,700 female and male beneficiaries in agriculture with focus on proper compost making and use.
During trainings and field visits, the project staff train the community on compost making. The beneficiaries are being trained to make heap of wetted organic matter known as green waste (leaves and food waste) and then wait for the materials to break down into humus after a period of one month.
Since for all of the villages, cows, goats and sheep are common and they have been provided basic materials for compost making. The project staff train the beneficiaries to use animal residues mixed with entire plants or with leaves, small branches and weeds. When dung is properly decomposed with plant residues, it becomes more beneficial to crops than chemical fertilizers having no side effects on the environment as well as on yields. At the same time, there are little chances of disease or pest attacks.
20161027_jpg
[JEN staff held a training of compost making for local famers]
During the time of follow-up visits, the project staff demonstrated the local famers. Due to proper compost making, its large part of the nutrient uptake is improved and the results show its better crops and fodder production as well as proper recycling of natural resources.
The majority of the beneficiaries have started composting which following the ultimate method of recycling organic materials such as animal wastes, plant leaves and vegetable scraps into a rich soil amendment. The project staff are able to mobilize and train the local people during the period of the last 3 or 4 months on compost making and use.
20161027_2jpg
[JEN staff held a training of compost making at home for local women]
20161027_3jpg_2
[A lady, making compost at home]

October 27, 2016 in Pakistan |

2016.10.18

The training for the returnees in SWA-FATA

Agricultural is the main source of livelihood in rural Pakistan. According to Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), approximately 65% population depends on agriculture for their livelihoods. Keeping on eyes the urgency and importance of agriculture inputs for returnees in South Waziristan (SWA), JEN is working with 1,850 families in 2016.

One of the important components of our support  is training sessions on improved crop and vegetable management. The training sessions are divided into two categories. Training sessions to male household heads on agriculture farming and to female beneficiaries of the same families on kitchen gardening. JEN will conduct 148 training sessions for the male and the female beneficiaries with support from the government agriculture department staff.


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【The male farmers participating a session】

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【The training holding another area】

Duration of each training session is approx. 90 minutes. Several topics are taught to the beneficiaries in a training session followed by questions and answers. The participants are in need of help, an agriculture officer visits their farm to inject knowledge of the sessions into them. The topics of the agriculture farming training include: reclamation and preparation of the land for crops; methods for irrigated/rainy lands; sowing method and required seeds per acre, selection of best seeds; safe use of toxic seeds; use of different fertilizers, removing herbs from the field; protection from insects/diseases, and harvesting crops and its management.


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【The lecturer’s session】

The topics for the female beneficiaries in the training sessions consist of nutritional importance of vegetables; preparation of land for sowing vegetables; use of productive seeds; calendar for sowing different vegetable seeds in a year; watering methods; removing herbs/sages; knowledge about hazardous insects and protection of vegetables from them, and effective use of toxic seeds.

The training sessions are meant to equip the beneficiaries with modern techniques and knowledge of improved crops and effective vegetable management. Another important aspect of the project is that the beneficiaries are linked with the government agriculture department by sharing contact numbers. In this way, the beneficiaries will keep in touch with the department staff even after JEN’s support in the area and it will help enable a sustainable livelihood development process.   


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【The male participants】

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October 18, 2016 in Pakistan |

2016.09.29

Precautionary Measures against Congo-Crimean Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) in FATA

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is caused by infection with a tick-borne virus (Nairovirus) in the family Bunyaviridae. The virus is spread by ticks and the disease can find out both human and livestock. The disease was first characterized in the Crimea in 1944 and given the name Crimean hemorrhagic fever. It was then later recognized in 1969 as the cause of illness in the Congo-Africa, thus resulting in the current name is Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever.
Since 1976, it has been present in Pakistan but it became a serious issue in 2000 with 50-60 cases being reported annually. During 2012, 16 deaths were reported. From 2013 to 2016, 60 human blood tests were positive while among them 12 patients had died. Government officials have stressed the need for creating awareness among the public regarding CCHF and plan to do progress against the spread of this disease. There are many unreported cases as well because of lack of awareness.
In this connection, Livestock Department FATA requested JEN to integrate precautionary measures against CCHF into the current ongoing project in Khyber Agency, FATA; funded by Ministry of Foreign Affairs-Japan (MoFA). The reason was that for Eid-ul Adha (religious festival), an enormous number of livestock would be brought for sacrifice from other parts of the country. This issue was urgent so JEN instantly advocated it to the project donor and got approval of taking precautionary measures against CCHF on a priority basis.

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【Researching the market was very busy】

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【The anti-CCHF spray was done by the team】
JEN provided following supplies to Livestock Department for this purpose.
 Spray Pumps (10 to 12 liters) =  15
 Cypermethrin/Ecofleece  (Liter) = 75
 Masks = 5
 Gloves = 375
 Apron = 15
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【Handing over the supplies】 
This activity was completed in 3-days with support from Livestock Department staff and JEN livestock team. The anti-CCHF spray was done in cattle markets in the target area which was visited by more than 50,000 people for sale and purchase of livestock for the festival.  The anti-CCHF spray was employed to 38,000 small and large animals as precautionary measures. It is good that no case regarding CCHF has been reported following this activity from the target area. Livestock department thanked JEN and the MoFA-Japan for allocating resources for this activity for the betterment of people as well as livestock.   
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【The spraying in the market】

September 29, 2016 in Pakistan |

2016.09.15

Multi Cluster Assessment of temporarily displaced persons (TDPs) and Returnees

A multi cluster assessment of TDPs and Returnees was organized by UNOCHA in August 2016. Different national and international organizations were requested to support in terms of human and logistics resources. Approximately 33 organizations participated in this assessment process. The teams and locations were divided into two divisions, i.e. Peshawar was nominated as the base for Orakzai, Khyber, and Kurram agencies as well as district Kohat. Dera Ismail Khan was the base for Bannu, Tank, South Waziristan Agency and North Waziristan agency.

JEN staff were nominated for Dera Ismail Khan and Peshawar. Before the survey/assessment, two days training workshops were organized both in Dera Ismail Khan and Peshawar. The questionnaire was comprised of 185 questions regarding multi-sectors like Shelter, Food Security & Livelihoods, WASH, Health, Protection, Nutrition and Education. The average time to fill up the questionnaire was 40 minutes.

JEN’s Peshawar team received given task of 30 beneficiaries in UC Budhani for 3 days, which was successfully completed by the team within the time frame.  The challenges during assessment included strong mobilization of communities and time consumption. Throughout the assessment, UNOCHA security department kept in touch with JEN team regarding the tracking and security updates and advisories.

JEN team was assigned a task to assess 90 families in four days. This team was comprised of 7 members. Assessment team visited 5 locations for this task. The TDPs problems were recorded on the assessment questionnaire. As per initial observations, majority of the people were facing livelihood, health and WASH problems. 

Detailed report of this assessment will be available in 2-month time period. This report will help humanitarian organizations to adjust ongoing programs and design future programs to assist TDPs and provide support in the rehabilitation of returnees.

[Interview of TDP HH in UC Budhani, District  Peshawar]
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[Key informant TDPs in UC Budhani, District Peshawar]
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[MUAC measurement during HH assessment on nutrition]
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September 15, 2016 in Pakistan |

2016.09.01

Field Staff Diary

Land Reclamation/Rehabilitation Company arranged 23 tractors for this activity. Initially, JEN staff gave them to two target villages. JEN staff held a meeting with village committee to brief them about the procedure of the activity. The procedure was that each farmer with uncultivated land should benefit from this activity. Each farmer was provided with a token one day prior to the activity. Each token is valid for 3.5 hours of tractor work. Meanwhile, some villagers identified their lands for work and tractors were deployed there to start work.

Tractors continued work in the abovementioned two villages. The project team did follow-up in the afternoon and further visited two villages and met with village committee president. The team visited the land to be reclaimed the next day. The committee president told that 35% of farmers have cultivated maize while 65% farmers are waiting for land rehabilitation by JEN. The team distributed tokens to 168 farmers for the next day work and returned back to the field office before sunset.

[ Identification of land to be rehabilitated]
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[Farmer and his land to be reclaimed]
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[Land rehabilitation]
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[Field prepared for planting maize]
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September 1, 2016 in Pakistan |

2016.08.12

JEN’s Prospectus for Returnees in FATA

Sustainability is an integral part of all JEN projects in every country where JEN is operating. JEN staffs ensure it while making every project if it is emergency, early recovery or development.

JEN has been working with emergency affected people of FATA since 2011 both in the displaced and return areas. JEN’s interventions range from Shelter/NFIs to WASH and from food security to livelihood sectors for almost 70,000 individuals. With security situation improving inside FATA, more than half of the populations (161,064 families) have already returned to their homes. However, 142,727 families are still waiting for their return. But the return process is continued steadily and as per government plan more than 90% of the displaced families will be returned in 2016. Given this statistics, JEN is dealing with the issue on emergency basis as well as pursuing long-term sustainable goals for the rehabilitation of returnees at their homes.

To this end, currently JEN is assisting 22,855 individuals in FATA to enable them to grow agriculture products at household level for improved availability of nutritious food. JEN is also working on economic recovery of more than 5,000 returnees through livestock sector in FATA.

JEN is currently planning to re-align its relations with several clusters for the assistance of returnees in emergency scenario as well as seek partnerships with institutional donors for the rehabilitation of returnees.

[Agriculture field in Bara]
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[Post distribution monitoring]
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[Agricultural land assessment]
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August 12, 2016 in Pakistan |

2016.07.28

Community Needs in the Project Area

Between March 2015 and March 2016, some 450,000 dislocated persons returned to Khyber Agency, FATA.

As a result of the crisis, most of infrastructure has been severely damaged due to lack of maintenance. In many cases health, education and WASH facilities in return areas are either non-functional, or inadequately resourced. Meeting the immediate life-saving needs of dislocated people when they return to FATA is one of the key strategic priorities of the humanitarian community in coordination with the Government of Pakistan.

Livelihoods, health and protection situation remained poor in nearly all return areas of Khyber Agency. Protection issues including a lack of psychosocial support were widespread. Access to doctors, especially female doctors, emergency health and maternity services remained a pressing issue in nearly all communities covered.

It was also observed that education, shelter and WASH needs tended to be concentrated in specific communities. In terms of education, girls’ schools were less likely to be functional with significantly lower rates of enrolment than boys’ schools.

JEN addresses humanitarian needs in the recovery phase from self-reliant point of view. That’s why JEN targets the affected populations in terms of livelihood and economic recovery. For this purpose, JEN in collaboration with MOFA-JAPAN is going to start a 3-years livestock development project to support livelihood and economic recovery.

Important aspect of this project is building technical capacity of livestock department staff and livestock farmers on breed improvement through comprehensive training on artificial insemination. Youth in the project area will be trained on entrepreneurship to start their business.

[Meeting]
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[Bazaar]
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July 28, 2016 in Pakistan |

2016.07.14

1st Distribution in South Waziristan Agency, FATA

JEN carried out 1st distribution of agriculture inputs for 493 returnee families in tehsil Serwakai of South Waziristan Agency in FATA.
This distribution was carried out despite immense humanitarian access issues. JEN advocated the project importance to civil and military authorities and finally JEN’s implementing partner (SDO-State Development Organization) was permitted to access the target families.
Each targeted family was provided with agriculture/kitchen gardening seeds and agriculture tool kit. Detail is given below;

1. Maize seed (organic)    = 40kg
2. Tomato seed (organic)  = 50 g
3. Squash (organic)         = 100 g
4.  Okra (organic)          = 500 g
5. Onion (organic)            = 25 g
6. Bottle gourd (organic)   = 50 g
7. Bitter gourd (organic)   = 50 g
8. Brinjal   (organic)         = 50 g

AND the agriculture tool kit package included;

1. Wheel barrow           = 1 pcs
2.  Spade                    = 2 pcs
3. Hand Hoe                = 3 pcs
4. Sickle                     = 3 pcs
5. Digger                    = 1 pcs
6. Rake                      = 1 pcs 
7. Pick axe                 = 1 pcs

Remaining distribution for 1357 returnee families will be completed right after Eid holidays. In addition to agriculture inputs, the agriculture team will provide all men and women beneficiaries on agriculture farming and kitchen gardening to enhance their skills for better production. By the end of the project JEN aims to see improvement in food security status of the targeted families.

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July 14, 2016 in Pakistan |

2016.06.30

JEN’s Staff first visit to South Waziristan Agency, FATA

Kar Tangai is one of the most populous village in Tehsil Sarwakai ,  South Waziristan Agency, FATA.

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Its total population is approximately 2800 individuals. These people have returned to their homes couple of month back. Despite immediate response from government in terms of cash transfer these populations are living in extreme hot weather. They have inadequate access to shelter, food, health, education, livelihoods and protection etc. The populations are living in very miserable conditions amid season of Ramadan.

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However they people of the area are very brave in front of the circumstances and they are more then committed to withstand all these hardships and make sure that their return is sustainably dignified. Some local NGOs are working on health and protection projects however the gaps are paramount.

Land of this village is very fertile. Kar Tangai was famous for apricot and apple fruit production in the past. Maize is the major cereal crop in summer season. The main source of livelihood is horticulture. It was famous for vegetables production before conflict, but unfortunately all the irrigation sources like tube wells and irrigation channels from a perennial stream are completely destroyed during conflict.

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The irrigated lands are completely barren due to conflict. The average land is 10 acres per individual. According to the farmers this land is very rich for kitchen gardening and seasonal crops. JENs Implementing Partner had meetings with the community elders regarding project activities and identified around 100 families from this village. JEN will provide them with maize seeds, vegetable seed for kitchen gardening, and agriculture tool kits. JEN will also assist the target beneficiaries with land reclamation and rehabilitation.

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Total caseload of the project is 1850 families. The target beneficiaries are very hopeful for positive impact of this agriculture support project on their livelihoods and food security.

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June 30, 2016 in Pakistan |

2016.06.16

Gender mainstreaming in Agriculture Project

Gender promotion is a cross-cutting issue in JEN’s agriculture support project for returnees in Bara, Khyber Agency, FATA. In order to have gender sensitive project, JEN tried to mainstream it in all phases of the project cycle management including design, implementation and monitoring. To achieve this, JEN followed gender inclusive criteria for the selection of beneficiaries. Priority was given to most vulnerable communities members like widows, elderly headed household, child headed HHs, disable peoples, and chronically ill persons.

During assessment ten villages were explored and 1,250 beneficiaries’ households were enlisted in the targeted villages by doing door to door assessment jointly with community organization members and other notables of the respective hamlets. Project implemented following main steps to ensure gender mainstreaming.

- Proper orientation of the stakeholders, community and community organizations
- Enlisting of all households was carried out by project areas community
- Project specifically collected information related to women vulnerabilities and included households where women were facing problems
- At houses where no men were head of households project facilitated women households either directly through community organizations or by relatives of the respective households
- Project facilitated 1,250 women in getting trainings, seeds and toolkits in all villages.

All information were collected and segregated at gender level. Women and girls were taken as key vulnerable target groups and most of the households were selected based on the gender vulnerability only. Out of the 1,250 total project caseload; 956 men headed HHs and 294 women headed HHs were selected as project beneficiaries. 162 HHs were selected based on persons with disabilities. 90 HHs were selected based on persons with chronic diseases. Actual gender market of the project was 2a as significant attention was given to gender in this project including women, men, elderly; people with disability, people with chronic illness and children headed HHs.

The two activities through which gender mainstreaming was considered were,
1- Following the vulnerability criteria for selection of beneficiaries and
2- Kitchen gardening activities where 1,250 women beneficiaries were provided with vegetable seeds, tools and trainings.

Out of 10 target villages, project staff was not allowed in only 1 village to access female beneficiaries for kitchen gardening. JEN respected the local culture and norms and did not push community elders to go against their norms. JEN finally trained the female beneficiaries.

[Distribution to Elderly People]
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[Distribution to persons with disability]
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[Training of female beneficiaries by JEN-SDO staff on kitchen gardening]
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[Training of male beneficiaries by agriculture department staff on agriculture technology]..
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June 16, 2016 in Pakistan |

2016.06.09

Cattle Markets Survey

One of the components of JEN Mminitory of Forigen Affires (MOFA)funded livestock sector project in Khyber Agency, and FATA is distribution of Achai cows to the vulnerable beneficiaries. Achai cows are   small size which is the natural habitant of Dir, Chitral, Swat, Malakand districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (PK) province. Due to its high production on comparatively low feed consumption, the animals are available throughout in KP province. For this purpose, JEN team visited livestock markets in the surrounding areas of Peshawar and Mardan with a purpose to have an idea of availability and approximate prices in the Market. This analysis in the future will help us in procurement of the animals according to the specifications.

JEN team visited the livestock market of Sarband Peshawar, about 30 km from the city. Sarband livestock market is quite huge and a large number of people bring their livestock from the district of Peshawar and surrounding nearby districts like Charsadda, Swabi, Kohat etc. On Friday we  visited Rashakai animal market that held in Rashakai area of Mardan district. On Monday last week we visited the animal market of Rustam in District Mardan.

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In all the three districts the number of livestock was very high consisted of different breeds of species like Cattle, Buffalo, Sheep and Goats etc. The number of Achai cows at all the three said that market was not sufficient and we found very few Achai cows that were according to the specifications of JEN. However, we visited individual farmers of Achai cows in district Mardan on the same day. In the individual visits, however we found that a large number of people keep this Achai cows in some parts of the districts. We negotiated with them about the age, size, milk production and price.  They had a large number of Achai cows of different specifications and JEN can contact them when need arises.

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June 9, 2016 in Pakistan |

2016.05.19

Transition towards Peace in Khyber Agency, FATA

As of May 3, 2016 total 112,022 families have returned to Khyber agency including 40,094 unregistered families. All the main tribes of Khyber Agency like Sipah, Shalober, Zakha khel, Malik din Khel, Qambar Khel, and Aka Khel have returned except few in Tirah valley and Sher Khel tribe.

As a result of the long unrest in the area, almost all infrastructures like roads, hospitals, schools, government buildings and houses of the populations are damaged either completely or partially. Majority of the families have lost their livelihood sources. The lands are barren, livestock have died or have fled to the mountains and become wild, shops and markets are severely damaged. The people are once again facing difficult circumstances. However this time they are hopeful as they have returned to their homes now. They are feeling secure in their villages. Many of them have plans to restart their own means of living. They are struggling in the agriculture and livestock sectors to resume their dignity.

A number of national and international organizations are already there along with the government departments to support them. Some organizations including JEN have applied for project NOC to the FATA secretariat and are hoping to start their projects soon. These organizations are working in different sectors like protection, education, NFIs, health, WASH, Nutrition, Food security and Livelihood etc.  With support from government and humanitarian actors, the people of Khyber Agency are very hopeful to restart their normal living as before crisis. They believe that their commitment with lives and livelihoods will transform eventually into a sustainable peace in Khyber Agency.


[Damaged house in Khyber Agency]
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[Agricultural land rehabilitated in Khyber Agency]
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[Community based water reservoir for irrigation]
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[Community receiving Agriculture tool kit]
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May 19, 2016 in Pakistan |

2016.04.28

2016- The year of Return to FATA

The latest round of returns started on 11 April 2016 to South Waziristan Agency (SWA) with 600 families. SWA is situated in North-West region of Pakistan called FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Area). Earlier 9,865 families have returned to SWA while 55,090 families are still waiting for their return. Government and Humanitarian Community have declared 2016 as the year of return and plan to return around 95% caseload (168,970 families) of the total displaced population in KP and FATA provinces. 

Government and humanitarian community have set embarkation point for returnees to get facilitation while returning. Each returning family receives RFC (Return Facilitation Card), a cellular SIM and ATM card. Each returning family also receives PKR 10,000 and 25,000 from the Government for transportation and as return grants respectively. Proper designated waiting areas are established for males and females. NGO partners provide WASH services, entitlement information, Mine Risk Education, wheel chairs, and dignity kits.  A medical doctor, a female technician, and an ambulance are available, as well as a variety of essential medicines.  Up to 10,000 families are scheduled to return to South Waziristan Agency by mid-May.  This will be followed by returns to Kurram and Orakzai Agency.

JEN plans to complement the efforts of government and humanitarian community in South Waziristan Agency. In this regard, JEN will provide 1,850 returnee families with agriculture support including land reclamation/rehabilitation/preparation, provision of maize seeds, vegetable seeds, and agriculture tool kit, as well as trainings on agriculture farming and kitchen gardening.   


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April 28, 2016 in Pakistan |

2016.04.21

Serious Food Shortages and JEN’s Efforts in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA)

In the FATA, a 10-year long conflict caused a mass evacuation of local residents. Although people have started to return at last, they still suffer from serious food shortages.

To interpret food securement situations in these areas, and JEN analysed all data available on FATA.

According to a result of the data which was given in the end of 2015, it showed the current situations of FATA as below. The FATA, consisting of seven agencies (tribal districts) under the control of the federal government and six frontier regions, has a total population of 4.6 million.

Among those areas, one agency (Kurram) and four frontier regions (Bannu, Pshawar, Kohat and Lakki Marwat) somewhat feel stressed over the lack of food.    

Four agencies (Orakzai, Khyber, Mohmand and Bajaur) and one frontier region (Tank) are suffering from food shortages and are in a stressful situation.

Two southern agencies (North Waziristan and South Waziristan) were found to have a drastic food shortage and to be under critical emergency conditions.

Thus, JEN took action in the agriculture sector in the FATA,  as agriculture and livestock farming are the main income sources of FATA residents.

Now, we are supporting 3,100 households, that are in need of emergency assistance, in the agriculture sector.

We have also launched a 3-year development project in the livestock sector, where we are going to provide modern technology, workshops and materials in livestock farming in order to retrieve/improve the economic situation of the returnees.

We hope our assistance will help FATA residents improve their food securement situations.



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April 21, 2016 in Pakistan |

2016.03.10

Livestock Management Committe

A sustainable approach in livestock protection project
In June 2014, around 1 million people were dislocated from NWA-FATA (North Waziristan Agency-Federally Administered Tribal Areas) due to man-made disaster. During the dislocation and emergency situation a lot of people lost their animals on the way, some people sold it out on very minimal prices in distress and most of the animals got diseased or weakened due to unavailability of adequate feed and livestock management practices.

JEN being one of the most active members of Food Security Cluster initiated a livestock protection project to avoid loss of animals in the short term and assist food security of the affected people in the longer-run. JEN provided vaccination, de-worming, livestock shelter and livestock management education to targeted 1,000 HHs.

In order to retain the services provided by JEN in the targeted community even after JEN evacuation, JEN formed five LMCs (Livestock Management Committees). Each LMC is comprised of 20 LEWs (Livestock Extension Worker where each LEW has been trained by JEN’s livestock expert for 10 days on livestock management), 6 village elders and 1 person each from the government livestock department and private sector. 

In this regard, government livestock department organized a field day in JEN’s target area to educate the affected people on livestock management and provide free of cost services of vaccination and de-worming. The LEWs trained by JEN and JEN staff also participated in this event. Around 125 small animals were vaccinated against enterotoxaemia and 20 large livestock were given de-wormers. Representative of the government livestock department provided answers to the queries of affected people for improved livestock management. JEN has recently exited from the project site and is quite hopeful that the LMC will continue its due role for the affected people with strong cooperation from government livestock department.

【A meeting with LMC members】
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【JEN staff is training member of LMC】
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【Vaccination organized by agriculture livestock department】
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March 10, 2016 in Pakistan |

2016.02.25

Agriculture Support to Returnees Population in FATA

In Pakistan, since 2008, almost 5 million people from KP and FATA have been registered as dislocated from a series of crisis. Currently 180,570 families are dislocated in KP and FATA of which 179,199 families are living in host communities and 1,371 families in 3 IDPs camps. Khyber Agency remained the highest in terms of figures where 73,673 families have returned so far. The people of this area are well-known for agriculture producer and business. However their agriculture system and business was totally damaged when they were displaced from their homes from 5 to 6 years.

In order to support their return process and increase food availability at household level through sustainable livelihoods, JEN joined hands with Pakistan Humanitarian Pooled Fund (PHPF), government agriculture department of FATA and a local NGO.  JEN provided 1,250 households with organic wheat seeds (cereal crop), organic vegetable seeds, agriculture tool kits and trainings for male and female beneficiaries. Government agriculture department rehabilitated and prepared agriculture lands for the beneficiaries. The project beneficiaries cultivated the crops and they are expecting a good yield from it. The agriculture produce will not only increase food availability for the affected people but will enable them to cultivate their lands in the next season given the wheat seed is organic.

One of the best practices of the project is building strong relationship between the farmers and agriculture department. Both the actors will remain in contact after JEN’s evacuation from the project area which will ensure sustainable food availability for the affected farmers.

【Disable and elderly are assisted on priority basis in the project】
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【It is JEN's first ever experience of partnership with local NGO】
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【Kitchen gardening is important source of increased food availability in this project】
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February 25, 2016 in Pakistan |

2016.02.12

Livestock Development Project by MOFA-JAPAN in Bara Khyber Agency FATA

JEN has got 1 year livestock development project for the returnees of Bara, Khyber Agency. The aim of the project is to provide returnees in Bara Khyber Agency with the livestock sector in order to help them recover their economies. For this purpose, JEN is in coordination with key stakeholders including Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Unit of FATA Secretariat, and Livestock Department FATA, from planning phase of the project. This project has now been approved by Ministry of Foreign Affairs-JAPAN and all the stakeholders have assured their support to JEN for successful project implementation.

The project is comprised of activities having short, medium and long term impact for the beneficiaries. Provision of livestock feed supplement and vaccination & de-worming are aimed for immediate maintenance and medium term protection of the livestock. Restocking of local cows to the most vulnerable families is meant to recover their livelihoods. Capacity building on Artificial Insemination, livestock feed preparation and livestock management will target long term needs of the beneficiaries’ livestock.

Youth of the target area will be trained to link beneficiaries with markets and start an enabling environment for economic recovery.  Livelihood Recovery Committees will be formed to sustain the project impact after JEN evacuation from the target area.

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February 12, 2016 in Pakistan |

2016.01.28

Struggling for Better Future

Mr. Noor Qayaz Khan is a permanent resident of North Waziristan agency. He is 40 years old and has 5 sons and 4 daughters.  His family migrated to the tented Camp in Bakka Khel established by Government of Pakistan due to conflict in North Waziristan agency and get registered with UNHCR.

Noor Qayaz was working as laborer in North Waziristan agency but after displacement his economic position got worst and totally dependent on WFP food items and other humanitarian AID. JEN registered his family for livestock feed supplement and shelter. 

He has one cow in camp and after three months he started selling tea, boiled eggs and local biscuits , candies etc in front of Bakka Khell camp. His stall is in public waiting area for the people who wait for entering in camp and it is also a car parking area so it is also a recreational place for the people, the people sit together in his stall with a cup of milk tea and share their problems and solutions etc. 

He uses the milk of his own cow for milk tea and earn approximately PKR 7500 per month, this income doesn’t meet the needs of his family.   

He is now trying to expand his business to large level at Bannu district market to create better future for his family

[Noor's stall in front of parking area]
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[Noor (middle), JEN staff, and a customer in his tea stall]
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January 28, 2016 in Pakistan |

2016.01.21

Warmth for Children

Shangla district was severely affected by the 26th October earthquake. JEN, after needs assessment in Shangla, decided to provide NFIs (non-food items). JEN, during this project, covered 770 earthquake affected families. The people in the affected areas are mostly poor and the livelihoods in general are labor/daily wage work. It was a hard time in a very tough environment and terrain however JEN reached to the most deserving affected people. JEN has provided quilts, cotton mattresses, pillows, plastic mats, tarpaulin sheets, kitchen sets, female shawls etc.

In the package, age specific items for children were also included. The items were high necks, gloves, caps, leggings and socks, and these covered age group 1-3 years, 4-8 years and 9-12 years.

During the post distribution monitoring the children were observed to wear the provided items. The temperature was touching zero in different areas and seeing children in the provided items was a memorable time. The children said that they didn’t had these clothing before and now they are wearing and this provide warmth to them.

One issue which was observed during Post-Distribution Minotiring is that cleanliness of kids clothing is not practiced. The reason is that people are not well educated and lack of awareness in the community about good hygiene practices. This issue was discussed with the parents to provide clean clothing to their children and were informed about the benefits of good hygiene practices especially for their children. They showed acceptance and commitment to provide clean clothing to their children in particular.

The project comes to its end however the happiness for JEN staff will remain especially remembering these children.

[Children use items]

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January 21, 2016 in Pakistan |

2016.01.14

The challenges and JEN

JEN has initiated its project to support the earthquake affected people of district Shangla in November, 2015. The very difficult terrain of the area made it very challenging to reach out for the most vulnerable people. The winter season already started which created more vulnerabilities of the people.

During assessment the bad weather conditions posed a serious challenge to reach the earthquake affected population. It was rainy weather with snowfall time to time in district Shangla. The concrete roads were good to travel but the unpaved roads were not possible for journey. The land sliding was a threat which could have delayed reaching the targeted areas. Luckily, no such land sliding occurred during the project implementation. Many aftershocks also hit the areas in which two were powerful jolts i.e. on rectal scale the magnitude reached to 6. Although the damages were not high, it remained and still is a serious challenge for working in the targeted areas.

It was the enthusiasm and commitment of JEN staff to cover the delays occurred due to the unavoidable challenges. JEN is in the final stage of providing the NFI packages (winterized kits, kitchen sets and tarpaulin sheets) to the beneficiaries. It will uphold the dignity and respect of the beneficiaries.

[People living in tents]
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[Beneficiaries with a coupon and distirbution items in a truck]
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January 14, 2016 in Pakistan |

2016.01.07

What is needed to where it’s needed

This is the story of Gul Sana Bibi (widow) living in district Shangla. She is 74 years old and having one son and one daughter. Without enough resources, the daughter has grown up with her mental disability. Her son, who is not educated due to their poverty, does some daily wage work within the village whenever there is availability. Mostly the surrounding community supports them in their living.

At the time of earthquake of 26th October, the family was coming out of their home. As soon as they were out, a powerful jolt brought down their home. During that time her daughter’s leg was injured due to falling of stones and wood of their home. This was a terrible time for their family as their house was the only thing belongs to them.

They took shelter for some time in one of the neighbor’s house which luckily didn’t collapse during the earthquake. After one month they received tent from district authorities but the tent was for a normal weather so was not winterized. They were facing a tough winter season.

When JEN informed her about the package details what JEN will distribute, she became happy.  But then she requested that she needed shelter as the tent couldn’t sustain if the weather became severer.
JEN staff shared her request with one of the local organizations who was going to start their project on shelters, and they informed back that her shelter will be first one as soon as they start the project activities.

This is one story narrated from one of the target areas of JEN intervention: Even though Gul Sana Bibi had already received a tent, it was not sufficient. It means that support from merely one authority of organization is not even close to enough for normal life. Unfortunately, families like Gul Sana Bibi are not minority in Pakistan.

Because JEN aims to bring back the normalcy to people’s lives as quick as possible, we will continue cooperation with concerned authorities and organizations in order and  deliver what is needed to where it’s needed.

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January 7, 2016 in Pakistan |

2015.12.24

Gul Nawaz of Bara Khyber Agency

Gul Nawaz is living in Khyber Agency having 5 acre agricultural land. He was displaced from his village during the conflict for more than 06 years. When he returned back to his village his fertile land was barren due to non-cultivation for long time. As he is registered member of Farm Services Center, a part of Agriculture Department which serves farmers in various ways for promotion of agriculture, so he started reclamation his land with the support of Agriculture Department. In this he reclaimed 3 acre land for cultivation.

Althouth the land was ready for cultivation, Gul Nawaz didn’t have tools or seeds that he needed. JEN started distribution of agricultural tool kit and seeds in order to support farmers like Gul Nawaz in Khybery Agency.

JEN and our partner organizationSDO staff when selected this village for interventions then Gul Nawaz was identified and selected as beneficiary after fulfilling the selection criteria such as having large number of chidren (he has 6) . He was not quite sure during the registration process whether JEN-SDO would provide the items on time or not. However when he received the tool kit and seed package his confidence built up. He sowed the wheat seed in 01 acre land. Now the germination has already started with a good rate which brought happiness for him and his family. He showed satisfaction on the seed quality and hoping that the yield will be high enough.

He is hoping that peace and stability of the region will continue and they will once again live in harmony. He said that he had spent quite a long time away from his home and lands and he doesn’t want to leave it again.

JEN will implement our projects so that resettlement of returnees like him would be as smooth as possible.

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December 24, 2015 in Pakistan |

2015.12.17

FM-93 Bannu

Radio Pakistan Bannu was established in June 2005 by the government. Radio Pakistan Bannu is streaming the programs of FM-93, 24 hours. Its total coverage is in 60 KM radius which is also listened in districts Lakki Marwat, Tank, Bannu, Karak, North Waziristan agency and South Waziristan agency.

There is one studio and one antenna in Radio Pakistan Bannu.  There are different departments like finance and administration, programs, technical and security department.
On FM-93 different programs like education information, entertainment, youth, agriculture, literature, female related programs are presented. The weekly special programs are Radio Clinic, Political and administrative programs and “SAMA LAR” (Islamic program), programs related to developmental works in Bannu and Lakki Marwat and weekly documentaries.

In these programs the peoples from different professions and institutions like professors, Doctors, Religious leaders, Politicians, District administration and other government representatives etc. are invited for programs. Each program discusses current issues and try to reach to a conclusion. The radio station also provides contact details to the community so that they can participate in the program and ask questions from the relevant people and/or provide their comments.

FM-93 played a very vital role during IDPs crises in Bannu and Lakki Marwat. Special coverage was given to the IDPs of North Waziristan Agency through awareness and information programs. The IDPs were and still gathering information about the new development in the current crises situation and their return process. 

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December 17, 2015 in Pakistan |

2015.12.10

District Shangla

District Shangla is in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The total area of district Shangla is 1586 km2 (612 sq miles) with an estimated population of 733,000.  Shangla district consists of small valleys, and is situated between the hillocks and surrounded by high mountains. The average elevation of the district is 2000 to 3000 meters above sea level. The highest point (3,440 m) is at “Kuz Ganrshal” in the north of the district.

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Shangla suffered during the past disasters of 1) 2005 earthquake and 2) 2010 floods. However the level of damages was not very high compared to other areas of the country in these disasters. During the current earthquake of 26th October 2015, Shangla has suffered major losses (both human and material) in comparison with the other disaster hit area with 49 deaths, 181 human injuries and 11395 damaged house. The main needs at the community level are shelter and protection from the harsh winter season. The temperature is dropping considerably and it is reached to 0˚C in night.

Government and humanitarian organizations has started their support to the affected people however vulnerabilities and need on the ground is high.

JEN is prepared now to support the earthquake affected people with winterized kits and the support will be provided on “as soon as possible” basis.

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December 10, 2015 in Pakistan |

2015.11.26

Current Project Report

JEN is currently implementing a PHPF (Pakistan Humanitarian Pooled Funding) funded project for 1,150 returnee families in Khyber Agency, FATA. JEN is implementing this project in partnership with a local NGO call SDO (State Development Organization).

So far, 1,000 families have received the Agriculture Inputs Package. Out of 1,000 beneficiaries there are 229 women beneficiaries house hold. Hence around 23% beneficiaries are either widow or women headed households. Many of these women come to distribution spot where project female staffs help them in receiving kitchen gardening package.

They are also trained on techniques of kitchen gardening to get better production. Training material for women beneficiaries in Pakistan has been prepared keeping in view their low literacy rate. A leaflet has been carefully designed in order to focus more on visual contents than on text.

Out of 1,000 HHs, 150 households are persons with disabilities. Most common disabilities found among the beneficiaries are related to Polio, Psychological problems, by birth hearing impairment and leg and arm amputation.

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The beneficiaries with disabilities came in person to receive the package and get trained. Elderly persons also come to the distribution point.

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With this project, JEN expects to help recover agriculture based livelihood of the various targeted beneficiaries.

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November 26, 2015 in Pakistan |

2015.11.12

26th October earthquake

On 26th October 2015 a powerful earthquake magnitude of 7.5 hit Afghanistan and Pakistan. The earthquake caused 280 deaths, 1,982 injured and damaged 103,268 houses in Pakistan. The majority of damages occurred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where death are 232, injured 1,577 and 89,102 houses were damaged. (National Disaster Management Authority, 09/11/2015)

This earthquake reminded us of the 8th October 2005 earthquake of Kashmir and of northern areas of Pakistan. The same types of vulnerabilities are reported and the needs are very similar to the previous ones. Although the scale of damages is not that much high as it was in 2005, however still the most affected areas gave the same picture as of 2005.

JEN worked for 3 years in Kahsmir to support the earthquake victims and survivors. JEN supported people with emergency relief items and provided support in the education sector throughout that period. The affected people of the current earthquake are also in extremely vulnerable conditions. The winter season already started and many people are under the clear sky. The people need to be addressed quickly to minimize the adverse effects of disaster and harsh weather. The higher needs of the people are warm clothing, shelter and other supplies. The government and other humanitarian organizations have just started to support the people, however there is a long journey ahead to recover the lives of the people and for building the system of disaster risk reduction.

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November 12, 2015 in Pakistan |

2015.10.22

Placement of Awareness Raising Banners

Raising public awareness on livestock management is one of the important components of JEN’s project for temporarily dislocated people in district Bannu, province KP. To achieve this, JEN uses placement of printed banners with pictures and written messages. These banners are placed in public places like markets, communal gatherings, veterinary hospitals and stores.

The banners communicate several messages to project beneficiaries regarding livestock management e.g. Improved health of livestock, utilization of vaccines and medicines, improved production, income generation, hygienic environment and improved breed of livestock. JEN has placed these banners on fifteen different locations in its targeted geographical area.

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With this activity, JEN hopes to raise awareness of the beneficiaries on modern techniques of livestock management. These messages will help in minimizing the losses of beneficiaries and will help them attain increased livestock production leading towards their improved food security.

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October 22, 2015 in Pakistan |

2015.10.08

Village Elders

Village Elders (VEs) are one of the most important stakeholders of JEN’s on-going project for temporarily dislocated people in Protection of Livestock project in district Bannu, KP province. VEs are part of JEN’s Livestock Management Committees (LMC) where other members in the committee are comprised of Livestock Extension Workers (LEWs), Livestock department staff and private veterinary practitioners. Capitalizing upon the influential role of VEs, JEN has assigned them a responsibility to keep check on LEWs and beneficiaries. Main responsibilities of LEWs and beneficiaries is to utilize the resources to its fullest provided by JEN such as Livestock Feed, Shelter and Livestock First Aid Kit and follow coordination mechanism with Livestock Department.

Mr. Ghulam is one of the VEs working with JEN as member of LMC. He is living in JEN’s target area since dislocation last year in June from his hometown in North Waziristan Agency. He lives in a small rented house with his family. He himself is owner of two cows and two goats.

Mr. Ghulam checks on the responsibilities of LEWs. He takes feedback from the community regarding LEWs activities. He motivates and reminds LEWs for their due task whenever he feels a gap. Performing such work smoothly, it has become one of the major role of village elders.

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October 8, 2015 in Pakistan |

2015.09.24

Good luck to an international staff

It is very nice experience for us to work with Japanese colleagues(called the international staff) in JEN. We have learned so many things from them which are improving our capacity. We have learned that honesty with the job is one of the most important things and if we are honest with it, we will be punctual automatically and we will enjoy the work. 

Since 2005 we had chance to work with many Japanese colleagues and all of them were exceptional. When they come to work with us, we enjoy time with them and we sometimes have parties together, but at that time we forget that those staffs are not here forever and they have to leave. Whenever they announce about their departure, everyone becomes sad and remember those lovely days which we spent together.

Our Japanese colleague, Megumi Fujita will leave Pakistan after completion of her 3 years mission. She adopted our culture and society so well and she was visiting colleague’s houses to celebrate happiness and encourage during the sad moments. She is one of the best expatriate staffs who do their best in the job and try to do more than her TORs. We are all happy that she was happy in Pakistan and going with the pride like all other Japanese staffs. We wish her best of luck in the future!

[Staffs of Islamabad]
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[Mango party]
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From the staffs JEN Afghanistan and Pakistan

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September 24, 2015 in Pakistan |

2015.09.10

Agriculture Support To Returnees In Khyber Agency, FATA

JEN has been working with affected people of complex emergency in KP/FATA since 2011. JEN has assisted more than 10,000 families in different sectors including Shelter/Non-Food Items, WASH and Food Security.

Recently JEN has started an agriculture support project for returnees of Khyber Agency in FATA. The people of Khyber Agency were temporarily displaced from their homes due to military operations against armed militants. As 6 years have passed and the situation started to settle, people started returning. (So far 54,599 families have returned to Khyber Agency and 32,217 families are still temporarily displaced from their homes. Source:UNOCHA)

JEN will target 1,150 returnee families in the agriculture support project. JEN will provide these returnee families with agriculture tool kits and seeds for farming and kitchen gardening. Purpose of the project is to help recover the livelihood and improve food security at household level.

Women are equal beneficiaries of JEN in this project where JEN will provide them with seeds of vegetables, tools and training to start production at their homes. It would help them to get nutritious food and become healthy.

Men who are the bread winners for their families will be given 50 kg of seeds, farming tools and training by the agriculture expert and government agriculture department. It would help them in their livelihood recovery efforts.

At the end of the project, JEN is expecting to improve food security status of the affected families and enable them to sustainably stay at their homes.


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September 10, 2015 in Pakistan |

2015.08.27

Livelihood Recovery through Livestock Assistance

Mr. Payo Zaman, 42 years old, belongs to North Waziristan agency, FATA.  His family is comprised of a wife, two sons and two daughters. In May 2014, Mr. Payo Zaman was displaced temporarily from his hometown due to military operations by security forces against non-state actors.

Upon reaching district Bannu in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the government and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) registered his family as Temporary displaced peoples (TDPs). He got a shelter along with his family and five cows that he brought from hometown in a government primary school in village named Nar Najeeb of Union Council Ghuriwala, Distrct Bannu.

The only source of income left for the family was livestock, however, due to lack of resources and animal feed, the health condition of his livestock was getting worse day by day. Production of milk was decreasing. The hot weather was also badly affecting the health condition of the livestock because he was keeping his livestock without any shelter.  The psychological conditions of his family members were negatively affected by the sufferings of displacement.

In May 2015, JEN team visited his family when Mr. Payo Zaman was planning to sell his livestock. JEN team registered his family for the livestock feed and shelter kit package. His cows were de-wormed and vaccinated by JEN veterinary team. In addition, he received training from a JEN livestock expert on livestock management.

[Livestock Shelter]
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After utilizing the livestock assistance package provided by JEN; the health condition of livestock has improved and the milk production has increased up to eight liters per day within a few months. Improved health condition of his livestock motivated him and his family. Now he has started working as a laborer in the nearby market and sells four liters of milk daily in the market. He is earning approximately 280 rupees daily from milk selling.  His family members use milk for domestic purposes like production of lassi, yogurt and butter. His wife and children take good care of livestock which has reduced the negative impacts of displacement from their minds.

[Son of  Mr. Payo Zaman grazing his livestock]
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Their financial situation is still not good but this contribution from JEN has increased his earning. 



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August 27, 2015 in Pakistan |

2015.08.13

Completion of JEN’s distribution

JEN has completed distribution activity of livestock feed and shelter to TDPs of NWA (North Waziristan). Total target was 500 households. JEN developed a strategy to complete the distribution in 3 phases. Before distribution JEN printed tokens of the selected beneficiaries. Prior to distribution JEN field staff visited the targeted areas to deliver tokens to the target beneficiaries. A Token contains information of a household head e.g. name, ID card number, venue and timing of the distribution. Before each distribution JEN coordinated with all relevant authorities like police and district officer and other stakeholders like village elders etc.

The supplier delivered the project inputs one day before distribution.

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As it was the month of Ramadan and weather was extremely hot so JEN staff arranged the distribution packages from night to consolidate the distribution process on time. Security was provided by local Police Station as JEN had already submitted request for security personnel.

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The distribution was carried out in three phases where 150, 195 and 155 TDPs Households were provided with livestock feed and livestock shelter respectively. For a smooth distribution process JEN would only call selected beneficiaries for the distribution and only token holders were allowed to the distribution venue. One JEN staff and one Police person would check the token and would allow one token holder to the venue. Before distribution JEN staffs oriented the beneficiaries over distribution process.

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Next step was to take acknowledgement, attendance and thumb impression of the beneficiaries.

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After completion of this activity, JEN technical staff would give session to the beneficiaries on use of de-wormers, livestock shelter and livestock feed.

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At the end of distribution, JEN staffs would hand over the livestock feed and shelter package to the beneficiaries and in turn JEN staff would collect the tokens from beneficiaries for its record and documentation.


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August 13, 2015 in Pakistan |

2015.07.30

Floods and our preparedness

Once again the pre-monsoon and monsoon rains flooded different parts of Pakistan. The floods have affected 23 Districts across Pakistan with 81 reported fatalities, 45 people injured, 1,921 houses damaged, 172, 016 people have been evacuated to the safer places and total 793 villages are affected. (Source: NDMA situation report and media). Chitral District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and six Districts of Punjab province have been hit the hardest, with a high risk of floods in Sindh province in coming days. Pakistan Metrological department forecasted more rains in the coming week.


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Relief camps and other emergency services are started and efforts are continued by Federal and Provincial governments. Pakistan Army is working hard in the disaster affected areas to rescue and evacuate people to safe places.

This is worth considering that floods hit different parts of Pakistan each year and enormous resources are spent to help the affected population. However the risk can be reduced if activities are carried out to develop the community capacity for disaster resilience. Government and many INGOs/NGOs do provide trainings on disaster risk reduction; however the scale of these trainings needs to be increased with supporting the larger community with infrastructure development. This can be the primary responsibility of the government, where the organizations having the expertise and capacity for DRR can provide support to government efforts. Although the government (especially National Disaster Management Authority) is developing plans to cope with future disasters however the available resources (especially financial) are not enough due to which the required infrastructure and trainings of the communities lag behind each year. 

The humanitarian aid agencies and emergency response organizations can play an effective and vital role in sensitizing the community about disaster risk reduction. It will reduce the enormous burden on federal and provincial governments. It will result in minimizing sufferings of the people.

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July 30, 2015 in Pakistan |

2015.07.16

Promising Prospects in Pakistan’s Domestic Security & Public Welfare

Steadily maturing macro political situation, economic stability, improved domestic security, less Drone strikes in FATA, safely held Military Parade marking Pakistan Day 23rd March after a seven-year gap in Islamabad, improvement in interdepartmental operational coordination at all levels, launching of final phase of military operations in FATA (NWA & Khyber Agency) and subsequent commencement of return of TDPs were the key features of 2015. The total number casualties reported each month increased due to intensified law enforcement operations in FATA by the Pakistan Armed Forces. Return of DPs to FATA continues. Around 24,377 families have returned to FATA as of 9th May, 2015 according to FATA Disaster Management Authority.

The life styles affected by at least a decade long violence are gradually returning to normalcy. Local Government Elections were held across KP in June, 2015. The elections were contested by 84,420 candidates for 41,762 seats, which is more than a double of available seats. This election is going to bring a new age to Pakistan politics because the new system has designated seats for people with different backgrounds (such as women, farmers, etc) whereas only men were allowed to be candidates before. This new system is supposed to reflect real voices of local people. On the election day, people are so excited for this new change that they made a very long line to vote even under the heat.   Successful elections are deemed to contribute much to the socio-economic and political stability for improving overall environment for human security.

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A natural generic stress, however, prevails owing to feared reaction to ongoing security operations in FATA. Effective intelligence-led search & strike ops reportedly continued in/around Islamabad and elsewhere in the country. Reported militant and criminal activity meanwhile was specifically directed – Law Enforcement Agencies, Security Forces, Political Elite and Peace Committees unlike the previous years, which involved mass civilian casualties.


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July 16, 2015 in Pakistan |

2015.07.02

Preparation for Upcoming Distribution

JEN has planned distribution of livestock feed and shelter to 500 families in district Bannu. First distribution will be carried out for 200 families on the 6th  of July, 2015. The last two distributions will be for 145 and 155 families in JEN’s target area called Ghoriwala in district Bannu.   

JEN has contacted staff of WFP-hub for the distribution. WFP has given approval to utilize its food distribution hub for the distribution by JEN. The second and the third (last) distribution will take place in a veterinary hospital.

All the staff did all they could to prepare for this distribution. First of all, JEN has asked the supplier well in advance to arrange the distribution items on time. The distribution items will be delivered by trucks one day prior to the distribution point. JEN staff will ensure to erect necessary arrangement at the distribution point like seating arrangement, shade and wash room. Women, elderly and persons with disability will be treated on priority basis.  JEN will also coordinate with police department to get personnel for security of the distribution point.

JENs’ staff is currently preparing tokens for the beneficiaries. The token will be distributed to each beneficiary 2 days before the distribution. Each token bears information like distribution date and time, venue, beneficiary name, father name, identity number and signature from JEN staff.

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JEN will display list of distribution items at the distribution venue so that all the beneficiaries know the detail of livestock package. Contact numbers of senior JEN staff will be displayed as well for the beneficiaries to report complaints. With all these arrangement JEN’s staff hope that the distribution process will go smoothly in this hot weather and Ramadan.


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July 2, 2015 in Pakistan |

2015.06.18

Bannu Pheasantry (Zoo)

District Bannu is located in southern region of KPK province. It is the neighboring district of Karak, Lakki Marwat and North Waziristan Agency, FATA.  There are 4 different Pushtun tribes in Bannu which are Banuchi, Niazi, marwat, and Abbasies. JEN has established an office in Bannu since September 2014 to provide support to the Temporary Dislocated Persons (TDPs) of NWA.
The wild life department of Khyber PakhtunKhwa has established a pheasantry in Bannu to promote breeding of endangered pheasants and to raise conservation awareness among community. 

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The pheasantry is located one kilometer away from JEN Bannu office. The   total area of the peasantry is 1.5 ACRE. The area is divided into sheds for the birds and open garden with plenty of trees and flowers. The pheasantry houses several species of birds and its different breeds. Majority of birds are Peacocks and pheasants from Pakistan, China, Cambodia and Sri Lanka. These birds when lay eggs are mostly bred at the pheasantry for future flock extension while the extra eggs are sold out to the local/regional communities. The total numbers of persons working in the pheasantry are 11. Among them one is a Veterinary Doctor, one is Veterinary Assistant, four security guards and five gardeners.

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Bannu pheasantry is the only recreational centre in district Bannu. The people especially families visit the pheasantry frequently. Huge numbers of TDPs living around the pheasantry take their children to show them different birds and gain knowledge about wild life. The most important thing for the TDPs is that the entry to the pheasantry is free of cost. Hundreds of TDPs visit the pheasantry on daily basis to enjoy the pleasing environment.

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June 18, 2015 in Pakistan |

2015.06.04

Mobile health unit for the assistance of NWA TDPs

Consequence of launching the operation Zarb e Azb by the Pakistan Armed Forces on June 15th, 2014 was the dislocation of NWA inhabitants to the neighboring districts such as Bannu, Lakki Marwat, D I Khan, etc.
A total of 103,108 families have been verified by NADRA (National Database and Registration Authority) and registered as TDPs (Temporarily Dislocated People) as of March 31st, 2015. The Return Process was commenced on the 31st of March 2015, and by May 19th, 2015, total of 734 registered and 95 unregistered families returned to the de-notified areas of NWA.
(Source: Inter Cluster Assessment Mission to North Waziristan Agency 13-15 May 2015)

Till this date 102,374 TDPs families are residing in districts of Bannu, Lakki Marwat and Karak. There are several challenges that government and humanitarian community are facing, including funding constraints, low capacity of the government, and access issues. These challenges have left the TDPs in desperate needs of food, health, shelter, education, livelihood and protection etc. Thus, efforts are continued by government and humanitarian community to stand up for the needs of the affected people.   

One such example is Mobile Health Unit from the Health Department of Punjab Province. It is a point to provide medical assistance to the TDPs of NWA since 31st July 2014. The MHU is equipped with X-Ray facility, laboratory for pathological investigation and ECG facility.

[Mobile Health Unit from Punjab government for TDPs of NWA in Bannu]
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[MHU from inside]
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This MHU visits different areas of district Bannu for the treatment of TDPs families.  If MHU staff find any serious case, they refer it to District Headquarter Hospital: A government-run hospital in Bannu city.  On daily basis, there are one medical officer, one Lady Doctor, one Lady Health Visitor, one X-Rays technician; one Bio Technician and Admin and Security staff. 

[JEN staffs are taking interview from the medical officer at MHU]
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[Bio-technician at the MHU]
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[Admin Staff at MHU]
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They see and treat patients for 8 hours to 14 hours. On average 150 to 200 Patients visit the MHU daily. Approximately 50 to 60 patients take different disease’s tests. On daily average 7 individuals take X-Rays. Since July 2014 around 35000 TDPs individuals have been provided medical assistance for different diseases. 

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June 4, 2015 in Pakistan |

2015.05.21

Bannu Sports Festival 2015

The Bannu Sports Gala has been organized every year by the District Government and Army in order to boost new sports talent especially in youth.  But this time it was special as the TDP’s youth were also encouraged to expose their talent in different type of sports activities along with the host communities. 

The Sports Gala was started from 12th May to 14th May, 2015. Different Indoor and outdoor games such as cricket, tag war, volley ball, etc. were arranged in a decent manner. The Players came from far away with great enthusiasm and spirit.

The humanitarian organizations were also invited by the PDMA to arrange different stall in sports gala. Most of Bannu based NGO/INGO has displayed their stalls relevant to their activities. JEN has also displayed a stall regarding livestock management awareness and IEC (Information, Education and communication) material.  JEN has distributed broachers regarding livestock awareness to those who visited JEN stall. JEN technical team has provided basic information regarding livestock management to the visitors. People took great interest in the JEN stall and were asking many questions regarding livestock management.

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In the end of the event, chief guest specially gave a shield as an award to JEN and thanks JEN staffs for it is contribution for the needy communities.


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May 21, 2015 in Pakistan |

2015.05.07

Leather Goods Service Centre Bannu, KPK

Leather Goods Service Centre is a project of KPK Small Industries Development Board, situated in Bannu. It is a semi Government Training institute which is known for providing training to different people in underdeveloped areas of the province. It was established back in 1984, whereas in 1988-1999 it was converted to a form of Commercial base.

In the year 2000, the Leather Goods Service Centre was forced by the Small Industries Development Board to transfer its dwelling to Peshawar because of encountered losses over the past 16 years.
In 2003, the Centre was re-transferred to Bannu by the esteemed orders of the then Chief Minister, and was soon upgraded as Training Institute. 50 numbers of students from FATA in a single batch are enrolled in the institute for attaining (6 months) diploma in order to receive training on products made from leather. Upon successful completion of this training provided by FATA Development Authority it will immensely help in sustaining their livelihood. Nowadays, the centre is operating well and it has started generating profit steadily.

The centres have a lot of specialities to supply their products in their own show room and shops of local market. It is because due to the limited access that the industry is not able to supply in the whole country, but on high demand the industry can make products and supply to different regions in the country with prior permission of the Board .The products include Gents Purse, Ladies Purse, Key Chains, Laptop Bags, File Bags, Brief Cases, Ladies Carrying Bags and Gents Belts. For manufacturing of the said products the raw material is mainly collected from Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar. 

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At present, 14 staff members are serving in the centre under the charter of small industries Development Board Peshawar.

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The shortage of electricity was a heinous issue herein, but it has been addressed on urgent basis and they have installed a new 200 KV transformer for ceasing intermittence in the ongoing product-manufacturing process.

No doubt that this kind of small industries and training opportunities are the key to success of development and it should be promoted not only by the government but the NGOs as well.



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May 7, 2015 in Pakistan |

2015.04.23

Bannu city and IDP’s absorbing pattern in the area

Bannu city is the headquarter of Bannu Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Bannu is an oldest city founded in ancient times. However the foundation of the present Bannu was placed by Lieutenant Herbert Edwardes in 1848. Due to its geographical location and proximity to Afghanistan Bannu was once a British military base used for action against Afghan border tribes. Bannu has borders with east of Khost province of Afghanistan, 35 km east of North and South Waziristan, 127 km south of Kohat and 143 km north of Dera Ismail Khan.

[Ancient wall of the city]
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The inhabitants of Bannu are called “Bannuchi” and they speak a specific dialect of Pashtu language however other languages like Urdu, Saraiki and Punjabi are also spoken and understood by the locals. The population of Bannu is mostly Pashtuns. The Bannuchi tribe dominates the city and other main tribes are Wazir, Mehsud, Dawar, Marwat and some Bangash. The people of Bannu due to extreme love with their city term Bannu as BanniGul (Beautiful as flower).

Due to its closeness to the NWA a large number of IDPs migrated to Bannu after start of the operation of the law enforcement agencies of Pakistan against the armed militants since June 2014. About one million people fled NWA and reached different parts in KP province. About .8 million people settled in Bannu with host community, in rented houses and in the tent villages. With influx of such a large number of people the population of Bannu has become almost double to its original size which has adversely affected the whole district. IDPs in the area are compelled to live in a state of deprivation in different parts of the city.

Agro-ecologically Bannu can be divided in two different parts. One part is comprised of agriculture lands with plenty of water and good irrigation system and the other part consist of deserts and barren lands with some vegetation which is mostly dependent on rains for production.
The IDPs are also distributed according to the above said pattern of agro-ecological conditions i.e. those IDPs that have large number of livestock settled in the arid portion because they free their livestock in the morning in these barren lands with fewer vegetation where they feed for the whole day and come back at the evening to their homes. The owners of the lands do not prevent the IDPs from grazing their livestock in the fields because their land is not productive.

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Those who have small number of livestock are settled in the irrigated part of the Bannu. These IDPs do not free their animals rather they keep them in their houses and stall feed their livestock at homes because the local people in irrigated portion forbids IDPs from freeing their animals because there remains the risk that the animals may harm the crops of the local.

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April 23, 2015 in Pakistan |

2015.04.09

Current situation of Flood Affected People in Punjab

At the end of March, JEN team visited Muzaffargarh, a district in southern Punjab to carry out post distribution monitoring. JEN had implemented an emergency non-food items distribution project there for flood affected people in December, 2014. It was satisfactory to note that project beneficiaries were utilizing non-food items provided by JEN.

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The positive aspect of the target area was that wheat crop was ready for cultivation. The beneficiaries were happy and they were hoping to fully produce the wheat crop as it provides bread to them until next season. They had sowed it last year in very difficult conditions when floods severely damaged their houses and standing crop of paddy. The beneficiaries were enjoying the spring weather and they were playing some local games with zeal such as “Bull Race”. 

JEN team however noted some negative aspects of the beneficiaries’ lives. The most significant was their low progress in terms of early recovery in houses reconstruction and the looming risk of another flood due to heavy late winter rains. Pakistan stands in the list of countries which are being/will be affected mostly by Climate Change. The beneficiaries were still reconstructing their houses mostly by their own resources and their progress was considerably slow.

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The history of floods in Pakistan in recent years is very scary where floods continuously damaged human lives, livestock, standing crops, infrastructure and public properties in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.
It is now time for the government and humanitarian community to think out of the box and just not respond to the crisis but rather design a longer term development plans in Disaster Management. It will help reduce the risks of people being affected by floods every year and will ensure an active anticipated humanitarian response.




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April 9, 2015 in Pakistan |

2015.03.26

Role of Community Elder in Emergency Project

In short term emergency project where time is short and assistance is critical, a humanitarian organization can rely upon community elder for SMART (Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant and Time bound) implementation of the project, provided; that the community elder is sensibly selected. Previous experience of the community elder with a community based organization makes him/her more suitable person as he/she knows the know-how of community work.

JEN staffs being new in the district Muzaffargarh to assist flood affected people were curious of implementing emergency project in a very short time. JEN staffs were lucky to come across some dedicated community elders during needs assessment. One of them was Mr. Mithoo (Sweet person in the local language). In their first contact with community, JEN staffs noticed some guts in Mr. Mithoo such as volunteerism, dedication and previous experience with community based organizations. Mr. Mithoo introduced JEN staff to the community. He facilitated a community meeting for JEN. He well-understood JEN’s selection criteria of beneficiaries and communicated it to his native villagers in their local language Saraiki.

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Mr. Mithoo guided JEN staffs to the affected people houses and helped register beneficiaries according to selection criteria. He started to play a role of bridge between community and JEN. He helped JEN staffs in token distribution and informing the beneficiaries of distribution schedule. He came to distribution point with beneficiaries and facilitated them. He did not stop here and arranged vehicle to take women and elderly beneficiaries along with their NFIs safely back to their homes. Showing his sense of responsibility, he called JEN staff in the evening that all beneficiaries from his village have safely reached to their homes. Eventually, it was raining when beneficiaries from his village received non-food items.

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Mr. Mithoo called JEN staff on mobile “We have safely reached our homes. Just opened non-food items and started using it. It is very cold here and the quilts have no equal value for anything in this winter season. We are very happy and pray for JEN staffs”.
Mr. Mithoo sometimes calls JEN staff in Islamabad on mobile phone even after the project completion. He asks about well-being of JEN staffs and as usual offers his cooperation.

JEN staffs are sure that in case of any emergency in the same area again, Mr Mithoo will be using his skills of coordination and volunteerism to support both organization and the beneficiaries. JEN recommended Mr. Mithoo to the local district authorities who are providing support during disasters.




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March 26, 2015 in Pakistan |

2015.03.12

Protecting Important Source of Food Security

Around one million people got displaced from North Waziristan Agency due to Law enforcement action in the 2nd half of 2014. These TDPs (Temporary Dislocated people) brought with them approximately 350,000 livestock in hustle situations to the settled districts of KP including Lakki Marwat. It was a mountain high challenge for government and humanitarian actors to provide basic services to them like food, shelter, health and WASH facilities. On the other hand it was equally vital to protect their livestock from mortality and distress selling which was one of the important sources of their food security.   

JEN initiated an emergency livestock protection project in partnership with Emergency Response Fund of United Nations for 1200 HHs in district Lakki Marwat. Objective of the project was to improve food security of the displaced people through protection of their livestock from mortality and distress selling. A comprehensive livestock protection package was designed in coordination with Food Security Cluster and working organizations. The package was comprised of wheat straw, wanda, urea molasses blocks, minerals, and feeding/watering/milking kit. 

[Livestock Packages at distribution point]
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Excerpts from one of the project beneficiaries Mr. Ishaq Jan follows; “I am very grateful to JEN for providing the help when no one was around to support me. I was at the edge to start selling my 3 cows one by one on very cheap prices. Their milk production was reduced by 2/3rd and it was difficult for me to arrange feed for them. This assistance has arrived just on time”.

[Mr. Ishaq Jan giving interview to JEN staff]
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Dislocated people get production from their livestock such as milk, yogurt, cheese and meat. It contributes to their food security at large. Having inadequate resources in the area of displacement, they will need continuous assistance as long as they stay there.

[Meeting with displaced people in district Lakki Marwat]
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March 12, 2015 in Pakistan |

2015.02.26

Story of Mr. Rab Nawaz

I am Rab Nawaz inhabitant of village Kangan Shumali in district Muzafar Garh. After severe floods that happened in late 2014, destroyed my house, my small agriculture field and my community. I started living along with my family in a tent provided by a charity organization. We were so stressed when we were thinking about our destroyed home and field where standing crops were also destroyed. We were thinking how we will be able to restore our lives aftermath of the floods. But we were sure that there is a morning after every night and we also sure that God help the hardworking people and we are hardworking, so God will help us also.

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One day JEN staffs came to our village and met my family. They said they are working in a Japanese organization and they came here from Islamabad to support us on behalf of the people of Japan. We were very happy that people from other province came to support us and people living in another country which is too far from Pakistan is also supporting us. They listened to my story keenly which reduced my stress that I was living with from several months. Later on, they provided me with winterized items and hygiene kit.

Earlier I was hardly managing my livelihood. Winter season was around the corner. Provision of non-food items by JEN has helped me and my native community to cope with the winter season. We are utilizing items provided by JEN and feel safe and protected.

I and my native villagers are very much thankful to JEN and Japan for their timely support. JEN tried to understand our situations and our issues. JEN’s efforts enabled us to live with dignity.   




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February 26, 2015 in Pakistan |

2015.02.12

Livestock Protection Package for a displaced family with Polio affected Persons

Mr. Khana Mir is an elderly person displaced from North Waziristan Agency to district Bannu due to military operation. He is father of 3 sons and 2 daughters. Two of his sons are affected by polio virus aging 32 and 35. His third son is daily-wage laborer in the local market.

Mr. Khana Mir works as a security guard in a restaurant and earns 8000 PKR per month. Besides this he receives monthly food ration assistance from World Food Program. Government and other humanitarian organizations have also supported his family.

Mr. Khana Mir used to rear goats at origin as a primary source of livelihood. After displacement he managed to bring 58 sheep and 10 cows with him. He lost 15 sheep and 2 cows during displacement in a hip-hazard situation.

Mr. Khana is also a beneficiary of JEN Project on protection of livestock.  He received a livestock package from JEN. He provided nutritious feed to his livestock and enhanced the existing livestock shelter from the livestock package. JEN veterinary team vaccinated his livestock as well.

During post distribution monitoring Mr. Khana informed JEN staffs that provision of livestock package has given considerable protection to livestock in terms of health, shelter and feeding. Resultantly his livestock has recovered health and production of milk has increased by 8 liters. Increase in production of milk for Mr. Khana is contributing to food security of the entire family. 

[JEN staff with two polio affected people who are also project beneficiaries]
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February 12, 2015 in Pakistan |

2015.01.29

Post Distribution Monitoring

In the last quarter of 2014 JEN completed 2 livestock protection projects for the IDPs of FATA currently residing in district Bannu and district Lakki Marwat. One project covered 1575 displaced families funded by Japan Platform and the other project covered 1200 displaced families funded by Emergency Respond Fund of UNOCHA.
Project beneficiaries were provided with livestock feed (wheat straw, vanda, minerals, urea molasses blocks), livestock shelter (bamboos, tarpaulin sheet and rope), livestock vaccination (FMD and Enterotauximia) and tools for feeding, watering and milking.

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JEN head office staff carried out monitoring visit to both project areas.  JEN staff had meeting with livestock department regarding the implementation and impact of the project. Livestock department informed JEN staff that the livestock department officials physically observed the distribution process and found active implementation of the project. District Livestock Officer appreciated comprehensive livestock protection package designed by JEN. 

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During visit feedback was taken from the beneficiaries and focal persons of the respective community. They showed their satisfaction on implementation process. 

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Along with beneficiaries those IDP’ were also present who haven’t received livestock feed packages. The displacement is huge in numbers and there is a big gap in the overall response from the Aid agencies. All the humanitarian organizations should come forward to assist the people in need.   



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January 29, 2015 in Pakistan |

2015.01.15

JEN “Committed For Assistance”

The 2014 floods hit Punjab and Kashmir badly. The people needed support from both the government and the private/public sector. Many interventions has been planned and implemented. However the support was not fulfilling needs of every affected family. The stagnant flood water in the area and the approached harsh winter made the situation worst for these flood affected people.

JEN, in the flood affected area of Muzaffar Garh (Punjab) and to assist the most vulnerable and deprived people, planned its intervention. The selected/targeted area itself was the most vulnerable. Some of the villages were cut off from the rest of the district by River Chenab. There was no bridge and the only access to these areas was to cross the river by boats.

JEN was committed to approach this vulnerable area for assistance. First the team used 4x4 vehicle to reach the river bank. The boats were used to cross the River Chenab and then used motorcycles to reach the flood affected areas. The harsh winter and extremely foggy weather was a challenge to approach the targeted areas. However the commitment, to support these vulnerable families, was very high.



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The people were approached and provided with basic Non food items which would be enough to support them in the winter.

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January 15, 2015 in Pakistan |

2014.12.25

Disasters in Pakistan

Pakistan is very prone to disasters from many decades. Earthquakes and floods are the 2 common disasters which are affecting the people of Pakistan. Hindukush range of mountains which starts from Central Asia and finishes in Pakistan is famous for earthquakes.

As the global warming is creating problems for the entire planet earth, it also is affecting Pakistan on large scale. It is melting the centuries old glaciers in the Himalayas in Northern Pakistan next to Chinese and Indian border and the amount of water in the rivers is increasing every year for a period of time. In addition this global warming is changing the climate and monsoon rains are also increasing in the region. This entire climate change is increasing the water level in the rivers and it spills out from the river and spread in the plains in Pakistan. Plains start from KPK and finishes in Sindh province at Arabian Sea. Plains of Pakistan are very fertile and populous. Whenever there is flood, that huge population is affecting. Majority of the Pakistani population is dependent on agriculture and the floods destroy their agriculture almost every year.

2014 is another worst year for the Pakistan when the floods hit Punjab and Kashmir badly.

[Flood water in a village]
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[Destroyed house of a farmer]
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As JEN is working in Pakistan since 2005, so JEN always try to response to the disaster. This year JEN provided support to the flood affected communities in District Muzaffar Garh. JEN provided Non Food Items like mattresses, quilts, hygiene kits, plastic Matts and plastic sheets to protect the affected communities from the harsh winters which have already approached. People has started re-building their houses and their fields but as the majority of population is poor and living below poverty line so they require more support from the humanitarian community to start their normal lives.

[A farmer family living in tent]
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December 25, 2014 in Pakistan |

2014.12.11

Monitoring by ERF Team to JEN Project Area

JEN is currently implementing an emergency livestock assistance project in district Lakki Marwat for 900 displaced HHs from North Waziristan Agency, FATA. This project is funded by Emergency Response fund of UNOCHA. Project duration is 3 months and 50% activities of the project are completed so far.

As monitoring and evaluation is an important process to improve performance and to achieve result, therefore of every project of ERF_OCHA is monitored by their M&E team. For the current project, ERF-Monitoring team visited JEN target area and office. Monitoring team was comprised of person in-charge of ERF and a representative of Food Security Cluster.
Monitoring team visited JEN office, warehouse and went to project site to meet with beneficiaries. Individual interviews were held with project staff. Daily and Weekly reports generated by staff were checked. They checked quality of distribution items (livestock feed, watering and milking kits etc.) in the warehouse and stock register.

They interviewed beneficiaries and asked their say in the project emphasizing on share of beneficiaries in project designing, project activities and inclusion of marginalized groups as project beneficiaries like disable persons, women and elderly.

Monitoring team pointed out some technical points of to be improved in the project and it is noted by JEN staffs. ERF team is pleased to work with JEN to reach to the deprived families living in vulnerable conditions in far flung areas of KPK.



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December 11, 2014 in Pakistan |

2014.11.27

Vaccination of IDPs Livestock

The internally displaced persons of NWA have a large number of livestock with them. This livestock is in a very poor living condition. They need feed, shelter and prevention against diseases.  JEN is working to facilitate the IDPs having livestock. JEN distribute livestock relief packages having feed, shelter, de-wormers, while a team of Veterinarians are working on vaccinating the animals against diseases.

JEN’s total target to vaccinate the animals of IDPs is 7500 in which 3000 large animals (cows and buffaloes) and 4500 small animals (sheep and goats) are included. Large animals will be vaccinated against Foot and Mouth Disease while small animals against the Enterotoxaemia disease. We use imported vaccine against FMD while for the Enterotoxaemia we use vaccine made of Veterinary Research Institute Peshawar. We keep the vaccines in refrigerator on ≤ 4° C and check the temperature after every 4-5 hours. We also take care of the temperature during traveling in the field with the help of cool chain boxes and cool chain ice packs.

We have so far vaccinated the animals in Bodin khel, Bakkar khel, Patol khel, Stara Chashma, Kama chashma, khwargai, Domel city, Sperkai, Tarkhoba areas of UC Domel. Our vaccination work started from 8th of November 2014 in UC Domel and still in progress. Average vaccination till date is around 300 animals per day in door to door visits. We also vaccinate the animals of local people because most of the IDPs are living with the host families and also their livestock. If we want to prevent a disease in an area we need to vaccinate all the animals in the area. If we vaccinate the animals of IDPs and do not vaccinate that of local there remains the chance that the disease prevail and may affect the vaccinated one also if their immune system did not resist.

The IDPs population in UC Domel is very scattered and the people actually free their livestock early in the morning for grazing while they return late their homes in the evening which render it difficult to vaccinate. For this purpose JEN team mobilize the people one day before to hold their livestock at home till 0900 hrs to 1000 hrs in the morning or bring their livestock upto 3 O’clock in the evening to get vaccinated. Also most of the animals do not have any muzzle, rope around the neck or nose rings to hold or restrain it properly for vaccination. JEN’s team also tries to observe the AIM office security recommendations and makes all their efforts to reach the office before sunset to avoid any untoward incident. The entire stated jump over makes the process a bit slower than actually it should be. But instead of all these we have vaccinated almost 2920 animals (1012 large animals and 1908 small animals) till now. After completing the vaccination in UC Domel we will move to BAKKA KHEL Camp for vaccination where a large number of livestock are present which will be quite easy to vaccinate because there they remains for the whole day and restrained/hold to a single point.

We hope to have completed the target by mid December 2014.

[Large animals are being vaccinated against FMD]
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[Small animals are being vaccinated against Enterotauximia]
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November 27, 2014 in Pakistan |

2014.11.13

Support for Victims of the Flood this Year

Every year, Pakistan is attacked by natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods. The flood in 2010 was the worst natural disaster since its national foundation. Approximately 3 million people were suffered and one fifth of the land was flooded. Monsoons from summer and autumn every year tend to be increasing in length in recent years so they are serious threats to people.

In August and September this year, the wholesale floods occurred in several places in Pakistan and caused great damage on about 2.5 million of people as of now. Although some humanitarian organizations have started to support victims since the flood occurred, it is still shorthanded in many areas. There are some areas that are still relatively untouched.

We are now preparing to distribute emergency supplies in Punjab state where the flood left the worst damage.

According to our field survey, we found out that the victims needed various support such as daily commodities, foods, temporary shelters, sanitary facilities, recovery of livelihood and so on. First of all, we are planning on distributing daily commodities including sanitary materials in order to recover the minimum standard of living for the areas where enough support hasn’t yet been provided. 

Affected children who evacuated to the shelters
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Affected children
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November 13, 2014 in Pakistan |

2014.10.30

The Distribution Pattern

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With the start of new project, JEN field team sat together to formulate pattern/model for distribution of livestock feed package and temporary shelter due to the fact the package is a heavy one i.e. 5 bundles/packets of wheat straw, 2 bags of vanda, one tarpuline sheet with 10 bamboos and 350ml (2 bottles) of de-wormers for one family. It was decided that one side the field team (including technical staff) will engage the beneficiaries in awareness sessions, registration and signing of distribution documents and on the other side logistic team will prepare the per family packages. The distribution points were carefully selected keeping in view the space needed as per number of households for each distribution. It was decided to go for 200 households per distribution. So far distribution has been done for 400 households.

The first distribution point was only enough to accommodate 200 packages. It was realized to go for a bigger place where the distribution would be done with ease.

The focal persons/community elders were contacted. A huge piece of land was identified and was given to JEN free of cost. It was more than enough for JEN to distribute 200 packages to 200 Households.
The distribution went as per the agreed pattern. The community was gathered at one place, where information was shared in session with them regarding the distribution process and about the items quantity and usages.

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After the session, verification of tokens and signing of distribution documents took place. At the same time the logistic unit prepared the packages. The tokens were collected and each Household was given their livestock feeding package and temporary shelter for livestock.

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This is the first project started to support North Waziristan IDPs for their most important livelihood source of livestock. JEN will continue its support to these vulnerable families and to uplift their livelihoods.


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October 30, 2014 in Pakistan |

2014.10.16

Selection of Distribution Point

Selection of distribution point is one of the challenging task for JEN team. It is a systematic and consultative process described as under

•Planning session
•Identification of Distribution Point
•Assessment by AIM Officer for safety and security
•Final selection and approval by PDMA and 101 Division of army

JEN team holds a brief planning session before identification of Distribution point. In this meeting AIM Unit, Program Unit and admin/logistics and finance unit take active participation and each unit/department give their valuable inputs.

The Geographical location has great importance. The Distribution point should be easily and equally accessible for beneficiaries, vendor, JEN team and the other stakeholders. There should be proper shelter which protects beneficiaries from different elements like rain, sun stroke, violence, militancy attacks etc. The workplace safety and security is most important for smooth, peaceful and successful completion of distributions activities.  JEN team places banners/pamphlets or sign boards and also request to government for police which are helpful to control crowed during distribution.

Service time is also important factor and distribution activity should be completed in time well before dusk. Transparency of project activities like registration of beneficiaries, token distributions and package distribution among beneficiaries is most important factor which reduces the chances of conflicts and distrust between JEN, beneficiaries and other stakeholders.   Active coordination with stakeholders including PDMA, district authorities and army is helpful in reducing the miscommunications and smooth functioning of project activities.

Post distribution evaluation session is also held in office for the purpose of addressing gapes and improvements in future. 



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October 16, 2014 in Pakistan |

2014.10.02

Shelter Support for IDPs – Case Study

Mr. Abdul Wahab is 24 years old , belongs to Tappa Mermat khail , Kurram Agency FATA.  He and his family are living in UC – Shah Pur, District Kohat.  He has 07 dependents i.e. mother, father, Wife, 03 daughters and 01 son.  He is the only supporter of whole family. At origin he was working as daily wage labour and the rest of his family was working in their small agricultural land to support family.
Abdul Wahab and His family migrated from Kurram agency to Kohat due to Military operation against militants and are living with their relatives. According to his father “we left everything at our homes and everything Is destroyed at origin and Abdul Wahab got mental illness from this war. Now I am working as labour in this old age with Wahab in this situation because we have no way to support our family”.
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Wahab’s family is very poor and deserving and the JEN team identified them during door-to-door registration of TDPs (Temporary Dislocated Persons/families) for JEN-ERF project in Kohat. They are living with host family and all in one small room.  They were used to live on ground due to no beds. Their family is supported by community, receiving food from WFP. The JEN team gets him registered for Shelter NFI project keeping in view their ultimate needs and provided shelter NFIs package.

According to Wahab’s Father “ No doubt that any humanitarian assistance can’t fulfill our requirements but such type of assistance/support makes our lives easy to some extent and the shelter NFI package is very useful for us”.   
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Shelter is the basic and high priority need of the Displaced Peoples in Kohat, Shelter for both human’s and livestock, the government and  humanitarian organizations should work more in this sector because most of the TDPs families are living with Host families in very congested environment and are burden on host community/families.


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October 2, 2014 in Pakistan |

2014.09.18

Registration of Displaced Families in Bannu, Pakistan

JEN has initiated emergency livestock support project for NWA displaced families in district Bannu.  Livestock is considered one of the major assets of the affected population. JEN has started registration in the targeted areas. During registration JEN will find out the accurate data of livestock which IDPs have brought with them.

The registration form is designed in such way that it will give information about the family, possession of livestock and types of livestock. Prevailing livestock’s diseases information and data of vaccinations received will be gathered. Availability of livestock shelter is also part of the registration form.

After getting all these information the registration form will be scrutinized and the package will be distributed among the IDPs families. The package contains two types of vaccination i.e. FMD (Food and Mouth Disease) for large animals and Enterotoxaemia for small animals. The animals will be dewormed against internal parasites. Shelter will be provided to the families to protect their livestock from extreme weather.  Food package comprise of Vanda and wheat straw will be given to the IDPs to retain health of the livestock and satisfy their hunger respectively.

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September 18, 2014 in Pakistan |

2014.09.04

Support to IDPs/Expected Returnees in District Kohat

With the start of the conflict in FATA in 2009-10, huge displacement took place in Orakzai and Kurram agencies (FATA), similar to other bordering areas with Afghanistan. Many areas are being cleared by the military and families returned back to their places of origin. However thousands of families still remained in the settled areas of Khyber Pakhtonkhwa like Kohat, DI Khan, Hangu, Peshawar. FDMA (Fata Disaster Management Authority) announced to initiate return process for the IDPs of Orakzai agency from September 2014. JEN decided to support 1,000 families in Kohat District, supported by UNOCHA. The package was designed to fulfill their emergency needs and items which they can carry with ease upon initiation of their return process. The NFI package/family included: Folding bed, Plastic sheet for roof, Bamboo poles and ropes for shelter, Jerry can to bring and store clean drinking water, Solar lamp to provide light during night time when no electricity is available in those rural areas, Plastic mat to use as a carpet to sleep and sit on.

JEN selected UC Jarma and Shahpur for distribution of NFIs. Initially it seemed very difficult to distribute the packages within given time due to security and hardship of the areas, but the efforts of motivated JEN staff were the reason that JEN distributed these packages to 1,000 families. The community is conservative on gender issues. From the start JEN reached out the community elders and mobilized them to the extent that they agreed to allow our female staff to visit the targeted areas. There were FGDs (Group Discussions) conducted prior to selection of beneficiaries to advocate the project aim/objective and the selection criteria. This made the beneficiaries understand the concept and avoidance of any hurdle/trouble from their side in the project activities.

Three distributions took places to cover both the UCs. In total JEN has distributed 373 packages in UC Shahpur and 627 in UC Jerma. The beneficiaries showed immense satisfaction on these items. They argued that these are at least covering some of their immediate needs of shelter, water, light etc. These items are easy to carry and these will not only be utilized during their stay at settled areas but will also be used when they will return to homes.

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September 4, 2014 in Pakistan |

2014.08.21

Monitoring visit for Livelihood recovery assistant project

Livelihood recovery project in DI Khan successfully completed in February 2014. After 6 months, JPF, the partner organization of JEN for this project, planned a monitoring visit to the project areas by external consultant team. This was a good opportunity for JEN also to assess the level of success of the project.
The program was set to have interviews/group discussion with beneficiaries, meeting with livestock department and district authorities. As per plan the JEN and JPF teams visited field area in Tehsil Paroa. Detailed discussion regarding project contents took place with beneficiaries. It was indeed wonderful that community didn’t forget the technical knowledge of livestock management which was delivered to them during project cycle.

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Later on the beneficiaries brought the goats. They informed that goats are given 1.5 to 2.5 liters of milk on daily basis. The baby goats are becoming the size of their mothers now.

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The beneficiaries informed that they are saving money by not buying milk and by milk products from outside. Also they have 2 to 3 baby goats so they do posses cash in their hands which can be utilized in case there is emergency e.g. health expenses.

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After the community meeting, meeting with livestock department official in charge took place in his office. The official informed that it was one of the best projects he has seen so far in DI Khan.
Meeting with Assistant Commissioner DI Khan also took place.  He appreciated JEN on its coordination with the district authorities and being transparent all the time.
After the completion of the project there were discussion on the point that the beneficiaries will use the awareness and technical knowledge provided to them or not. This was indeed a good monitoring visit which clarified this point. This is more important than providing assets to beneficiaries.

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August 21, 2014 in Pakistan |

2014.08.07

Conflict affected Livestock from North Waziristan Agency

Around 1,000,000 people have migrated from North Waziristan Agency to KP since the launch of military operation in June. These people left everything behind and escaped the area in the effort to save their lives. The displacement was sudden and huge in number therefore the people faced various difficulties like panic among the community and lack of transportation etc. Those who managed to escape took some of their valuables including their livestock and reached the settled areas of KPK.

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Before this operation there were about 940,729 numbers of livestock including both small and large animals, half of which was expected to reach displaced area but according to government updates about 350,000 small and large animals and 150,000 poultry have reached there. In emergency situation like this, people brought their livestock with them which shows how much importance livestock have in their lives.

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The government has urged humanitarian actors to provide assistance to the IDPs and their livestock to protect their basic source of livelihood. Already above 6,000 mortalities of livestock have been reported due to severe transportation and little feed intake. So there are more chances of disease outbreaks and mortalities due to low immunity.

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The IDPs have already lost more than half of their livestock during displacement either selling at very low rate or leaving behind at homes. In a survey of displaced people it is found that people sold their livestock on 70% less prices.

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August 7, 2014 in Pakistan |

2014.07.24

Fresh displacement from NWA to Kohat

Military operation causes displacement of 470,000 individuals from North Waziristan Agency FATA to settled areas of KP. Approximately 2,000 individuals have registered in district Kohat. Around 7,000 individuals have crossed district Kohat to Peshawar and Punjab province.

On request of UNOCHA-Kohat office, JEN participated in a rapid needs assessment of displaced people from NWA in district Kohat. Purpose of the needs assessment was to count the number of displaced people arrived in Kohat and to know their most urgent humanitarian needs.

District authorities have established two registration points to record number of displaced people from NWA. At 1st registration point individuals residing in district Kohat are recorded while on 2nd registration displaced People crossing district Kohat towards Peshawar and province Punjab are recorded. 

PDMA (provincial Disaster management authority) has also revised its guidelines for humanitarian organizations to work with the affected people. PDMA has remarkably expedited its NOC processing process. It will make the affected people to get timely humanitarian assistance.

The needs are very high of those displaced people and Humanitarian response is slow due to security situation of the region. Still many organizations and UN are on ground to support those vulnerable communities.



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July 24, 2014 in Pakistan |

2014.07.10

We are All Together

The 20th anniversary of JEN has gathered the messages from 8 countries on one page. We all read it, felt happy about it and felt togetherness with our fellow colleagues from other countries. After looking at the page, we feel JEN is not working in 8 countries but it is working in 1 world. We don’t feel difference between Nationalities but we feel we are all humans.

As we were reading in Tamil, Arabic, Pashto, Dari, Urdu, Haitian, Tewo Araou, Bari, Sinhara and Juba Arabic, the pleasure and happiness can’t be explained in words. It gives happiness to everyone, laughter to everyone as the pronunciation was becoming difficult. Making fun of each other on wrong pronunciation and yet feeling the togetherness of fellow colleagues from other countries.

The 20th anniversary of JEN provided a platform for all of us to come together, to believe in each other and to respect each other. This process initiation is indeed appreciable, we feel that it shall be carried on in the future as well so that we can come more close to each other, learn more from each other and promotes an atmosphere of friendship and peace. Our ultimate goal is to support people in need in a good way at different places in the world so we should work together united as a fist to achieve that goal and to support the victims and survivors.

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July 10, 2014 in Pakistan |

Hope leads to a better future

We would like to share this story told by Wazir Jan; one of those eligible for support activities in Dera Ismail Khan. Wazir Jan is 85 years old and living with his wife and two sons.

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“My family had been living under very poor circumstances for many years. However, we did used to own our house and a small plot of land in the village we belonged to. There was enough water to cultivate our land. We lived happily at that time.
However, one day at the mosque in the neighborhood, it was announced that the Pakistan army would conduct an operation against the anti-government armed group in our village. My mind went blank because we didn’t even have money for the transportation expenses to evacuate. When we evacuated, I saw that the air raids had destroyed our house. At that moment, I lost all of my hopes and dreams.
Moreover, because I had to walk to the shelter, I could hardly take anything with me, and had no choice but to leave my entire belongings behind in our destroyed house.
Although we moved to D.I.Khan at the beginning of the evacuation, there were no shelters around that area, so we relied on a distant relative in Daraban. We lived hopelessly in poverty for half a year.
During the heat wave in August 2010, we fled our tent to the bank of an irrigation channel to escape the sudden storm and heavy rain. The flood swept all of my belongings and crushed our hut. Then we were back to the condition we were in when we evacuated.
Currently, we live in a hut made from grass and wood. It is extremely small so the whole family can barely fit inside at once. As my children are too young to work, I support my family only through my meagre wages. Without any electrical equipment like air conditioning, the scorching summers are too harsh. So my children and I spend as much time as we can under the bridge, avoiding the strong sunlight. On the other hand, we suffer from cough and flu as a result of the freezing winters. Moreover, during the rainy reason, water leaks into our hut. I never imagined my life would be as terrible as it is now

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I frequently travelled long distances in order to receive support and donation from humanitarian support organizations, but JEN was the only one that visited our house and registered us with the livelihood recovery project. JEN gave me beetle goats as a means to increase my income. From now on, I will take care of the goats with all my effort to recover my livelihood and do my best to raise our living conditions.

July 10, 2014 in Pakistan |

2014.06.26

Yet another Huge Displacement

North Waziristan Agency (FATA) is a mountainous region of northeast Pakistan. It borders Afghanistan and has an area of 11,585 square kilometers. Total population of North Waziristan Agency is 361,246 individuals according to 1998 censes by Government of Pakistan.

Government of Pakistan has recently started military operation against militants in North Waziristan Agency. Approximately 100,000 individuals are displaced from their hometowns to different settled areas of KP. Majority of the displaced people are migrated to district Bannu in KP.

This time there is no proper registration mechanism in place for the displaced people by UN Agencies as the government has not appealed to International donor community. Government is doing registration of the displaced people by its own on several exit points from North Waziristan Agency. Children are being vaccinated against polio at registration points.

Government has established 2 Camps in the areas of Bakka khel and Kashoo bridge in district Bannu to settle in the displaced people. But the displaced people are not willing to live in Camp due to fear of insecurity and cultural sensitivities. The expected total population to be displaced is some 10,000 families, potentially with an average family size of 13.5. Approximately 200,000 individuals are envisaged to be displaced in overall.

According to government planning, every displaced family will receive cash assistance of Rs. 7,000/- for their food needs, together with a one-time payment of Rs. 5000/- for NFIs to meet their living expenses, plus a one-time Ramadan package.  Government plans for the military to support distribution of cash assistance to the displaced population in the interim, while bank accounts, ATM cards/ SIM Cards are being processed.

Displaced populations are currently not receiving any humanitarian assistance and as such, are using their own resources and/or are staying with relatives in the areas of displacement. Access remains the greatest challenge in areas of displacement and the authorities have been informed to improve humanitarian space.


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June 26, 2014 in Pakistan |

2014.06.12

Orientation Sessions for JEN Staff Field Office Kohat

Two days orientation session was organized by JEN management from 04/06/2014 to 06/06/2014. In which the JPF and ERF project staff took active participation. The total number of participants were 20 staffs.

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The main objectives of the orientation session were as under….

•Introduction between Project Staff and Senior Management.
•Awareness and introduction to staff regarding JEN’s SOPs of different departments/ sections.
•To identify the problems faced by the staff in kohat office.
•To make them responsible for following the JEN SOPs / Procedures for effective achievements of organizational objectives.
•To involve all staff in formation of project implementation strategies. 

The JEN senior team/ trainers tried their best to cover each and every aspect of the related work.
The main chapters covered in orientation training are as under.

-JEN’s introduction  and humanitarian principles by  Mr. Tufail (Project coordinator)

-Project planning and implantation process with specifically ERF project, strategies, documentations and procedures etc by Siddiq Mehsood ( Project Officer )

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-Working with communities ( with role play) , introduction of Humanitarian organizations and UN by Siddiq Mehsood ( Project Officer )

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-Documentation , filing / record keeping of program/ project activities, with introduction of the approved templates and it’s filling methods by Siddiq Mehsood ( Project Officer )

-Admin and logistics procedures by Nadeem and Ali Baba

-Security SOPs / SRAs by Mr. Iqbal shah (AIM officer)

-M&E  and M&E work plan by Mr. Naveed Shehzad (M&E officer).

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The staff get informed/ aware about different procedures for smooth running/ functioning of project activities. 

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June 12, 2014 in Pakistan |

2014.05.29

Kohat City

Kohat is the new area of JEN interventions in Pakistan where the Field Office for Orakzai Project is situated. JEN also runs another project from this field office for conflict affected people living in Kohat.

Kohat District is the Division headquarter in the southern KP, situated 75 km south of Peshawar, the Provincial Capital at around an-hour drive. 1.8 km long tunnel connects Kohat with Peshawar. This tunnel was constructed with Japan Government assistance.

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The District bears enormous strategic importance and rich cultural background with a mix of local tribes. There is also a very famous archaeological site known as Durrani Qabristan (Durrani Graveyard) situated at about 10 minute drive from the City.

Kohat is the gateway to Orakzai, Kurram and similarly North Waziristan Agencies/FATA. The valley accommodating the urban limits abounds in water sources including Tanda Dam/Reservoir irrigating guava orchards, vegetable fields and other crops. Guava from Kohat is much popular for its special taste across KP & FATA.

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With a mountainous terrain and good roads and services, Kohat city is very peaceful and resourceful. The city is built around an Army Cantonment, which has all the basic facilities individually. There are good hospitals, shopping malls, banks, schools colleges, a newly established Kohat University and other basic necessities readily available.

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There are many Afghan refugee villages on the outskirts of the city boundary with lesser impact on the original setup. I/NGOs, UN Agencies and government offices are located in the Kohat Township area also known as the KDA (Kohat Development Authority).




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May 29, 2014 in Pakistan |

2014.05.15

Crossing the “River Indus”, a Fairy Tale Journey

The newly established 25th District of Khyber Pukhtoonkhwah “Tor Ghar (The Black Mountain) was visited for assessing the needs of the people. It’s a mountainous region covering area of 454 Sq Km with a population of 300,000.

During the visit an amazing journey took place. The area is divided into two parts by River Indus and there are boats which are the means of transportation from crossing to other side and approaching markets. The people usually travel via boat as it takes less time to reach other destinations.  From one side by jeep we travelled for 55 minutes to reach the assessing area, while returning via boat took only 15 minutes.  The biggest Dam of Pakistan called Tarbela Dam is situated very near to Tor Ghar on Indus River.

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Viewing the river from above seemed that it’s a calm and steady water flow. However when the journey is started it took us by surprise. In the middle of Indus the water was coming with enormous speed and the up and down flow made we appalled. The person who was driving the boat ensured us that he had the control and there is no need to be afraid. After crossing the middle deeper part the water became steady and the journey was then became pleasant.

The Indus is covered from both sides by the mountains and it seemed that we are characters of a fairy tale going on a mysterious journey with panic and serene times. It was a unique experience of crossing the river Indus in Tor Ghar.

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May 15, 2014 in Pakistan |

2014.05.01

Brief Report on (DFSA) Consultative Workshop

Food Security Cluster KP/FATA jointly chaired by UNFAO and UNWFP arranged a half-day consultative workshop in Peshawar on Detailed Food Security Assessment (DFSA) in KP/FATA. Partners of Food Security Cluster across KP/FATA including JEN participated in this event.

In current situation KP/FATA are facing complex emergency humanitarian situation. Large numbers of people are compelled to live in displacement in different cities of KP from various agencies of FATA as a result of armed conflict between the miscreants and law enforcing agencies. Aid agencies have been relying on data from different sources about displaced population, demographics and different needs to design their programming. The data available was not sufficient keeping in view the different aspects of displaced people residing in various cities of KP.

A need was felt at the cluster level to conduct a detailed assessment of displaced people in KP and FATA both in-camp and off-camp with objective to assess the overall food security situation including their consumption patterns, income and expenditures,  available stock of food, risk and their coping mechanism. The concept was actualized in 2013 and a technical working group was developed who finalized tools and methodologies for the assessment. The assessment was conducted in December 2013 and January, 2014. 2 Staffs of JEN were part of this assessment in D I Khan. Data collected has been analyzed and the detail report is expected in May 2014 that will be shared with all the cluster members. The workshop was aimed to consult with cluster partner on the data findings and to include their inputs to help make the detailed report more authentic and acceptable to all the partners.

Data was collected through HH survey, focus group discussions and market assessment from 1500 HHs, 40 FGDs and 51 market assessments. Overall 60 food security and associated indicators including demographics, vulnerability and protection, food security and others like education, WASH, Nutrition etc were studied in the survey and results were analyzed. Data was collected from 3 IDP camps, 4 off-camp districts, 2 FATA agencies and 51 markets. 

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May 1, 2014 in Pakistan |

2014.04.17

Jen staff capacity building

Capacity is defined as, ―the ability of individuals and organizations or organizational units to perform functions effectively, efficiently and sustainably.‖ i Capacity building is an evidence-driven process of strengthening the abilities of individuals, organizations, and systems to perform core functions sustainably, and to continue to improve and develop over time. www.pepfar.org 

JEN HRs comprises qualified and experienced staff with good but divergent academics and skills. Learning is continuous process. It is more rapid and effective if the working environment is personnel friendly. 

During discussion and interviews with staff it was found that JEN’s working environment is very pleasant, cooperative and good for employees, it is like a family environment. This value is the core motivational for JEN that its human resource is working with zeal and enthusiasm.

JEN also organized several trainings for HR capacity building e.g advanced Security, advanced First Aid , Report writing and communication skills, proposals writing. Many of staff members were engaged all along while developing project proposals. The joint efforts is turning to the better team work and learning simultaneously. 

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Regular improvements in project planning its implementation, Monitoring and periodic evaluation provided opportunities for more enhancement in all project aspects and collective achievements.

Establishment of M&E and Aim departments can be quoted as clearly visible development during over 2013. Both the departments effectively promoted a number of initiatives aimed at program effectiveness, enhanced capacity of HR, good external relations and last but not the least a better organizational image of JEN in Pakistan.

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April 17, 2014 in Pakistan |

2014.04.03

Conflict Mitigation in FATA

JEN is implementing its projects for returnees in FATA since 2012 December.  Those returnees were earlier displaced from their homes due to conflict between government forces and anti-state elements. Generally, the tribal area is known as conflict zone in the rest of the country due to the prolonged insecure situation.

Traditionally every person in FATA keeps his own weapon. People of FATA are famous for different types of behaviors like hospitality and friendships.  On the other hand, they are famous for low percentage of literacy and being engaged in prolonged conflicts.

During implementation period of projects, JEN staff faced some challenges to handle conflicts arising between the community members on water supply schemes. It was most important to resolve the conflicts on time for achieving the desired results. Keeping in view such challenging environment at community level, JEN staff was oriented about the social structure of FATA and they were trained to better deal the beneficiaries.

JEN staff was committed and hardworking. They showed diplomacy in such situation and were successful to resolve all such issues arose time to time during the implementation.  As a result, JEN implemented its projects successfully and the exit was smooth and peaceful from the target area.

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April 3, 2014 in Pakistan |

2014.03.20

Life standard of IDP,s in Pakistan

The recent air strikes cause of more than 23,061 families displacements in FATA. The existing caseload in kohat is 27,700. These IDP are living in rental houses.  Most of the families have very low monthly income Approx 5,000 PKR/Month.  In current situation their Common occupation is laboring.  UN and other humanitarian actor are providing food package on the monthly basis.

During Rapid Assessment Mr Aqal Baz permanent resident of Orakzai Agency currently leaving in Jarma Kohat told JEN staff that “I receive my monthly food package from an organization’s warehouse. This package cannot return me what I lost; my little children are surfing from last five years. They are growing like refugees. Our family structure is broken. The norms and Pakhtoon (tribal) values are demolished. So who will bring me back my prosperity? How could I rectify all that? We want to go back our home but can’t. How long we will stay over here, we don’t know”

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The question raised by Aqal Baz is genuine. His words are representing all other IDPs.  All Stakeholders need to think about solution of this problem, unless those IDPs will remain dislocated for many years.


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March 20, 2014 in Pakistan |

2014.03.06

Milk and Buck Fair

JEN carried out an important activity of its livelihood Recovery Project for displaced persons in Dera Ismail Khan. Title of the activity was “Milk and Buck Fair”. The purpose was to hold a competition among beneficiaries who had received male and female goats. This competition was aimed at appreciating best beneficiaries and promoting better techniques of goat management.

120 beneficiaries participated in this event. 55 beneficiaries brought their female goats to compete in milking. 1st, 2nd and 3rd female goat winners in milking categories produced 2300 ml, 2200 ml and 2140 ml respectively.

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17 beneficiaries brought their male goats to compete in weighing.  1st, 2nd and 3rd male goat winners weighing category showed off 72 kg, 71 kg and 69 kg respectively. Winners received trophies and feed prizes.

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A separate stall was organized to present 4 goats who respectively delivered 4 baby goats, 3 baby goats and 2 baby goats. Another stall was formed where representative of district livestock department answered to questions of beneficiaries regarding goat management and provided relevant printing material.    

Representatives of district livestock department, private veterinary practitioners, Village Elders and focal person of UNOCHA-Dera Ismail Khan participated in the event. All stakeholders generously appreciated JEN’s efforts and contribution towards livelihood recovery of displaced persons and their possible return back to homes.


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March 6, 2014 in Pakistan |

2014.02.20

Camels Fair in Tehsil Pahar Pur of Dera Ismail Khan

Camel’s festival is a cultural event organized in different locations of Tehsil Pahar Pur, D I Khan every year. In this festival camels are lifting weights and the winner is the camels who lift the heaviest. The general people and Owners of Camels from different places of Pakistan including KPK, Baluchistan and Punjab participate in this festival. 

It is bustled with drums, flute and cultural dances. A lot of stalls of foods and other items installed there. It is found during interview with an organizer that local people are taking interest in it and every year thousands of the people come to see this festival. It is totally organized by the local people and everyone having camel can participate in it, if the camel is able to lift the weight.

The last fair was held on 09/02/2014 in village Dhakki of Tehsil Pahar Pur. Approximately fifteen thousand peoples came to see it and 50 camels took participation in competition.

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The standard of this fair are, the winner camel should be able to lift maximum sacks of wheat. he weight of each sack is 84 KG.

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This year the winner camel lifted 14 sacks / 1176 KG weight. After winning the competition the winner camel was auctioned and purchased on the rate of 9 million PKR equal to 9 million JPY almost.

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According to the interviewee - Mr. Hameed it is one of the most important source of enjoyment for the local peoples as well as for guests of other parts of Pakistan. Such kinds of activities promote and introduce our culture to the peoples from other parts of country. A positive impact on the economy of locality is also a fruit from such recreational activities. 

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February 20, 2014 in Pakistan |

2014.02.06

Local Radio Station in DERA ISMAIL KHAN

Radio is a cheap, common and easy source/mean of communication. Which is commonly used by all categories’ of peoples like elders, youth, children, women, religious peoples, literate and illiterate peoples. It’s 98% listeners are rural areas community. There are three Radio channels functioning in Dera ismail Khan, Radio Pakistan – FM-93, campus Radio 104.6 (managed By Gomal University D.I.Khan), and Global FM-91 D.I.Khan.

FM global 91 Dera ismail khans is private Radio Channel, established in December 2006. A local political/social activist is founder of this radio station. The office is located near to JEN office in D I Khan. The height of the first tower was 160 feet which was destroyed in heavy storm of 2008; its radius was around 50 KM. The current tower’s height is 60 Ft it’s total radius is 15 Km.

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The funding sources are local markets and owner’s contribution. The average income from local markets is PKR 70,000 per month which is 40% of the total requirements.
Different programs like music, entertainment, news and current affairs are broadcasting from this station every day.

It’s 90% listeners are youth because it is mainly focusing on youth problems. The other problems of the citizens are highlighted in its programs in which the concern government authorities are also invited so through this way 40 to 50% of the citizen’s problems solved.

This station is very active in the field of advocacy and awareness programs for the IDPs of SWA and local communities which affected during flood and conflict of S.W.A. the programs are broadcasted in Pashto, Saraiki and Urdu language. It was also used as alarming/early warning system during flood. JEN local team is regularly listening to this radio station via their mobile phones and collects the information which is relevant to our field.

[JEN staffs interviewing Radio station staffs]
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February 6, 2014 in Pakistan |

2014.01.23

Humanitarian Coordination in Pakistan

Humanitarian Coordination is regarded a cornerstone for International non-profits to successfully operate programs in any disaster affected country. From humanitarian access to latest security updates and from avoiding duplication in the affected area to reach the most vulnerable people are the attributes of strong humanitarian coordination. 

Being an International non-profit, JEN coordinates mainly on 3 grounds i.e. Government, Humanitarian Organizations and Security Department.

At federal level, JEN interacts with Economic Affairs Division to get approval for working across the country. At provincial level JEN is bound to get No Objection Certificate from Provincial/FATA Disaster Management Authorities for working in KP province and FATA region respectively. At district/agency level JEN coordinates its work plans and activities progress with Assistant Commissioner and Assistant Political Agent.

In humanitarian sector, JEN coordinates issues/results related to access with UNOCHA. JEN shares its plans and progress with Food Security Cluster chaired jointly by FAO/WFP and WASH Cluster chaired by UNICEF through attending monthly meetings and sharing 4Ws reports. JEN staff attends training organized by UN agencies e.g. Humanitarian Access, Food Security, Multi-Sectoral Initial Rapid Assessment etc.

To ensure safety and security of program staff, JEN attends meetings called by Pakistan Humanitarian Forum. JEN is chair of Provincial INGOs security forum based at Peshawar. For transparent operations, JEN coordinates with representatives of government security agencies of the country. 

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January 23, 2014 in Pakistan |

2014.01.09

Livelihood Recovery Committee

LRC (Livelihood Recovery Committee) is one of the important training components of the Livelihood Recovery Project for displaced persons in Dera Ismail Khan, KP, Pakistan. 
The main purpose of LRC formation is to have a platform at community level which could be utilized to sensitize and mobilize the beneficiaries about project objectives and to play an active role towards achieving the project objectives by involving important actors in project activities. One of the important roles of LRC is to contribute efforts for sustainability of the project objectives.
The main stakeholders of the LRC are Village Elders, Livestock Department and Livestock Extension Workers.

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In current project JEN has formed and trained 2 LRCs consisting of 56 members. This combination of important stakeholders at community level is producing results to complement the project objectives. LRC is helpful to deal with issues JEN staff faces in the community.
It is also helpful to facilitate project activities at different locations in terms of community mobilization, venue arrangement for distribution and disseminating project information to the widespread beneficiaries. Livestock Representatives are available to treat the goats of beneficiaries on the distance of a phone call. Village Elders influence the LEWs to follow up goats of the beneficiaries regularly.

It is the platform which will remain in the community even after JEN evacuation from the project area to benefit the beneficiaries in terms of awareness, breeding services and treatment. 

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January 9, 2014 in Pakistan |

2013.12.19

Women Role in Behavior change

Two social institutions are very strong in FATA; one is religious institution and the other is Family institution. Family institution is one of the most important pillars of society; and Women are the guardians of this institution.
Women are the key factor to transfer the knowledge from one generation to the other. Usually grandmother and elder women have large records of traditional stories to tell children. They transfer knowledge, traditions, beliefs and mindsets to the new generation.

JEN seeks opportunities of behavior change in its target beneficiaries through SWOT analysis. Initially we identify an opportunity and set a comprehensive plan to utilize it. Through community activists, JEN launches advocacy campaign and once the acceptance reaches to the satisfactory level then activities related to behavior change in women is started. Usually new activities/concepts are started from those houses in the area which are influential over the rest and comparatively more educated so the acceptance goes smoothly.      

[JEN Hygiene Promoter delivering session to the women beneficiaries]
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Now the women at house hold level are capable to maintain the hygienic environment in their houses. Beside this, children are sensitized about the unhygienic behavior. A five years old Nabi shah told JEN staff that his Grandmother told him that there are worm eggs in the soil and if I walked without the shoes the worm will be infected in my body. So we all friends are now putting shoes.

[A mother is helping his son in personal hygiene]
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[A woman is maintaing hair of her daughter]
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Now the women are educated about the hygiene and they are putting it into practice. They have started transfer of their knowledge to the new generation.      
                           
                


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December 19, 2013 in Pakistan |

2013.12.05

Life change activity by JEN in FATA

According to SPHERE standard per person needs at least 15 litters water per day for drinking, domestic hygiene and for personal hygiene.  Government is responsible to provide this basic need to the people but in developing or under developed countries usually people can’t have enough water for their daily use. Same case is in Pakistan and people in the rural areas specially are facing problem of water.

In FATA the women are supposed to arrange water for kitchen and for other domestic use. One woman brings 25 to 30 liter water per trip from far and sometimes even more then1 KM away. The women life in FATA is miserable comparatively to men. The conflict bring another failure for this marginalized community, that the water supply to the nearby village or the spring are demolished or partially damaged. So this was another awful situation.

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JEN water supply scheme was a miracle for the villagers. One of the women from Staro Pakha Kalay  Bibi Janat told to JEN staff.

‘After we came back from IDP camp to our home we found that our house is demolished, the livestock were lost. Bed, clothes, everything we left over in the house was not usable anymore or it was disappeared. Drinking water source was also not working anymore because of any maintenance for long time. That time I look up to sky and pray to God for help.  We face very difficult to bring the water from faraway. Even during month of Holy Ramadan and having with fasting we carry 20 to 30 liters.

JEN and JEN staff are angels for us, and this scheme was our pray which we made to God, So the God send you all to us. “

She further added that now she herself or her children are filling the water from the water tape installed very near to their house.

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JEN FATA Kurram Office , Field Officer, 
Mehnaz bibi




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December 5, 2013 in Pakistan |

2013.11.21

DIRECT SESSIONS

JEN is working for IDPs of SWA in D.I.Khan since 2011. JEN implemented 2 livelihood improvement projects so far in D I Khan and the 3rd one is in progress. To improve the knowledge and skill of beneficiaries, JEN included a most important activity of
Livestock sessions with beneficiaries in current project.
The total number of beneficiaries which will be covered in this project is 960 who will be provided Livestock sessions. The livestock sessions are delivered by the expert from District livestock department. As per standard each direct session covered approximately 25 beneficiaries, so the total number of the direct sessions to be held is 40. The venue for direct sessions is provided voluntarily by beneficiaries locally.

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It is observed by JEN staffs and trainer that the IDPs are keenly interested to attend the livestock sessions. The presence of the beneficiaries is ensured through strong social mobilization and engagement of LRC members. 

Direct session is the result oriental extension activity. This activity has created awareness in the beneficiaries how to keep goats, their housing, management and tackle some emergency ailments. It can decrees frequency of morbidity and mortality.

Comparable to the last years, the knowledge and awareness has been adorned to the low level rather than to rely only on LEWs. Technical experts and veterinarian have tried their best to make these beneficiaries capable of keeping these animals.

Now double fruitful results comparable to last project are expected.   



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November 21, 2013 in Pakistan |

2013.11.07

People still remember JEN

We still remember 2 earthquakes in Pakistan which killed thousands of people and destroyed infrastructure badly. JEN responded to both the earthquakes and supported the community. First earthquake 2005 was in Kashmir and KPK and JEN worked there for 3 years. Second earthquake 2008 was in Ziarat, Baluchistan. There are some similarities in both the earthquakes. They happened in the same month of October which is the beginning of extreme cold weather and both the earthquakes hit the mountainous areas where the access was extremely difficult and there is always snowfall in winters.
JEN has supported thousands of affected people in both earthquakes and there are a lot of stories but the following is one of the stories which made us proud as worker of JEN!

Mr.  Jalat is a poor farmer of Union Council Kach in Ziarat. His house was fully destroyed in 2008 earthquake. He has a 90 years old mother, wife and 4 children. He was using/sharing the room of his brother until JEN provided him winterized tent, Hygiene kit, Kitchen set and Debris removal kit. JEN also supported him to install the tent properly for long term use. He immediately shifted to the tent with his family after its installation. JEN didn’t continue working in Baluchistan and closed the office soon after the project finished.

Recently JEN staffs visited the same area again for survey of the area and met Mr. Jalat accidently on the road while meeting with other farmers. He insisted JEN staffs to visit his home to have a cup of tea with them and to see how he is using his tent. We went inside and we were surprised to see that the tent which we provided 5 years ago is still standing there and Mr. Jalat and his family is still using it. He said he is not only one who is still using tent but there are many other families also. He has built his room but he still sleeps in the tent with his children. We asked the reason but he didn’t have proper reason. Maybe he is still in trauma of earthquake and feeling insecure under the big roof. 

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Why we are proud?
1.We see the success of our project.
2.We see the happiness of beneficiaries.
3.We see the result what we were expecting (proper use of our tent).
4.We see that people in those areas still remember JEN in good way.





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November 7, 2013 in Pakistan |

2013.10.24

Bring together the livestock department and IDPs

Before the start of the current livelihood recovery project it was realized that there is a gap between IDPs living in DI Khan and the district livestock department. Especially when it comes to raising the awareness of the people on livestock management, there were no proper linkages. A strategy was developed to include the district livestock department officials in the awareness sessions and trainings. Also to include the livestock doctors at the concerned Union Counsels as members in the LRC (livelihood recovery committee).
After the commencement of the project a meeting was set with district livestock department. The concerned issue of the involvement of livestock department with the IDPs community was discussed in detail. The district livestock officials agreed to provide support in the project activities.
Livestock doctors from the department were involved from the initial awareness sessions before distributions. Contact details of the doctors were shared with the targeted community so that they can take guidance and support from them in the future.

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After the sessions the district livestock officer joined the LEW (Livestock Extension Workers) training as a facilitator.


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When the first LRC was formed two of the livestock department officials were included as members in the committee. The same procedure will be followed in forming the 2nd LRC.

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By all these measures it was made possible that line department and IDPs living in the target areas come close to one another and to be in proper coordination. The target beneficiaries are now engaged with the district livestock department. This will be a sustainability factor after the phase out of JEN from the targeted areas and till the time the IDPs living in these areas.



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October 24, 2013 in Pakistan |

2013.10.10

Fighiting With Disabilities

Mr. Haji saideen, 75 years old, belongs to village Makeen of South Waziristan agency. He is currently residing in village marra shumali of UC Marra, Tehsil paroa, District Dera Ismail Khan. He has 3 daughters and 4 sons but the total number of dependents is 19 persons including nephews, nieces, grandsons and granddaughters. He is working as labor in agriculture farm and his two sons are working as labors for construction. His elder brother died so he is sole supporter of his nephews and nieces and his sister in law. His one nephew and two nieces are mentally disabled by birth.

[Mr. Saideen is giving interview by JEN staff]
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Saideen is living with a host family in UC Marra. His host family is very supportive as it has given him shelter and it has supported him in his daily basic needs like food and health etc. His host family facilitated him and gets him registered with UNHCR and WFP so he receives monthly ration. The head of the host family runs a commercial oven. So soon after his displacement he worked at oven and has found a rented house later for his living.

[Children of Mr. Saideen family]
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Besides earning daily expenses for a large family of 19 persons, another big problem is medical checkup/expenses of the 3 mentally disabled patients. According to Mr. Saideen “I spent a lot of money on these patients but no improvement in their health conditions. We all family members are very concerned about them because all the three patients are young and mentally disable”.

JEN is working in the target area where Mr. Saideen is living. JEN team has visited his house and has registered him and his nephew as beneficiaries. Both the beneficiaries have attended livestock sessions as well.

Mr. Saideen told “we are very hopeful to get goats and manage them properly to use it for milk and rearing purpose. I will expand it to business level because my family and I are well acquainted with livestock management”.   

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October 10, 2013 in Pakistan |

2013.09.26

Hope leads to a better future

We would like to share this story told by Wazir Jan; one of those eligible for support activities in Dera Ismail Khan. Wazir Jan is 85 years old and living with his wife and two sons.

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“My family had been living under very poor circumstances for many years. However, we did used to own our house and a small plot of land in the village we belonged to. There was enough water to cultivate our land. We lived happily at that time.

However, one day at the mosque in the neighborhood, it was announced that the Pakistan army would conduct an operation against the anti-government armed group in our village. My mind went blank because we didn’t even have money for the transportation expenses to evacuate. When we evacuated, I saw that the air raids had destroyed our house. At that moment, I lost all of my hopes and dreams.

Moreover, because I had to walk to the shelter, I could hardly take anything with me, and had no choice but to leave my entire belongings behind in our destroyed house.

Although we moved to D.I.Khan at the beginning of the evacuation, there were no shelters around that area, so we relied on a distant relative in Daraban. We lived hopelessly in poverty for half a year.
During the heat wave in August 2010, we fled our tent to the bank of an irrigation channel to escape the sudden storm and heavy rain. The flood swept all of my belongings and crushed our hut. Then we were back to the condition we were in when we evacuated.

Currently, we live in a hut made from grass and wood. It is extremely small so the whole family can barely fit inside at once. As my children are too young to work, I support my family only through my meagre wages. Without any electrical equipment like air conditioning, the scorching summers are too harsh. So my children and I spend as much time as we can under the bridge, avoiding the strong sunlight. On the other hand, we suffer from cough and flu as a result of the freezing winters. Moreover, during the rainy reason, water leaks into our hut. I never imagined my life would be as terrible as it is now

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I frequently travelled long distances in order to receive support and donation from humanitarian support organizations, but JEN was the only one that visited our house and registered us with the livelihood recovery project. JEN gave me beetle goats as a means to increase my income. From now on, I will take care of the goats with all my effort to recover my livelihood and do my best to raise our living conditions.




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September 26, 2013 in Pakistan |

2013.09.12

Impact of personal hygiene

BEFORE THE HYGIENE SESSION:
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Three year old girl Shagufta recently arrived to her hometown Dangar Godo (Central Kurram) with her parents after long displacement.

She was displaced when she was a breast feeding baby. During her stay in IDPs camp she did not have chance to go to school or madrassa, that’s why her personal and hygienic attitude was not good. Like other children she was also unaware from hygiene practices and her parents were also uneducated from the upcoming result. If she was kept unaware of the hygiene, her habit might badly affect her health and school attendance as well.

In addition, diarrheal diseases are common in that area and Shagufta is one of those children who are facing it.

Personal Hygiene is one of the main components of JEN current project. JEN is organizing Hygiene awareness sessions activity in 7 villages of Central Kurram. As a result of this activity we are observing that most of community especially children are adopting the good hygiene practices (reported by parents and observed by us). We met Shagufta and she quoted in her own words “I was feeling weakness and dizziness all the time, and feel very week all the time. I usually feel tired when I do anything”


AFTER HYGIENE SESSION ON PERSONAL HYGIENE
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After getting the information about personal hygiene and its importance in healthy life she practically exercised that good hygiene practices in daily life and when we ask question from her father about her positive attitude he answered
“My daughter learnt lesson from JEN team that those who are not wearing shoes, worm from the dirt may insert in the body and reproduce the eggs in human body. Therefore that person will be hurting by Doctor Uncle” He further said “We are very thankful and praying for JEN which really takes care of us and our children’s health and education as well”.

Reported By : Shah Hussain Senior Field Officer JEN, Kurram Agency FATA



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September 12, 2013 in Pakistan |

2013.08.29

Psychological Care For Children by Distribution of Goats

Since July 2011, JEN has been distributing goats as a means of livelihood to internally displaced persons in Dera Ismail Khan. In 2009, a battle happened in South Waziristan in FATA made these internally displaced persons forced to live as refugees. Also, they lost everything because of a massive flood occurred in 2010.

Recipients of JEN's support are people in especially vulnerable situation among refugees such as widows, orphans, fatherless families, the disabled, the elderly, and families which have relatively big number of people. Distribution of goats not only supports internally displaced persons' recovery of livelihood, but also good for the psychological wellbeing of children in many cases. Especially for orphans, goats are a source of income and moreover, precious playmates.

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Targeted orphans of JEN's support had been thoroughly dependent on guardians of the families they lived with. After they received their goats, they drink and sell  the goats' milk. The income of breeding goats enables some of them to go to schools. Children love to play with young goats and they keep themselves busy putting their kid goats out to pasture diligently.
Such action of playing outdoors has effect on children to ease their psychological pains and anxieties caused by disputes and their refuge life.
This year, JEN continues to distribute goats to the refugees who are in the most vulnerable of conditions.



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August 29, 2013 in Pakistan |

2013.08.15

No more problems please!

We consider rain as a blessing because it is important for our daily needs of water, agriculture cultivation and to reduce the heat of extreme summer. We pray for rains in the mosques when there aren’t any or less in quantity in summers. But sometimes those blessing turn in to curse and the only reason of this is the poor system of rainwater drainage system, deforestation and bad quality construction of the streams border walls.
Now it is 4th consecutive year when hundreds of thousands of Pakistani families are suffering with monsoon rains all over the country. The rain water become flood due to deforestation and it destroy everything which comes in its way.

We still remember year 2010 when more than 20million people of Pakistani directly affected with rains and many lost their lives and the tools of livelihood.  Approximately one-fifth of Pakistan's total land area was underwater.
We didn’t learn from 2010 floods and the same case happened in 2011 when 361 people were killed and more than 5.3 million people and 1.2 million homes affected across the province of Sindh as a result of monsoon rains but luckily other parts of Pakistan didn’t much affected in 2011.
The story of floods continued in 2012 and in September more than 100 people died and thousands of houses destroyed in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, Punjab and upper Sindh.
In the current year the disaster has started again from last week when the heavy rains started. Reports indicate heavy monsoon rains have claimed over 80 lives across Pakistan, displaced hundreds, ravaged thousands of acres of standing crops and caused colossal damages to houses and infrastructure.

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Affected community always looking forward to the government and aid agencies to support them in the time of trouble but time by time the amount of aid has decreased for Pakistan which directly affecting the affected communities more.
We really hope and pray that monsoon part of 2013 will not turn into 2010 kind of floods and people of Pakistan who are already suffering with many problems will not suffer anymore.


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August 15, 2013 in Pakistan |

2013.08.01

Changes in a Village after Formation of Water Management Committee

Changes in a Village after Formation of Water Management Committee

In Kurram district of Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA), JEN is helping to set up water supply facilities and improve sanitation in the areas where returnees from refugee sites are living after the conflict

In the areas where water supply facilities are set up, JEN also helps to organize “Water Management Committee” so that the village people can keep maintaining the facilities properly by themselves.

In Stary Pkhay village, one of the areas included in the plan, an interview with village people was held. Mr. Mohammad Jamal, Mr. Maza Khan and Mr. Muhammad were interviewed about the changes in the village after the formation of the committee .

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According to them, before the formation of the committee, there were a lot of inter- community tussles and enmity and the village people were not able to sit together and discuss internal and external problems they faced. They fought each other over small issues for a long time and some of them died because of the fights.

Mr. Mohammad Jamal said that with the help of JEN, the village people became willing to sit together and discuss various problems and seek solutions. That led them to organize the Water Management Committee and discuss the most important problem of safe drinking water.

According to Mr. Maza Khan, with the help of the committee, community elders and JEN signed a Memorandum of Understanding promising to cooperate with each other to set up water supply facilities and provide hygiene education. He said that this was a very positive step toward not only solving the problems they are facing now and in the future but also solving the problems on a continuous basis.

Mr. Muhammad also said that before the formation of the committee, they had not been able to sit together and discuss the problems. Now they are working together for the welfare of their village, especially for the stable supply of safe water. Mr. Muhammad himself volunteered to do physical labor for constructing water supply facilities, he said.

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They are all committed to continue these activities and support the members of the committee.

August 1, 2013 in Pakistan |

2013.07.18

Health and hygiene walk

JEN has ongoing project in Kurram agency, FATA. In this project, JEN is going to rehabilitate the existing water supply schemes in that area which was destroyed during conflict. Another component of the project is hygiene promotion. Staff visited Village Nijab Kalay, where we conducted a hygiene session to elders and arranged a wash campaign of children for hygiene importance in their daily lives.

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We observed that all the children who were suffering because of conflict felt very happy and excited during the campaign and they were carrying the brochures of hygiene in their hands all the time.  They walked in all streets of the village and other children looking at them also joined them. Those children are the one who will convey the message of hygiene in the future. 

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Walk of children about hygiene importance in street of village Nijab Kalay attracted the Elders and other children also. The Elders and other stakeholders appreciated the efforts of JEN in health side to improve health condition of the locals. Political Administration of Central Kurram appreciated JEN innovative and scientific approach about hygiene awareness specially arranging a walk (engaging children). This exercise attracted motivated all the people of the area and ongoing school children. 

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July 18, 2013 in Pakistan |

2013.07.04

The Internally Displaced Persons and JEN Staffs Fighting the Heat

Dera Ismail Khan city is situated on the west bank of the Indus River, on the very southern tip of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. It shares a border with the Punjav and Balochistan province, and is a geographically important location in the surrounding area.

Dera Ismail Khan has a desert climate, and although its summers are hot, the winter cold is moderate. Rain falls from late winter to early spring (February~April) and also during the monsoon season (June~July). This summer was extremely hot, and the highest temperature thus far as been reported to be 49 degrees Celsius.

[A JEN staff member talking to an internally displaced person]
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JEN has been working with the people have been forced to seek refuge in Dera Ismail Khan from the South Waziristan military district between 2008 and 2009. The displaced persons of the village under our assistance this year have been enduring the heat in terrible living conditions

In the Palore district, the refugees, and even the local people of the community that have accepted them, have no access to clean water. Some of the internally displaced persons drink water from irrigation streams or lakes.

Also, the shortage of electricity has been a national problem for Pakistan, but the tents that the refugees live in do not have running electricity. This makes the heat even harder to endure. The small children spend their day playing in a neighboring river, canal, or irrigation ditch. People from the relatively cool Warizistan district is having difficulty adapting to the heat of Dera Ismail Khan, and already, two people have died from abnormally high fevers.

[Children playing in water]
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[The children are all wet after playing in the river.]
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But in this heat, there are many projects and activities planned including the establishment of a sustenance recovery committee, distribution of goats and training of staff. JEN’s local staff members work in the early morning to avoid the heat, and wrap wet cloth around their heads to minimize damage from direct sunlight. Also, to compensate for the energy and minerals lost through sweat, they drink water with sugar and salt mixed in them.

[JEN staffs having a meeting with the internally displaced persons. They are wrapping wet scarves on their necks and heads (second, third, and fourth from the left)]
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We are making efforts to work through our activities in the heat and to try to deliver support as soon as possible.


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July 4, 2013 in Pakistan |

2013.06.20

Orientation cum Training of New Staffs at JEN

9 new staffs joined JEN D I Khan office on June 1st, 2013 for livelihood recovery project for Internally Displaced Persons. The staffs comprised of 2 Field Officer, 2 Assistant Field Officer, 2 Veterinary Assistant, 1 Finance Assistant, 1 warehouse Assistant and 1 distribution assistant. Other JEN staffs participated in the training were including Project Manager, Project Officer, Livestock Expert, Quarantine Officer, Training/ M & E Officer and Log & Admin Officer.

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Purpose of the training was to orient the new staffs of on-going program and projects in the light of JEN Mission and Vision and to give them basic knowledge of project management and community mobilization. The staffs were oriented about all phases of project management in connection with on-going project. Main topics discussed were needs assessment, registration of beneficiaries/LEWs/village elders, Goat Management Trainings, Quarantine Period, livelihood recovery committee formation, distribution of inputs, Milk and Buck Fairs, monitoring, coordination with district authorities, security measures in the target area and most importantly community mobilization skills.

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Methodology of the training was set interesting through different modes to make it interesting and more communicative. Topics were communicated through Role Plays, Case Study, Story Telling, Group Work, Brain Storming and Lecture.

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Staffs were sensitized amid tight schedule in the future and intensive team work was asserted to achieve the timely results.



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June 20, 2013 in Pakistan |

Orientation cum Training of New Staffs at JEN

9 new staffs joined JEN D I Khan office on June 1st, 2013 for livelihood recovery project for Internally Displaced Persons. The staffs comprised of 2 Field Officer, 2 Assistant Field Officer, 2 Veterinary Assistant, 1 Finance Assistant, 1 warehouse Assistant and 1 distribution assistant. Other JEN staffs participated in the training were including Project Manager, Project Officer, Livestock Expert, Quarantine Officer, Training/ M & E Officer and Log & Admin Officer.

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Purpose of the training was to orient the new staffs of on-going program and projects in the light of JEN Mission and Vision and to give them basic knowledge of project management and community mobilization. The staffs were oriented about all phases of project management in connection with on-going project. Main topics discussed were needs assessment, registration of beneficiaries/LEWs/village elders, Goat Management Trainings, Quarantine Period, livelihood recovery committee formation, distribution of inputs, Milk and Buck Fairs, monitoring, coordination with district authorities, security measures in the target area and most importantly community mobilization skills.

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Methodology of the training was set interesting through different modes to make it interesting and more communicative. Topics were communicated through Role Plays, Case Study, Story Telling, Group Work, Brain Storming and Lecture.

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Staffs were sensitized amid tight schedule in the future and intensive team work was asserted to achieve the timely results.



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June 20, 2013 in Pakistan |

2013.06.06

LIVELIHOOD CONDITION OF NEWLY INFLUXED IDPs

South Waziristan Agency (SWA) constitutes 3 subdivision- (a) Ladha (b)  Serwokai  (C) WANA. The conflict areas are Sub division ladha and Sub division Serwokai. The WANA is safe/non conflict and non affected area. Tehsil Shakai is part of WANA sub division.

Due to conflict 2008-09 the whole population of Sub division Ladha and Serwokai migrated to the different parts of the country, Majority to D.I.Khan, Tank, Karachi, North Waziristan agency and Sub division WANA of SWA.
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Mr. Din Bobrai is resident of village baddar , tehsil tiarza, south Waziristan agency. He was daily wage labour by profession. He has 4 daughters and 5 sons. The elder son is 15 years old and working as conductor in Karachi. Their total monthly income was approximately Rs 10,000 (i.e 5000 PKR was his son’s monthly salary and remaining from daily wages work). 

Due to the conflict he and his family first migrated on foot to Tehsil Shakai of south Waziristan agency,  It took one day and one night to reach Shakai.  He and his family were living in tent for the last 5 years and was working as labour over there.

The overall situations become worst after the death of a Wazir tribal commander of militants group in December 2012. The new conflict started a new influx and round about 5,000 families migrated from sub division WANA to District D.I.Khan , Tank and Karachi.
Mr. Din Bobrai was one of them who migrated to the village Lang Basti Kacha of Union council Miran, Tehsil Prova. Currently he placed a tent in a tented village near his relatives. He is getting food from WFP and deprived from relief from other humanitarian organizations.

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According to him “I lost all my assets in conflict at origin, in a sense me and my family is permanently destroyed. It is impossible for me to recover my assets even for my 2, 3 generations. It is better to live as refugee despite of return to my origin”

He also expressed that “me and my son are only supporter of my whole family, my sister is also living with me after his husband’s death, she is blind and I bear all her medical charges”.

During interview he asked that the newly influx IDPs are very tense/double minded because they migrate from one place to another place like nomads because of un-availability of shelter, income and other basic facilities.

A lot of newly migrated and deprived IDPs waiting for assistance from humanitarian organizations and government institutions.




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June 6, 2013 in Pakistan |

2013.05.23

A new Team Member

It is a great pleasure to be part of JEN-family since17th April 2013. I am much grateful to JEN-Team for a warm welcome and considerate attitude!

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I belong to the Peshawar region of KP province and graduated in Political Science from UOP in 1999 after F. Sc (Pre-Medical), 1996. Thanks to Allah-Almighty and my parents for leading me well towards a better social life and career.

Enhancing institutional effectiveness has been a key motivation for me in choosing the M&E and Risk Management. Marked by strong will and dedicated professionalism my career is stretched over the last 15 years continuously.

It was a good experience to work alternately for different organisations of divergent background both in the governmental and international donor and aid agencies in Pakistan.

I am confident that I will enjoy working here and meet JEN’s expectations. Among other priorities, I will be aiming on comprehensive capacity building of the management and staff for dealing with the regional safety & security implications and ultimately developing organisational self-sufficiency in better risk management. Thus it will greatly contribute to sustainability of the JEN-Humanitarian Programs for ultimate uplift of a large number of its beneficiaries in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Muhammad Iqbal Shah
Assessment & Information Management Officer
JEN-Pak-Afghan Regional Office Islamabad

May 23, 2013 in Pakistan |

2013.05.09

FOLLOWING JEN’S SECURITY PROTOCOLS IN HEATED POLITICAL SCENARIOS AND MARKET SURVEY OF GOATS

Now a days there is boom in political activities in Pakistan as the historic election (smooth transition of democracy) is taking place for the first time in the history of Pakistan. The enthusiasm of the general public is worth seeing and all the political parties are having public meetings, gatherings, rallies while the terrorists are targeting these parties on regular basis. As the election is approaching it is becoming difficult to carry out field activities and most NGOs have confined their staffs to office work.

In the prevailing scenario JEN planned a market survey of goats in Punjab province which was of critical importance, yet JEN’s AIM office agreed to carry out this mission with some hesitancy due to potential security issues. Before departure, JEN staff were given a route map, and briefed about security protocols during the mission. The main protocols were to travel in daylight, keep in contact with JEN’s head office every 1 hour, stay in recommended hotels at night and adopt alternate routes if the primary route became blocked or any other issues arose.   

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JEN staffs visited districtd of Punjab are Khanewal, Multan, Ahmed Pur Sharqi, Bahawalpur, Muzafar Garrh, Viharri and Choke Azam. Several farms and festivals of goats were visited where breed and prices of the goats were known.
This survey would help JEN to better implement the next livelihood recovery project for IDPs in Dera Ismail Khan. 


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May 9, 2013 in Pakistan |

2013.04.25

Distribution of Shelter Repair Kits to the Returnees of Central Kurram Agency (FATA)

Military operation against the militants in Central Kurram Agency initiated in 2009 which resulted in massive internal displacement. According to authorities it was the largest ever conflict in the valley that caused such a huge displacement of people. Independent sources claim that more than 1 million people were displaced. Most of the IDPs were provided accommodation by the host community in several districts of the KP and Punjab province. Lots of the sufferers were settled in the emergency relief camps. Govt of Pakistan (FDMA) requested to the humanitarian community to come forward to address the needs of IDPs particularly those related to shelters.

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On request of Shelter cluster and FDMA, JEN initially agreed to provide 100 shelter repair kits and later extended to 145. The people, whose houses were partially or fully damaged, were not able to purchase and construct their houses provided Shelter Repair Kit. The project was sighing of relief to the people whose economic situation was not able to address their basic shelter needs.

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The MoU signed with the beneficiaries it was stated that JEN will transport the material to commonly accessible points. And further JEN provided tractor cart to carry the shelter material to their door step. However it ensured that the material was provided to the nearest point of construction so that it did not cost them any money. JEN and the beneficiaries mutually agreed that both said cooperation will be endorsed to complete the project successfully and in timely manner.

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Regular monitoring was carried out by project team in the field. The whole process was closely monitored by the Project Manager along with project team to ensure use of all provided shelter repair kits.

April 25, 2013 in Pakistan |

2013.04.11

Humanitarian Situation Report Pakistan

Since mid-March, about 50,000 people have been displaced from the Maidan area in the Tirah Valley in Khyber Agency, FATA, due to escalation of hostilities between rival armed groups. Displaced people have moved to different locations in KP and FATA including New Durrai camp at Kurram Agency, Togh Sarai camp at district Hangu, Jalozai camp at district Nowshera and districts of Kohat & Peshawar.

Government officials estimate that up to 60,000 people (10,000 families) may leave the conflict-affected area in the near future and remain in displacement for up to six months due to security concerns.

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There has been insecurity in FATA during the last decade, with displacements and returns occurring in parallel in different agencies of FATA since 2008. Humanitarian partners are providing assistance to 163,102 displaced families in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and FATA with an estimated population of 978,000 individuals, including 757,996 people who are already registered and those whose registration is under verification by the Government.

There are also 1.64 million Afghan refugees receiving humanitarian assistance, and more than 1.3 million people who have returned to FATA since 2009, who require humanitarian assistance.

Humanitarian partners are providing one-month food rations and relief items to IDPs in the existing camps and off-camp locations regardless of their registration status, as agreed by all humanitarian stakeholders. Humanitarian partners and government have distributed cooked food, ration, NFIs, transportation and healthcare.

JEN is one of the NGOs which are very active for IDP response. Since 2011 JEN is engaged in D I Khan with the IDPs of South Waziristan and providing them assistance according to JEN’s mandate of self reliance. In addition JEN is working in FATA for those communities who were IDPs and after the situation became positive they have returned to their places of origin but their situation is not good. 

JEN will continue supporting the displaced communities in the future.

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April 11, 2013 in Pakistan |

2013.03.28

Contraction of Humanitarian Corridors for NGOs in Pakistan

These days in Pakistan the humanitarian organizations and their workers are facing access problems to different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA.

Increased checks and restrictions on project NOC and new imposition of travel NOC for the local staffs have worsened the situation. Project NOC normally takes 35 days process by government while Travel NOC (a new addition) which was first supposed to take 6-8 weeks processing time but on the high voices from humanitarian community, its processing time is decreased to 5 working days although which is not practicable yet by the authorities.

Volatile security situation and to practice high security protocols then ever is also a significant barrier towards accessing project sites and the affected people. Increased number of incidents happening to humanitarian workers in terms of target killings and abduction is also among the barriers.   

Complex nature of the situation where military operation is ongoing in some areas while some areas are de-notified for return and time to time occurrence of natural disasters have multiplied the miseries of affected people and issues for humanitarian workers in the whole country.   

In such circumstances the humanitarian workers are not able to access the affected people timely while the affected people as well are not able to access humanitarian aid efficiently. However, JEN will keep working to support those people, seeking the way to improve current situation.

March 28, 2013 in Pakistan |

2013.03.14

Voices from FATA

During the assessment for the new project and monitoring of the old project, village committee took JEN staff to Mr. Usman Gul’s house where he was living as Hamsaya (Rental house) as his own house was destroyed completely. 

I shocked when I saw 90 year old Usman Gul Paralysis patient since 2004 and he lost his CNIC during conflict when he was shifted by his son on his shoulder to Sadda Durrani IDP Camp and then to Peshawar for treatment but lack of financial resources he could not complete treatment.

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When the conflict started in their areas, many families fled as soon as they felt the situation were going to be worsened but there were some families who didn’t want to leave their houses such easily and this family one of those families who didn’t give up such soon.
According to many families where we visited during project that leaving their houses due to war was one of the worst experiences of their lives and they will always feel unhappy because of this.
When we asked from the old man what is your most urgent need he told that his grandsons are brining water on head from very long distance. Drinking Water and shelter are the most urgent need .He became very happy that we judged from his smile when he knew that JEN is planning to implement WSS project in his village Dangar Godo in Central Kurram Agency.


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March 14, 2013 in Pakistan |

2013.02.28

Case Study

Introduction:
JEN NGO started a project to assist conflict affected families of Central Kurram Agency in FATA. The intervention was started in month of Dec2012 by launching assessment and beneficiaries’ selection. In first step of assessment coordination was made with FDMA, APA (Assistant Political Agent) and village committees and then with support of village committees, the selection of beneficiaries started.

At this point of time more than 145 families have been selected. With consent of committee a widow named Hanan was selected to be first beneficiary of JEN. Her family is identified as most vulnerable family of the area. Both APA representative and committees were of the view that if JEN have to construct only a single shelter then without any doubt she is the one to have it.  Below is case study of BIBI who has been in camp as internally displaced.

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Identified Case:
When JEN field teams started assessment for selection of beneficiaries Hanan was the first one where JEN team was taken by committee. Hanan is a 57 years old widow born in 1956 in village Bakhshali of District Mardan. In year 1976 she got married with Mr. AGA JAN of Kurram agency. Her husband was a labor.
It was a shocking day when the news was told to Hanan that her husband died of heart attack. After death of her husband she lost her one and only source of income and came into very difficult situation. She got 8 children, one son and seven daughters. 2 daughters died before the crises while the only son is disabled.
After the crises started in the area she had to leave her home due to precarious security situation and migrated to Sadda with other family members.  Her family faced many challenges in IDP camp as it was very difficult to have an appropriate living place there and before displacement her family never experienced camp life.

During disaster she faced very difficult situation when her mud room given to her by her brother-in-law collapsed and she became shelter less. After the return she didn’t have any room and were sharing only room with her brother in law family.
JEN team assessed her house on priority basis and selected for construction of first shelter. It was a very emotional moment, which might not be possible to explain in words, when she was told by JEN field team that JEN will provide a one room shelter material kit.

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Response: 
    
She said that she could not believe that someone like JEN would come into our lives and will provide an appropriate space for living to her family. She told JEN team that this is not just a room but it is means everything to her family because it saves her family from rain, snow and sun and above all now her family is no more dependent on her brother-in-law and his family.
She said she and whole community had very rough time. All the community around became conscious about their problems concern to shelters. In the beginning of this whole scenario she wept while she was telling her story and at the end when after completion she interviewed she was very emotional to have her own room and could not stop tears of happiness.
She was very thankful to JEN and people of Japan for their valuable assistance to her family and community.

February 28, 2013 in Pakistan |

2013.02.14

Time to work in FATA

So the time has come to focus on returnees in Kurram Agency, FATA to ensure end to their protracted displacement. JEN has launched shelter project to provide “Roof Repair Kits” to 145 HHs in central Kurram Agency. These returnees were displaced from their homes due to the conflict. FATA and adjacent areas were directly affected with the situation after 9/11 and the war after those attacks and the community was in trouble. They had to move to the safer areas where they can save themselves and their loved ones. Those families have been residing in different parts of KP, FATA and in Camp organized by humanitarian community and government.

To address their early recovery needs; JEN adopted Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) approach to know their most urgent needs. Through PRA we did the research through participation of local community who knows much better than the external people. This generates a confidence in the community who suffered from the disasters and they know they are one of the stakeholders instead of just recipient. In this process we changed into learners and community as speakers which show respect to local intellectual and their analytical capabilities. It was easy for us to learn and understand the people's culture, habits and customs.

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Around 55 village elders of 7 targeted villages were called upon and their needs were identified and prioritized through deep and systematic consultations. All village elders agreed on 4 most urgent needs as Peace, Shelter, Water supply and Health.

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JEN further analyzed the situation and selected water supply component in addition to hygiene education based on returnee’s needs and JEN’s expertise.

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Rapid assessment of water supply schemes was carried out, consulted with relevant government department and the idea was presented to wash cluster for recommendation. JEN is hopeful to assist returnees in terms of water supply schemes and hygiene education in the near future with the support of Japanese people and government. 

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February 14, 2013 in Pakistan |

2013.01.31

IDPS and Goats handling in winter season

With the beginning of winter season in plane areas like Dera Ismail khan the cold and fog starts which adversely affects the life of the people. The time period of winter season in Dera Ismail Khan is very small but the severity of the coldness exceeds specially when there is fog. During winter goats raising become comparatively tougher than the rest of the seasons because they need proper shelter and extra care to protect their livestock from the extreme cold. During the day when the sun shines the temperature comes very favorable for animals but at nights and during fog they require extra care because in shelter or room when they urinate the earth become wet and humid and all the animals but specially goats feel quite uncomfortable. The wet and humid environment leads to the microbial multiplication and the chance for disease outbreaks increases. Like all living things the water intake of livestock decreases which leads to a decrease in feed intake and hence low production. The IDPs in Dera Ismail Khan are basically from the cold area i.e. South Waziristan Agency therefore knows very well how deal the goats in such circumstances. It was a pleasant experience for all of us which we came across during follow up that how interestingly they have protected their goats from the extreme cold with no or very low incurring cost.

The IDPs of South Waziristan Agency try their best to protect their goats from the cold weather by practicing the below guidelines:

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•IDPs prepared a separate room/shelter for their goats which is constructed in such a way that protects the animals from cold, direct wind and freezing rain. They also clean the shelter once daily.
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•Most families arrange a thick soft bed made of wheat straw or any other dry fodder in a warm room at chilly nights.

•Most IDPs covers their goats with a warm wooly shawl or old used sweaters specially the baby goats which keeps them warm.
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•IDPs Keeps their goats and baby goats indoors as much as possible in cold or when the climate is unfriendly.

•Some IDPs burn fire to protect goats from severe cold in shelter houses.

•Each and every Household tries to provide their goat with fresh water (the temperature of fresh water remain high than the stored one during winter) to drink in cold weather.

•Each family tries their maximum to get their goats outdoors at noon and graze them.
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•They also protect their goats from external parasites by proper housing and medication if needed. Because there is many chances of external parasite infestation in winter season.

•Veterinary Assistants and LEWs also performing hoof trimming procedures for avoiding hoof abnormalities.

January 31, 2013 in Pakistan |

2013.01.17

Mehsood IDPs- Recently Displaced from WANA South Waziristan Agency (FATA)

In October 2009, Military Operation was launched by security forces against militants in South Waziristan Agency mainly in Mahsood tribe’s area. All the Mahsood tribes left their homes and they took shelter in the adjacent settled/ FR areas of D.I.Khan, Tank, FR Tank, Wana and other areas.

During operation many Mahsood families migrated to Wazir tribe’s area named Wana in SWA. The Wazir Tribe warmly welcomed the Mahsood IDPs, helped and provided them financial and shelter support. The IDPs families started working in fruit orchards, markets and with contractors on daily wages for their livelihood. Many of them hired houses while some placed tents for sheltering in Wana Town. Those families who migrated to DI Khan and Tank were got registered by Govt. of Pakistan although more than 50% left unregistered but those (100%) who got refuge in Wana area remained un-registered as registration process wasn’t launched for them. Since October 2009 up till now, no efforts and relief activities from any government or non government organization taken place for the Mahsood IDPs at Wana in SWA.

The Mahsood IDPs in Wana faced many problems, however they were trying their level best to earn for their basic needs but in July 2011 the situation got tensed due to some unpleasant incidents. These incidents made the Security Personnel and Local Peace Committee of Wazir Tribe to take strict action against such type of activities. The Political Administration of SWA along with Pak Army with close coordination with Wazir Tribe Elders and Local Peace Committee conducted many Jirgas to cope the situation and activities caused the security situation worse and later in November 2012 the situation for Mehsood tribe became more terrible when the leader of the Local Peace Committee of Wazir Tribe was targeted by unknown people. This incident resulted fear among the communities of Wazir and Mahsood IDPs. The Local Peace Committee conducted a Jirga with Wazir Tribe Elders and decided to give ultimatum and warned Mehsood IDPs to leave the Wana and its surroundings areas till 5th of December 2012. This announcement once again put Mahsood IDPs in a very bad condition. The Mahsood IDPs in Wana once again displaced and they started searching for shelter and new safe places. Most of them reached District Tank and Dera Ismail Khan but these two cities were already abundant of Mahsood IDPs. So the recently arrived Mahsood IDPs have been facing many problems although the UNHCR in coordination with Govt. have started registration of the recently displaced Mahsood IDPs from Wana both in District Tank and Dera Ismail Khan.

【The newly arrived IDPs from Wana are being registered at registration point】
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From the past many years this Mahsood IDPs are in very shocking conditions. These IDPs got displaced twice from their homeland and then from Wana resulted completely wiped-out their financial, cultural and traditional activities. To make them stand on their own feet, all

January 17, 2013 in Pakistan |

2012.12.27

Monitoring of Pilot Project

In 2nd half of 2011, JEN implemented a livelihood recovery pilot project for the IDPs in D I Khan. 500 IDPs households were provided with Goats. 20 Livestock Extension Workers were provided with male goats and were trained on goat management for 10 days. The livestock extension workers were supposed to disseminate the knowledge of goat management to IDPs household. They were also supposed to monitor the assigned number of goats (for 1 livestock extension worker average 24 goats), provide first aid services when needed, do vaccination, de  worming, provide male goat to female goat for breeding and submit reports to JEN regularly.

They performed their duties well on time and the pilot project was successful in terms of achieving its objectives of livelihood recovery for the IDPs. To know further progress of the pilot project, JEN arranged a meeting with these livestock extension workers. The livestock extension workers were also supposed to monitor the beneficiaries after the project on regular basis. In the meeting they shared present condition of the goats, parturition record with JEN team and their individual contribution. From the reports submitted by LEWs it is evident that the goats are contributing towards the livelihood recovery of IDPs by producing milk and baby goats.

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The IDPs in the pilot project used milk produced from goats for their own use and for selling in the market for income to cover their other daily life needs. More than 25% goats produced baby goats for the second time.  Some beneficiaries sold the baby goats to cover their emergency needs such as emergency hospitalization etc. Mostly beneficiaries raised these baby goats for larger benefit in the future.

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December 27, 2012 in Pakistan |

2012.12.13

After the distribution of goats in 2011

JEN conducted a survey of domestic refugees’ community which JEN gave goats in 2011 to see the effect of their support. This is a story of one family we heard during the survey.

When JEN visited Ms. Dwaidan’s house before our support in 2011,she took care of her two daughters by herself. When she was in South Waziristan, which was her hometown, she lived with her husband and two daughters. After refuge, she lost the means of livelihood and her husband went away to work in Karachi(The southern city of Pakistan).However, soon after they received goats from JEN, her husband came back from Karachi and her family could live together.

In the survey conducted in 2012, Ms. Dwaidan said, “My husband daily wages was very low and it was difficult to manage the minimum food cost before the support. Goats milk we received was plentiful even four of our family used daily, so we sold the excess milk(about 1.5 litter) in the neighborhood and we earned 122 rupee(About 103 yen)

After that, Ms. Dwaidan carefully saved the money which she earned by selling milk, and purchased a sawing machine. She used to live by needlework and weaving in her hometown. She made clothing by the sawing machine and sold them to her neighborhood. Ms. Dwaidan said “ One clothes is sold at 200 rupee(About 170 yen)
Now 10 clothes are sold a month and our family finances became more stable.

[Ms. Dwaidan’s two daughters and the sawing machine]
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December 13, 2012 in Pakistan |

2012.11.29

The reality about FATA

 

 

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To the west of JEN’s operation site, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, lies a region bordering Afghanistan called FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas). In some parts of FATA, armed conflict between the Pakistani military and insurgents is continuing.

 

 

 

The tribal people of FATA have their own culture and norms. Many people living in other parts of our country and the world might call them brutal, cruel and illiterate and they might think that FATA is the center of regional problems. But I guarantee that once one visits FATA, their perception of FATA will change 100%.

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They are not brutal but are loving and caring. They are not cruel but they are so kind with generosity, they are welcoming and hospitable. They are not illiterate but they are much educated in their inside. Their way of looking at the world is very positive. They are simple people and in fact it is difficult to find complicated people among the real people of FATA. 

 


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FATA is not the center of problem, but it is the global political situation, different countries’ interests and greed that have made it dangerous. Because of the simplicity of the people of FATA, they are being used by the other powers easily.

 

 

 

Soon after our group arrived in FATA, our host was waiting for us. We were treated with traditional custom and provided with tea and dry fruits. Our host didn’t allow us to work on day 1 because he wanted us to see the beauty of that part of FATA. Maybe he didn’t want us to see the damages because he knows that ‘First impression is the last impression or first impression is the best impression’.

 

 

 

In FATA I saw the bluest sky, and big stars were very much visible at night.

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Water was floating in the rivers like
chains that bind the communities living on opposite sides, and I could see a beautiful
panoramic mountain range.

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Maple trees made a beautiful scenery in autumn.

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If the situation in FATA becomes normal and the outsiders would live there peacefully instead of making troubles, then this area would be one of the best holiday destinations in Pakistan. People living in cities are fed up with the crowd, pollution and artificial things. They want a break in some places that purify their souls, and FATA is one of such places.

 

 

 

Azmat Ali, Head of Islamabad Office 

 

 

 

 

November 29, 2012 in Pakistan |

2012.11.15

Coordination with Government Livestock Department

In the year 2010, Government of Pakistan established a Livestock Research Station in Union Council Band Korai, Tehsil Paharpur Dera Ismail Khan.


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The entire staffs are comprised of 3 Senior Research Officers, 7 Research Officers and 1 Acting Director. This Research Center lies in JEN’s target area of the Livelihood Recovery project for IDPs. JEN is liable to coordinate its project activities with Government Livestock Department. JEN has shared it’s project activities and future planning with representatives of Government Livestock Department in the working group meetings of Food Security Cluster.
Representatives of Livestock Department regularly visits JEN’s warehouse during quarantine period of goats to share their technical expertise. They help JEN’s staff in vaccinating Goats against endemic diseases. After successful quarantine period of goats, Livestock Department issues “Good Health Status Certificate” to JEN which means that goats are now ready for distribution.

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1 representative of Livestock Department regularly delivers sessions to JEN’s LEWS for 2 days in Goat Management Training. He covers the topics of Endemic diseases of goats and their prevention with practical demonstrations.   

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JEN’s veterinary assistants coordinate with Senior Research Officers of the Livestock Research Station during follow up of goats and inculcate their inputs in treatment of goats and advising the beneficiaries.   
Representatives of Livestock department appreciate JEN’s endeavors for the Livelihood recovery of IDPs through provision of livestock. They appreciate strict measures adopted during quarantine period of goats at JEN warehouse. They see provision of Beetel Goats as “Genetic Improvement” in the target area. 

November 15, 2012 in Pakistan |

2012.11.01

Eid ul-Adha

From 26th to 29th October, there was a big religious festival in Pakistan called “Eid ul-Adha”. This is one of the biggest holidays, and celebrated by all Muslim in all over the world. It is to commemorate (Prophet) Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son (Prophet) Ismael for Allah (God).


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People who have capacity may sacrifice their livestock to ALLAH. Usually third part of meet will be distributed to people in poverty, other third part to neighbors or friends, and the rest third will be eaten by their own family. Of course, this event is important for their religion, but also we can say that this is a practice of kindness and mercy of Muslim religion.

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The market price of cow, goat, and camel gets high. (Not the meet, animal itself). There are a especially for eid, big animal markets in every big city where farmers from different villages are bringing their livestock to sell for eid festival.


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It is a good chance for them to earn some money, as people don’t much care about the rates in those days. Although bargaining works!

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Many people go back to their village during the holidays, and spend this special holiday with their families. For these points, we can say that it is similar as the way we spend a New Year holiday in Japan. We can see cutting those animals in anywhere, but sure that the implication of this is a belief to Allah, and mercy for the people who needs this benefit.

A day of charity with whole Islamic believer, meaning billions of people participating is so heroic and proud. Of course, non-Muslim person do not have to join this event, but come over with respect and incense of this culture.
Eid Mubarak for all!

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Pictures courtesy: Shehzad Khattak (ex JEN staff)

November 1, 2012 in Pakistan |

2012.10.18

Distribution of Goats Thereafter

JEN has been providing support to displaced people who find refuge in UC Band Kurai of Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province by distributing goats for their recovery of livelihood.
The project has been completed about 70% so far. In late September, JEN’s local staff visited community where goats had been distributed, and had a meeting with the people there to listen to their opinions about JEN and its project.

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We would like to share with you some of the conversation from the meeting.

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Mr. Abdul Ghani had no other choice like other displaced people but to leave all of his farm animals in South Waziristan. Before his escape, he had lived on the dairy product made from his farm animals. However, things can’t be done the same as only packaged milk is available in safe havens.
Mr. Ghani received goats with the support by JEN, and twin baby goats were born in the evening 23 days before the meeting. He told us he was happy because he has 1.5 liters of milk daily even excluding the milk for breast-feeding baby goats.
Nine-year-od  Habibullah who joined the meeting with his father brought a goat and its baby goat there. Habibullahsaid, “I’m happy to put the goats to graze near my place after coming back from school. I and a baby goat are good friends while playing. I will take a good care of it until it grows up.”

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Mr. Loi khan told us about his lost-brother’s wife, Ms. Maryam Bibi. She received a nanny goat and her baby goat which had been born at JEN’s storage. The goat produces 1.7 liters of milk every day. She uses 0.7 liters of it as dietary, and sells the rest of it to her neighbors and gets 70 Pakistan Rupees per day as revenue. She is so happy now she can live an independent life.
54-year-old Mr. Ali Rehman lost his leg because of land mine explosion during the battle. Mr. Ali Rehman also received a nanny goat and its baby goat, and has 1.9 liters of milk every day. Mr. Ali Rehman consumes 0.5 liters of it at home. He sells 1.4 liters to his neighbors and uses the revenue for paying medical bills. The goat makes money for his treatment.

Conditions vary in each family even though they are from the same area. We learned that distributed goats are used based on each family’s needs.

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October 18, 2012 in Pakistan |

2012.10.04

An Event of Local Sports

Karwan Welfare Society Organization a local NGO organized an event of local sports in village Kokar, UC Mandra district D I Khan a couple of days back. Objectives of the event were to promote local games and players. One of the main objectives of the event was too, to provide an opportunity of amusement to local people who have suffered sectarian crises and terrorism for a long period.
3 different games were organized in the event.

1)Local Wrestling,
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2)Weight Lifting
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3)Rassa Kahi (Rope Pulling by opposite teams).
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A large number of people gathered to watch the competition and enjoy it. Normally this event is organized every year but due to tense situation in D I Khan, the event was organized after 4 years.
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Youngsters equally enjoyed this event and they also participated in the games.
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At the end the organizers presented awards to the winners and cash prizes. The chief guest in his speech expressed that next year this event will be conducted on large scale and players will be included from other parts of the country as well.

October 4, 2012 in Pakistan |

2012.09.20

Monsoon Season in Dera Ismail Khan

In local language of D I Khan i.e. Saraiki Monsoon is called “Sawanr”. Its tenure is from Mid-July to mid-September every year. Since 2010 the monsoon heavy rains has caused flash floods and has damaged infrastructure and agriculture sector. 2010 floods flashed the cities of KPK, sindh and some districts of Punjab & Baluchistan.

The major parts of D.I.khan were hit by 2010 flood which caused approximately 15 casualties and 80 injuries. Flood 2010 affected 800,000 populations of D.I.Khan and also 32,000 IDPs families of South Waziristan agency. The rehabilitation process is still incomplete in D.I.khan for flood affectees. Several families are still striving to rebuild their houses and start their lives normally.

Currently flood forecasting division, PDMA and weather forecasting department’s forecasts heavy rains which may cause flash floods in D I Khan and other parts of the country. According to UNOCHA report, D I Khan has experienced urban flooding in recent wave of monsoon rains. Although there were no human causalities but some houses and roads are damaged including a bridge which was completely washed away.

United Nations has prepared contingency plan with the help of I/NGOs to cope with any circumstances resulted by monsoon. Government authorities are monitoring the situation although they have no formal contingency plan.

September 20, 2012 in Pakistan |

2012.09.06

A Hardworking Worker Mr. Hizbullah (Bukhari)

“A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.”   
  (Colin Powell)

This is the story of a young 25 years old guy named “Hizbullah” who has been working from the Vendor side at JEN’s warehouse since September 2011 (Pilot Project). His nick name is Bukhari.

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He belongs to a poor family of village Wanda Umer Khan, Tehsil Paharpur, district Dera Ismail Khan. Responsibility, punctuality, hard working and honesty, all these qualities are present in Mr. Hizbullah’s personality. He is an animal loving person indeed. He loves to stay with the animals and ties to care them. He has been trying to learn knowledge about animals and to get more know-how and expertise in this particular field he joined Dr. Saeed Ullah (A Local Veterinary Officer) in 2003 onward. He has been working with Dr. Saeed Ullah for last 10 years. Now he is well trained and has got good knowledge about animals and their management.

Due to his interest in animals and know-how about animals’ health and management tools, he is assigned as worker at JEN’s warehouse who oversees all the warehouse’s activities under the guiding directions of JEN Livestock Expert and Veterinary Assistants. He is honestly working very hard. He takes full participation in all warehouse’s activities like grazing the goat, cutting and chopping grass, cleanliness of warehouse, feeding and watering practices, helping Veterinary Assistants in vaccination and treatment of goats and arranging medicine from the market for goats on veterinary Doctor’s demand.

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With the Veterinary Doctors advice, he also gives first aid to diseased goat.

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According to Hizbullah, “The animals do not speak and do not walk like humans, doesn't mean they should be treated differently. In fact, they do not speak so they should be treated and looked after well”.  Once, one of the goats got anorexia (Loss of appetite) disease at JEN warehouse and couldn’t eat properly, although the goat was kept under observation by Veterinary Assistants as well but Mr. Bukhari even looked her after in awkward hours of the day and finally the goat became healthy enough to be distributed. The most interesting thing Mr. Bukhari does is to offer candies to warehouse staff when a goat gives birth to baby goat as it is in our culture to distribute sweets called Methai in neighborhood when a human baby is born.

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Besides all these activities he performs so many other duties willingly. He treats the labors very politely. He ensures food availability to his staff daily and makes even breakfast, lunch and dinner for them. In case of any health problem to any of his co-worker, he takes him to the hospital and takes good care of him. In short, he has an ideal and adorable personality.

September 6, 2012 in Pakistan |

2012.08.23

The importance of the research for the project for 2013 is ongoing

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Dera Ismail Khan district and FATA the number of internally displaced persons from combat between the government military forces and the anti-government military forces is about 730 thousand. (July 2012, UNHCR)
Because the situation in their birth place is not stable, there are a few internally displaced persons returning. JEN is going to continue our research for the project towards displaced persons next year as well.

JEN’s local staff from the D.I. Khan office have started the research for the project in 2013 while they continue ones for this year.

Since JEN has targeted some areas, JEN’s investigation team sees the extent of the needs of people by visiting the villages and inspecting their life environment and having conversations with the displaced persons and the social activists in the villages.

In this picture, the staff are making sure of the places where the displaced persons are from, from the picture drawn by the social activist who is familiar with the area.
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This one is about listening to elderly people in an internally displaced persons’ community about the current problems they have.
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In fact JEN has investigated the environment which the internally displaced persons live. Like the picture bellow suggests, some people stay at not so sturdy housing constructions made of mud and sand.

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Based on the collected information from each area, JEN will select the area that needs the most support and decide the details of their activities.

August 23, 2012 in Pakistan |

2012.08.09

Our Ex-Security Guard late Abdullah Noor

experience. We would call him by nickname ‘Mashar’ which means an elder person/senior. His jokes still sound in our ears. All these habits had made him unique to all the staff members. He joined JEN team last year and in a short time he started to live in He was punctual, dutiful, cooperative and friendly. He was beloved by everyone. He was honest to the extreme and used to advise us on different matters based on his everyone’s heart.

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He would perform duty at JEN office in night shift. During quarantine period of goats we would send him to warehouse on special assignment because of his perfection in work.

He went to his home town on routine holidays on 30th June. Early in the morning, On 1st July he left for district Kohat voluntarily with a patient from his family on emergency basis. On the way to hospital, their vehicle unluckily had an accident with a truck from the opposite side. Because of no space inside the vehicle, he sat on the roof of it, which is normal in Pakistan. All his family members along with the patient received injuries. But the injuries of Abdullah Noor were deep and on his back head. He was instantly shifted to the hospital where he could not succumb to the injuries.

It was mountain heavy news for us, his family and his villagers. We all moved to his hometown and participated in his funeral prayers. He left 1 daughter, 4 sons, and a wife. He left this world but is alive in our thoughts. We remember him in special prayers. We feel him in the moments he shared with us; his jokes, his advises, on dining table and playing Ludo with us. May his soul be rest in peace!

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August 9, 2012 in Pakistan |

2012.07.26

MANGO THE SECOND LARGEST CROP OF D.I.KHAN

Mango is one the most famous fruit in Pakistan.
It is the second largest fruit crop of District Dera Ismail Khan, where JEN is currently working. In D.I. Khan there are approximately 1,500 mango orchards. It is one of the biggest sources of income of local farmers and many labors are earning from it in its season.

Mango is native fruit of Indian sub continent, Burma and Andaman Islands. Buddhist monks took mango plants and seeds to Malaya and eastern Asia in the 5th Century B.C. From there mango reach to Africa, Brazil, West Indies, Barbados and Jamaica.

Unlikely other tropical countries, mangoes in Pakistan are available in only one season (summer).

Different types of mangoes are grown in Dera Ismail khan with the local names which are difficult to pronounce in English i.e. Anwar Rathor , Langrra, Cheeta Choonsa, Fajiri, Doosiri, Samar Bahisht, Shan-e-khuda, Sindhri, 12 number Rathor, Golden, Malda and Local variety .

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The mango takes about 3 months from the time of fruit set to mature and ripen. Some varieties may take 3 to 4 months. Fruits are plucked from the tree when they are still hard and green. When a few semi-ripe fruits fall from the tree, it is traditionally considered that the fruits are mature for harvest.

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The mangoes are plucked in a very simple way through locally made net (shown in pictures) to reduce damages.

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Two labors required in plucking of mangoes from one tree. The orchards are sold to local contractors normally for one season. The contractors normally hire 8 labors for an orchard of 6 acres.

During travel I have eaten mangoes of different countries, e.g Indonesia, Thailand, Haiti and Dominican Republic but for me the best ever and tasty mangoes are from Pakistan and it is cheapest here as compare in the other countries. We can buy 1 KG of mangoes on Rs. 80 (60 JPY) in the season.

July 26, 2012 in Pakistan |

2012.07.12

First Half of the Distribution of Goats is Completed

JEN has been deploying the livelihood recovery project to 2,000 IPD families in D.I. Khan.
We have distributed goats to 1,000 out of 2,000 IDP families so far. People who received goats try to recover livelihood by breeding goats with the support from a pastoral coach who is also an IDP.

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Recently D.I. Khan has been suffering from hot weather with more than 46℃. So the rest of the distribution is planned after the middle of August.
In the interim, JEN’s local staff and a pastoral coach visit the families who received goats, and check the health of goats and changes in people’s daily life.

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We will continue the support for IPDs, watching out heat disorder in the ongoing intense heat.

July 12, 2012 in Pakistan |

2012.06.28

Life at JEN in D I Khan

Working and living at JEN Office accommodation is based on cooperation, hard work, sincerity, and happiness. Simply, we call it the JEN Family.

We start our activities early at 4:30 in the morning by offering the morning prayer.

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At 8:30, breakfast is ready and at 9:00, the office opens up. We have the same duty hours as the head office in Islamabad with an hour break for lunch and prayer. All staff go work on their tasks; Team 1 goes to the warehouse to monitor the quarantine of goats, Team 2 moves to the field for follow-up, Team 3 plans for distribution and security guards, and drivers and admin staff are there to assist the teams. By COB, all teams come back to the office and submit reports to their supervisors.

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After 5:00, local staff take off while non-local staff stay at the accommodation. While living together for the past 2 years, we have become close friends. We know what the likes and dislikes of each other are, and we live with care, sense, and responsibility. We all share happy and sad moments, and eat and play together. We have strong competitors around the Ping Pong table, and the parties at night give us the opportunity for amusement. Praying together gives us relaxation and eating together teaches us respect.

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Sometimes it feels strange to imagine a different life than one we have here.         

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June 28, 2012 in Pakistan |

2012.06.14

Goat Management at JEN Warehouse in D I Khan(PART2)

Feeding: Goats are fed green fodder and wheat straw two times a day i.e. morning and evening. First, green fodder is given to goats and then wheat straw is given two hours later. Goats are also grazed in the afternoon for additional feeding and some exercise.

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Billy goats are grazed separately. Every Billy goat is given 0.5 kg Wanda (A Balance Diet) every day in the afternoon. After eating the Wanda, the Billy goats are not allowed to drink water for about two hours in order to avoid digestive problems (bloat/timpani).

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Milking: The lactating goats are milked 2 times a day i.e. morning and afternoon. Goats are milked after half an hour of feeding.

Cleaning Environment: The shed and open yard are cleaned daily to keep the goats in a hygienic and healthy environment. Water traffs are cleaned early in the morning and refilled with fresh water.

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June 14, 2012 in Pakistan |

2012.05.31

Goat Management at JEN Warehouse in D I Khan

The current livelihood project may look easy from the surface but in reality it is very complicated and difficult. We have to watch out for a lot of things that can have adverse effects on health.

According to the JEN policy, Beetal goats are carried from various cities of Punjab to the JEN warehouses in Dera Ismail Khan. These goats are kept in quarantine for 7-10 days. Before the arrival of the goats, the warehouse is cleaned and disinfected under the supervision of a veterinary assistant to ensure an infection free environment.

The transportation process is very difficult because we can’t carry more than 45 goats in our transporting truck. These goats are pregnant and fight each other in the truck, so sometimes goats are injured by the time they arrive at the JEN warehouse. The injured goats need special treatment which is both time consuming and sensitive.

Vaccination: During the 7 days of Quarantine, the Goats (Nanny/Billy) are vaccinated against the diseases which prevail in Dera Ismail Khan (i.e. Pest despetitis Ruminants (PPR), Enterotoxaemia and Contagious Caprine pleura pneumonia (CCPP)) every other day.
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Watering: During the seven days, animals are given soluble vitamins in their drinking water to avoid stress from transportation and vaccination. Nanny Goats are free to drink water at any time while Billy goats can drink three times a day.
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May 31, 2012 in Pakistan |

2012.05.17

Milk Festival (Doodh Maila)

Livestock plays an important role for the country’s economy as  it provides job opportunities to many  rural population.

Dera Ismail Khan is the south most District of KPK, this district is on the border of conflict area South Waziristan Agency. D.I. Khan was very popular for sustainable peace but it suffered a lot from the sectarian issues and war against terror. From last few years there was security unrest in District D.I. Khan, which badly affected the economy of the district.

There are many Government Departments working on livestock & dairy Development in D.I Khan.
On April 13, 2012 the Livestock Research and Development Station UC Phar Pur, District D.I. Khan organized Milk Festival locally called (Doodh Maila) for those farmers who have different kind of Goats, Lambs and cattle. The purposes of this festival were:

·To improve the knowledge of common farmer in livestock dairy development.
·To provide refreshment to the peoples disturbed from the disease of sectarianism and terrorism.
·To build their interest again in keeping different breeds of livestock.

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In the milk festival different kinds of competitions were held between the animals. Weight lifting competition was held between the camels. The milk competition was held between the cows and buffalos, the bucks were competed in terms of weight, length & height.
It was also found that the buck provided by JEN to IDP of UC Begwani Shumali in Pilot Project named Naseeb Khan was in the list of top 3 winners/successors.
During the interview one of the livestock officers appreciated the initiative of JEN (i.e. provision of Beetle breeds to IDPs in D.I. Khan). 

May 17, 2012 in Pakistan |

2012.04.26

Life in my village

My village name is Batakara situated in district Swabi. It lies at the right bank of river Indus KPK Pakistan surrounded by District Mardan, Buner and Hazara. Swabi is famous for agriculture and hospitality. The main source of income of the people is farming and livestock. Mainly people grow Wheat, maize, tobacco, sugarcane & vegetables and keep sheep, goats and buffalos.

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The people of Swabi belong to Pathan tribe’s yousaf zai and utman zai and are famous for their culture and hospitality.

They warmly welcomed to a huge numbers of internally displaced people from Swat in 2009 due to military operation against Armed Opposition groups. They shared their homes and hujras (guest rooms) with these affected peoples and accommodate them till the settlement of dispute. Many NGOs including JEN worked in Swabi during that difficult period.

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The people of Swabi are very social and polite and give honor to any one individual or organization working in their areas. They also support the development efforts made by organization in this area like water supply and sanitation schemes and infrastructure schemes.

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The people of Swabi are mostly farmers and living with simple life. They keep livestock like Sheeps, cow, buffalo, and goats for their dairy product. They are using this dairy product in their food and also offer to guests.

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The young generation of Swabi are mostly educated and doing jobs in different government and private organization. The education ratio of District Swabi is better than other areas of this province and the famous engineering university of Pakistan GIK is situated in Swabi. 

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Some of JEN staffs are from Swabi and practice in social activities with different local community organization.

April 26, 2012 in Pakistan |

2012.04.12

How are the IDPs now?

As long as the IDPs were living at origin before conflict their lives were worst at several aspects. Awareness of education in males was very less and that of female was totally zero. Their main sources of income were agriculture and livestock. Majority of them before displacement had no exposure to settled areas and cities. By nature they were narrow-minded and by culture they were conservative. Due to linguistic problems most of them would hesitate to go outside FATA. In a common case it would be a difficult job for an IDP to withdraw money from the bank using an ATM card. They had negative perceptions about humanitarian organizations.

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After displacement most of them came to start living in D I Khan, Tank and some moved to Karachi. Humanitarian Organizations provided them shelter, food, NFIs and most importantly the high caliber staff dealt them with patience and politeness. Effective mobilization made them changing their minds and a hope to start recovers their lives.

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Humanitarian organizations provided them capacity building trainings in terms of Health, Sanitation, Hygiene, Livelihood Recovery, Gender & Female Education and Protection etc. They interacted with the local people, who were more educated, patient, happy and bearing better social values.

Gradually they adjusted themselves with the local people. Their perception of biasedness reduced about other communities and tribes. They realized the importance of education and are more willing than ever to send their children to schools. They started interest in other sources of livelihood other than agriculture and livestock. They have come to know the role of humanitarian organizations. Now they know their rights as affected people and understand the law & justice system.

April 12, 2012 in Pakistan |

2012.03.29

First Batch of Goats at JEN Warehouse in D I Khan

So it’s time to go for the distribution; a core activity of the Livelihood Recovery project for IDPs in D I Khan. But wait……. Just 1 week to 10 days (for IDPs). It’s a tough test for their patience but Goats have to go quarantined. It’s good both for the goats and IDPs. Goats will get healthy and the IDPs will get healthy goats.

190 female goats and 10 male goats are present at JEN warehouse. They came here after JEN Livestock expert gave them a final touch based on selection criteria in district Checha Watani, province Punjab. The selection criterion is interesting; typical roman nose, long flat ears, small or medium size horns, huge body, variable coat color and 3 to 4 months pregnant.

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Goats are staying in a sweet home (warehouse/farmhouse). It can be called as a luxury house for them as the covered area is larger than number of goats stay there. It also has opened area which is quite larger for them and fence from all sides. The covered area is further divided in various pens (Partitions); goats with advance pregnancy, goats that are comparatively weak and diseased goats are kept in separate pens.

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The goats are vaccinated against the endemic infectious diseases to provide immunity against the fatal infectious diseases. The warehouse has plenty of wooden menges (the section where goats eat food) and cemented water troughs to ensure good feeding and watering of the goats. The goats are fed with Barseem (crushed wheat straws) and wanda (feedstuff) is provided as additional balance feed to meet the energy requirements of the goats.

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So the goats are being through test; Quarantine period of 1 week. Goats those pass the test will get to their destination i.e. their respective owners the IDPs and those fail in the test will be rejected completely or will be given another chance i.e. will be under consideration at warehouse under strict supervision of Livestock Expert to appear for the test next time.

March 29, 2012 in Pakistan |

2012.03.15

Local Handicrafts

Pakistan has inherited a rich cultural heritage from the history. The different cities of Pakistan with wide verities of traditional and cultural handicrafts have much to offer. The Kashmiri Shawls, the Balochi and Sindhi embroidery work, the Peshawari Chappals and wooden handicrafts of Sargodha and Dera Ismail Khan are famous all over the world.
Wooden handicraft is one of the oldest businesses in D. I. Khan and many households run it as their first livelihood source from decades. It represents the glorious and historical culture of Pakistan in all over the world.
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Nazir Hussain and his family are attached with this business for more than 100 years. His shop is one of the oldest handicraft centers situated in main Topanwala Bazaar, D. I. Khan. Each and every piece of his shop is a cultural heritage. The hand work done on wood pieces is called Jindry which is the specialty of Nazir Hussain. Jindry is a very time consuming work and requires high level expertise.

Nazir Hussain makes different samples of wooden handicrafts which range from the small show pieces to daily life stuff like Wooden Toys, Wooden Tables, Ashtrays, Tea Sets, Table Lamps, Wall Clocks, Wooden Urns, Wooden Flowers, Jewelry Boxes, Dressing Tables and Assmay-e-Hussna (99 Names of ALLAH and Muhammad (PBUH) to Loh-e-Qurani. He also makes different types of Wooden Logos, Shields on order.

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Like other businesses of D. I. Khan, handicraft business is also suffered by the July 2010 flood and mainly due to armed conflict in South Waziristan Agency. Nazir Hussain says that the charms of Topanwala Bazaar have become dim and his business activities are also affected but he is hopeful and trying to bring more innovation in his work.

March 15, 2012 in Pakistan |

2012.03.01

Gomal University

Pakistan is abundant in agriculture as 27% of the land is cultivated. It is ranked as the fourth largest milk producing country in the world due to the abundance of livestock such as buffalo, sheep, goat, and camel.

For this reason, agriculture and animal husbandry are important parts of the Pakistani economy and in order to continuously grow these fields, it is essential to develop specialists.

As a way to develop these specialists, there is a famous agricultural university called Gomal University in Dera Ismail Khan, where the JEN office is located.

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Gomal University is ranked 12th among the universities in Pakistan with a high reputation and provides a wide range of lectures from undergraduate to graduate studies.

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For the undergraduate program, there are 4 departments  (literature, agriculture, pharmacy, and science), which are split into a total of 29 courses.

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In conjunction with Gomal University, Gomal College of Veterinary Sciences in Dera Ismail Khan has started a 5-year veterinary science doctorate program. Hundreds of students have graduated so far and are working in the animal husbandry field.

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The animal specialist from the current JEN office in charge of animal husbandry instructor training is one of the graduates.

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Gomal University not only accepts students from Pakistan, but also various countries like Afghanistan and Gulf countries. There are 30 to 40 students from Afghanistan every year that take doctorate program mentioned above.

March 1, 2012 in Pakistan |

2012.02.16

The start of goat management training

The workshops for stockbreeding trainers being held in Dera Ismail Khan district are important part of the livelihood recovery project for internally displaced persons.

Based on the standards made by JEN, the field team will select stockbreeding trainers from the area the project will be based on. The members selected will all be young, educated, filled with the volunteer spirit and enthusiastic about learning.

The stockbreeding trainers will first participate in a 10-day goat management training course, then attend a supplementary training course, and take on a role to spread the knowledge about raising and managing goats to other displaced households.

In 2012, we split the 80 stockbreeding trainers into 4 groups of 20 and have held training sessions for each group in order.

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On the first day of training for Group #1, which was held the other day, the stockbreeding trainers asked many questions regarding the objectives of the training and the benefits of attending the course. The livestock experts in charge of the training course listened with great interest to the concerns of the trainers.

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The following are the comments from the stockbreeding trainers who participated in the training course.


- For us, livestock is the main source of income, but because the livestock was mainly consumed by our own family until now, the benefits thereof were limited.
Through this training course, I was able to learn in depth about the benefits through the use of livestock.

- We are receiving education, but at the refugee shelters all we do is waste time and there is nothing to do all day.
Thanks to this training course, I have acquired the skills needed to work and I am able to contribute to helpless communities that need our support.

- Due to the training course, I was able to learn about goat management methods, social mobilization, and enterprise development.
From now on, I have decided to change the use of livestock from personal consumption to business use.

- We, the community of the Massoud tribe have a reputation for our hospitality.
From the training course that we attended, I believe we can have the opportunity to help other people in an even better way.

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February 16, 2012 in Pakistan |

2012.02.02

Riaz’s Trauma

Both natural and man-made disasters will affect suffers’ lifestyles for a long time.
Riaz ad-Dīn’s trauma is one example.

In South Waziristan, where Riaz used to live, a battle occurred between an armed group and the government military. The battle got serious, using fighters, armed helicopters, machine guns battle planes and trench mortars, eventually forcing residents to evacuate. Riaz and his family took refuge, too.

Riaz’s house was devastated and many people were killed by bombing. He was mentally damaged by losing neighbors and loved ones, houses and assets and being forced to evacuate from his home.

Riaz’s father hospitalized Riaz in a mental hospital in Peshawar spending all the money he had, but Riaz has not got well.

Today, Riaz lives in a tent distributed by UNHC with his parents and his 7 brothers and sisters in Dera Ismail Khan. He is suffering from poverty.

His father and brothers work by the day. Their earnings are short for the family life and expensive Riaz’s medical cost.

When Riaz came to register for JEN’s support, JEN asked his father because he did not answer the interview himself.

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His father said that Riaz takes prescribed tranquilizer due to frequent disturbance of consciousness.

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I heard many people here suffer from mental disorder and sense of loss caused by conflicts like Riaz.

JEN will continue our support in order to support as many people with trauma as possible.

February 2, 2012 in Pakistan |

2012.01.19

Self-introduction from Staff Member: Mian Hamad Asif

I am from Walai Village, a small village in Nowshera District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. I have been working as a project assistant for JEN more than a year.

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I got a master's degree in International Relations at University of Peshawar in 2005. When I was a student, I designed and joined a lot of workshops and regional and international conferences.

After that, I took some expertise courses by private corporations including business development, communication and presentation, and negotiation. Then, I started to work in the development field.

For the first three years, I worked for Non-Governmental Organizations in and outside Pakistan. In Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, affected by the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, I was engaged in the following:
1. Reconstruction program for community
2. Business skill development training for the living
3. Project for improvement of living and business development

Working for such projects, I communicated with people with a variety of background and learned how to keep good relationships with community and be flexible among people with different languages, cultures and religions. I also learned to consider genders and manage time.

After the projects were completed, I went back to Pakistan in July, 2010, when a new disaster occurred. Historical floods hit Pakistan, which brought great damages nationwide.

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I was engaged in volunteer activities in my hometown for two months after the floods began. After that, in September, 2010, I joined JEN in order to expand my contribution.
My first project at JEN is market research at the stricken areas and support for suffers in Charsadda.

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What I like JEN about are as below.

1.The managers take and respect new ideas from field staff.
2.They not only strengthen capability of staff members but instruct us to achieve project goals.
3.They offers friendly environment so we can relax to learn. They encourage and support the staff in spite of their busy schedule.
4.They are always considering how to bring the best result with less resource.
5.Every staff member works with ownership both at Headquarters and at local offices.

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January 19, 2012 in Pakistan |

2012.01.05

Brick factory at Dera Ismail Khan

The houses in cities of Pakistan including Dera Ismail Khan are built of bricks.
In Pakistan, bricks for roads and buildings are generally made from dirt and sand. This is because they are relatively reasonably priced and strong.

Bricks are made at factories called ‘Batai’ in Pashtun. There are about 80 Batais in Dera Ismail Kahn, and it is said that about 6000 people are working there.

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Today, we would like to introduce a story from a man who is the manager of a Batai.

There are two kinds of Batai. One is run by the owner of the Batai who supervises the Battai workers directly. The other is run by has been run by a contractor who is under an annual contract with the owner.

Barth Muhammad living in Dera Ismail Kahn is a contractor who is under an annual contract with the owner.

The Batai managed by Mr. Muhammad has 80 workers.

In order to make strong bricks, it is important to use solid dirt.

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First, at the Batai, the dirt is brought by a truck and then spaked,

 
mixed sand to prevent contracting and then fired in a special wood brick fire.

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The bricks are then left to dry in the sun for seven days.

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To increase the strength, after the bricks have dried, they are placed in a heating device for an additional 21 days.

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About 350,000 bricks are made in each batch.

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Finally, those bricks are loaded on truck and delivered to consumers.
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January 5, 2012 in Pakistan |

2011.12.15

The day and life of a Channa shop

Today we will introduce the story of a man who runs a channa restaurant who we met in Dera Isamil Khan.

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His name is Shaukat Ali ***. For about 20 years in a market located in the center of Dera Ismail Khan, Shaukat has been selling dishes using beans called channa.

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Channa dishes are cheap, spicy and high in nutrition and are popular among the locals. At Shaukat’s restaurant, the onion yogurt and spice are poured on to channa and rice in front of the customers and it looks really delicious!!

Actually, Shaukat was affected by the great flood in 2010 and his crops that he was growing in a small farmland were damaged.

“It is very difficult to go back to the lifestyle before the flood, but I believe if we continue to work hard, things will be back to normal again.” says Shaukat.

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Shaukat is very busy serving customers, washing dishes and preparing the food from 7am in the morning when his shop opens to 4pm when he closes.

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He has a wide range of customers including shop employees, families, and government employees, but most of them are students.

120 plates of 20-yen channa plates are served every day, which comes to 2,400 rupees (approximately 2304 yen) in sales.

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After the shop closes, Shaukat buys ingredients (channa, rice, tomatoes, onions, yogurt, lemon, spices) for the next day on the way home, which cost 1,900 to 2,000 rupees (approx. 1824 to 1920 yen) per day, so after this is deducted from the sales, his day’s income is about 450 rupees (approx. 432 yen).

Shaukat lives together with his mother, wife, and 6 children in a small house. After he gets home, Shaukat prepares for the next day, which takes about 3 hours, but his family all help him, so Shaukat says he enjoys his job.

December 15, 2011 in Pakistan |

2011.12.01

A Place for Relaxation in Dera Ismail Khan

In eastern Dera Ismail Khan, where JEN operates, the Indus River flows. The Indus River is the biggest river in Pakistan and the 21st biggest river in the world. In Dera Isamil Khan, the bank of this river is known for a place for relaxation.

Along the riverside of the Indus River, there is a park great for families and another park similar to an amusement park, which has a small Ferris wheel.

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There is also a restaurant called “Midway” which is the most famous in Dera Ismail Khan. At “Midway”, you can enjoy not only Pakistani food, but also Chinese and Italian food. In addition, you can eat sobat, a dish made by pieces of bread cooked in a big pot shared with 4 to 6 people, which is a famous dish in Dera Ismail Khan.

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Something that is locally a bit of a sightseeing spot is Ghazi, an old boat that is stranded along the riverside. Because the river’s water level descended, the boat became stranded on the riverside.

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On the weekends, people have a good time by crossing the river on boats and swimming in the river. Especially on the weekend in the summertime, many people of various generations gather here and the area is crowded with lots of people. Along the riverside, street vendors are lined up selling types of food including ice cream, fried rice and fruits and are crowded with customers.

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There are many other ways to spend time along the river. People who like to dance gather around and dance together and there are also young ones who enjoy sports like football, Frisbee, volleyball, and Kabaddi (a sport like wrestling). 

The Indus River is a great spot for fishing, so among the people who live on the riverside, there are those who make a living by fishing.

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You can also see people who enjoy sports and walking along the river in Japan, just like the people in Dera Ismail Khan, so in that sense I think we can say there are similarities.

--Announcement--
We received an award by the Minister of Foreign Affairs for 2012.
We deeply thank all the supporters who contributed to JEN’s activities thus far.
For more information, click here ….

December 1, 2011 in Pakistan |

2011.11.17

Baby goats

JEN has distributed goats to 470 IDP families since late September.

As we noted before, these goats are nanny goats at their three to four months pregnancy. Baby goats have already been born in 50 families out of those distributed.

Today, we will show you baby goats’ photos received from the scene.

A newborn baby goat is so small and light that even a little kid can hold it.

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Also, there was a baby goat that had been born at JEN’s storehouse before the distribution.

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So far, the probability of twinning has been more than one-fifth.

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Pastoral advisors who were chosen from IDPs visit families in charge every week, and check the health condition of mother goats, breed status, and the condition of baby goats when they are born.

It is also one of the important tasks for pastoral advisors to check how much milk is expressed from post-delivery goats.

Currently, each of all 50 post-delivery goats has been producing 3 liter of milk per day as expected.

For IDPs, both mother goats and baby goats are precious property. Our support will be continued until they learn to be able to raise goats properly in the whole community.

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November 17, 2011 in Pakistan |

2011.11.02

Noor Malik’s Story

NGOs that work in Pakistan work closely with victims of conflict and disaster across the country and meet victims who live in various circumstances.

For this article, we would like to tell the story of Moor Malik’s family, who the JEN staff met in Dera Isamil Khan district, where the current JEN office is located.

Noor Malik and his wife do not have children. Malik is around 75 years old and his wife is turning 68.

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The two used to live in a village called Kama Gourami of South Waziristan, an area that has received the greatest damage in conflict. Other than a small house and 4 goats that are a sole source of income, Mr. and Mrs. Malik had no possessions that they can call their own. Needless to say that is not enough to survive, but by receiving contributions from neighbors, they managed to somehow get by.

One day two years ago in the middle of the night, Mr. and Mrs. Malik as well as others from the village had to leave their homes and escape to Dera Ismail Khan. The army came to Malik’s village and called on the villagers to evacuate to a safe place. Seeing as war was imminent, it was no longer impossible for the two to go back to their home in South Waziristan.

The journey from their village to the evacuation area was extremely difficult. With no food, water and change of clothes, their only choice was to continue walking to Dera Ismail Khan. The two are old aged and are unable to walk for a long period. They had to leave behind their 4 goats, which were their sole source of income.

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Like most internally displaced people, Mr. and Mrs. Malik could not make it in time to register as a refugee and as a result, they could not receive food aid from WFP (United Nations World Food Programme). Mr. and Mrs. Malik say they could not eat anything for days even after they arrived in Dera Ismail Khan.

Since then they two lived in a relatives house in Paharpur village located in the same district. Although they are relatives, it is a little uncomfortable living in someone else’s home, but they had no other choice says Malik. The two had no way of setting aside food for each day and they spent each day praying for a miracle.

However, in July of this year since the projects in Dera Ismail Khan have started, their lives have started to change.

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Mr. and Mrs. Malik have now been registered to become eligible to receive aid and were able to get a pregnant goat. Shortly after they received the goat, a kid was born and they were able to milk the goat. They use the milk for their food every day, but because they can sell the extra milk that they do not need, they are now able to save some money.

JEN will continue to help those who need aid the most.

November 2, 2011 in Pakistan |

2011.10.20

Beetal Goats

Goats are important for poor livestock farmers to make a living.

It is said that there are over 50 million goats in Pakistan. The species are various. Some species are good for meat or milk production. Beetal goats are famous for its milk production and meat.

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JEN has a project that distributes pregnant beetal goats to IDPs, internal displaced persons, living in Dera Ismal Kahn. Compared with temporary distribution of NFIs, Non-Food Items, or coupon, beetal goat distribution is expected for sustainable financial and health effectiveness.

Let me tell you how beetal goats distribution affects to IDPs’ households.

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1.Financial effectiveness

Rearing beetal goats enhances financial situation of IDPs. JEN supports Masud tribe evacuated from South Waziristan Kalusha, who originally earned from agriculture and livestock farming. JEN’s survey revealed that one household of Masud tribe consumes milk about two liters per day. If they hold a beetal goat, which produces 2-3 liters of milk every day, they can save spending for milk. JEN distributes pregnant goats, which means IDPs can either rear goats for breeding or produce milk productions.

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2.Health effectiveness

IDPs can improve health by taking necessary nutrition from milk or meat from beetal goats. Milk contains vitamins and meat is a good resource of protein. Rearing goats are expected to lead to decrease the number of people with malnutrition. Children were not able to have a chance for education and have enough time at the evacuation site, but instead, they can take care of the goats, playing with them or taking them out for grazing.

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Goats distribution will last until the end of October. The livestock instructors who have been trained by expertise will show IDPs how to manage and rear goats properly.

October 20, 2011 in Pakistan |

2011.10.06

Habib-ur-Rehman, Supporter of IDPs

Mr. Habib-ur-Rheman lives in Dera Ismail Khan. He runs a farm and does fertilizer business. I would like to write about him. He is a strong supporter for IDPs, internal displaced persons and humanitarian support groups.

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Habib is called Mohammad, the Islamic warrior. He is 46 years old while the average longevity in Afghanistan is 42*, and is very active. He is also a passionate social activist. He is known as Haji Sahib. Haji Sahib is a title given to those who go on a pilgrimage and should be respected.

He has lived in Sararogha in South Waziristan Kalusha and Mian Wada in Dera Ismail Khan province for the past 11 years. He used to be a “seasonal internal displaced person” which I have written on the blog. He lived in Dera Ismal Khan in severe cold winter and in South Waziristan, where it has better climate, in summer.

In summer 2009, when Pakistan government conducted mop-up operation against anti-government group, he was back in South Waziristan with his family. However, since the security there worsened about a month ago, he and his family evacuated to Dera Ismal Khan. Masud tribe, living in the same area, escaped without anything.

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Habib says, “Among many issues of IDPs, I think especially big issue is the lack of accommodation and medical facilities.”

He also says, “I offer my own two houses (in Dera Ismal Khan) for the refugees from South Waziristan, but I feel uneasy and sad when I think about people who live in a house made of dried leaves of dates under unaccustomed heat wave.



He is supporting JEN’s activities while he is busy with other activities, so that misunderstandings to international non-governmental organizations that IDPs have can be erased. He just gives helping hands to those who need them the most in order to reconstruct the living.

One activity is that he opened a small temporary shop that sells coca tea at Paharpur market for some IDP. Poor people or people at a loss what to do for recovery can get a clue for reconstruction from one Habib’s action.

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He received many letters of appreciation from some humanitarian groups for his contribution as well as he supported for JEN to confirm IDPs living far from the community. His efforts contributed to save many IDPs.

*Reference: WHO’s report 2010

October 6, 2011 in Pakistan |

2011.09.22

Dera Ismail Khan, a city of Sohan Halwa

Dera Ismail Khan is a very beautiful city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.

Bazaars in this city are centered in the area called “Chowgalla”.
“Chowgalla” means “the area that four roads begin”, and literally, there are four main streets; Topanwala Bazaar, Muslim Bazaar, Kalan Bazaar, and Bhatiya Bazaar.

Dera Ismail Khan is famous for dates as we reported before, and also for mangoes. Particularly, Langra Mango is popular Pakistan.

Furthermore, Dera Ismail Khan is famous for a traditional sweets “Sohan Halwa”. This sweets is popular in Pakistan and the Gulf Countries for its lip-smacking taste.

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You will see Sohan Halwa shops everywhere in the city, but many of them are located in Topanwala Bazaar.
Many people in this city earn their living by selling Sohan Halwa.

Sohan Halwa is usually cooked with milk, sohni (ingredient made from flour), Maida flour, butter and sugar. This sweets is served to the guests at major festivals in Pakistan (like Eid).

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You can see a variety of Sohan Halwa in Dera Ismail Khan. According to an owner of a Sohan Halwa shop in Topanwala Bazaar, 11 types of Sohan Halwa including with 8 different dried fruits, almonds, sugar-free, fat-free, etc. are sold.

Price is different depending on the type, and it ranges from 180 Pakistan Rupee (about 155 Japanese Yen) to 300 Pakistan Rupee (about 260 Japanese Yen) per kilo.

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At bazaars, you can choose a type of packaging from cardboard box, tin box, and plastic box. Cardamom, coconuts, peanuts, almonds, walnuts, pistachio are used not only for flavor but also for decoration.

Many Pakistani deserts are very attractive and tasty. We cannot talk about “good food” without sweets like Kheer (rice pudding), Firni (custard), and of course Sohan Halwa.

As there is even an Urdu saying “Eat sweets first, work second”, sweets is very important in Pakistan.

September 22, 2011 in Pakistan |

2011.09.08

IDPs and hot climate in Dera Ismail Khan

There are two types of IDPs who live in the suburbs of Dera Ismail Khan. Conflict-induced IDPs and seasonal IDPs.

Conflict-induced IDPs who live in this area are those who escaped from the battle between the Pakistan Army and extremists in South Waziristan Agency. These citizens escaped from the conflict take shelter in their relatives, host communities or leased houses, feeling timid and living in foul conditions.

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On the other hand, seasonal IDPs in the same area originally have stable livelihood, and they run business by themselves or make a living by culminating their own land in most cases.

They come over to Dera Ismail Khan only in the winter season. They do so because the life back home in winter season is so hard with heavy snow and freezing temperature.

Then, when summer comes and the temperature goes unbearably hot in Dera Ismail Khan, they go back to their home village where the climate is comfortable by then.

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However, the situation is not the same this year. There also has been a conflict in seasonal IDPs’ home area, so they cannot go back to their village in summer season. Besides, the temperature in Dera Ismail Khan has been around 40 degrees C during the final two months in summer season. It had usually been easier to weather out in this season.
Both conflict-induced IDPs and seasonal IDPs are not accustomed to live in such a hot climate.

Even so, seasonal IDPs can manage to weather out and live, because they have a stable livelihood.

By contrast, daily lives of conflict-induced IDPs have become harder in this sweltering hot weather because they are too poor to buy things.

September 8, 2011 in Pakistan |

2011.08.25

Self introduction of a staff: Kaiser Khan

My name is Kaiser Khan. I’ m a general affairs and accounting assistant under the supervision of the international general affairs and accounting staff.

I was born in Bata Kara in 1983. Bata Kara is a small town in Swabi District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, and it is near one of the largest dams in Asia.

I went to a local public high school, and then went on to a university in Mardan District in 2001.

We had a big earthquake in 2005, and I started to work as a volunteer accounting assistant at a local humanitarian group that supported rural areas in Mansehra District.

After working one year at the group, I decided to go on to graduate school. I went into the University of Peshawar Postgraduate College, and earned my master’s degree in finance and accounting.

In 2008, the Pakistan Army began a military action against extremists in Swat District. Because of this, thousands of families sought refuge to host families in the central city of Peshawar, Mardan District and Swabi District. Some of those people found shelters in IDPs’ camps.

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From there, I was determined to work in humanitarian sector again, and soon after that, I found a job in a local agency. As I had wanted to support people through NGO or International NGO, I worked for the agency for three years.

The agency was cooperating with other International NGO as a partner, so I got a very good practical experience while I was working there. Because of this experience, I became confident in working in any environment.
 
After completing the projects I had been in charge at the agency, I decided to work in an international organization to expand my knowledge and work in better environment. I found JEN’s classified on newspaper and applied for the job. I feel blessed to be able to work at JEN.

I am now working at JEN’s Islamabad office. All of the staff here are cooperative and friendly, so I feel this is a good work environment. I hope I can gain more experience and improve my skills in accounting and management jobs through working at JEN.

August 25, 2011 in Pakistan |

2011.08.11

Ramadan 2011

Ramadan is in September in Islamic calendar. Muslims all over the world fast in Ramadan. Fasting for a whole month has a good influence on mental and physical health.

The interesting thing about Ramadan is that there is 10 days difference between Islamic and western calendar every year. Each year, the first day of Ramadan comes 10 days earlier than last year. For example, Ramadan began on August 10 in 2010 and on August 1 in 2011.

Last year, we fasted with flood victims in Kohat District. JEN distributed goods other than food in the first week of Ramadan for the first project in the area. The goal at that time was to support the most damaged and vulnerable victims in the environment in which the temperature had been 40 to 45 degrees every day.

It has been one year now since the flood occurred last year, and JEN is about to begin the occupational recovery support for IDPs in Dera Ismail Khan District.

The subject for the support this time is three villages in Paharpur in Dera Ismail Khan District. The project site is located at the roadside of Chashma Road, which connects Dera Ismail Khan District and Mianwali District. In Paharpur, there are fertile lands and drains that flow from the Indus River into various agricultural lands. All kinds of crops including wheat, corn, and vegetables grow there.

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Especially dates are one of the most important products of Paharpur. The area called Dhakki in Paharpur is famous for delicious dates, and they are shipped out to other areas in Pakistan.
Dates and various kinds of mangoes grow well because it is hot during the whole year in Dera Ismail Khan District.

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Dates are important food during the Ramadan period. Muslims bear the hunger while craving for dates and water, and take a break after 15 hours of fast each day.
JEN’s staff bought dates for Ramadan at the local market in Dera Ismail Khan for their family.

August 11, 2011 in Pakistan |

2011.07.28

A New Project Site

JEN’s team visited Dera Ismail Khan District on July 17. JEN starts the support project for IDPs who fled for refuge from the conflict in South Waziristan Agency, and now live in Paharpur City that is situated in the northern part of Dera Ismail Khan District.

JEN will assist IDPs who live in three selected villages in Paharpur City. The location of a new project site is the village which is 50km far from the city of Dera Ismail Khan.

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We checked some candidate buildings for office in our first visit to Dera Ismail Khan. It is quite difficult and needs to be careful to choose the location for office, because there is a public safety problem in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province area-wide where D. I. Khan resides.

There are several things we have to check before we make a final decision about the location for office. For example, it shouldn’t be in the highly-populated area where everyone can access easily. Also, it is not appropriate to open the office in easily-noticeable area where VIPs live and it is always at risk of terrorism.

Dera Ismail Khan District is famous for summer heat among other neighboring regions, and the temperature had been at 36 to 42 degrees C throughout our stay there. Although the rain had been forecasted in the northern part of the district, we didn’t have any rain in the whole week during our stay.

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The Indus River runs through the eastern part of Dera Ismail Khan City. At the riverbank, there are good places for a picnic and some nice restaurants that serve freshwater fish cuisine. As darkness sets in, people who suffered from the extreme heat during daylight go to the river to enjoy the cold evening breeze and crossing the river in boats.

The city of Dera Ismail Khan is situated in the state borders of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Punjab Province and Balochistan Province, and the Indus Highway links Peshawar and Karachi through the city. These factors make Dera Ismail Khan a multicultural city.

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The local language in Dera Ismail Khan District is Saraiki (similar with Punjab language). There are Pashtun people, Saraiki people, Panjab people, and Bloch people in Dera Ismail Khan City, so it is common to see people in various costumes on the street.

July 28, 2011 in Pakistan |

2011.07.14

Finished Assistance for Flood Victims, Started Assistance for Conflict IDPs

JEN’s assistance project for flood victims has finished on July 10, 2011. The project started in August, 2010, when devastating floods hit significantly damaged Pakistan nationwide. JEN, an expertise of coping with states of emergency, was quick to go to Kohat district in the southern part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, hearing about the news. JEN distributed relief supplies except for foods such as tents, beds, blankets, heaters, sanitary goods and kitchen tools to the sufferers.

After that, we had conducted the reconstruction of shelters project for three months at Charsadda district located at 30-kilometer north-west from Peshawar. We distributed shelter building kits.

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Since JEN’s assistance for the emergency went successfully, we shift our activity from shelter assistance to agricultural assistance, which is regarded as an activity in the emergent and recovery phase.

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The agricultural assistance project for the living was designed for recovering income sources of farmers in Charsadda district who are suffering from the flood. We distributed necessities for agriculture and had provided trainings by experts for recultivating 2375 farmlands and grow and sell crops efficiently for seven months.

The project enabled farmers not only to feed family members but to sell at the market and store the harvest for the planting in the next season. The government authority and the elderly in the community highly appreciated our project, which was the end of the series of assistance for flood victims.

From now, JEN’s project in Pakistan is going to be relatively long lasting assistance for IDP, internal displaced persons. They are refugees from conflicts in South Waziristan Kalusha.

The new project will start in Dera Ismail Khan district which is located at around 280 kilometers from Peshawar and bordered with Punjab province. The project is designed for IDP to be able to get back their income resources and sufficient earning and to be self-sufficient through distributing goats and educating their rearing.

July 14, 2011 in Pakistan |

2011.06.30

Success Story of a Victim of the Flood

Charsadda District is an area with affluent soils. Three rivers flow in the area and are important resources for irrigations. People grow various vegetables such as sugarcane, sugar beet, tobacco, wheat, corns, okra, tomatoes, cabbage, egg plants and spinach.

For the past five years, they especially produce a lot of balsam pears. Balsam pears are sold not only at the market in Pakistan but at the international market including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Afghanistan.

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Gul Mast, 30, who has been a farmer for more than 20 years in Tajakay village is also producing a lot of balsam pears for business. He started to grow balsam pears using wooden frames with his brother in 2006. Using wooden frames enhances productivity.

The Gul family used to sell vegetables at local markets or to retailers in urban areas. Meanwhile, wholesalers come to the markets in Charsadda District and they shipped vegetables from the farmers for exporting. The wholesalers exported balsam pears to the United Arab Emirates. Gul had sold the vegetables to the wholesalers for a year, but started to think he wanted to launch a business and export balsam pears to all over the world. When Gul talked to his brother about his idea, they reached an agreement. They started to get necessary information for the exporting business such as license and requirement and finally launched their business. In 2009, they started importing balsam pears.

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Gul and his brother collected balsam pears from the whole area as the other wholesalers did. They let 10 or 15 of their employees collect and package vegetables and Gul and his brother do the ratings.

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However, Gul said that the flood last year devastated lands of Gul’s family and other partners, which he was hardly able to earn his living. Under such situation, he said that JEN’s assistance made the land recover to the level of growing vegetables and that he was able to get seeds of vegetables he had originally grown. Moreover, he said he appreciated JEN’s agricultural training of before and after harvest which led him to cut drastically ineffectiveness of production.

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Gul started exporting in June 2011. Up until June 19, he wholesaled 3,150 kilograms of balsam pears and exported 21,550 kilograms to Dubai. He said that the export and wholesale at the local markets would last until October this year. He hopes that the business year will be much better than before and he plans to build a storage and a cabin for ratings.

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June 30, 2011 in Pakistan |

2011.06.16

Peshawar, the “City of Flowers”

Peshawar, one of places of JEN’s projects, has prospered as an important transportation and business hub, a gateway to the South and Central Asia. The history goes back to the era of the Kingdom of Gandhara, the 6th century BC.

Now the population is around 3,000,000. Peshawar is an important place for distribution with roads connected east to Islamabad and Lahore and south to Karachi. The famous Jamrod Road is connected to Afghanistan.

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Peshawar had been known as a lot of flowers until ten years ago. It is the capital of the Province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, located in the north-west of Pakistan. Many people visited Peshawar for secondary education or treatment for the diseases. In parks, a lot of people relaxed after work or spent with their families or their friends.

Peshawar is also known for its hospitality. In the late 1970s, when the Afghanistan War occurred, many refugees had to escape to Pakistan. Many of them evacuated to refugee camps or their relative’s house or their friend’s in Peshawar. They chose Peshawar because the cultural background is of Peshawar is very similar to that of Kabul and other cities in Afghanistan.

In 2009, when conflicts occurred in Swat Valley and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), many residents evacuated to Peshawar.

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However, as terrorist attacks often occur, Peshawar is now called “City of War” or “City of Bombing”. Today, precious lives are lost by terrorist attacks almost every day. Some countries restrict on visit to Peshawar because of the security.

Even under such situation, people in Peshawar opt for staying their hometown and go to school or work. Every time terrorist attacks of incidents occur, they support rescue work and donate blood. They believe the era of war and terrorism will be over some day.

People in Peshawar believe that the city will have a lot of flowers and many tourists from all over the world visit to enjoy good and old townscape and Pashtun culture again in the near future.

June 16, 2011 in Pakistan |

2011.06.02

Harvest training in Tajakay Village, UC Nisatta

An agriculture specialist is instructing the safe harvesting procedure.

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Farmers harvest loofahs after the training.


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Field assistants conduct sessions in rural areas to teach how to select and pack vegetables.


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Agricultural trainers go down to the field and instruct how to select bitter gourds appropriately.

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Farmers can pack bitter gourds much better now.

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Farmers holding packed bitter gourds, after the harvest management session.

June 2, 2011 in Pakistan |

2011.05.19

Report of JEN’s Field Reconstruction Project: Effort and Reward

Pakistan has the 6th largest population in the world. 67 percent of the population lives in agricultural areas and most people make their living by agriculture. 32 percent of the total population lives under the level of poverty and the GDP growth relies on agricultural productions.

Mr. Mazullah is one of the sufferers of the flood on July 29, 2010. His field was devastated by the flood and he was forced to stop the agriculture. When he was at a loss for the construction of his field, he met our assessment team. We visited there right after the flood hit the area.

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His field was recovered by the project team and JEN provided vegetable seeds, agricultural chemicals and agricultural tools. Mr. Mazullah joined the training for harvest and did seeding under the instruction of JEN’s experts.

Although knowing higher productivity makes more profit, not everyone can make it possible. They need to think about good conditions and possible problems before starting growing vegetables. The same things will happen when they sell their products to the market. Marketing knowledge directly affects sales.

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JEN’s experts teach harvesting, wrapping and rating vegetables. Mr.Mazullah joined the training and then harvested and wrapped his okra with the new knowledge.

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While conventionally wrapped okra was sold at 150 rupees, or approximately 150 yen, per 5-kilo bag at the local market, Mr.Mazullah’s okra was sold at 220 rupees.

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He now grows about 45 kilograms of okra per day. Today he is glad to have order of 50 bags of okra from a shop. “I appreciate JEN, which gave me an opportunity to resume agriculture”, he says.

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May 19, 2011 in Pakistan |

2011.05.12

Cracked Field by Flood will be Recovered and Harvest will Come Soon.


Mr. Inyatullah is one of the sufferers of devastating flood that hit Pakistan last year. He lives in Khelbela village which is located at the riverside of Khayali. It is in the Charsadda, the most damaged district.

He made a living by growing sugar canes and wheat in the field of one acre, or 0.4 hectare, with his wife and four sons. He had a good relationship with his landlord. He paid for seeds, agricultural chemicals and agricultural tools and halved profit with his landlord.

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The flood, which hit Kherbela in July 29, 2010, derived all the assets including sugar cane fields. Inyatullah family was forced to live at the relative’s. After that, Mr. Inyatullah lent money from relatives and rebuilt his house.


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The field after the flood was so dry and crack that we couldn’t cultivate. A huge amount of money was necessary to recover the land. The assessment team from JEN visited there soon after the flood occurred and talked with the local farmers association. Then Mr. Inyatullah was chosen to be supported under the JEN’s reconstruction project.

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The field of Mr. Inyatullah was recovered and JEN provided seeds, agricultural chemicals and tools.

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Finishing seeding, pumpkins and okra are growing well. We will be able to harvest crops soon.


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May 12, 2011 in Pakistan |

2011.03.31

Distribution of supplies in Samad Qila, Charsadda District

Below are some photos from March 21st when we distributed supplies in Samad Qila in Charsadda District.

110331_1 The beneficiaries are waiting to receive agriculture tool kit under the tent.

110331_3JEN staff in the field check the beneficiary’s ID card and token to make sure the person is registered.

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A beneficiary taking his agriculture tool kit on his shoulder. He will receive bags of fertilizer before heading home. The bags of fertilizer are carried by the workers in wheelbarrows.

110331_5_2The beneficiary is following the worker carrying his fertilizer in a wheelbarrow towards the gate.

110331_4_2The constable checks people entering the distribution point.

110331_7_2 The distribution point.

110331_6 A worker before the distribution of supplies.

PakiFarmers from Samad Qila loading their agriculture tool kit on a Suzuki vehicle.

March 31, 2011 in Pakistan |

2011.03.25

A Message from JEN's team in Pakistan

We have received a warm message from one of our stakeholders in Pakistan.
This message is dedicating to the People whom JEN supports.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *


Regarding the incident happened in Japan, being a Pakistani on behalf of my all Pakistani people, i would like to say that we all are feeling very sorry for all our Japanese brothers and sisters ,and for those who died due to this incident, i would like to express that we all “Wish May their Gentle Souls rest in Peace” Amen.



Being a Human being, i would like to make a donation for my Japanese brothers and sisters,

We all wish that God Bless all the effected people.

Take care of your self,

Regards
M.Qadir Khattak

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

*JEN's projects are being implemented in Pakistan since 2004. Today, we support flood affected peoplein KPK.

More information about the program in Pakistan , Click here.

Donation by credit card is possible via our English website:
DONATE HERE:

March 25, 2011 in PakistanTohoku earthquake |

2011.03.17

The status of germination in Nisatta, Charsadda District

An agriculture specialist visited Khyber Korona Village on 25 of February in 2011 to check the status of germination.

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Bitter melon seeds were planted on 2 of February in 2011, and will be replanted in the middle of March on the farmland JEN cultivated. For intercropping, seeds of bitter melons and gourds should be planted on 10 of February and then transplanted at the end of March.

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Termites:
The biggest problem in Nisatta was termites. Before the harvest and in the trainings for maintenance, trainers had taught farmers that they could control termites with water. There had been clouds of termites in Khyber Korona village. When we visited there for checking germination, farmers were using water, not harmful spray, to control termites. Farmers said they appreciated to learn the easy way to keep crops from termites.

March 17, 2011 in Pakistan |

2011.03.03

Distribution of seeds and agricultural tools for reconstruction


I will write about the first distribution of seeds and agricultural tools for reconstruction in Shah Pasand Kalay, Nissata, Charsada.

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These are the packages of seeds and vinyl for seedbed.

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Local staff put down the packages while counting.
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Local staff putting down the packages.
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Local staff are putting down the package while JEN team members are counting the packages and observe the staff.
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An old man is holding agricultural tools on his shoulder and a staff member is carrying compost.
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The entrance of the place the agricultural kits are distributed. The staff is checking coupons and IDs.
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A farmer are taking seeds and agricultural tools. A staff member is carrying compost.
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If a farmer lives close each other, they use a cattle to bring the kits home.
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Farmers are sitting and waiting in line for kits distributed.
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A staff member is handing out the package to a local farmer.

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A staff member is helping a farmer with carrying agricultural tools.

Thus the distribution was completed.

March 3, 2011 in Pakistan |

2011.02.17

Damage of the flood and work for reconstruction

The damages by the flood last year are still visible in many farms.

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We talked with Mr. Nisal Khan and his children in Kalbera village. He runs a farm and his land is still covered with mud and grass.
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Under such situation, JEN staff started to instruct for reconstruction of farms in the village. In order to reconstruct the land, rake the mud by a tractor and recover the ground for cultivation.

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We conducted agricultural trainings in Sher Khan Kalay village and Kabalai Koroona village. In the training, the trainer started from noxious of agricultural chemicals and how to make compost. Then, Yonas Khan, one of the participants, talked about the traditional agriculture; how to cultivate the land and important points when you plant different vegetable seeds in one field.

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The participants also have opportunities to practice reconstruction work and farm preparation on site.

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February 17, 2011 in Pakistan |

2011.02.03

Survey and Restoration of Agricultural Land in Progress!

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Agricultural land survey is conducted in Tajakay Village;
A farmer, Mr. Gul Taseer, is explaining about the land for intercropping to JEN’s staff team while showing it.

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The look of land restoration in Tajakay Village.

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JEN’s staff team is discussing with the farmer whose agricultural land will be restored.

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Unnecessary soil and weeds are being gotten rid of with tractor blades.

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JEN’s team is observing the 50% restored agricultural land with farmers.

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The agricultural land restoration project has been in progress.

February 3, 2011 in Pakistan |

2011.01.20

News of JEN ‘s supportive activities in Pakistan

JEN started supportive activities for farming.

In District Charsadda UC Nisatta where JEN is doing supportive activities, People live on the income which they earn by exporting bitter gourds to Dubai.

JEN is going to assist the local people to support themselves again by way of distributing the seeds of bitter gourds. 
 
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Views of bitter gourd farm in Shah Pasand village

This photo shows the lot  where the damage from a flood was  small.

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  Makers of corrugated cartons in d Shah Pasand Kalay village .

Bitter gourds are exported packed in these corrugated cartons.

Mr. Ibral sitting with his colleagues(left).
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They export bitter gourds from the district of Nisatta

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They make the frameworks for cultivating bitter gourds using wooden sticks and wires.

Farmer Younas Khan is explaining how to make the frameworks for cultivating bitter gourds in
the district of NIsatta.

The frameworks for cultivating bitter gourds are being made for the next season
in Shah Pasand Kalay village.

January 20, 2011 in Pakistan |

2010.09.24

Procurement of distribution materials

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We visited a local contractor in Islamabad that will be supplying us with shelter kits (construction materials and building tools), to do some product sample checks.

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This company mainly sells relief items. They had already received orders from UN organizations, USAID and other NGOs, as stocks of the materials were stacked up, and the staff were very busy packing them.

100924_p9200014 According to the CEO of the company, the prices have gone up by about 30~40% after the flood. The tents made domestically could not meet the demand that the company had to import some from Dubai.

September 24, 2010 in Pakistan |

2010.09.22

The power of the flood

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These kinds of images are common in village Pirno, UC Utmanzai, showing the aftermath of the flood.
The most destructive flood in the last 80 years that brought massive devastation to all aspects of life.

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A group photo with local committee for flood affected people. Majority of the people of Utmanzai are educated, very cooperative .they provided all the necessary information and guided us throughout our visit.
 
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This picture was taken during our first visit of UC Utmanzai, village Gharai Charsadda on 21st September.
The destruction level can be seen in this photo as the flood water rushed inside the houses, touching the roof tops. We hardly observed any house unaffected in the whole village.  People have started to gather debris of their damaged or collapsed houses for possible rehabilitation.

September 22, 2010 in Pakistan |

2010.09.09

Life is worth living

100908_02_rahman_guls_children_livi Rahman Gul from UC Gumbat lost his two daughters and had his house severely damaged by the flood. The irreparable loss caused him a mountain of sorrow that was unbearable for him, and he thought that that would be the end of him and his family. He now has to bear the loss of his two daughters, reconstruct the house, and find a means to earn his living.

JEN was by far the only and first organization that sympathized with his sorrows, convinced him that life is worth living, and provided him with the foundations to restart his life with enthusiasm through the provision of non-food items. Now he has moved on to continue earning his living at the local market by loading and unloading cargos from vehicles, thereby providing his remaining children with a beacon of life.

September 9, 2010 in Pakistan |

When resuming life was a dream

100908_01_children_on_wreckages_of_ Janas Khan and Shah Nawaz are brothers who live in UC Gumbat with five and four children, respectively. Both brothers earn their living through transporting daily necessities on a horse carriage from a market in Gumbat to their neighbouring villages.
One night, when the brothers were sleeping with their children, water suddenly rushed into their house at two in the morning. They all woke up only to discover that their house had been inundated. Their only option then was to evacuate the house to go to a safe area. It was extremely difficult for the brothers to take their nine children to a safe place while the house was being inundated by the rapidly rushing water. While they were struggling to escape, some of their children got injured, but fortunately, they successfully reached a safe area.

100908_01_a_child_in_front_of_his_d Early morning the next day, when they returned to their house, there was nothing but wreckage, and their house had been completely destroyed. The relentless water also washed away their horse, which was their only source of income. They therefore not only had their house completely demolished but also lost their only means of income. It was the most difficult time for the family. They lost all hope and could not imagine restoring their life again, being a big family.


100908_01_cart_is_there_while_hor_2 100908_01_family_is_living_in_ten_2 No one from the government or humanitarian organizations came to assist them; only their neighbours assisted them with food. It was JEN’s assessment team that visited their house to ask what their needs were. In two days, JEN provided them with a package of non-food items, which allowed them to live their life in dignity again. Now that they acquired the necessary items for living, they are able to plan for reconstructing their house and continue earning their living.  100908_01_child_is_washing_hands_wi   

September 9, 2010 in Pakistan |

2010.08.27

[Flash Report] The Scars Left Behind by the Flood

Assessment report arrived from the field today.
These pictures are from Charsadda, one of the regions where the damage was most severe.

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Donation by credit card
->->->
Click here
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00170-2-538657 Account name: JEN
Please indicate “Pakistan” in the message column.

August 27, 2010 in Pakistan |

2010.08.25

[Flash Report] Distribution continues

Distribution of goods is running very smoothly in Kohat.

We have completed distribution to 202 households by the 25th. 93 houses were completely destroyed, and 109 were partially destroyed by this flood, out of which 16 are temporarily sheltering in a local high school in Kohat.

20100822_jpf2010distributiongumbat_ Kohat neighbors areas where conflict is still ongoing, so we are paying utmost attention to security matters. Distribution is carried out in a walled place with an entrance. Security guards and local police accompany the distribution.

20100825_jpf2010assessmentuc_rajjar In addition, we began assessing another badly affected area, Charsadda.

August 25, 2010 in Pakistan |

2010.08.23

[Flash Report] Distribution commences!

We finally began distribution yesterday.

20100822_jpf2010distributiongumba_8

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20100822_jpf2010distributiongumb_12 We are targeting 60 households in Gumbat. Today, we distributed the remaining goods to the 60 households we distributed yesterday, as well as another 15 additional households, which should complete the distribution for this area. Otherwise, one staff joined our team today, and tomorrow we will implement assessment in Charsadda, where the severest destruction is seen. To continue our assistance in Pakistan, we urgently need your assistance.


20100822_jpf2010distributiongumb_13 By credit card visa homepage→
http://www.jen-npo.org/contribute/form01_1.php?country=s-pak&select1=0

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00170-2-538657. Account name: JEN
Please indicate Pakistan in the message column

August 23, 2010 in Pakistan |

2010.08.19

When I lost my 2 precious gifts

Rahman Gul lives in Town Gumbat with his family -  his wife, four daughters and two sons. One night when he was sleeping in the only room in his house with his family, he felt that  water rushing into the room. He sprung up to comprehend the chaotic situation and tried to  somehow get out of the room.  Then, he realized that his house was full of water.  He was desperate to secure his family, when the boundary walls of the house fell down. He immediately woke up his fourteen-year-old son to get some help from the neighbor, but saw that the neighbor’s house was already broken. When they returned to secure their family, the room was almost full of water. It was too late.

Her wife, at the same time, tried her best and sat her two daughters and one son  over the cupboard. She tightly held her two younger daughters (one and half, and three years old) in her lap when a part of the roof came down over them. With the heavy weight of the roof on top of herself, she lost hold of her daughters; they slipped from her hands and disappeared in the fast flowing water.

Next day, with the help of the neighbors they found their daughters lying outside their house in a stream. and Rahman Gul lost his two precious gifts given by God to him. This was an unbearable loss for him and his family.

Now, people come to visit his house daily for condolence. Rahman Gul is a laborer,  loading and unloading commodities  in the Town market. Rahman Gul not only lost his two daughters but also his house, which was severely damaged . He is completely lost, whether to reconstruct his house or go to the market to earn food for his remaining family. Fortunately, his neighbors are supportive and they have accommodated his family for the time being. They also share their food with his family. But it will take him long to recover from the loss of his two daughters, while working hard to save up money for reconstruction of his house. So far, he has not received any assistance, neither from the government nor from any humanitarian organization.

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Rahman Gul with his remaining family in Town Gumbat, district Kohat


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Place where 2 daughters of Rahman Gul slipped from the hands of his wife and disappeared in t

We welcome emergency assistance donation:
In order to implement rapid assistance, your support is essential.
By credit card visa homepage

http://www.jen-npo.org/contribute/form01_1.php?country=s-pak&select1=0
Select Pakistan
By postal transfer (available from within Japan)

00170-2-538657. Account name: JEN
Please indicate Pakistan in the message column

August 19, 2010 in Pakistan |

2010.08.18

[Flash Report] Photo Archive #1

Photos arrived from the site today.
Photos below show the conditions of destruction, taken in Gumbat and Shakardarra, on the 16th and the 17th.

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We welcome emergency assistance donation:
In order to implement rapid assistance, your support is essential.
By credit card visa homepage

http://www.jen-npo.org/contribute/form01_1.php?country=s-pak&select1=0
Select Pakistan
By postal transfer (available from within Japan)

00170-2-538657. Account name: JEN
Please indicate Pakistan in the message column

August 18, 2010 in Pakistan |

2010.08.17

[Flash Report] Current situation, and slow assistance

The two local staff, split into two groups, are continuing with assessment of houses in Gumbat and Shakardarra. Meanwhile, personnel for research and distribution are being employed, and preparation for goods distribution, such as selection of warehouses, is run in parallel.

100817humanitarian_coordination_cen On the 17th, we participated in coordination meeting at Serena Hotel in Islamabad. Humanitarian Coordination Center of the UN was established in this Hotel, where we can obtain useful information such as maps of the affected areas.

100817_2 On the 16th, there was a heavy downpour, and JEN’s backyard was submerged yet again.

In all of Pakistan, approximately 20% of the country was submerged, even though this is not attracting media attention. Affected area is extremely vast. International community’s assistance is yet to meet the demand adequately.

Shunsuke Narita, Program Officer

We welcome emergency assistance donation:
In order to implement rapid assistance, your support is essential.
By credit card visa homepage

http://www.jen-npo.org/contribute/form01_1.php?country=s-pak&select1=0
Select Pakistan
By postal transfer (available from within Japan)

00170-2-538657. Account name: JEN
Please indicate Pakistan in the message column

August 17, 2010 in Pakistan |

2010.08.15

[Flash Report] Departing to assess the site


100815 Local staff Tufail and Naveed, left for Kohat today from Islamabad.
Originally, they were supposed to go to Gumbat today, about forty minutes from central Kohat. But since arrival to Kohat was delayed, tomorrow they will split into two teams, one for Gumbat and another for Shakardarra. They will assess the affected area to plan our next assistance.

We welcome emergency assistance donation:
In order to implement rapid assistance, your support is essential.
By credit card visa homepage

http://www.jen-npo.org/contribute/form01_1.php?country=s-pak&select1=0
Select Pakistan
By postal transfer (available from within Japan)

00170-2-538657. Account name: JEN
Please indicate Pakistan in the message column

August 15, 2010 in Pakistan |

2010.08.14

[Flash Report] Distribution Goods Finalized

Today was the Independence Day in Pakistan. However, since nearly 10% of the population was affected by the flood, no elaborate ceremony was held this year.

On a lighter note, distribution goods were finalized today. For 300 houses that are completely destroyed, tents, hygiene kits, beds, mattresses, and gas cylinders will be distributed. For another 300 houses that are partially destroyed, plastic sheets, hygiene kits and plastic mats will be distributed.

100814_isb_office_20100814
Local staffs, Tufail (left) and Naveed (right), preparing the distribution of goods at the office

However, market prices of these goods are rising rapidly due to the massive jump in demand for these goods. In particular, the demand for plastic sheets is especially high, so it is possible that in the end we won’t be able to procure them.

We are doing our best to make progress with procurement and distribution, to reach as many people as possible, and as rapidly as possible.

We welcome emergency assistance donation:
In order to implement rapid assistance, your support is essential.
By credit card visa homepage

http://www.jen-npo.org/contribute/form01_1.php?country=s-pak&select1=0
Select Pakistan
By postal transfer (available from within Japan)

00170-2-538657. Account name: JEN
Please indicate Pakistan in the message column

August 14, 2010 in Pakistan |

2010.08.12

[Flash Report] Daily Necessities, To Be Distributed

We have just received some photos of distribution goods from Pakistan.
We are considering distributing daily goods essential for living.

Hygiene kit
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Daily necessities such as kitchen utensils and cutlery
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We strive to arrange the procurement and distribution of these goods, as rapidly as possible, and to as many people as possible.

We welcome emergency assistance donation:
In order to implement rapid assistance, your support is essential.
By credit card visa homepage

http://www.jen-npo.org/contribute/form01_1.php?country=s-pak&select1=0
Select Pakistan
By postal transfer (available from within Japan)

00170-2-538657. Account name: JEN
Please indicate Pakistan in the message column

August 12, 2010 in Pakistan |

2010.08.05

[Flash Report] Destroyed houses

Below are photos we received today from the site.

Water is now drained out of Kohat district, but damages remain.

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Trees, houses, walls. Everything seems to be washed away.
JEN will continue with the assessment of the damage, and plans to distribute emergency goods that are in dire need.
Latest news from the country will be informed either via our homepage or mail magazine extra issues.

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We are open to emergency assistance donation:
In order to implement rapid assistance, your support is essential.
By credit card visa homepage

http://www.jen-npo.org/en/involved/donate1.php?country=s-pak&select1=0
Select Pakistan
By postal transfer (available from within Japan)

00170-2-538657. Account name: JEN
Please indicate Pakistan in the message column

August 5, 2010 in Pakistan |

2010.08.04

Flash Report] North-west Pakistan Flood Emergency Assistance

Below are photos of the site that we received today.

The photos were taken in Muslimabad village in Kohat district, located 50km south of Peshawar.

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Latest news from the country will be informed either via our homepage or mail magazine extra issues.

We are open to emergency assistance donation:
In order to implement rapid assistance, your support is essential.
By credit card visa homepage

http://www.jen-npo.org/en/involved/donate1.php?country=s-pak&select1=0
Select Pakistan
By postal transfer (available from within Japan)

00170-2-538657. Account name: JEN
Please indicate Pakistan in the message column

August 4, 2010 in Pakistan |

[Flash Report] JEN Staff Gone on Assessment in Pakistan

August 4th, 2010
[Flash Report] JEN Staff Gone on Assessment in Pakistan

JEN sent one staff based in Islamabad to the areas affected by the flood from July 25th to August 2nd, namely Swat and Shangla districts in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province (previously North-Western Frontier Province) in the North-western part of the region. JEN is currently researching the conditions of the area.

By August 3rd, the number of the affected people is said to have reached 2,500,000. Villages are still being submerged under the continuing rain, and further damage is anticipated. 

JEN will continue to assess the area. Latest news from the country will be informed either via our homepage or mail magazine extra issues.

We are open to emergency assistance donation:
In order to implement rapid assistance, your support is essential.
By credit card visa homepage

http://www.jen-npo.org/en/involved/donate1.php?country=s-pak&select1=0
Select Pakistan
By postal transfer (available from within Japan)

00170-2-538657. Account name: JEN
Please indicate Pakistan in the message column

August 4, 2010 in Pakistan |

2009.09.24

Blossom for the future

090924_20090912swatassessment_gulba   300 schools are completely destroyed in the valley of Swat due to the recent war. It shows the same image as the Kashmir and NWFP earthquake in 2005.

  This time it is not because of earthquake, but it is done intentionally by human being. Students of Swat are very intelligent and brilliant in their studies, what is the reason why currently Large number of Swat people have a  position in civil services. Swat is located in NWFP where is not such favourable for the female education, because of cultural and religious restrictions. But, still the ratio of male and female students is almost the equal.


  The school buildings of Swat were very nice. Students and teachers were taking much care of school gardens and flowers. We saw nice flowers in the lawns of almost every destroyed school which make us sad, there are no students and no building but flowers are still there. People are hoping that good time will come again when there will be a new school building with the same flowers in the lawn and their children will take care of those flowers.

  In Swat, education sector needs a big support from every one.

September 24, 2009 in Pakistan |

2009.09.17

A new house where no one lived

090917_20090913swatassessment_kabal    Recently JEN staff completed a rapid needs assessment in the beautiful Swat valley. It was unbelievable to see such a lot of damages in this once peaceful area.

  JEN staff had visited here 2.5 years ago with his family and found every one lived happily in the valley. People were running their businesses, children were going to the schools, females were going to the markets for shopping etc.

  Today, everything has been changed drastically, due to the war. People have a fear that any incidents can happen anytime, so they prefer to stay at home, instead of going out.

  JEN staff met a person whose newly constructed house was totally destroyed. The house owner said that he sold his farming land to build this house and they were planning for their son's marriage, but unfortunately the security situation became worst and everything changed suddenly. They had to leave their house with all the belongings inside the house, and became IDP. After 2 months, when they returned to their house, not only they couldn’t see it at all, but just a ground with a huge amount of Debris. He lost everything he made for his family to live happily. His old mother became unconscious due to the shock. 090917_20090913swatassessment_kab_2

  Life treated him and his family badly, now he doesn’t have land to sell anymore, and will start reconstructing his house. He doesn’t know if it is possible for him to recover fully from this incident, but he is still hoping best for him and his family.   

September 17, 2009 in Pakistan |

2009.09.10

Fifth Ramzan

  It’s true that time flies so fast. It was Four years ago during Ramzan 2005 (month of fasting), when the huge earthquake hit the Kashmir region.

  Thousands of people died and thousands of families lost their houses and living spaces. JEN had started to work since the holy month of Ramzan that year in Kashmir. The tireless efforts of JEN International and local staffs supported the affected people of disaster and left the inerasable memories in the local people’s mind.

  In the second year’s Ramzan 2006, JEN was still working intensely in Kashmir and was busy in the reconstruction of permanent schools and provision of water supply schemes to 249 schools in the mountains of Kashmir. JEN staffs and partners on construction site didn’t care of their hunger and thirst. They were remaining busy to work for the affected people.

  The third year’s Ramzan 2007 was the most rainy Ramzan in the region, JEN staff were busy in distribution of school furniture, reinforcement of school tents and provision of disaster preparedness education to the school children, their parents and teachers.

  The fourth Ramzan in 2008 was the last year of JEN activities in Kashmir. It was very sad moment for all JEN staffs to finally leave Kashmir where we worked for 3 continuous years. JEN was again busy in construction of semi permanent shelter schools, Children’s sports activities project and hygiene education project in the remote areas of Kashmir.

  The fifth Ramzan brought JEN staff to NWFP. The security situation in NWFP was very bad due to the  bomb blasts occured every week in different cities. JEN provided support to the displaced people of conflict areas in two different districts of NWFP. Now almost all the IDPs has returned back to their hometowns and trying to start their normal lives.

September 10, 2009 in Pakistan |

2009.09.03

Equality for all

  During implementation of emergency relief project for the IDP’s(Internally Displaced Persons) of Swat and Buner, Government were providing support and registering just those IDPs who had their ID cards available, the same criteria was for every organization including JEN.

  But during the assessment, JEN staff observed that there are many IDP families who aren’t registered because they didn’t have ID cards available with them. One such kind of special case was seen in UC Panj Pir when a woman approached to JEN office in Swabi.

  Security guard stopped her to enter the office and informed JEN staff about her. JEN staff met her and she said that she has a family of 5 children herself and her old father in law. She said that her husband died due to sickness a few years ago.

  None of them had ID card because they belonged to far flange area of Swat. She didn’t realize that ID card is such important for her, that’s why she didn’t go to ID card office in Swat, which is 2 hours far from her house in Mengora city. Her father in law has ID card but he couldn’t bring it from Swat because of emergency evacuation. JEN staff discussed the matter in office meeting next day and decided to ask about her from Union Council Nazim, who was responsible for the IDPs matters.

  Next day Nazim and JEN staff went for assessment and found the family really vulnerable. She was living in worst condition with a host family in one small room made by mud. JEN provided support to her next day and raised the point in the coordination meeting next week. JEN staff told clearly that JEN will provide support not only to Registered IDPs but to those vulnerable unregistered IDPs also, who couldn’t bring their documents because of some reasons.

  For JEN every one is equal if he is registered or unregistered.   

September 3, 2009 in Pakistan |

2009.08.27

Feelings on Independence Day

090827_independence_day_image   Pakistan came into being on 14th August 1947. Pakistani nation celebrate this day with great pomp and shown every year. People of Pakistan wait very anxiously for the celebration of Independence Day.

  Being patriotic citizens of Pakistan people of Swat also celebrate this day with great enthusiasm. But this year people of some of Swat people were out of Swat because of war between security forces and militants. They moved to other parts of the country to secure their children, women and aged people from war.

  On Independence Day JEN staff visited field while some IDP’s of Swat were returning to their hometown. Meanwhile JEN staff talked to some people from Swat regarding their returning and Independence Day. They said that “we are celebrating double independence, because one is for Pakistan independence and the second is that we are going back to our hometown. Because after clearance of our areas we fell very happy that war is over and now we can spend same secure life as we were spending before the war.” Their eyes were full of tears but this time these tears were not because of fear and worries but because of happiness.

August 27, 2009 in Pakistan |

2009.08.20

For the future of returnees

  Internally Displaced People (IDPs) from Swat received relief items from many humanitarian organizations while they were spending life in camps or with host families.

  After the clearance of some areas in Swat, IDP has been started to return to their hometown. During this period, JEN's staff interviewed some people from Swat who were about to go back to their origin. One of them told us that

“Many organizations supported us when we were facing terrible situation and were in need of help. We are very satisfied by the packages because these items have almost fulfilled our needs. Now we are going back with hope to our new life. However, in our hometown, there are some destroyed places such as houses, schools, hospitals, water system caused by the conflict.

Our children may not have enough places for studying. Some tents are provided by army on temporary base in the schools.

Winter season in Swat starts early as it is mountainous area. Children get traumatized during conflict which badly impacts their studies. Now we are looking for children studying in schools with fully recharged."

August 20, 2009 in Pakistan |

2009.08.13

Hospitality of Pashtun People

The old Pashtuns were very famous for their hospitality.

This was an important element of their culture. Many books and articles are available on Pashtuns culture and habits which clearly mention their love and care with the guests.

Some critics says that from last few years their habit of hospitality has been changed because the world is changing and people don’t take much care of their traditions and cultures, but last 4 months has proved those critics wrong when the world saw the greatest example of hospitality in NWFP.

Host families opened their doors for the IDPs guests of Buner and Swat. They shared their food, accommodation, toilets, and beds, cooking pans and many other things with the guests who couldn't bring anything with them because of sudden emergency in their areas.

During the interviews and meetings with the IDPs many of them said that they are feeling the host families as their personal families. JEN staff saw a host family who gave their only Electric Pedestal fan to an IDP family which have 5 children and they were suffering with the hot weather. During the IDPs stay in the various cities of NWFP, we saw the tremendous spirit of hospitality. 

After JEN provided beds, fans, gas cylinders, kitchen and hygiene sets to the IDP families, many of those families returned the items to the host families with a lot of thanks.

August 13, 2009 in Pakistan |

2009.07.31

Traffic Jam

Traffic_jam1The IDPs are returning to their villages after the peace in their regions.  They just passed the worst time of their lives. The hot weather of Mardan and Swabi was too difficult for those IDPs who belong to the areas of Swat and Upper Buner, where they use blankets to sleep in the month of July. They used to drink fresh springs water daily which was naturally clean and hygienic. Those people had to drink the water carried by water tankers from the different government water tanks in the cities.

Even though IDPs are grateful for these support, no one knows if that water was clean enough for drinking or not.Some of them couldn’t acclimatize with the harsh weather of Swabi and Mardan, that's why JEN staff saw many IDP children with skin diseases.

Main road to Malakand which is also going to JEN's targeted Union Council in Mardan is always busy with the heavy traffic every day. The traffic is jam for hours. Hundreds of cars, busses and trucks are going back to Swat every day. People who brought their livestock with them are hiring pickups and trucks to carry their livestock. Due to this traffic jam JEN staff is always late to reach for assessment and distribution, but as the days are long so staff successfully finish their work before evening and return to Swabi, which is 75 KM far from the site in Mardan.

July 31, 2009 in Pakistan |

2009.07.23

Welcome Back Home

090723_idp_return_2_resize_2   At last, Government and Pakistan Army announced that some areas of Swat are clear and IDPs(Internally Displaced People) should return to their origin. Soon after the announcement, hundreds of families started to pack their luggage and hired the vehicles for their return. IDPs in camps have facility to use the Buses and Trucks provided by the Government.

  Many IDPs living outside camps hired their own public transport to go back as soon as possible, they didn’t even wait for their areas to be cleared by Army. Army in Swat sent many families back to Mardan and Swabi, because their areas were not safe to return. Government has made the policy of their return which is based on the security situation of their areas. IDPs whose houses are in the dangerous and unclear area are not allowed to go back yet, but they are also waiting desperately to go back to their homes and start to live in their houses.

  JEN has provided the support to the IDPs living in the host families and schools buildings. JEN Staff went for monitoring to a school building, where one of those families living, have received support 3 weeks ago, but they were ready to go back, we could see the smiley faces of children, old people and women who were ready to go.090723_idp_return_3_resize_2

  However, many families who fled from their home town have not been able to go back to their home yet. Many families didn’t have the enough necessary items to use in their temporary spaces. Not enough kitchen items, beds and nothing for their hygiene, but after JEN provided them the support, at least some families said they were able to live normally in the school rooms and with the host families.

090723_idp_return_resize_2   Nobody is sure about the future, but all of them are hoping a normal life in their areas.

=== Emergency Assistance in NWFP ===

JEN has started its emergency assistance in the area of NWFP,

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=======  For People in Pakistan  =======

July 23, 2009 in Pakistan |

2009.07.16

Hope for the next spring

  Nobody in Swat knew in the beginning of previous spring season that the big disaster is on their doorsteps.

  All the farmers ploughed their farms and prepared land to cultivate wheat and onions. Wheat is the main crop of this area while peach is the main fruit. Peaches blossom in the beginning of spring season.

  During the interviews every person said

“Last spring season was ideal for agriculture as the rains were raining properly through out spring and beginning of summer and it was perfect for our crops and fruits farms. They said “We were happy that this year we will be able to save some money from their farming and will use this money to repair their old houses, children’s education, daughter’s marriages or for their families medical treatment.”

  But unfortunately none of their wish completed due to the worst conflict in their areas. Their crops and fruits were ready but there was no one to harvest it.

  Many of the farmers fled their houses and living far from their villages. They said

“Every day when we think about their beautiful crops which are spoiled now and fertile lands, we become frustrated but when we think that another spring will be coming next year and we will work harder so it make us happy again.”

  A new life is waiting for them in their own region.

=== Emergency Assistance in NWFP ===

JEN has started its emergency assistance in the area of NWFP,

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=======  For People in Pakistan  =======

July 16, 2009 in Pakistan |

2009.07.09

An episode with a family from Swat

090709_swat_family3_low_2   Identification of sad stories is continued in our daily working hours in Mardan and Swabi Districts, where thousands of IDP families are living in. Many families are living with a lack of food, basic necessary daily life items, water and basic sanitation facilities. 

  Last week we entered in a house where we saw a lady with 10 children. Children were crying and quarrelling with each others. We came to know that those children and their mother didn’t eat dinner the night before nor breakfast this morning. We have ever heard such kind of stories of hunger in other continents, but it is too sad to see same condition of hunger in our country Pakistan, which is very famous for its agriculture and fertile land.

  We checked the kitchen where we couldn’t find any kind of food item at all. Just saw a glass and old jug filled with water, which wasn’t cold. Children were asking for food but her mother didn’t have any food available. They had a couple of beds and an old mattress on which they were sleeping.

  Same as many IDP families, this family also couldn’t register themselves with the Government. It was just because there isn’t any adult male and all the children were small to register by themselves. 090709_swat_family_2_low_2  

  JEN has been providing NFI support to the IDP families in the area and trying to improve their situations. Other organization supposes to cover all the IDPs for food distribution, but it is always impossible in such kind of emergencies to cover the entire area 100%.

  JEN staff came back to the office and discussed the issue with each others. Next day, JEN staff provided NFI set to that family and in addition to this, all of our colleagues here contributed their own money and bought some food items and toys for the children.

=== Emergency Assistance in NWFP ===

JEN has started its emergency assistance in the area of NWFP,

DONATE NOW!

=======  For People in Pakistan  =======

July 9, 2009 in Pakistan |

2009.07.02

In the Shadow of the same Sun

090702_20090618_jpf_assessment_sw_2   During the assessment in UC Panj Pir in Swabi District, JEN staff visited a house and started to interview a lady, during the interview an old man entered the room, and he was not feeling well and upset at that time. We asked him that why he is upset.

  He replied that “it is my second day that I am going to IDPs registration point to register my family to receive food and other support. However, there are thousands of people waiting in the queues for registration. Old people and women have problems to register themselves because the weather is too hot and we have to stand and wait in the sun for many hours but still our turn is not coming. There is no rain and the weather is extremely hot.  Many people became unconscious due to hot weather. “

  Those people belong to the cold areas of Swat, Buner and Kalam. Thousands of tourists were going to those areas in summer holidays because there were a lot of picnic spots and the weather was always very pleasant in summer.

  Old man said that “I was working in his fields back in Swat for many hours under the same sun, but I didn’t feel hot. Now, environment around us is different from past time. We don’t have enough food to eat, beds to sleep on, and pans to cook food. We don’t have fresh water of our springs and we don’t have our sun which isn’t hot.

  I am sure that I will not be registered and I will not receive any support from Government and Organizations. “

  JEN staffs who were doing assessment felt that he would be supported by distributing supplies even if they were not registered with the government.

=== Emergency Assistance in NWFP ===

JEN has started its emergency assistance in the area of NWFP,

DONATE NOW!

=======  For People in Pakistan  =======

July 2, 2009 in Pakistan |

2009.06.24

Brave Lady of Swat

090625_brave_lady_of_swat1_low_2 I started to work with JEN as one of field assistants from last week. I am from Swabi and before I was working with a local organization. I found it very interesting to work with JEN, because I have chance to talk with community directly and I can know about their problems directly. During the assessment in UC Narai in District Mardan , I visited a school where a few IDP families were living in the school building; the situation there seemed getting worse. They told us that they feel us like angels, which will be supporting them in the future.

There I met a woman who leaded her family. She said that she has 7 children and her husband is disable who can’t earn enough money. They had a shop in Swat where the center of the conflict.  That shop was the only source of their income and after becoming IDPs, no more income for them. 090625_brave_lady_of_swat2_low_2
She told me her good experience after coming in Mardan. “When I realized the life condition which was getting worse in Mardan, I thought to start some work to support my family, but I didn’t have any resources to start work. I contacted the local families. One lady asked me if I could sew women’s clothes. I replied yes, so the lady from the host family gave me her personal sewing machine, threads and needles. I started to make the clothes of local women and they paid me enough money. I am very happy because many ladies in the village are contacting me to make their clothes. Now I can buy food for my family and medicine for my husband. It is all because of the kindness of local families, who helped me a lot. Without their help, I was unable to use my skills to earn money. “

=== Emergency Assistance in NWFP ===

JEN has started its emergency assistance in the area of NWFP,

DONATE NOW!

=======  For People in Pakistan  =======

June 24, 2009 in Pakistan |

2009.06.18

This River is coming from my home

180609_idps_living_outside_camps__2   The conflict between militants and Pakistani army is ongoing in NWFP of Pakistan. Swat is one of the battlefields.

  The people of Swat who grown up with enjoy drinking fresh and cold springs and glacier water. They were eating balanced diet in Swat which contains fruit, milk, meat and other important items. It is one of the reasons that their average quality of life is richer than the people living in the cities or downhill areas. 

180609_idps_living_outside_camps__5   Swat is high altitude area, so it is always pleasant in the summer. Thousand of tourists from the other cities of Pakistan were coming with their families to enjoy the wonderful weather, long glaciers, beautiful lakes and vast green valleys.

  There are several rivers and streams in Swat, which extend the beauty of this area. The water of those rivers and streams is coming down to Mardan and Swabi , where JEN has started the support, and it is used by the people of Mardan and Swabi for farming and drinking.

  An old IDP man who lives along the river said

“whenever I see this river, it makes me sad and happy.” 180609_idps_living_outside_camps__6

He also said

“This branch of river is starting out from the glaciers of Kalam (swat) which is my hometown. People were using this water for farming, drinking and taking bath in our hometown, I miss my hometown. However, I am happy because I can still use this water here in Mardan although it is 100 Kilo Meters far from my hometown. It is not clean for drinking, but still my children and other people can use the same river to take a bath and at the same time it irrigates thousands of acres of fertile soil of Mardan and Swabi.

=== Emergency Assistance in NWFP ===

JEN has started its emergency assistance in the area of NWFP,

DONATE NOW!

=======  For People in Pakistan  =======

June 18, 2009 in Pakistan |

2009.05.21

No Boundary Between Countries

090521_memories   I have been working in JEN Islamabad office for 3 months. It is the longest duration of my work here in the office. While it is nice to work together with office colleagues in the beautiful office, at the same time I miss that time of my field work.

  With JEN I spent my time as a field staff srrounded by the mountains, valleys and rivers of Kashmir and in the rugged areas of Baluchistan. Our previous field team reached to 25 people at one time for the peak period, when we had several different projects going on in Kashmir.090521_memories3

  We had both International and National staff, always working together. The atmosphere was always very nice, no matter how hard to deal with the projects. We were learning from each others, we were eating together and we were always joking with each others in night time.

  Sometimes, our other colleagues from Tokyo Headquarters had come to the field. That was a precious experience to work together with people from different back ground : TOKYO HQ international staff, Japanese International Staff in Pakistan, Pakistani national staff, and Kashmiri local Staff in the field.

090521_memories2   It was very encouraging to work in field together with the colleagues from Tokyo HQ and International staff in Pakistan. However, today, it is getting harder and harder for international staff to come to the field in Pakistan, due to the current volatile situation across the nation.

 

I miss at that time of working with my colleagues from Japan, Pakistan and Kashmir. Then, I hope to work together in the field again in the near future.

May 21, 2009 in Pakistan |

2009.05.07

Concern of a mother

  Many people in FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) fled their homes and came to the safe cities of NWFP.

  Topics of conversation among people who live in an IDP (Internal Displaced People) camp in NWFP, where JEN has assessed potential needs, are about their health, security, and future jobs. Education for children seems serious concern particularly for their mothers. Due to a shortage of schools for children, not all children are able to go to school.

  When JEN assessed needs there, JEN staff met a woman who lost her husband and has 2 sons and 3 daughters. She said “In addition to a lack of schools, some societies are not supporting girl’s education. However, my sons and 2 daughters luckily go to school although one of my daughters doesn’t do so because of her age. When my daughters could not go to school yet, they were quite envious of other girls going to schools.

  Then I wanted to let them go to school.” She also mentioned “I lost my only house and am not living in my village now. However, the thing I am concerning most is that my children cannot continue their studies in their school due to the unstablity here.”

May 7, 2009 in Pakistan |

2009.04.23

Victims of Bajaur

090423_13_14april09nwfpassessment_3   The conflict between militants and Government Security Forces started in Bajaur Agency and some areas of Mohmand Agency in 2008. Both the parties are justifying themselves as they are winning, in connection with defeating opponents from each side, but what should be kept in mind is that the majority of people affected physically and economically in fact are the poor innocent villagers.  The local Jirga (tribal assembly of elders which takes decisions by compromise) has been resolving their internal issues, and the decision has been happily acceptable by both the parties.

  Those agencies are situated in FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) of northwestern Pakistan. FATA has an exceptional administrative and political status from the British times since 1849.  The people have lived with their traditions and internal independence. This unique system is activating even today.090423_13_14april09nwfpassessment_4

  But the recent conflict has brought many changes in the areas. Many people fled their homes and came to the safe cities of NWFP. Some people are living in the IDP(Internal Displaced People) camps but much of that displaced population are living outside the camps with their relatives or in rented houses.

  JEN in Pakistan has assessed the potencial needs in NWFP, and seen a bit of reality of the people living in this area. In the camps they have the tents which are lack of rainproof. It looks they are short of medical facilities and schools for their children’s studies. Although some organizations and Government are working hard to implement the support, but still there are many gaps to be covered.

090423_13_14april09nwfpassessment_5   An old man whom I met in an IDP camp said “Summer is approaching and people don’t have fans, enough water to take a bath or cold water to drink. It will be the worst summer of their life.”

  He said that he will not return to his village until he will be 100% sure about the safe and peace in the area.

  No one knows what is the future of those displaced people come along? JEN is going to continue needs assessment in this area.

April 23, 2009 in Pakistan |

2009.04.09

Marriage after disaster

090409_marriage_dress_2   The marriages in Baluchistan are very interesting. People are doing a lot of arrangements for this event.

  Groom’s family, relatives and friends are preparing for the event one month before. Females and children are wearing new clothes and they start to celebrate the marriage almost 3 days before. The women are gathering in the Groom’s and bride’s house at night and singing together with the beat of drums, although this area is considered to be a conservative Muslim area, but still they show their joy and happiness in that way. The food for the marriage is rice with the sheep’s meet and curry.

  As the other regions, here in Baluchistan also Groom and bride can see each others after they agree verbally, that they accept each others as a couple in presences of Molvi (a religious teacher) and two or three witnesses. Bride and groom are mainly selected within the family or tribe.

  There are a few cases of love marriages, but it is highly dislike by the parents and elder community. The divorce rate is too low.090409_quetta_marriage_2

  In many villages, men are celebrating the marriage with traditional dance called ATTAN, which is national dance of Afghanistan and very common in Pashtun tribes of Pakistan. The dancers which are friends of groom and some professional dancers move in circles while clapping their hands to the rhythm and spinning around.

  All those information I got from the local people while working in those areas, but in my presence I saw two marriages, one was in Quetta and other was in Ziarat. I didn’t see any ATTAN dance or other celebration in the marriage at Ziarat; it was due to the sorrow of earthquake. People said they are happy but they can’t show their happiness in the way of dancing and singing, because they remember the people who were killed by the earthquake a few months ago and they remember their houses which were destroyed in the same earthquake. Now they are living in the shelters and tents provided by the humanitarian agencies.

090409_tent_bedroom_2   It is sad that the people can’t celebrate their weddings in their traditional ways due to the disaster, but at the same time it is encouraging seeing that they didn’t stop the marriage ceremonies and still doing that social and spiritual union of individual; even they don’t have proper rooms for living, but they use JEN tent as a room for this good purpose.

April 9, 2009 in Pakistan |

2009.03.26

Apples of Balochistan

090326_apple_4   The sweeping valley of Ziarat district in southwest Pakistan, hit last year in October by a powerful earthquake, is famous for its Cherry and Apple production. All the orchards filled with golden and green apples.

  But the 6.4-magnitude tremor that destroyed homes and killed up to 300 people also felled many trees, robbing local apple industry workers of their livelihoods at a time when the sought-after crop was nearly ripe for harvest.

  Ziarat region is the largest apple and Cherry producer in Pakistan. It is the biggest source of income of the local people for the whole year.090326_apple_farms_2 

  Farm owners are hiring local poor people as a labor for those farms; most of those labors are JEN beneficiaries. They are working in the farms through out the year for different purposes. In January, they plough the fields. In February and March, they are spreading locally prepared animal dung in the farms as a urea.

  This process continues until the blossoms appear in the trees. The farmers are saying that, this is the most difficult stage for them. They are praying for the good weather. If it will be raining heavily and windy, it will break the blossoms, if there is no rain and a little rain, it also causes problem for the upcoming crops. There is always been shortage of water in Balochistan. The farming totally depends on the rain water. If there is no rain, it means the water will be short in the locally made dams. Once the blossoms will changed into fruits, the labors regularly put some chemical spray on the apples.

  When the apples are ready in the month of August, they are plucking it from the trees and packing it in the wooden cartons. Another team of labor is loading it in the in the trucks. This plucking, packing and loading process is continuing until December.

  Pakistan is one of the largest apple producing countries in the world and production of Apples in Balochistan covers 70% of the whole production of Pakistan. District Ziarat and District Pishin are the main areas of this production.

090326_apple_farms_1_3   The earthquake has destroyed many orchards in the affected region and rendered many people jobless and deprived their owners of their earnings. All the organizations worked hard to provide the basic necessary items to the affected population, but it will take time to gain, what they have lost.

March 26, 2009 in Pakistan |

2009.03.19

Innocent Hussein

090312_hussein_and_co_1_low_2   Jackets Distribution for the children in affected areas of Baluchistan is over. We couldn’t do the distribution as we planned, because of various reasons. We planned with the teachers that JEN will give the jackets just to the school going children, because we knew that they are suffering from cold. The jackets will not only keep them safe from cold, but it will make them encourage going to the schools after that big earthquake.

  All the things were organized for the distribution in the school. We realized that the number of students were more then the lists. We saw many children who are not registered at School, but they were sitting in the queue to receive the jackets. It was a big problem for us at that time.

  While we were asking the teachers “why the extra students are there? We don’t have enough jackets to distribute. We have to distribute it to the other schools as well”; we didn’t realize that a little boy Hussein was standing besides us. He said that he will also come to study at school soon. We asked him “are you sure about it? And what is the reason of it”? He said “yes I will ask my father to admit me in the school tomorrow, because my friends can have such nice gifts in the school. If I come to the school I will also have such nice gifts”. 090312_hussein_and_co_low_3

  All the JEN team mates discussed the issue with each others, if we will ignore many children like Hussein, of course they will feel bad and maybe they will loose their interest in the school and studies.
We also discussed about the other students who will not receive the jackets because of the children like Hussein.

  At last, we decided to skip the schools which are located in the villages, where JEN had already distributed relief items during emergency phase, we were lucky that we haven’t announced the distribution to the children of the skipped schools yet.

  We gave the jackets to happy Hussein and other children who will join the schools from April this year.
To face this kind of problems are common in the field and sometimes it is very difficult to decide what to do.

  Maybe Hussein or one of his friends will be Doctor in the future…………

March 19, 2009 in Pakistan |

2009.02.26

Rooster Flying, not fighting

Dsc06490_resize_2   Nowadays we are conducting interviews to children and communities for the upcoming projects. We see some interesting things every day.

  There are a few questions about children’s entertainment and sports activities in our interview sheet. We have received the same answer from every child. They say "No proper playground, No sports items". After receiving those answers, we urge them to tell us the proper answer, because it is impossible to see that all the children in one village will be living without any entertainment or sports activities.

  In the end, children who were gathering around our vehicle brought us somewhere. What we saw was... a little far behind their houses, where many children gathered in a plain small ground and some of them were playing marbles (small balls made by glasses). There were some competitions going on among the children. Every one was playing with concentration, it was encouraging to see that earthquake didn’t affect the children mentally and they are still enjoying their free time. Dsc06486_resize_3

  At the other corner of the ground, we saw some children playing wtih a strange game. They were throwing something weird... We know that rooster fighting was an popular entertainment in the ancient time of Indus Valley Civilization by 2000 BC and still popular in many Asian countries and some Latin American countries. But, the sport in District Pishin was not what I know, we moved forward to the children and saw naughty game I have never seen. It was Rooster’s long jumping competition. Have you heard of it?

  Many children were standing in line holding their roosters. They look serious. Moreover they were throwing their roosters in the air after the whistle, and the winner is..... the rooster which touched ground the farthest. How cruel is it!?! Children were enjoying it a lot, same as we were enjoying the ancient sport. I asked an older boy if their parents know about it? He said "Of course NOT! We are catching our roosters in the evening before they go back to the home. And coming to this ground to play with it." I asked how they thought about this cruel game. He said they don’t have foot balls, cricket, balls, volley balls, that’s why they are playing with this. They made a compromise in their way. I asked if they have foot ball, bats and balls, will they stop to playing this game or not? The boy replied "Yes! we stop to play this rooster jumping."

  Later I was thinking, Whether or not, Let them play or make them play with the so called proper toys, that is the question..

It is difficult to decide.

Look forward to hear your opinion at info@je-npo.org,

Thank you.

February 26, 2009 in Pakistan |

2009.02.19

Importance of winter clothes

090219_20081203jpfassessmentmanga_2   While we were busy in the distribution of Non Food Items and erection of the tents in District Ziarat and Pishin, we came to know that JEN’s donors in Japan provide some more funds for the neglected people who are the earthquake victims in Baluchistan. We had to research and decide in the field at the point - almost, that what would be the best usage of that fund.

  After looking around and monitoring the situation for almost 15 days, we observed that there is a huge need of winter clothing for the people, especially women and children. People are very poor in the area and they didn’t have good warm clothes even before the earthquake. But their houses were livable before the earthquake, so they could manage the cold weather without winter jackets. The earthquake made the things worst for them; they not only loosed their houses but also their beddings, clothing and kitchen items.

  Many Organizations are working in the area but no one thought about the importance of providing the winter jackets to the children. They gave priority to provide the shelters and foods to the affected people, which are of course the basic need after any disaster, but at the same time we should not forget the importance of winter clothes. The weather in the earthquake affected areas will remain cold until April and the people don’t have proper clothing to fight with the cold. It is making their lives more difficult.09021920081126jpfassessmentsamand_2

  Thanks to our supporters and JEN Tokyo HQ who took the initiative to provide winter jackets to the children. The winter jackets will not only keep the children safe from the disease which cause due to cold, but also they will wear it for their schools, which will open in the first week of March. It will be nice to see the children wearing Jackets.

February 19, 2009 in Pakistan |

2009.02.12

The Certificate; Completion and Success

090212_20090124jpfgascylinderdist_5   When we arrived to the earthquake affected areas for the first time, we saw the situation was very bad due to the desaster. People were panicking and running towards relief trucks here and there. Many organizations were distributing their relief items and tents on the main roads. But those items were not enough to meet their needs, because 1) the weather was already too cold and 2) the tents which they were receiving were not well equipped for the winter. But as it was an emergency, NGOs were distributing the available items stocked in their warehouses as soon as possible.

  JEN started the distribution mission from the village Choongi Bala. Houses were damaged; people were living in the normal tents, children were shivering with cold at night. After JEN distributed NFIs and erected Winterized tents, people relived that they will have some normal place to live at least, in the coming winter season. After we completed the first distribution, the villagers had prepared their traditional lunch of Laanday (Dry meat of sheep) for JEN staff. At that time, as it was soon after the earthquake the people were in deep trouble and we didn’t feel good to eat lunch there, but we were compelled to eat as per their tradition. 090212_archand_27012009_13_low_3

  After 2 and half months when we completed the last phase of distribution (wheel barrows) in the same village, the villagers again prepared lunch for JEN staff, the food items were the same but our feelings and beneficiaries feelings were different then the last time. Our feelings were nice because we could see that villagers are now in their normal life. They are still living in the winterized tents and shelters, but they are comfortable at night, their children don’t get sick anymore due to cold. In many villages the supply of Electricity and Natural gas has repaired, and where ever the supplies are still not working, they have the heating and lighting facilities provided by JEN.

090212_for_pr_report_10low_3   When we were leaving the village, an old man stopped our vehicle. He smiled, thanked and prayed for us. I discussed with my colleagues that the smile of this old man is the certificate of our project completion and success.

February 12, 2009 in Pakistan |

2009.02.05

Balochi Traditional Dresses

090205_balochi_shoes_low_2 Balochistan is very famous for its traditional items, like Shawls, Bugti Shawlar and Kamiz, many kinds of Balochi Shoes and traditional decorated caps. All those items are hand made and showing the rich Balochi culture.

Traditionally, female member of family are doing embroidery on shawls at home. After the completion, sold to the big markets. It is a source of their income. The best available shawls are worth Rupees 2000/- which is equal to 25 USD.

Bugti Shalwar and Kamiz is the dress of Baloch tribe. All the people here are wearing it. Bugti is also the name of a famous Baloch Tribe. It needs a lot more amount of fabric to make this Shalwar and Kamiz, compares to common Shalwar and Kamiz of Pakistan, Baloch people also wear big turbans on their heads with this dress.

Balochi Caps are also one of the main components. Rich people matches the color of the cap with the color of their clothes. It applys very beautiful embroidery on the cap with the small pieces of glass. Those are available in the market and the rate is between 320 Rupees (4 USD) to 1500 Rupees (19 USD). 090205_caps_shop_low_2

The main interesting outfit for men is Balochi Shoes, which are available in many designs and colors. It is indeed very comfortable and stunning. There is a big market for these locally made shoes in Quetta. People are making the shoes in their shops after measure the size of customer's foot.

There are also many ready-made shoes, but they are not as comfortable as made on order according to the size of foot. Soles of the shoes is made by strong rubber tyre, and other part is made by Sheep’s leather. Because of its strength, it is ideal to walk on the tough terrains and mountains.

JEN staff is using these shoes for the field by all means. 

February 5, 2009 in Pakistan |

2009.01.29

My 3 years with JEN, Part II

090122_20081114jpfassessmentchong_2  I am enjoying my work with JEN, because all of my officers listen to our suggestions and opinions, and they try to share with us everything they know. We are free to use our own ideas for the project. If we make some mistakes during the implementation of project, instead of getting upset, they give us suggestions on how to improve our skills and how to avoid from those mistakes again. In my opinion, it is the best way to learn something.

Although, sometimes it is tough to work because of the difficult areas, less sleep, no food etc, it is kind of sacrifice for the people in need, so we put aside our personal problems. This spirit motivates us to work harder and harder.090122_20081117jpfassessmentkaanb_2

Currently, we are working in Baluchistan for the earthquake affected people. This area is totally different from Kashmir in terms of culture and living style. Kashmir was close to Indian Border but it was ceasefire with India, so no worries about any war within. Also, people in Kashmir were not such conservative like those who in Baluchistan. For example, there were no walls around the houses in Kashmir, and the operational area in Kashmir was not so far from our residence. But in Baluchistan, things are totally opposite. The operational area is located near Afghan border, which is always in a tense, which causes us to take extra caution. On top of that, the project area is 110 km away from our residence, it means that we have to travel 220 km back and forth every day. The people here are very religious and conservative. They have big walls around their houses.

090122_20081116jpfassessmentkaanb_3 We mobilized and respect the community's culture, rules, and regulations in our mind. This way, we'd be accepted and appreciated by the community. And that was perhaps the reason why JEN was the first INGO which was allowed to enter the area by the community in the early days of earthquake. Not only that, we were even invited to take the photographs of inside their houses.

Community participation with JEN looks quite good, too. Our work seems to  be appreciated by not only the local people, but also local Government authorities. DCO (District Coordination Officer) invited JEN staff for lunch at his residence, the other day. As a result, our project in Baluchistan was featured by several Urdu newspapers.

090122_20081201jpfassessmentpinak_2 I would like to thank our supporters and hope all of our projects around the grobe in the future will run smoothly, same like the project in Baluchistan. 

January 29, 2009 in Pakistan |

2009.01.22

My 3 years with JEN

Img_4056_low_2 I am Azmat Ali from Pakistan. I started to work with JEN since October 15th 2005, after the massive earthquake in Pakistan. Previously I was working with international organizations. At the time I joined JEN, I just completed my one and half year diploma course in Japanese language.

After the earthquake, I wanted to go to Kashmir or NWFP as a volunteer for rescue work. Then, I got a phone call from my friend who was working with JEN already as an interpreter that JEN is seeking for the staff. I thought it is the best and organized way to work for the people in need. So, I contacted JEN and went for interview, and then JEN selected me for the post of field officer.

I was so much impressed in Kashmir, after spending 1 week of work with JEN. The scope and environment of work were totally different from the other organizations, which were working in the same area for emergency relief. The international staff with whom I was working was very professional and hard working. They didn’t care about the time, food, nor weather, but their mission was very clear that just to provide assistance to the people in need as soon as possible. Img_3951_low_2

Img_3750_low_2 I was working with the field staff, but at the same time I was also in touch with the Staff working in Islamabad office. I was wondering if the Japanese female staffs in Islamabad were working until 3 am or not!!! So, after experiencing all those things, I also tried to work like them. I don’t know if I am succeeded or not... But I am still trying my best.

to be continued...

January 22, 2009 in Pakistan |

2009.01.08

Children of Baluchistan

090108_shakeel_khan_low_2 During our mission in Baluchistan, we observed that many children of our beneficiaries help their fathers in their businesses, especially in the shops, in the public transport and for taking care of their apple farms.

We met Shakeel Khan. He is helping his father's fruit shop. He said that it is the only shop his father owns and the only source of their income. He is the eldest son of his father, age of 11 and he has 2 sisters and 1 brother.

Every day after he returns from the school, he goes to the shop to help his father for selling the fruits. He said his father wakes up very early in the morning and goes to the fruit market to buy fruits to sell for the day. Father definitely needs some rest in the afternoon, so he sells fruits on behalf of him from the afternoon till the evening.

We asked him about his studies and homework. He said he brings text books with him to the shop, so that when there is no customer, he can study and do the homework. He said that he loves sports and he likes cricket by all means, but he doesn’t have a time to play because of the shop. Instead of playing sports, he said that he enjoys his work in the shop. On Sunday and other holidays are the exceptions. He enjoys playing cricket with his friends in the morning time.

Shakeel said that his house and his school were both damaged by the earthquake, but he is not so scared of it. Although his brother, 2 sisters and mother are sleeping in the tent provided by JEN, his father and himself are sleeping inside the partially damaged room due to the earthquake. However, in order to rest well, they keep the door open and sleeping near to the door, this way, even though another earthquake occurs, or increase the scale of earthquake, they can run outside immediately.

January 8, 2009 in Pakistan |

2008.12.18

Best use of Sheep

081211_1__2  People here in Balochistan are eating dried meat in the winters. According to them, this meat can keep them warm during the cold weather. The process of drying the meat is very interesting. (pix:  Drying the Laanday meat of sheep)

1. First they slaughter the sheep and then they remove the skin with so much care.
2.  They remove all the organs from the body. They make pieces of the meet, fats and bones and paste a lot of salt on it.
081211_2_ 3. They hang the peaces in the sun light. In the night they put some clothes and Plastic sheet on the meat to keep it dry from the due. They are keeping it in the sun light for at least 3 months. When it becomes crispy it means it is now eatable.(pix:  Drying the fats part of sheep)
4.  They cook some meat in the winters after every 2 days. And if they have any guests they cook that Laanday meat for them. People in this area are so much hospitable. The important thing is that they don’t use cooking oil or Ghee to cook this food; they cook this dish in the dried fats of the sheep. It tastes fantastic. When JEN staff is going for assessment or distribution to the villages, a lot of villagers are insisting to present cooked Laanday meat for us. But it is very difficult to eat it every day, because it needs a very strong stomach to digest this strong meat. 081211_3_ (pix: Cooked Laanday food)

Laanday is their traditional food in the winters. They don’t eat this food in the summer, because it is very heavy and hot.(pix: Local made Jerry can made by sheep leather (Mashkeeza))

081211_4_ The removed skin of sheep is also very useful for them. They stitch all the holes of the removed skin except the hole of throat with strong thread. When it is ready to use, the women are bringing it to the springs and wells to fill the water in it. It keeps the water cold in the summer and keeping it warm in the winters. The water doesn’t freeze inside in it in the minus degrees temperature. (pix: Local made Jerry can made by sheep leather full of water (Mashkeeza)081211_5_ )







December 18, 2008 in Pakistan |

2008.11.13

Emergency Assistance for the Balochistan earthquake started.

20081105_field_assessment_uc_kach_z   JEN confirmed the necessity of emergency assistance and started to conduct the aid on November 11th.
 
JEN has sent its local staff members to the devastated areas to support the victims of the Magnitude 6.4 earthquake that hit Balochistan region on October 29th.

JEN operated investigations and needs assessments for understanding the current situation and needs for the damages in order to operate aid activities in the region.

At the same time, JEN's staff also participated in conferences together with related organizations and conducted information gathering.

The victims who live in destroyed houses in the devastated areas have been forced to spend hard times outside in the bitter cold, even below freezing at night.

There will be areas where cannot be accessible due to the weather in winter and JEN confirmed that the assistance are needed as soon as possible for the victims who wait for emergency aid.    

This emergency assistance with the support by Japan Platform (JPF) and the individual donors will conduct distribution of tents and living wares over winter for 500 house units in the devastated region of Balochistan. JEN also plans to distribute tools with which the victims can fix their houses by themselves and sanitary kits.

We look forward to your support. Click here for donations made by credit cards.

We appreciate your support.

DONATE NOW

November 13, 2008 in Pakistan |

2008.11.04

BREAKING NEWS: JEN has started first investigations on the earthquake.

081104_img_4159_low Staff members of JEN Pakistan have arrived in the earthquake affected area and have started first investigations.

The results will be reported sometime next week.

(Photo:Staff members in gathering information atJEN's Islamabad office)

November 4, 2008 in Pakistan |

2008.10.30

BREAKING NEWS: Huge Earthquake Hit in the western Pakistan  

The local office of JEN, in Islamabad, Pakistan has been operating to gathering and analyzing the information and evaluating the possiblities of the necessary support.

Img_4158_low_2 The huge earthquake hit in mountain areas in the western part of Pakistan in the morning of October 29th. 

There are expected to be the large number of victims in the devastated sites of the earthquake center.

JEN (both Pakista and HQ in Tokyo) has been gathering and analyzing the information in case that  local emergency assistance are desparately needed.

October 30, 2008 in Pakistan |

2008.10.16

A Unique Pakistani liquid

20081016_low Since October, Pakistan has been celebrating a holiday called “Eid”, which represents the end of Ramadan. Instead of talking about the JEN project in Pakistan, today I would like to introduce you to the unique liquid that is drunken during Ramadan. The bottle shown in the picture is called “Roohafzaa” (Soul Refresher), and it a juice of a mix of many concentrated fruits. The box next to it is called “Ispaghol” which is an extract of traditional herbs. People usually drink this with water when they have a stomachache.

The JEN staff made me the “Roohafzaa” juice on Iftar (the dinner after the sunset of the day during Ramadan). It is simply a mix of “Roohafzaa” with water, and has a lot of “Ispaghol” on the top, as a garnish or more likely a finish touch. I knew “Ispaghol” as a medicine for the stomach, so first, I thought it must be taken like medication; however, this was the usual way of drinking “Ispaghol”.20081016_low_2

There are many people who have a stomachache after Ramadan starts. It is possible that this original drink may be drunk and developed over a long period from the experiences of their lives.

October 16, 2008 in Pakistan |

2008.10.02

School Construction/ Furniture Distribution is now Complete

081002_low Thanks to the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, other organizations and individual supporters. JEN has completed construction of 6 schools in UC Kalamura, Haveli County, Bagh Province.

These schools are built to resist against earthquakes using light steel structure. In addition, with the contribution from Feliccimo Corporation and BOOK MAGIC participants, JEN distributed school furniture such as desks, chairs and black board sets.

After the local Education Authority permitted to start the schools, there were many children that burst into new and clean classrooms. The representative from the Education Authority came to visit schools, and spoke to children about using schools cleanly. Then, senior students have guided younger ones to not do graffiti on the school wall. 081002_low_2

The project provides children with education in a comfortable environment without being affected by monsoons, rains, winds, severe winters, snow or earthquakes. JEN appreciates wholeheartedly those who have continuously supported the project.

October 2, 2008 in Pakistan |

2008.09.18

Kashmir’s MOTTAINAI (Don’t Waste) Spirit

JEN’s motto is to support those who are in the hardest to reach, or live in the most inaccessible areas.
Haveli in Bagh District, located in a remote area which can only be reached after passing many mountains of Kashmir (AJK) and unpaved rough roads, is an example of a region that needs support to recover from the earthquake.

Most of the cars you can see in Haveli are trucks such as jeeps and 4WD.
Among the types of passenger cars, the 1974 model of the Toyota Collora is especially prominent, as seen in the photo.
080918_low_2
080918_low





This car is exhibited in an automobile museum in Japan as a classic car; however, people in Kashmir still use it with the same body but they change the engine into diesel which is economically better for gas-consumption.
It still runs smoothly and strongly on the roads of Kashmir. Isn’t it wonderful of Kashmir people to keep using the same cars for 30 years?

What about the JEN Pakistan team?
JEN moves through the mountain roads in a 4 WD instead of Toyota Collora, continuing to bring support from Japan.

September 18, 2008 in Pakistan |

2008.09.04

In Order To Provide A Better Educational Environment

20080904mofatakarpurasmcmeeting_3_l Thanks for the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, organizations and individual supporters, JEN is constructing 6 schools in UC Kalamula, Haveli county, Bagh district. These schools are reinforced to resist earthquakes with light steel structure. One school can accommodate 40 students.

Students are forced to study outside even though it's raining, snowing or severely windy. After the completion of the construction, all 240 students can get education under a safer and more comfortable environment.

All the schools are located in the middle of mountains far from the main roads. As a result of this, JEN has to work hard to separate all the parts of the school building into pieces, and bring them to the construction sites piece by piece, then putting them back together.

JEN looks forward to welcoming children to start going to these schools as soon as possible, and continues to provide assistance for a better educational environment in the earthquake-affected area.

September 4, 2008 in Pakistan |

2008.08.21

Do Kashmir boys like Make-up?

JEN conducts hygiene and sanitation education projects in Haveli, Bagh.
In order to prepare for this project, JEN is now interviewing teachers and students.
Based on the result of these interviews, JEN is going to reform the content of training about hygiene and sanitation education for teachers and the content of the workshop for the children.

With this, JEN found an interesting things about Pakistani culture.
The boy in the picture wears eye-liner below his eyes.
This is called “ Solma” in which he wears special black stone powder around his eyes.
This is effective to have a better eye sight, and also by wearing it while sleeping, it reduces the pain from having red eyes.
You can’t see this much in the capital city of Islamabad; however, it still exists in a place like Haveli which is located in high altitudes under the severe sunshine. 

Close to 60% Pakistani children’s cause of death is due to unsanitary water.
We hope that through the spread of knowledge by hygiene and sanitation education, JEN will make a tremendous contribution to the community.

August 21, 2008 in Pakistan |

2008.08.07

School Support through BOOK MAGIC

080807_bookmagic_low Thank you so much for those who contributed to the BOOK MAGIC program. Thanks to your support, we were able to provide Pakistani children with floor mattresses for their school. As a result, 6380children at 54 schools can now continue their education in a better environment.

Because the project zone, Bagh, barely has any desks and chairs for the students, children sit on the ground directly to study. Especially during the severe winter time, it is hard for children to concentrate on studying, moreover, many children became sick because of the coldness.

JEN provided mattresses to an Islam school, which gets hardly any support from other organizations, and other schools mainly schools locating closer to the border. Some of them never got support before other than JEN, and therefore not only the teachers and students but also residents of the region also thanked this contribution deeply. JEN would appreciate your continuous support for BOOK MAGIC in the future.

August 7, 2008 in Pakistan |

2008.07.10

When in Pakistan, do as the Pakistani do

080710_3 The season for mangoes has arrived once again here in Pakistan. The mango season in Pakistan is from May – September, and you can see mango sellers in all part of Islamabad. There are about 150 different types of mangoes in Pakistan, and any one of them is said to be the ‘best in the world’.

During the season, when you visit the house of our staff, you will be presented with a mountain of mango. ‘It is polite to eat all the mangoes on the plate!’ I was told by the local JEN Staff member, and therefore I ate mangoes every day until I was full.

In Pakistan, it is possible to buy mangoes from only JPY20. In comparison, the cheapest mango you can buy in Japan is about JPY300. For those who love mango, this country is a paradise!

July 10, 2008 in Pakistan |

2008.06.26

The 3rd Earthquake-Proof School Now Complete

080624_low Thanks to the contribution of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, World Conference on Religion and Peace Japanese Committee, and other organizations and individuals, JEN has completed the building of the third earthquake-proof school in Haveli, Bagh. JEN had the handing-over ceremony inviting the school teachers and the now 110 excited children who will get an education in the new classrooms.
 
JEN’s projects, not only the ones that concern the construction of schools, are always done through the cooperation of so many different supporters. Especially in this project, JEN got the greatest support from Tobishima Corporation. Cooperation from local people and teachers were of great importance as well. As the construction of the schools were completed, we received a letter of appreciation from the local government. 

JEN would like to continue our projects to provide a safer and more comfortable environment for children to receive an education.

June 26, 2008 in Pakistan |

2008.06.12

Education for Children Affected by the Earthquake has Begun

080530_mofa_eoj_signing_celemony_10 Thanks to the contribution of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, other organizations and individuals, JEN will start a new project to support improvement of education in Bagh. The project began as JEN signed the contract in the Japanese embassy in Pakistan on May 30th. This news was broadcasted on the Pakistani national newspaper and on the internet.

Through this project, JEN will build 6 light-steel structured schools and provide hygiene and sanitation education in Haveli, Bagh, especially in the areas where there is poor accessibility. We will conduct this construction under the great cooperation of the local people, parents and teachers. In addition, we will encourage them to manage the maintenance of the schools themselves after the completion of the project. For hygiene and sanitation education, JEN places importance on psychological care as well. JEN would like to utilize group discussions and plays to make learning more enjoyable. 

JEN will continue to provide assistance to the local children in Bagh who are suffering from the earthquake by supporting an education in a safer and more comfortable environment.

June 12, 2008 in Pakistan |

2008.04.17

Meaning behind of Distribution

080415_2008pk_low Recently, the Field office in Kashmir, Pakistan received requests from schools. That is a request for helping them install tents.

Reconstruction of schools in Bagh district has been late severely, so as a temporary measure other organizations distributed tents kit which can be used as class rooms in the fiscal year 2008.

The students have received the new tents, however they do not know what to do with them even though they have an instruction paper in one hand, because they have never set such large sized tents by themselves.

JEN also distributed tents for schools from January to April in 2006, as an emergency assistance just after the earthquake hit in the area in Oct 2005. JEN set the tents in cooperation with the villagers and JEN has been periodically monitoring afterwards and doing repairs.

This time the tents are not the ones which JEN distributed, however JEN has been helping the
villagers to set the tents together by the request from the school.
 
One may image “Distribution” is just to “give objects”. However the distribution of JEN is not just “carrying objects”.  JEN always cares the feelings of receivers or users when purchasing or distributing.

And JEN considers that distributed objects can encourage local people's independence.

April 17, 2008 in Pakistan |

2008.03.06

A Winter Holiday in Kashmir!

080306_mofa_3 In schools located high in the mountains, there is a long winter holiday, for about three months, as it snows continually. JEN’s project site has also been covered by snow since January, but now the snow has finally started to thaw.

One day, I peeked into a student’s house, and saw a group of girls gathered there. Upon asking, ‘What do always do during the holidays?’ they responded in unison, ‘we study, of course!’ However, neither pens nor notebooks were to be seen. Instead, there were a few small pebbles. I asked again, ‘I promise not to tell your teacher, so what do you really do?’ They answered, ‘play with beanbags and play hide and seek!’

The children of Kashmir play with small pebbles as if they were beanbags. Watching them, I felt that this was a game possible only for children that have been raised in a place surrounded by nature that can be used as the resource for their games. At the same time, I noted that in practice the games played by children in Pakistan are not unlike those played by children in Japan. 080306_mofa_2_3

Note: The school in Haveli county of Bagh city will have winter holidays from December 15th to March 1st.

(PICTURE (Upper Left):Our project site covered in snow、PICTURE (Lower Right):Beanbags with small pebbles.)

March 6, 2008 in Pakistan |

2007.12.27

The Reconstruction of the Third School

20071227mofahotarschool_7 After a holiday known as the Festival of Sacrifice, New Year is approaching Pakistan on December 21st, slightly earlier than the Japanese New Year. It is the coldest season of the year and the mountains in Kashmir are covered in snow as usual.

Supported by the Foreign Ministry and our supporters, JEN has been reconstructing schools that collapsed following the earthquakes in Haveri, Bagh. During these freezing days, JEN has managed to complete the reconstruction of two schools.  This school will be the third school reconstructed as earthquake-proof.

JEN is currently laying the foundations of the building, which is essential for sustaining an earthquake-proof design. Unlike the two schools that have already been reconstructed, this school is located in the middle of the mountains and therefore will be functioning under very difficult conditions. We are proceeding with the project so that the children are able to go back to school as soon as possible.

December 27, 2007 in Pakistan |

2007.12.13

Finally Completed Using Three Pillars

Wss_bhs_fateh_pur_1_resize It has started to snow on the project site in Pakistan again this year. It has been the third winter for the province of Bagh in Haveli County since the earthquake. The project that JEN has been carrying out was introduced in a local newspaper. In the article, appreciation for JEN was mentioned for carrying out the project immediately after the earthquake. It also described how the education environment for children had dramatically improved as a result of water and hygiene projects within schools supported by JEN.

Finally, the water and hygiene projects for 120 schools have been completed. The projects are executed under the guidelines of three pillars; first, temporary toilets, next, improvement and maintenance of water supply systems and finally, hygiene education. The children used to drink water and wash their hands at a distant river or a spring near the school. However, they are now able to have lessons without interruption by such inconveniences. In addition, due to the hygiene education provided alongside the installation of toilets and water supplies, the health condition of the children has been improved.  For instance, the number of children suffering from diarrhea symptom has significantly decreased.

December 13, 2007 in Pakistan |

2007.11.15

Disaster Prevention Education Workshop

   Supported by the Foreign Ministry and by our supporters, JEN is carrying out disaster prevention education workshops in Haveli County, in the Province of Bagh. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) supplied textbooks for disaster prevention education for this project.

These textbooks are cute picture books written in Urdu. The content is easy to understand, even for little children.

JEN has been carrying out seminars for teachers about school disaster prevention in Haveli County in light of the earthquake.  This project includes instructions of some evacuation drill methods and first-aid skills, making the contents more practical. In addition, not only the teachers, but also the students and local people participate in this seminar. It aims to spread disaster prevention knowledge.

November 15, 2007 in Pakistan |

2007.11.01

The future dreams of the young

 Supported by UNICEF and you, we are developing water and hygiene projects to the 120 schools in Haveri, Bagh. Up until now, 80% of the water supply facilities have been built and it is only a few more steps to complete the project. After the project completion, approximately 13,000 children will be able to study in the safe and hygienically clean environment.

 The top three professions the children in Haveri want to become are: For boys, doctor (1st), engineer (2nd) and pilot (3rd). For girls, doctor (1st), school teacher (2nd) and nurse (3rd).

 The first important thing to make these dreams to come true is to provide right education to the children at schools. JEN will continue to support to provide right educational environment to Pakistan.    

November 1, 2007 in Pakistan |

2007.10.18

3:00 AM in Bagh

2007octpk Ramadan finally ended after a full month. Project site visits during Ramadan were quite impressive.

All the staffs in the project field in Pakistan eat and sleep together. During Ramadan, our local staff could not eat during day.  So, instead, they woke up at 3am in the morning to have breakfast, then went back to sleep. During daytime, they visited and observed the project sites and after the sunset around 6pm they ate Iftar (the food for after Ramadan). 

The most popular and frequent topic among the staff during this period was “where to have Iftar”. Many people at the project sites invited the staff to their houses for Iftar. Staff could enjoy very nice Iftar at a school principal’s, at the landlord’s, a different place, every day.    

During Ramadan, it is prohibited to drink even water during the day. We provided clean water to schools and saw the children drinking water but we had to endure the thirst! At the same time, it was a very good experience to help us appreciate the situation of having water running from taps all the time.   

October 18, 2007 in Pakistan |

2007.10.04

2 years after the earthquake

July07pkbedhiwcrpmotawaligps_5 It has been 2 years since the earthquake on October 8, 2005. JEN has been continuously providing educational support in Haveri, Bagh. All the people in Haveri know about JEN as we provide support everywhere including the rural areas where ordinary support faces difficulty to reach.   

We are very happy when we see JEN’s support positively and consistently reaching all the people who need it. For example, “JEN’s School Bag”, which was distributed to the children and enabled children to go back to school immediately after the earthquake, is still carried to schools every day by the children.

The memory of the earthquake in Kashmir, Pakistan is gradually fading away. However, the lives of the victims are still hard and require continuous support. JEN will continuously provide support required by the local people.

October 4, 2007 in Pakistan |

2007.09.20

Autumn Appetites - Apples -

Photo_2  Summer temperatures of over 40℃ are finally over and autumn has arrived in Pakistan. In grocery stores, autumn fruits such as apples, grapes and pomegranates replace summer fruits such as mangos and peaches.

Chanjal, Haveri, where JEN will start a new project to rebuild schools is famous for its apples. When we visited the project site, children gave fresh apples to us.July07pkbedhimotawaligpsbookmajic

But the autumn is very short. Winter is right around the corner once it is November. Although this is the third winter since the earthquake, due to the significant delay in the reconstruction projects, children are still studying outdoors, in tents or temporary shelters.    

JEN continuously supports children, including supplying sweaters for the winter.

September 20, 2007 in Pakistan |

2007.09.06

A life saved by sports

20077wcrp A life saved by sports

We hosted a sports festival for the children affected by the earthquake in Bedhi, Haveri. This was the first sports festival since the earthquake and was well attended.

The last sports festival in the Bedhi area was on October 7, 2005, the day before the earthquake. The sport was volleyball, same as in this sport festival. The winner in 2005 was Mori Maidan High School. This high school decided to make October 8th a holiday to celebrate their victory, by coincidence, the earthquake happened on that very day. The first shake completely destroyed the school building, but fortunately, no one was hurt thanks to this holiday. Therefore, the sports festival in 2005 really saved so many people’s lives.  

20077wcrp_2 Below is a message from the Principal of Mori Maidan High School after the 2007 sports festival:  

“Since the earthquake, we were too depressed to do class or sports. And today’s festival brought back to us the joy and importance of sports. We will train everyday and prepare for the next sports festival.”   

September 6, 2007 in Pakistan |

2007.08.23

The day JEN’s support reached Bedhi