OQAAB Welfare Association

PROMOTION OF CULTURE AND ARTS:

Oqaab Welfare Association is strengthening the nexus between culture and sustainable development and safeguarding communities’ inalienable rights to their culture particularly their Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH). OQAAQ’s Culture and Development Program works towards social and economic empowerment of the underprivileged village communities especially women by promoting their participation in the economic growth of communities through entrepreneurship and capacity building initiatives, mainly by enhancing non-agricultural income generation opportunities to enhance the village economies. Other programs under Culture and Development include safeguarding of Intangible and Tangible cultural heritage through community led initiatives and transmitting of cultural knowledge to the youth. Its youth program aims to engage youth in safeguarding heritage and promotes inter-generational transfer of cultural knowledge in schools through collaboration with Intangible Culture tradition bearers. OQAAB also maintains a pool of associates who participate in projects as and when needed.

PROMOTION QUALITY EDUCATION:

OQAAB aim to ensure that all displaced children and youth enjoy quality education that is relevant to their psycho-social, emotional and cognitive development, from the start of emergencies. Displaced children and youth are highly marginalized in accessing quality education. OQAAB provides opportunities for school-aged children (between six and 18 years old) and youth (between 15 and 24 years old) to complete a full cycle of basic education. OQAAB have a particular focus on those who are out of school or have had their education interrupted. Young women and men are provided with opportunities for post-primary education, including technical and vocational education and training, agricultural training, and tertiary educational opportunities. We promote and support the inclusion of IDP and refugee children and youth into formal education systems, so they can benefit from an accredited education that allows them to progress through all levels of the education system. Recognizing that governments are the primary duty bearer, we support governments to uphold their duties, including through teacher professional development and the construction or rehabilitation of schools. We use our evidence base to promote policy dialogue and change. Teachers are key to the achievement of quality education. They should receive adequate training, follow-up and compensation. As not all children and youth are able to participate in a formal education, we provide flexible, and, if possible, accredited alternative (non-formal) learning opportunities that enable out-of-school children and youth to fully benefit from education. For youth in particular, a non-formal education should allow learners to develop the necessary skills, knowledge and attitudes that will allow them to find livelihood opportunities.

Our education activities primarily focus on four thematic areas:

· Education in acute emergencies

· Alternative and accelerated education

· Youth education and training

· Creating safe and inclusive learning environments

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT:

OQAAB’s objective is to further opportunities for women’s empowerment while promoting women’s rights in Pakistan.

1. Promote the effective political and civic participation of women.

2. Increase awareness of women’s political rights and amplify women’s voices in governance discussion.

3. Combat violence against women. Activities could include: identifying barriers to political participation; creating networks with civil society and political leaders to advance women’s rights, protections, and participation; encouraging women to engage in advocacy and outreach in their communities and providing necessary training; and harnessing local networks for prevention and reporting of violence against women. The project timeline should be at least 24 months.

Enabling Environment in communities for women participation in development and right based approach.

· Local females are willing to be engaged in community development and right based interventions.

· Formed women Groups at community, village and helmet level

· Educated female Youth available to engage positively in women based interventions

· Local female activists and community resource persons available in targeted communities.

· Female lawyer and women right activist in each community.

· Local female politician and political parties’ worker

· Local Female NGO worker and trained women available

· Prolonged humanitarian and emergency response sensitized local communities specially women and their inclusion in community participation and development process.

· Local women entrepreneurs in health and education sector.

IMPROVING DISASTER PREPAREDNESS:

Prevention, Mitigation, and Preparedness (PMP) is the channel through which OQAAB Welfare Association works to decrease a community's vulnerability to natural disasters such as landslides, floods, mudslides, epidemics, and earthquakes, catastrophic rain or snow, and prepares them to respond rapidly and effectively to natural disasters. In this way, the initiative also seeks to ensure that communities are empowered in the learning process. There are a variety of activities in each category, including: building community awareness, the provision of communications equipment (two-way radios), and mitigation projects, such as flood retaining walls. OQAAB’s Prevention, Mitigation and Preparedness program is based on a strategy of community preparedness and local capacity building which aims to reduce the vulnerability of over half a million people living in the mountainous Northern Areas of Pakistan against natural disasters. OQAAB Welfare Association designed the Community Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM) program to enable disaster resilient communities by training men and women in vital skill sets and empowering them with basic technical knowledge required to respond, survive and recover from disasters. Through DRR Program intend to train community volunteers to utilize local resources to respond and manage local disaster situations. Volunteers undergo organizational, basic first aid as well as vigorous mountain search and rescue training. At community level, the volunteers are divided into planning and response groups ready to be deployed at short notice.

WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE PROMOTION:

Water is the most essential element for human life. In fact, no human being can survive longer without water as water is key for proper functioning of every single cell and organ in the human body. Therefore, the Government of Pakistan recognizes access to drinking water as fundamental human right implied in the constitution of Pakistan under Article 9 “no person shall be deprived of life or liberty save in accordance with law”. Despite its importance communities in Pakistan are much vulnerable to access the clean drinking water. Without enough safe water for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene, it is difficult to maintain good health and fight off illnesses. Without proper sanitation, water supplies can become contaminated and diseases can spread rapidly.

OQAAB WASH programmes focus on five thematic areas:

· Supplying safe water for drinking, cooking, personal hygiene and household cleaning

· Providing and maintaining latrines or toilets segregated by gender, or family units that are safe for women, girls, men and boys to use at all times

· Active disease surveillance and increased vigilance on water quality and sanitation practices during disease outbreaks

· Solid waste management and site drainage activities, to reduce standing water and garbage where disease-carrying mosquitoes or vermin can breed

· Hygiene promotion and community mobilization to promote safe hygiene and health-seeking behaviors, and to empower displaced people to take an active role in WASH operations