Social Mobilization & Organization

Friends Foundation takes Social Mobilization as the primary means of supporting rural men and women in their efforts to change their lives towards poverty alleviation and organization. The essence of the process of social mobilization is encouraging men and women to form a group, typically consisting of 20-25 members, known as a Community Based Organization (CBO). Our experience shows that the CBO is an important forum for empowering people to take an active role in the management of local development initiatives. By 'social' is meant on the basis of common ground for a common purpose. A 'mobilized' community is one that is able to identify its needs and find the resources necessary to meet those needs. Those resources may be their own savings or labour, or funds or information from a Line Department.  In social mobilization & organization FF have strong relationship at grassroots level to create awareness among communities on the issues of poverty, health and education .FF has planned Effective bottom-up strategies mobilizing people at the grassroots level to build self-reliance, empowering women as key change agents.   Our Strategies seek to build people's capacities, leadership and confidence. We train women and men, equipping them with the skills, methods and knowledge needed to take self-reliant actions to improve their lives and conditions of their communities. Friends Foundation is contribution in the betterment of the communities by these activities.

Formation of Community Based Organization

• Capacity Building of the Organizations
• Community Management Skill Trainings
• Management Support
• Formational & Registration of CCBs (Citizen community Board)
• Linkages of the community with Line departments

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Educational Support

The issue of mass education in general and female education in particular is a grave matter of concern for the whole society. The higher female illiteracy rate in rural areas is not just because of poverty, lack of financial resources, unavailability of local schools, books or teachers, as a myth prevails among the general public.  Pakistan has one of the highest rates of female illiteracy in South Asia, at about 60 percent, and the lowest rate of primary school enrolment for girls, at somewhere between 42 and 48 percent. Those shortcomings are particularly pronounced in the KP, had the lowest ratio of female enrolment of any province in Pakistan, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG).  The issue has become even more of a battleground in recent years, as resurgent Islamic extremism bumps heads with the government's recent efforts to expand girls' education.
In educational support we are committed to protect the rights of women and children and started a project for the welfare of the street children and poor children in Faisalabad. The project is being managed by a very active and dedicated group of 20 volunteers in the name of Behbood-e-Talba Forum (BTF). The volunteer group consists on educational and law professionals who are volunteer members of Friends Foundation. The BTF is committed to provide logistic and financial support to the street children’s as well as poor children. The services provided by the BTF include logistic and financial support, free coaching services and scholarships to the poor children. To ensure the enrollment of students is one of the prime services of BTF. All these services are being provided with the local efforts of the volunteers at their own.

• Increase women’s decision-making and participation in economic, political and social processes;
• Improve women’s access to resources;
• Improve the level of education of women and girls; and
• Promote the human rights of women.

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Primary Health Care and Reproductive Health

Pakistan with a population of 158.1 million is the world’s sixth most-populated country and the third largest contributor to worldwide population growth. Rising at a rate of almost 2 percent each year, the population is expected to reach 220 million by the year 2020. The population is young, with about 25 percent under the age of 25. A large percent of the population resides in rural areas.
Health has been a low priority area in Pakistan where defense and foreign debt servicing have often consumed the entire domestic resources. The government spends about 2 percent of its budget (as percentage of GDP) on health. An ill-regulated private sector accounts for nearly 80 percent of the health services.
Pakistan's health indicators are at the lower end globally. About one in 10 children die before the age of five. One in 200 women die during childbirth. This high rate of maternal mortality is due to direct obstetric causes, which are preventable. On the other hand, improvements are noted in the area of Reproductive Health. Unmet need for family planning has lowered down to 25% (200-07) from 32% (1990) and a rise in the mean age of marriage in females from 16.9 years in 1951 to 22.7 years in 2001-2002 , total fertility in Pakistan has declined significantly from 6.7 in 1985 to 4.32 in 2007-08. Contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) of 30 % (married women) is at plateau and has not shown change over almost a decade.
FF is providing affordable quality Primary Health Cares and reproductive health (RH) services through establishment of RHCs which provide the under mentioned services. Presently; FF has its four service outlets in Rawalpindi and Taxila. RHCs are providing services in the morning and evening (14 hours a day)

The key services provided in these clinics include the following:

RH Services

• Antenatal and Postnatal services
• Infertility treatment
• Menopause Problem
• Reproductive Tract Infections (RTIs)
• Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)
• IUDs insertions
• Inject able Contraceptives, Condoms and Oral Pills provision

 Immunization

• BCG
• DPT
• TT
• OPV
• Measles

 Laboratory Services

• Pregnancy test
• HbsAg
• HCV
• HIV & AIDS
• Blood Sugar
• Referral

Referral

• Cervical Cancer
• T. Ligation / Vasectomy
• Breast Cancer
• Surgical Procedures
• HIV & AIDS

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Training of TBAs

Friends Foundation has it own Capicity Building Program to asissit the Health Secrtoe intervention to redude the IMR, MMR in Pakistan. By adapting the locally available MCH services for quality assurances, FF focuses the Traditional Birth Attendants (TBA) trainings with the aim to reduce IMR, MMR in Pakistan. John Snow Incorporated, Concern International and Oxfam have extended financial assistance to promote this cause. These trainings have been organized in the different rural and urban areas of Pakistan like Mansehra, Taxila Gujar Khan, Jhelum, Muree, Muzaffar Garh, Swat, Shangla, Dir, Mardan and other cities Pakistan.
Friends Foundation has trained 339 TBAs on safe delivery methods by adopting population council methods and manual of training.

First Aid Training

First Aid Trainings are helpful in mitigating the emergency and other such events. First Aid Training aim is to enhance the capacity of communities in treatment and timely referral to service delivery point. FF has conducted First Aid Trainings with the funding of FPAP, UNICEF and Concern World wide in the different area of Pakistan.

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Early Child Care & Development

Although the field of Early Childhood Care for Development (ECCD), of which ECE is a component, is a relatively new and emerging sector, it is gaining recognition among many policy makers for being an essential cornerstone of development planning and programming largely because of the types of benefits it reaps as mentioned above. The accepted definition of ECCD includes pre-natal development to the age of eight, and programming in ECCD is usually divided into stages that start at birth to about three years of age (0-3) where interventions generally include prenatal programs, child health and nutrition programs, and community-oriented programs aimed at parents and other care providers; the pre-primary years (3-5) where interventions are aimed at pre-primary schooling programs (ECE) as well as community motivation initiatives; the early primary school years (5 or 6, depending and improving the learning environment so that children acquire basic life skills enabling them to not only complete their early schooling but to pursue it beyond. Some agencies and initiatives are stretching the horizon of ECCD programming to include adolescent youth programming and more sophisticated community-oriented programs on the area-specific context, to about 8) where the focus in on programs.
The organization is planning to embark to a new programme of primary education with special focus on girls to bring gender equality in this area.  The organization will strategise for effective coordination with local government department to explore opportunities for the sustainability of the schools initially supported through financial assistance of funding agencies.
The primary education programme will be supplemented by research and advocacy initiatives for the protection of Child Rights in partnership with community-based organizations and networks exclusively focusing on child rights.

• Social Mobilization
• Parents Training
• Teachers Training
• Children capacity Building
• Micro Credits to support to parents
• Establishment of primary schools
• IEC Material

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Community Development

In order to bring the prompt change in the livelihoods of marginalized groups, Friends Foundation will focus on health, education, income generation opportunities through micro enterprise and skill development.  Friends Foundation will continue with its programme with existing communities and will expand its outreach to other potential areas in Punjab and Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa after realistic capacity assessment of the organization. 

The development model under each thamtic area will employ multiple strategies to address the issues at micro and macro level as well as engaging and influencing implementing agencies and policy and opinion makers to have greater impact.  The strategies may include but not limited to Social Mobilization, Awareness Raising, Capacity Building, Research and Advocacy, Information dissemination, Service Provision, Networking and Linkages, Technical Assistance and Grants Assistance.

• Social Mobilization
• Awareness Raising
• Capacity Building
• Technical Assistance
• Service Provision
• Networking and Linkages

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Provision of Safe Drinking Water and Hygiene Services

Life began with water and it will end with out it. Not water but safe drinking water can ensure protection from most water borne diseases.  The water-borne diseases accounts for nearly 60 percent of child deaths. Daily 630 children die from diarrhea in Pakistan. Access to safe water for drinking is critical health issue especially for people belonging to low class. Friends Foundation is committed to deliver the quality water for drinikg to its communities  through an approach “behaviors & attitudes change” of the primary target group i,e Women, Men and Children and other indirect groups to reduce water borne diseases, especially diarrhea in less than 5 years of age children.
Pakistan is one of those countries where open defecation is very high because the rural communities haven’t ideas. The lack of water, soap, washrooms, medical facilities and awareness made things more complicated and dangerous. It is probable that the unhygienic environment and overall situation would cause disaster, a health disaster. The children, women and adults are not washing themselves, nail clipping and hair cut was out of question lack of facilities and un awareness. Some of children and adults are suffering from diarrhea, dysentery, typhoid and eye infections due to the unhygienic conditions in Pakistan., no knowledge about the Friends Foundations deliver activities in safe drinking water as under;

• Installation & Rehabilitation of Hand Pumps
• Installation & Rehabilitation of Filtration plants
• Hygiene Promotion activities
• Hygiene session with school children, Women & Men
• Street Theaters to promote Hygiene Practices
• Installation & Rehabilitation of Latrines
• IEC Material Distribution
• Hygiene Kits Distribution
• Jerry Cans/Water Cooler Distribution
• Water Tinkering

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Micro Credit & Micro Enterprise Development

The goal of the Micro Credit and Enterprise Development Programme is economic and social empowerment of poor and needy communities especially women by providing them loans for changing their lives with equality, liberation and alleviate poverty. 

The approach of FF programme would be micro credit plus that will emphasize on provision of massive training to borrowers regarding saving mobilization, micro-enterprises, business and financial management and strengthening of groups for collective action.

Friends Foundation has micro credit policy and strictly observes based on principles and guidelines:

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Disaster Preparedness and Risk Reduction

Pakistan is located in the South East Asia, neighboring India, Afghanistan, China, and Iran. Mountain ranges of the Himalayas, the Karakorams and the Hindukush form Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province, Punjab province is a flat, alluvial plain with five major rivers joining the Indus River to the Arabian Sea. Sindh is bounded on the east by the Thar Desert and the Rann of Kutch and on the west by the Kirthar range and the Balochistan Plateau is an arid tableland, encircled by dry mountains.
Like its neighboring countries, Pakistan is among the high-risk countries in terms of its vulnerability to different disasters. Natural hazards include floods, earthquakes, cyclones, drought, landslides, and mud flows. The Northern region is prone to earthquakes, the flat region of Punjab and Sindh are faced with seasonal floods. Whereas the large province of Balochistan facing 7 year long drought. From year 1995-2004 a total of 6,192 people were killed and 9,244,032 people are affected by the disasters.

Friends Foundation, s activities regarding DRR as under

• Warehouse Management
• Institutional Disaster Preparedness/Human Resource Development
• Community Based Disaster Preparedness (CBDP) program:
• Earthquake preparedness program
• Disaster Risk Reduction through Schools/academic institutions
• Flood Mitigation Program
• Publication of Information Education & Communication (IEC) interventions for risk Reduction:
• Population Movement Program (IDPs and Refugee Assistance program)
• Reconstruction and Rehabilitation program:
• Coordination, Advocacy and Networking

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Gender Mainstreaming

The low social and economic status of women and their significant contribution to the household and village economies in most areas of Pakistan are well known facts though not as well documented. It is generally agreed that their concerns and problems should be integrated into all rural development plans and programs since their equal partnership with men alone can ensure a balanced development of society. Field visits have shown that the oft-cited constraints on women's involvement in the development process can be overcome. There has been significant progress in terms of changes in the attitudes of men to gender segregation, as is evident from the growing demand for education for girls. Education can and will make a big difference in the lives of women as well as in their relationships with men as equal partners. Similarly, with the rapid expansion of male education in Pakistan, there are clear signs of change in attitudes to the protection of female health and family size. It is fair to say that in many communities the constraints on female education and health care are on the supply and not demand side.

FF Vision on Gender Mainstreaming

Recognizing of full harness and potential of women

Enhancement of Productive capacities of Women and Men

Reduction of barriers which limit the women, men and children contribution in the every step of the society upcoming.