An other article of Madam, Zubaida Mustafa on IRC's efforts for flood emergency

I am thankful to Madam Zubaida Mustafa for her commitment to reflect back on IRC efforts for flood affected people in Sindh.

Pasted below is the link which merely needs your click on it to read her full article.
Aumir

http://thewip.net/contributors/2010/11/what_the_future_holds_for_floo.html

An article of one of the renewed journalists Zubida Mustafa on IRC efforts for flood victims in Khairpur and Dadu-Sindh

On the point of change?

By Zubeida Mustafa
Wednesday, 27 Oct, 2010


THE tent cities for the flood-affected in Khairpur are now being dismantled. According to the EDO of the district only five remained last Friday.

As I watched the occupants of the Indus Resource Centre’s (IRC) camp prepare for their return journey, I wondered if this watershed event in their lives would also prove to be the turning point. For two months the trauma of the flood’s ravages became a distant nightmare as they lived in a new caring environment they had never known before.

The question is whether this experience will move them to change their lives radically. The two tent cities organised by the NGO in Dadu and Khairpur, where I spent several hours with the flood victims, provide a textbook example of what development is all about.

Sadiqa Salahuddin, the executive director of IRC, who is far from being a desk-bound activist, summed up the choices before the displaced people in her farewell speech. “Your children [there were 685 among the 1,221 victims] were so happy here and we hope you will also keep them happy. Be gentle with them as well as with their mothers. You were also happy here. Take back these memories to give a new direction to your lives,” she exhorted them.

From August to October, it was not just their basic necessities — mainly food, water, shelter and healthcare — that were attended to; their children received schooling, their women got guidance in handicraft and lessons in reproductive healthcare and the men learnt the virtues of living in harmony.

This was done by setting up schools in the two camps I visited, organising health and sanitation education classes, workshops for handicrafts and setting up a conciliation council comprising leaders of different clans to take collective decisions and resolve disputes.

Here was participatory governance at its best. Some teachers and camp managers had to be hired from outside (but from the local population) as expertise was not available among the affected. But assistants — teachers and managers — and manual labour for any project undertaken came from the inmates of the tent cities who received due emoluments in cash.

According to the executive director, it was a record of sorts that no violence occurred in the camps, notwithstanding the diverse backgrounds of the people thrown together by the doings of nature. It was amusing to see a police guard deployed per routine trying to make his presence felt by unnecessarily throwing his weight around.

This participatory form of governance must continue if lives have to change. Sadiqa Salahuddin’s advice to flood survivors carried weight. They could empower themselves if they lived peacefully and did not allow their enemies to hurt them by dividing their communities.

Of course it will be a challenge for the flood victims to replicate their camp life in their impoverished home environment. Lacking political empowerment they have to struggle against socio-economic odds that are daunting. Land owners can be tyrannical when it comes to exploiting their haris to extract undue privileges for themselves. Denied the benefits of good education and the basic facilities of healthcare, family planning, sanitation and nutrition, the farm workers are unaware of the rights they are entitled to.

Nevertheless, the parting message was, ‘Help yourself and we will help you’. The emphasis was on self-reliance and dignity. To show the way, gifts were handed out — tools (shovels, spades, saws, etc for the men), kitchen utensils for women and schoolbags for children (courtesy Unicef). Families were given dry rations for a fortnight and seeds to grow vegetables. Earlier they had received beddings and were allowed to take their tents with them.

Most of them live on land that they have no title to. They were leaving with mixed feelings. They were satisfied and grateful but also pensive. The good times were drawing to a close (evenings had been occasions for folk music and women had been spared the violence that was their fate earlier on). Above all, they were stepping into an uncertain future.

But at least, the first stirrings had been created in a people who had previously shown little interest in sending their children to school. The young ones had became absorbed in their lessons — there were three- and four-year-olds who tugged at my sleeve demanding that I listen to them recite rhymes and alphabets. Will this interest blossom into something more?

Many villages have no schools. There are others where the wadera uses the school building as a bara for his cattle. Others have schools but no schooling. The people lack the means and organisation to pressure the government to safeguard their rights. Two months were not enough for them, the weaker party, to acquire the skills to neutralise the levers that are traditionally used against them.

But there is hope. Seeds of awareness have been sown, new relationships forged and new friendships struck. Ingenious uses of the ubiquitous mobile phone are being discovered. Above all, they have been promised continued support to keep alight the flame that has been lighted.

Ali Madad, an IRC project officer who helped with the Khairpur camp, captured the message poignantly when he recited Shaikh Ayaz in wai-style:

When the red roses burst into bloom/We will meet again.

Much now depends on the government. Last week it appeared to be nudging the NGOs out of this space some of them have created for themselves in the life of flood-affected communities. It declared that henceforth the government will manage the $3bn additional aid it was seeking.

Will it be used to dole out meagre charity to individuals to hurt their dignity? Or will this aid be used to stimulate economic activity in the flood-ravaged regions to rebuild the infrastructure on a cash-for-work basis — albeit keeping contractors out and employing only indigenous people?

zubeidam2@gmail.com

IRC-Tent City (A general overview)

The tent city in Khairpur is the oldest and was designed and set up before Eid. It has two blocks – Bhitai and Sachal and the road in between – Shahrah-e- Sami. Ten neighborhoods after the names of 10 communities are living harmoniously. A city council consisting of 10 representatives, one from each community facilitates the distribution of commodities, use of services, and helps in planning for the improvement. Some norms for living together have been designed and have been pasted at a visible place. Apart from cleanliness and discipline, the norms do not allow violence of any kind particularly on women and children. Only one complaint of an old father beating the young son had been reported otherwise there had been no instances of violence.
The residents of this tent city are mainly from Jacobabad. The other districts of their origin are Shikarpur, Jafarabad, Dadu and Kandhkot. Most of them are victims of Thori breach and found shelter in Khairpur in early August. By profession they are either unskilled labourers or landless farmers except very few who claim to have their own small pieces of land. Out of a population of 1221 persons in one camp, 685 are children below 15 years of age, 53 women are pregnant and 7 safe deliveries (all in city hospital) had already taken place.
Tent city has three Teaching and Learning Centres with an enrolment of159. Except a few, all of these children of various ages are out of school either because the teachers in village schools are absent or not posted or the building is used for some other purpose by the influential individuals.
Health standards of our guests are poor however, all the pregnant women in the camp now have access to pre-natal check ups. The government doctors come for OPD at least twice in a week and IRC provides ambulance service in the case of emergencies.
Now we have started a vocational centre in two large tents for women. IRC Crafts Centre staff trains women in various crafts. A crash programme by a trainer from Karachi will be held in the last three days of this week when the groups of women will learn flower making, candle making, block printing, envelopes making etc.
The constraint in expanding vocational centre is the limited number of manual sewing machines. We need at least 16 more sewing machines so that we can well equip Khairpur centre more.
The tent city receive important visitors such as district officials, donors and international agencies, multi national executives, other NGOs and media. ` Occasionally cultural programs are also organized in which the talent from IDPs participate.
Nights have become cool in Khairpur and there is a need for light woolies. We have already ordered ‘razaiyan’ and ‘gadday’ for 185 families of Khairpur Tent City.
Our mission is to make the lives of our guests enjoyable, memorable and useful. We have been receiving reasonable help from various donors in doing this. The pressing needs now are manual sewing machines, woolies particularly for children, and resources to set us skills centre for men in Dadu and Sehwan camps. We do not want to set up a skills centre in Khairpur as we expect that we will have to wind up the Tent City soon IDPs have already started planning to go back to homes districts.

EID account by Madam Sadiqa

Madam, Sadiqa Salahuddin, The one who has inspired me through her positive actions for reinforcement of positive thinking, these actions are always based on principals and values. All these actions have great impact in my life while promoting the values of human participation and investing energies on children of our country. She is really a great mentor of my journey in the development sector. Aumir
Below is an article written by Madam, Sadiqa Salahuddin which got a meaningful space in Ms Beena Sarwar's 'Jounrney through Democracy" web page.
September 14, 2010
Dear Friends,
Eid in a Tent City was a unique experience of my life. I do not remember seeing so many happy faces around on Eid as I saw this year. This might seem contrary to what we are hearing and watching on television about the deprivation and gloom among internally displaced persons (IDPs) on Eid. I have no doubt about media portraying realities but what I am saying is real too. A young journalist has captured Eid in our Tent City in Tribune. Please see this report Learning to say ‘I love you’

Eid in Sehwan Camp
Thanks to all of you who sent us donations and thanks to the untiring efforts of IRC staff that made this Eid a memorable day for 687 children (out of a total population of 1,221) of IRC Tent City in Khairpur and all our team. Preparation for Eid, along with setting up of the Tent City, was a great challenge. The staff collected information about age and sex of each and every child so that clothes and shoes to size could be purchased and prepared. With clothes and chappals, artificial jewelry, ponies, catchers, bangles, henna, small toys and sweets were also added in their Eid bags.
Distribution of Eid bags to 195 families of different sizes and backgrounds, a day before, was a nightmare but we devised ways of making it transparent and just. All this was found worth the effort when children with happy faces, clean clothes, chappals in their feet, henna on small palms, and jewelry all over greeted us the next morning. The adults although complaining about not getting new clothes, were busy in cleaning the place with brooms and picking the trash to be thrown in the bin. In solidarity, IRC team also did not wear new clothes. Eid was a relaxed and enjoyable day in our Tent city, with no anxiety and no signs of mistrust. In the morning, our team went to every tent to greet them and to give them mithai, Eid money, bangles for women, and small gifts for children.

Singing and dancing during Eid at an IRC camp
Soon we noticed that a group of internally displaced persons (IDPs), both men and women, spontaneously prepared a stage in public area and started singing happy songs in Sindhi while little girls danced on the beat. What if the homes were washed away or harvest is destroyed, they have learned to ignore their worries for a while and be contented with what they have. Eid for them was a good time in the new environment with new friends.
While all this was happening in Khairpur, another team was working with a group of 100 families consisting of 796 persons near Hyderabad Toll Plaza. In my last note, I mentioned this emerging cluster which has not yet shaped as a complete camp. It is a small effort to provide basic shelter, ration for 100 families for about a week to ten days and 200 gifts including girls’ and boys’ clothes, toys, biscuits, stationery and sweets to 100 affected families. Since they are using unfiltered water from the nearby canal, we have given them water purifying tablets with instructions about their use.
We did not forget our camp school children in Dadu and Sehwan where 301 children are registered. A team from Sehwan and Dadu spent their Eid with those children. We could not distribute clothes and shoes but we did celebrate Eid with songs, dances, juices and sweets.
We feel that we have now learned the art of camp management and the skills to gain people’s trust. The team has internalised the basic principles of participation, respect for the right to life with dignity, building capacities in the process, increasing social awareness and creating a demand for public services, and most of all mobilizing them for positive thinking and action. We want to use this learning for the benefit for many more but we have serious resource constraints. If we can get some more donations, we can at least develop Hyderabad cluster into a similar city as Khairpur and can organize many other camps.
Please forward this request to others as well. Donate us and visit us with our partner IDPs. Bank details:
Title of account: Indus Resource Centre
Bank: Habib Bank Ltd.
US$ account no. : 00120250022610
PKR account no.: 00120001651403B
SWIFTCODE: HABBPKKA
Branch Code: 0012
Address: Zamzama Branch, D.H.A Phase V, Karachi
With camp management, other interventions on a large scale such as installation of temporary latrines, distribution of food and non-food items, organising health camps at many locations, providing food to stranded families of a few villages, distribution of hygiene kits etc are going on in various locations of Khairpur, Dadu and Jamshoro districts.
We need your financial and moral support.
Sadiqa Salahuddin

IRC-Tent City established in Khairpur

The IRC tent city is now ready and has occupied more than 195 families with 1300 people; this figure includes male, female, babies, young and old population.


The tent city is established under the date palm orchard so that maximum shade and protection from hot sun light can be had for an overall tent city.

The 200 tents have been allotted to 195 families according to size of the families; mainly the people are originated from, Kashmore, Jacobabad, Jaffarabad, Shikapur and Dadu areas.



The appealing features of IRC-tent city are:

√ Child friendly school spaces established and IDPs’ kids are studying
√ An indigenous date palm stem built shades called (Ladhis) established for social and cultural activities.
√ Two main blocks are mapped i.e Sachal and Bhitti whereas the Sami road is the main link to these blocks.
√ Mohallas are established for various communities such as, Shaikh, Merani, Pahore, Jafferi, Chandia and Nindwani .
√ For proper sanitation conditions some separate toilets are properly placed, like an orange colored toilets for women and some blue colored toilets for male are now become functional and being used.
√ Each mohalla has been given a separate hand pump and washing facility so that water for drinking and washing could be fetched and utilized properly.
√ A tent city secretariat is there to help support IDPs.
√ Electricity is provided across tent city for the provision of light at night time
√ Food and non food items are provided as per schedule and according to ration card.
√ Medical facility is also there to help IDPs.


Every evening is really a special evening because campers sing songs so that they should not remember an ever difficult time of their life.

MNA-Syeda Nafia Shah came to visit IRC Tent city on EID day and appreciated the efforts of IRC team.


IRC is striving very hard to raise more funds to support IDPs in their food and non food needs.

Highlights till 29th August-2010

On 28th August-10, a delegation from Concern world came to visit IRC-Khairpur. A debriefing session was held at IRC regional office.
Ms. Jeniffer and Ms. Annia were briefed by the Regional Managers of IRC Khairpur over the existing situation of IDPs and the camps being supported by the Government and the civil society organizations.
Later an out country team was coordinated by RM (IRC-Edl) and the project team working under Concern World project at Khairpur to Kacha bund areas where the affected people are settled in tents whose villages and houses have been washed away by the super flood.
IRC team facilitated the concern world team to Sports complex at Pir jo Goth area where the IDPs are currently settled and IRC under Concern World project has installed couple of hand pumps and toilets. Under this project IRC has to set up 100 washrooms and 35 hand pumps across the flood effected displaced population of Kingri Taluka. Having finished the visit in sports complex team headed towards Jamsheed Bund where IRC has setup some facilities under this project.
An out country team finished its visit at Jamsheed bund and headed towards Shikarpur.
Ms. Haider (Deputy Consulate General) Republic of Germany visited IRC Khairpur; Ms. Haider’s visit was focused on the emerging chaotic situation of flood, assessing the circumstances prevailing in the flood affected areas and the response of IRC in helping and supporting the internally displaced people. IRC is currently implementing a project on human rights education under the aegis of Consulate General of Germany. IRC SMT briefed Ms. Haider over the existing situation of flood affected population and the issues of IDPs. Later she was facilitated by an advisor to ED-IRC towards Jamsheed bund at Kingri Taluka and IRC managed relief camps at Mori and Shah Latif areas.

An emergency meeting held at IRC wherein staff reviewed the flood activities and assessed the response of IRC in helping out the flood affected people in Khairpur.
All IRC staff involved in flood relief activities brief the forum about their assigned activities. Mr. Turab Soomro shared the progress of supplying food and non food items to flood affected population of Sobhodero and Gambat talukas.
Ms. Nusrat and Neghat shared the progress of swing machines and cloths provided to IDPs settled at Mori camp.
Mr. Aslam briefed the forum about his role at warehouse established by DCO to support the flood affected population in Khairpur.
Mr. Ali Madad and Mr. Akram narrated the progress of IRC-adopted camps at Mori and Shah Latif areas.
I my self talked about the situation of School Inbox approach by Unicef for those children who are affected by flood and their study engagement plan.
Mr. Hashmat and his team shared the findings of their reproductive study conducted across the relief camps in Sobhodero and Gambat. A field rapid assessment activity was also shared by them in such a great detail by covering the spheres standards.
ED-IRC expressed her satisfaction over the emergency work being done by all the team members in Khairpur. She emphasized that, though it is very important to help support IDPs in their ever difficult time, but this is also very necessary that each one of us should dedicate our time for relief activities in future too.
 Senior Management and Team leaders’ meeting held at IRC Khazana under the chairpersonship of ED-IRC, 28th August-2010 (9:30pm to 12:00am).

Meeting highlights are mentioned below:
While reviewing the overall condition of IRC-managed relief camps, it was observed that the sanitation and cleanliness situation of Shahlatif relief camps were found satisfactory whereas the issues of cleanliness and sanitation were seriously noticed at Mori Camp.
It was decided that,
 The (Camp Manager) Mori will get atleast three toilets functional, rupees 10,000/- approved for maintenance and cleanliness activities.
The (Camp Manager) Shah Latif schools will also come up with a reasonable estimation for an overhauling and maintenance of non functional toilets at Shahlatif schools.
 Both the managers will figure out the skills of IDPs in both the camps so that support of material for hand made products could be streamlined soon.
 Sweepers will be given Rs.50/- in addition to Rs.100/- per day so that they will do cleaning of toilets twice a day.
 Mr. Jaweed Tajik (Finance Manager) IRC Khairpur will submit a weekly expense report to ED-IRC for analysis and approval of further aid funds to IRC-Khairpur.
The (RM) Khairpur will talk to DCO Khairpur and ensure utensils and hygiene kits for Shah Latif camps while IRC will ensure reasonable utensils that are not included in the package of government but are very important for daily use.
The camp managers will be given weekly petty cash which will help ensure reasonable vegetables for campers and milk for morning tea.
The other agenda point of meeting was to establish IRC-Tent city in date palm orchard located at the north side of broad casting house of radio Pakistan Khairpur.
Decisions:
 Mr. Hashmat Jatoi and his team will be responsible to run and manage the camp affairs. Mr. Jatoi will act as the manager for IRC tent city.
 The leveling of land, establishment of tents, set up of landhis, protection wall of date palm leaves, developing bridge over the water channel and play ground will be the responsibility of Mr. Naveed Khayal, Aumir Abbas, Jaweed Abro and Syed Munir Shah.
 Developing banner of camps will be the sole responsibility of Mr. Aumir.
 Installation of 06 to 08 hand pumps and 20 latrines will be the responsibility of Mr. Ali Madad and Mr. Ubaidullah. Seeking support to have these facilities ensured can be gotten from district government Khairpur.
 A female social mobilizer will be appointed by IRC whose reasonable salary will be decided by SMT, she will directly report to Mr. Hashmat.
 Mr. Jaweed abro will get in touch with district government to have focus lights placed inside the tent city.
 Lantern will be fixed inside the landhis, whose responsibility lies on Mr. Aumir and Jaweed abro.
 Hopefully, IRC tent city will be ready to house IDPs from Tuesday 31st August-10.

Flood up dates till 26th August-2010

The situation of an internal displacement of people from Jacobabad, Kashmore, Shikarpur, Sukkur and the affected Kacha areas of District Khairpur is going on. Many civil society organizations and the Govt. of Sindh are taking emergency steps to help support the IDPs who have been affected by the flood and displaced from their home districts.

Since the magnitude of displacement is quite high, district Khairpur is housing many more IPDs who are coming from above districts. The current shift in policy of Govt. is announced recently that all the IDPs who are occupying Govt. owned buildings would be facilitated to shift in Karachi, so that proper mechanism of helping people in terms of food, shelter, medical assistance, cloths etc could be managed at one place.
IDPs willing to be shifted to Karachi are being facilitated by the district government Khairpur free of charge and trying to vacate the Govt. owned buildings particularly schools so as to initiate classes for those students who used to study being the local recipient of education.

In Khairpur, as it is already mentioned that IRC teams are extensively busy at couple of fronts and supporting the emergency activities.
Being the district coordinator in food committee formed by DCO-Khairpur IRC is supplying draw food items to the flood affected kacha areas that are existing in those taluka which are adversely hit by running water. IRC is also keeping the record of all the supplies received from various channels and the supplies distributed in the field. IRC team is available all the time at DCO house where the warehouse is setup.
Besides this, IRC has adopted three camps in Khairpur whose one by one explanation is mentioned below:
Camp-1 (Govt. Boys Primary School at Mori, Taluka Kingri)
The current figure of IDPs in camp is 250 out of which, there are 50 Females, 47 Male and 153 children.
Now camp life has become normal as IRC is putting its best possible efforts to support these people in terms of food, coordinating their medical needs, provided cloths and possible reasonable material for their daily use.
As reported earlier that there were two females who were in their advance stage to deliver baby. IRC team together with RHC- (Rural Health Centre) kept these two females in strict observation. Out of these two women, one has delivered a baby boy at RHC under normal condition. The other one Ms. Salemat is in her advance stage and we in a team are keeping her in observation. Networking with volunteer doctors is going on, a team from Agha Khan Karachi visited the camp and checked the IDPs, later they found out that there are some viral diseases attacked the people wherein Gastro, Hepatitis and influenza are worth mentioning. Mr. Rano Pahore was found out being the affectee of Hepatitis, doctors advised us to shift him to RHC for his proper treatment. Through RHC- Mr Rano Pahore has been shifted from camp to Khairpur and being admitted in TB-Centre as the wards in civil hospital have already been over crowded.
Ms. Nafisa Shah (MNA) Khairpur visited the camp met with IPDs inquired about their facilities in camp role of IRC. She turned satisfied and appreciated the efforts of IRC team.
Camp-2 (Govt. Boys Primary School) Shah Latif Colony Khairpur
The current figure of IDPs in camp is 119 out of which, there are 34 Females, 27 Male and 58 children.
The IDPs belong to Nindwani community have come from Taluka Tangwani district Kashmore.
IRC has adopted this camp for the last few days and have started providing cooked food for two times, lunch and dinner whereas reasonable material has been provided to them for morning breakfast. A few days back an organization called SRSO provided them the raw food items such as flour, 50 KG bag and Oil 4.5 KG.
Since, they were newly settled and requiring some basic things cloth, slippers etc some of the family members sold out their belongings and the food items given by SRSO and ensured the things for their daily use.
These IDPs are in need of utensils, cloths of children with some other items of daily use; IRC is providing whatever is possible. For breakfast, some containers have been provided along with tea, sugar and flour to those families who didn’t receive any kind of aid from any other organization except IRC. The sanitary condition is not encouraging as the current toilets of schools are non functional except one. IRC is being in touch with Sindh Urban Corporation for their repair and cleanliness.
The health profile of this camp is also meek; IRC arranged a visit of LHWs to this camp for quick medical check up of females. It was found out that a woman namely Naimat is an advance stage to deliver baby. Within IDPs and at Camp level a system is developed in a way so that any medical emergency could be addressed immediately.
The hand pump facility in this camp requires an immediate attention, Mr. Ali Madad (IRC-camp) In charge will get the hand pump issue fixed on urgent basis. IRC has provided a good plastic tank for water storage that has the capacity of more than 150lts which will be used by IDPs in their daily use of water.
Camp-3 (Govt. Girls Primary School) Shah Latif Colony Khairpur
The current figure of IDPs in camp is 36 out of which, there are 09 Females, 13 Male and 14 children.
The IDPs belong to Nindwani community have come from Taluka Tangwani district Kashmore.
IRC is providing two times cooked food whereas breakfast is prepared by IDPs by themselves whose material is provided by IRC.
Networking efforts are being done so that medical facility from District Health Department and some support in terms of utensils from DCO office could be ensured at camps.

Flood situtation till 16th August-2010

The situation of flood is still persistent and displacement of people from Kashmore, Jacobabad, Shikarpur, surrounding areas of Sukkur and Kacha area of Khairpur is going on; people in groups are travelling to Hyderabad, Karachi and to Khairpur city areas.

The camps are being established by district government within Government school premises in Khairpur city and small towns of various talukas.
In Khairpur, civil society organizations are mainly active and playing their useful role with a great enthusiasm and vigour. Since the Indus Resource Centre has adopted couple of relief camps at Govt. Boys Primary School Mori and Govt. Boys High School Bhurgri, the provision of food and non food items are being provided to Mori camp whereas these items are in process for Bhurghri camp.
Major Highlights of relief activities

 During last two days 400 food packets have been distributed to the victims of flood across Sobhodero and Gambat talukas by IRC under the coordinative efforts of District Govt. Khairpur.
 Together with Red Crescent Society and District Government, IRC has managed to distribute 32 hygiene kits among affected families in Mori camp, which included, Towel, bath soap, Female hygiene pads, tooth paste, shaving razors, shaving cream and Nail cutter.
 In Mori relief camp together with above stakeholders some utensils have also been distributed such as Vessels, Roti baking pot, silver food plates, adequate pot for floor kneading, Gerry Kans 15lts and sewed cloths. IRC has also distributed the non food items except those items which had not been delivered to them by any donor.
 IRC has provided 02 sewing machines at Mori Relief camp with some 17 unstitched cloths to those females who are skilled and able to sew cloths. A proper room is allotted to these females so that sewing activity could be performed in conducive environment.
 Stock register is made available at camp which helps us to understand how many things have been provided to campers.
 Food is being provided to campers whereas breakfast is being prepared at camp venue by females.

 Situation of sanitary condition is quite better as compare to previous scene which was prevalent a few days back, a sweeper is appointed by IRC who looks after toilets. Couple of toilets require maintenance whose responsibility has been fixed and to be undertaken on urgent basis.
 Camp in Bhurgri is new and being taken care of to the best of our available resource.
 SRSO organization is also active in field for flood affected people and has started providing temporary toilets and hand pump facilities. One hand pump and two temporary toilets have been provided by this organization at Govt. Boys High School Bhurgri.

 Linkages are established with PPHI (Mobile) medical camp that has checked out IDPs at Bhurgri Camp.
 There we have seen cattle today inside Bhurgri Camp they have arrived last night so, we are in process to have discussion with campers for their future plans.

Flood Updates in Khairpur

On 21 July 2010, Pakistan was hit by heavier than usual monsoon flash foods. The monsoon floods have left above 2.5 million people affected and death toll has reached 1600 people (source: Strengthening Participatory Organization (SPO) assessment report, 3 August 2010).

The Indus River was flowing in low flood at Sukkur Barrage. It will be in high flood during the next 24 hours,” it said adding that the Indus River was flowing normal at Kotri Barrage and it will remain normal there during the next 24 hours. The Irrigation and Power Department said that discharge at upstream Guddu Barrage may remain between 8,50,000 cusecs to 9,50,000 cusecs on August 8 and August 9. Officials say 19 of Sindh’s 23 districts have been put on high alert.
Kashmore, Ghotki, Shikarpur, Sukkur, Larkana and Khairpur districts are considered high priority, and operations to evacuate vulnerable populations in low-lying areas are under way, according to Khair Muhammad Kalwar, Director of operations at Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).
In responding to this situation, on August 6, 2010, all (Indus Resource Centre) IRC Staff including Regional Manager Khairpur were present at the DCO House Khairpur, to help support the Govt. line agencies in packing up the food items and to take measures for their onward delivery to the flood victims. 1, 333 small food bags were prepared. The truck was loaded with 200 food bags which transported this aid to the flood affected areas of Sobhodero taluka district Khairpur. Three volunteers from IRC; Shafique Abbas Mangi, Akeel Ahmed and Ali Madad went to Sobhodero to distribute the food items in due course of time.
On August 7, 2010, IRC team including Naveed Khayal, Turab Ali, Ali Madad, Attique and Ghulam Muhhamd Junejo visited Jamsher Bund area existing in Kingri taluka where it was observed that, there were many small scattered villages found completely inundated consisted of 20-25 houses in each village. It was also observed that the agriculture was adversely affected in which some valuable crops like cotton, sugarcane and bananas were worth noted.
IRC volunteers along with Pakistan Army distributed 300 dry food bags among flood affected families of villages; Azizullah Kalhoro, Allah Dino Junejo, Karam Khan Junejo, Dost Muhammad Junejo, Khaliq Dino Junejo, Moar Kalhoro, Abdul Rehman Unar and Rasool Bux Junejo. All these villages are next to Jamsher Bund. According to Pakistan Army, they have shifted families to some safe places but still there were two villages i.e Azizullah Kalhoro and Allah Dino Junejo whose inhabitants showed reluctance to move to flood relief camps and wanted to take their livestock and grains with them, in case they are forced to be shifted. It was impossible to carry all these things by boat as the boat couldn’t bear the weight of buffaloes and cows.
August 8, 2010, IRC volunteers planned to distribute 500 food bags among 500 flood victims, team departed from DCO house Khairpur for Fareedabad Bund. Volunteers reached at Fareedabad Bund where Pakistan Army personnel were already available, Pak Army arranged the helicopter to take the Arial view of the inundated areas and to monitor all sorts of loss such as houses, crops, pet animals and grain stock etc.


Beside Fareedabad Bund, there was a village Sajan Mehaser where 45 food bags were distributed. Having done a systematic distribution relief team moved towards Point 06 and Point 0 of Ulra Jageer Bund where 100 and 110 food bags were delivered to Pak Army soldiers for their onward distribution to flood affected people. 150 food bags were also delivered to Pak Army for village, Abdul Rehman Unar. I am thankful to all the stakeholder and the Civil Society Organizations in taking such a great part for a noble cause of helping the helpless.

Validation and sightseeing in Delhi

Today was the day of validation for all the training participants, each one of us was really excited to receive participation certificates were to be given by prof. Neelamghan NLLM-CMS at Meadows an international business school at Fareedabad India.
The very beginning session was led by Mr. Najmul Hoda (Assistant Professor) NIILM centre for management Studies. Later the session was proceeded by Prof. Neelmaghan who asked the participants to reflect back on their overall learning expectations from India and how far all of them managed to grasp over the things that they taught and facilitated for the last one week. Quite mix responses were aired by the participants that ensured all the participants have learnt many new concepts regarding microfinance and micro credit.
These responses of participants were:
• Women are quite proactive in India as compare to remote rural areas of Pakistan.
• Women of Pakistan have tremendous potential to join hand in hand with them to start a program that should shape their life.
• Linking microfinance with enterprise can be a feasible thing for Pakistan
• Loan insurance at small scale can be a workable model for Pakistan
• Concept of mobile banking is quite new and can be tested in Pakistan with working class families.
• In addition to learning aspects of team, it was greatly felt by the participants that a field visit to women self help groups was a need of time which couldn’t be made as part of training.
• Making cloth bags, paper plates, advancing in agriculture, embroidery with creativity, hand looms etc are the products that are already in the market of Pakistan but all is needed to have a channel of good marketing in Pakistan and aboard, while in India it has improved and transformed at grater level.

Having had diverse reflections of participants, Prof. Neelmaghan presented couple of videos on the outcomes of microfinance in India.
After this session, a certificate ceremony was held but before this session to happen a request to Madam, Musarat Qadeem was made to come on stage and say few words being the team leader of Pakistani group. She highly appreciated the hospitality and the learning settings for all Pakistani delegates by NIILM in India. She invited NIILM to come to Pakistan and experience the best practices of Micro finance and see some impressing case studies of a few women of our times.
Later a certification ceremony was held with vote of thanks by Prof. Neelmaghan (President NIILM).





In second half team planned to visit one of the holy places in Delhi known as Lotus Temple which is situated 12 km to the southeast of Connaught Place. Architecturally one of the most splendid temples of India, Delhi Lotus Temple is called so because it is built in the shape of a Lotus flower. The temple got completed in the year 1986 and rises to a height of more than 40 m. Located on Bahapur Hills, it is the seventh and the latest Baha'i houses of worship in the world. Bahai Temple of New Delhi is a white marble monument designed like a half-opened lotus.


Twenty-seven giant lotus petals of white marble spring out from nine pools and walkways of the temple. These walkways represent the nine unifying spiritual paths of the Baha'i faith. Exquisitely manicured lawns surround the building of the Lotus Temple. Silence is a prerequisite inside the New Delhi Lotus Temple. Also, one needs to take off the shoes while entering inside. Made up of marble, cement, sand and dolomite, this temple is often equated with the Sydney Opera House. Baha'i Temple in Delhi is often compared to the Sydney Opera House.

There is a simple, but outstanding high central hall in the temple where people sit and meditate. Petal alcoves of the temple are inscribed with stimulating quotes of the Baha'i sacred scriptures. Though the temple belongs to the Baha'i sect, it is open to people of each and every faith. The Baha'i religion, an independent one, places great importance on prayer and meditation as instruments for the progress of the human soul. Committed to the oneness of all religions and mankind, it traces its origins to its prophet Baha'u'llah, born in Persia in the 20th century.

Having visited the temple team came back to Medows to prepare for next day conference at an Indian Chamber of Commerce at Kolkata.

Historical sites in Agra India

Peace process can be fostered and augmented through people to people contact (Stated by Ms Musarat Qadeem) Executive Director Paiman Trust.

In respect of our Pakistani delegation an overwhelming reception by an Indian Media and the management of Heritage Institute of Hotel & Tourism at Agra happened. The second day of an August-2010 was planned to attend press conference at Agra to do a meaningful and positive advocacy through media so that a process of bringing peace and solidarity between India and Pakistan.
The plenary was organized, in which some senior journalists attended the session and reflected over the positive relationship of Pakistani and Indian media over the current status of information sharing at mass level. Positive media is the only solution to bring awareness regarding a variety of activities of both the countries in a very productive manner. It was agreed that, many things are similar and common between these two neighbors and the new generation of both the countries respects each other and values an Asian culture and civilization.
Mr. Siraj Qureshi, Chief Correspondent (The Indian Express) seconded Ms. Qadeem about her move of having interaction of both the countries at people to people level so that differences, if there are any persistent at countries’ level could be addressed for confidence building and positive reinforcement. He reiterated about the role of media must be respected and in other hand media should understand and promote the atmosphere of information sharing and to be able to bring and depict the real picture of fact findings before the mass.







Later, team decided to visit Taj Mahal which was quite near to Heritage Institute of Hotel and Tourism. One of the wonders in the world is located in Agra city in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is quite close to the national capital, New Delhi. It was built by Emperor Shah Jahan in the loving memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Shahjahan was the fifth of the Mogul rulers and Mumtaz Mahal was his second wife. She was the daughter of the Prime Minister in Shah Jahan's father, Jahangir's court. Shah Jahan was deeply in love with his lady and took her along wherever he went. She died at a tender age of 39 during one such expedition of the emperor in 1630. It is believed that in her dying moments, Mumtaz Mahal had expressed a wish of a monument to be built in her memory. Devastated with grief at the loss of his dear wife, the emperor decided to commemorate his love for her in the most wonderful structure the world has ever seen.

A manuscript called, the 'Diwan-i-Muhandis' dating back to to the 17th century brings forth the name of its architect. It was a Persian engineer cum astrologer named Ustad Ahmad, a resident of Lahore, who designed the Taj Mahal. It is said that the king grieved for two years, spent most of his time secluded and alone in agony. His son, Aurangzeb, who assumed the Mogul throne, imprisoned him in the Agra Fort from where he could see the splendid structure. He passed away during this sojourn, with the Taj Mahal in front of him. It houses the tombs of Mumtaz Mahal and the Emperor Shah Jahan, who wished to be laid to rest besides his beloved wife.







Having visited Taj Mahal, we managed to visit Agra Forte which was also on the way back to Delhi.

The brief history of is associated with Akbar, king at 14, began consolidating his empire and, as an assertion of his power built the fort in Agra between 1565 and 1571, coeval with the construction of Humayun's tomb in Delhi. The Agra fort retains the irregular outline of the demolished mud-wall fort of the Lodis. The lofty battlements o the new fort cast its protective shadow over the far stretching mansions of court that nobles and princes built along the riverfront. The magnificent towers, bastions and ramparts and majestic gateways symbolized the confidence and power of the third Mughal emperor, Akbar.

The fort contains splendid palaces both in red sandstone and white marble built by two generations of prolific builders Akbar and later Jehangir and Shahjahan.
The fort is encircled by a fetid moat. The lofty battlements of the Agra fort cast its protective shadow over the far stretching mansions of nobles and princes built along the riverfront. The magnificent towers, bastions and ramparts and majestic gateways symbolized the confidence and power of the third Mughal emperor.

The fort contains splendid palaces both in red sandstone and white marble built by two generations of prolific builders, Akbar and later on by Jahangir and Shahjahan. Of the nearly Akbari buildings built in the Bengal and Gujarati traditions, only a few have survived, arrayed in a band on the riverfront.

The evening time was full of home work assignments for another day to begun with tremendous expectations by team to learn from the speakers.

Historical places in Delhi

Once again Sunday was really a welcoming day for all of us by a morning rain, we in a team of three people Mr. Shafqat Ali Chaudhary, Mr. Asfandyar Khan and I headed towards Hamyoon tomb in Delhi which is hardly 30 kms away from our Meadow residence in Fareedabad.
We took an auto Rikshah that, one can easily hire with an actual charge in rupees according to a meter fixed inside.



We dropped in by auto nearby to Humuyan’s tomb, the tickets were purchased from archeological and tourism department that enabled us to get inside the area of tomb, the area is quite huge and capacious, in which lawns and parks are developed by Agha Khan Trust in-collaboration with Indian tourism department.
A brief history of Humyan’s tomb is quite fascinating as the building of the Humayun's Tomb was encouraged from the tomb of the Persian Mongol ruler, Oljeytu, at Sultaniyya. It is complex structure but has its own charm and grandeur. Thousands of travellers from all over the world visit the Humayun's Tomb every year and every day.



You can site Humayun's Tomb in Nizamuddin East in Delhi. Located conveniently at the banks of Yamuna, this tomb is major attraction among the tourists. Counted among one of the must visit monuments Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi was built by his beloved wife Hamida Banu Begam. Its construction work started in the year of 1569, which is fourteen years after the death of Humayun. It took about eight long years for the tomb to be completed.



This tomb is one of the most beautiful monuments in Delhi. Humayun's Tomb, Delhi depicts the true Mughal style of architecture, which was inspired from the Persian style of architecture. It was also recognized as the World Heritage Site by UNESCO because of the brilliant architectural beauty. It involved about 15 lakh rupees for the construction of the Humayun's Tomb in Delhi.
The tomb is surrounded by beautiful lush Mughal garden. The garden is divided into four parts by pathways. This is typical of all Mughal gardens. The various water channels for the fountains make this tomb a true architectural delight.

Inside the Humayun's Tomb, you can find various architectural features, which makes this tomb a truly grand structure. You can find baradari (pavilion) and a hammam (bath chamber) inside the tomb. Built of red sandstone, the dome of the tomb is made up of sparkling white marble. The octagonal chamber within comprise the tomb of Humayun.


After visiting Humyun tomb we moved towards Al Karim Hotel located at Khawaja Nizamudin’s shrine vicinity, this is of one those hotels series which is known by its quality and taste in India.

Following the time constraint in mind we moved towards one of the other historical sites of India by hiring an auto as usual.






A Qutub Minar: The Tallest Monument
The tall and ever attractive monument of Delhi which can be seen from most parts of the city is called the Qutab Minar. Every body has the same question when one sees the structure for the first time. The question that is often being put up is "Why the monument is that big?" or "Was there any specific reason to build such a tall building or it was just a wish of the person who built it?" Well, the exact reason is assumed to have something related to commemorating the victory. Mughals used to build victory towers to proclaim and celebrate victories. Some say the minaret was used to offer prayer but it is so tall that you can hear the person standing on the top. Also, the minaret is not joined on to Qutuddin's mosque and the Iltutmish's mosque.
Qutab Minar is among the tallest and famous towers in the world. When Alauddin returned from the wars in the Deccan, he had this thought in mind that he would build a victory tower. The ruins of this very initiative can be seen adjacent to the Qutbuddin's mosque because Alauddin died at the very start of the construction work and no one carried on to finish the initiative taken by Alauddin.
Qutab Minar is another great masterpiece of Mughal architecture. It has a number of floors or storeys which has beautiful carvings like the one on the tomb of Iltutmish. There are inscriptions all round the tower and these inscriptions reveal that Iltutmish finished the tower. The structure of the wall is made as such that it widens from top to bottom, just to make the minar stronger.
The top of the tower gives an insight to Delhi because you get to see the bird's eye view of the city. To point a few sight seeing from the top, you will find views of the Hauz Khaz on the left and the walls of the Jahanpanah and Siri on the right. It was this very top of Qutab Minar that was used by Khilji and Tughlaq kings to watch the wild Mongol hordes when they threatened Delhi.
The Minar did receive some damage because of earthquakes on more than a couple of occasions but was reinstated and renovated by the respective rulers. During the rule of Firoz Shah, the minar's two top floors got damaged due to earthquake but were repaired by Firoz Shah. In the year 1505, earthquake again struck and it was repaired by Sikandar Lodi. Later on in the year 1794, the minar faced another earthquake and it was Major Smith, an engineer who repaired the affected parts of the minar. Great number of foreigners are coming to visit this site as it is literally amazing and extraordinary work of engineers of that time.



Our visit came to end as the sun was going down to complement visitors to come to visit Minar at evening time. On the way back home we had stop over at some where near to bus stop in Badarpur, a small boy Arjun was selling maze. We bought cooked maze from him and tried to know why he is doing this job in a very small age. On this question, he said that his whole family relies on him to earn bread for them. Again, I tried to know how much he earns daily; he said some times 100 and some time less than this amount. He goes to school in morning and then sales maze at bus stop. In India there, a quite great number of children associated with child labour and struggling very hard to sustain their families for years to come.

DELHI SIGHTSEEING

We had an announcement on 30th July-2010 that Sat day and Sunday will be off from in house training sessions and all the teams would have educational and historical sightseeing.

The day begun with heavy rain in Faridabad and Delhi peripheries, however the bus headed towards Lal Qilah slowly.
We all came to Lal Fort and had quick visit of this historical place.
The Red Fort in urdu: لال قلعہ , usually transcribed into English as Lal Qil'ah or Lal Qila) is a 17th century fort complex constructed by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the walled city of Old Delhi (in present day Delhi, India). It served as the capital of the Mughals until 1857, when Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was exiled by the British Indian government. The British used it as a military camp until India was made independent in 1947. It is now a popular tourist site, as well as a powerful symbol of India's sovereignty: the Prime Minister of India raises the flag of India on the ramparts of the Lahori Gate of the fort complex every year on Independence Day.





Having finished the visit at Lal Qila, the team was divided in some groups so that sightseeing could be prioritized with consensus.
We in a team Mr. Shafqat Chaudhary and I headed towards a holy place of Sultan-ul-Mashaikh, Mehboob-e-Ilahi, Hazrat Shaikh Khwaja Syed Muhammad Nizamuddin Auliya (1238 - 3 April 1325) (Urdu: حضرت شیخ خواجة سیّد محمد نظام الدّین اولیاء) shrine, also known as Hazrat Nizamuddin, who was a famous Sufi saint of the Chishti order in South Asia, an order that believed in drawing close to God through renunciation of the world and service to humanity. He is one of the great saints of the Chishti order in India. His predecessors were Moinuddin Chishti, Bakhtiyar Kaki and Fariduddin Ganjshakar. In that sequence, they constitute the initial spiritual chain or silsila of the Chisti order, which is widely prevalent in India and Pakistan.
Nizamuddin Auliya like his predecessors stressed upon the element of love as a means of realisation of God. For him his love of God implied a love of humanity. His vision of the world was marked by a highly evolved sense of secularity and kindness. It is claimed by the 14th century historiographer Ziauddin Barani that his influence on the Muslims of Delhi was such that a paradigm shift was effected in their outlook towards worldly matters. People began to be inclined towards mysticism and prayers and remaining aloof from the world.
Then we both moved towards the shrine of Ameer Khusrau Dehlavi (1253-1325 AD), a prolific classical poet associated with royal courts of more than seven rulers of Delhi Sultanate, is also a household name in much of North India and Pakistan, through hundreds of playful riddles, songs and legends attributed to him. Through his enormous literary output and the legendary folk personality, Khusrau represents one of the first (recorded) Indian personages with a true multi-cultural or pluralistic identity.







Without loosing time, we both rushed to visit Mirza Ghalib's Tomb in Delhi whose real name is Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib, the legendary Urdu poet of Delhi, buried under it. The tomb in Delhi was designed by the famous architect of Hyderabad, Nawab Jang Bahadur. Located in Nizamuddin area, this tomb lies next to Hazrat Nizamuddin's Mazaar and north of the enclosure of Chaunsath Khamba. An academy was established nearby later in 1969 to perpetuate his memory and works. The greatest Urdu poet of the nineteenth century, he was a great writer of ghazals and a friend of the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah 'Zafar' . He was also appointed as the teacher of Bahadur Shah II.
The grave in Mirza Ghalib's Tomb in Delhi is covered by a small marble structure and enclosed within a compound wall.
The courtyard, which surrounds the grave in Mirza Ghalib's Tomb in Delhi, is always locked. Guess why? So that gate-crashers and intruders can be kept away from the serene and pure ambience of the place.








After visiting the tomb of Mirza Ghalib we both Shafqat and I planned to have food some where nearby to Delhi Jamia Masjid preferably Al Karim Hotel. Finally we were able to reach at AlKarim Hotel and had delicious food and then headed towards red temple called as Shri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir which is an oldest and best known Jain temple in Delhi India. It is directly across from the Laal Quila in the historical Chandni Chowk area.
It is known for an avian veterinary hospital (bird hospital) in a second building behind the main temple.
Located just opposite the massive Red Fort at the intersection of Netaji Subhas Marg and Chandni Chowk, Digambar, Jain Temple is the oldest temple of the Jain religion in the capital, originally built in 1656. An impressive red sandstone temple today (the temple has undergone many alterations and additions in the past and was enlarged in the early 19th century), the Digambar Jain Temple is popularly known as Lal Mandir.
After visiting Lal Mandir we both came back to Meadow, Global school of management hostel.

Training sessions and sightseeing in Delhi

The day started with a lecture program of Mr. Najmul Hassan (Assistant Professor) NIILM-Centre for management studies Dehli Fareedabad India, on Islamic Microfinance.
Mr. Hassan said that, the concept of Islamic microfinance emerged in late 1990 after Islamic banking system across Islamic countries of south Asia.
Religion influences on development, hence all the bankers thought to have complete economic code of Islamic microfinance to support the Muslim marginalized communities.
Mr. Hassan, quoted the example of village banking in Seria which happened to be the successful model, whereas in Yaman this concept couldn’t work, because in microfinance, an idea of giving back the credit money (capital) with an agreed interest is an illegitimate/Haram in Islam.
In India there are some examples of microfinance that has helped some people to upgrade the cooperative standards i.e Amul dairy products is one of the tangible instances.
In charity, the recipient of (Khairat) never thinks that the money received by him/her is non returnable, as it is legitimate in Islam for certain poor class. While Zakat can be given to those even if they are not Muslims.
In Iran an example of Karze Hasna is some thing that can be taken by some one who deserves and registered recipient with bank.
Mr. Hassan clarified that Ulmas the (Scholars) of Islam are seriously thinking about the microfinance structure and its very basic concept of helping poor, however risk analysis in this concept is very important before disbursing microfinance.


After tea break the other session was facilitated by Dr. Alka Srivastava (Micro Finance consultant), She is the one who has worked very hard to organize women groups in Andhra Pardesh, in which some (Women Empowerment Models) can be the example for other countries too; as some women groups launched quite wonderful and effective wine quit movements for their male counter parts and they succeed it. In some villages where teachers were not coming to attend schools, these women groups helped support the process of participation and had some meaningful protests for the restoration of closed schools and finally the Government people in power accepted their concerns and transferred the teachers to those schools where the teacher was desperately needed. Dr. Srivastava, firmly believes that until unless civil society is not going to help the Government in the process of fact finding and issue identification, we as nation can’t achieve our stipulated results for the holistic development process of any country in the world.
She emphasized on the fair and transparent process of credit disbursement so that, from the day one community should start thinking that the money they get is not meant for charity purpose but this is some thing through which an idea of earning and enterprise is achieved meticulously. Dr. Srivastava, shared her experiences of life that there is a huge difference in consumption and production characteristics hence one has to catalyze the whole idea of enterprise development, so as to achieve an ultimate social empowerment of women through micro finance practicalities as this is one of the tools for social empowerment of women who are deep rooted in society.





The second half of the day was planned to visit Jamia Masjid Delhi where all the males had to perform Juma prayers and to eat food at Al Karim Hotel near by Jamia Masjid.
The Masjid-i Jahān-Numā (Persian: مسجد جھان نما, the 'World-reflecting Mosque'), commonly known as the Jama Masjid of Delhi, is the principal mosque of Old Delhi in India. Commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, builder of the Taj Mahal, and completed in the year 1656 AD, it is the largest and best-known mosque in India. It lies at the origin of a very busy central street of Old Delhi, Chandni Chowk.
The later name, Jama Masjid, is a reference to the weekly Friday noon congregation prayers of Muslims, Jummah, which are usually done at a mosque, the "congregational mosque" or "jāmi' masjid". The courtyard of the mosque can hold up to twenty-five thousand worshippers. The mosque also houses several relics in a closet in the north gate, including an antique copy of the Qur'an written on deer skin.
Having visited and performed Namaz, we in team of four people Mr. Shafqat Chaudhary, Mr. Mohsin, Mr. Arshad and I, left for another historical place of worship by Sikhs since last many centuries known as GURUDWARA SISGANG which is hardly 2 kilometres away from Jamia Majid. This is place where one can imagine a religious unity and strength of Sikhs.

So by that way the day ended up with great learning, joy and fun by all the team members.