Plan Pakistan: what we do

Plan’s work in Pakistan covers 5 core areas, all of which are rooted in the rights of the child:

• health
• education
• livelihoods
• child and gender rights
• disaster risk reduction and response

Plan Pakistan works to increase community involvement in order to improve health care and ensure that everyone’s health needs are addressed.
We target women and children’s health and help to increase awareness among adolescents regarding reproductive health issues. We also promote good hygiene behaviour related to safe drinking water, sanitation and other environmental health issues.

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Plan Pakistan

Plan has been operating in Pakistan since 1997, helping marginalised children to access their rights to health, education, livelihood and protection.

Through long-term programmes we work with around 100 communities across the country, benefiting about 21,000 children.

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Girls Are Human Beings Too!

Humaira, 18, from Pakistan, believes every girl has the right to an education. Yet, in her country, girls face many hurdles when it comes to going to school, such as distance, absent teachers, or child marriage – all of which this young woman has witnessed. Undeterred, Humaira has vowed to make it to medical school once she has passed her exams and, in her spare time, she tutors girls at one of Plan International’s local NFE (Non Formal Education) centers.

“I want to make sure that all girls in Pakistan get an education,” says Humaira. “Education for girls is essential. They become aware and can learn life skills. In hard times, they can earn a livelihood and help support their family.”

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Case study: Girls speak out at UN

A delegation of girls from poor rural communities across the world are sharing the harsh reality of their lives at a United Nations meeting in New York.

The 9 Plan-supported teenagers from Cambodia, Cameroon, Malawi, Pakistan and Sierra Leone will tell the Commission on the Status of Women* (CSW), of the daily challenges girls face in their communities – from early and forced marriage to polygamy and domestic violence.

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A Journey to School: Faridah's Story

Faridah is a 17-year-old girl living in Pakistan. At the age of 12, she was forced to drop out of school. By the age of 15, she was married to a much older man.

Despite these circumstances, Faridah has been determined to receive an education. As a student at one of Plan’s Non Formal Education (NFE) Centers, Faridah is attending class, despite the backlash that she has received from her family.

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Amira: I wandered lonely as a cloud

Just 2 years ago, Amira could not read or write. Now watch as she confidently reads aloud Wordsworth's poem 'Daffodils'.

Amira is one of 11,000 girls across Pakistan who are benefiting from Plan's non-formal education centres. The centres work to fast-track girls who are out of education to grade 10 level, so they can get a school leaving certificate and follow their dreams.

Globally, 1 in 5 girls is out of school because of poverty, violence and discrimination.

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A Journey to School: One Teacher's Story

Plan’s non-formal education projects are educating over 11,000 girls aged 10-24 across Pakistan. As part of the project, Plan has created a series of Non Formal Education (NFE) Centers in various communities that aim to fast-track the girls’ education to Grade 10 to enable them to learn important life skills and receive a graduation certificate.

Many Pakistani girls drop out of government schools because of poverty or distance. However Plan’s NFE centers are free to attend and are located within close proximity to the communities. The centers even provide a female caretaker who accompanies the girls to school to ensure their safety.

Aisha works as a teacher at one of the local Non Formal Education (NFE) centers in Pakistan and has seen the impact that an education can have on the girls who live in the community. She believes that every girl should have the right to an education. This is her story...

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Pakistani Girls Take a Stand Against Violence, Poverty, and Child Marriage

In Pakistan, an education is the difference between a life of poverty and a life of empowerment. But what is seen as a basic constitutional right isn’t that easy to access–especially if you’re a girl.

From poverty to persecution, there are numerous barriers that stand in the way of a girl’s education. Last October, things took a near fatal turn when 15-year-old activist Malala Yousafzai was shot by the Taliban because she stood up for her right to go to school.

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Girls from Malawi and Pakistan at London child marriage meeting

Four girls from Malawi and Pakistan are talking to Justine Greening, the UK Government’s Secretary of State for International Development, and other high level decision-makers, about the impact of child marriage in their communities.

You can read more about the girls, who are members of Plan’s Global Speakers Network, below. They are participating in a special event today attended by London based High Commissioners from across the Commonwealth of Nations and representatives from the UK’s Department for International Development.

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A birthday to remember for Malala and girls around the world

July 12th will be one of those days you remember for the rest of your life.

Malala Yousafzai will address the public at the United Nations for the first time since being shot last year on her way to school by the Taliban in Pakistan. On the same day, Malala will celebrate her 16th birthday, a milestone millions of supporters dreamt she would reach.

Last October, Malala was shot by armed Taliban gunmen while she was on her way to school in Pakistan – targeted for her keen support for girls’ education. In amazement, the world watched as Malala recovered from the malicious attack.

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The other Malalas

Malala was gunned down by the Taliban in Pakistan because she dared to be a schoolgirl. But violence isn't the only thing stopping girls from getting an education.

Watch the clip and meet the 'other Malalas' who face a daily struggle against poverty, prejudice and discrimination as they attempt to go to school.

For Farridah, harassment threatened her dreams. When her grandfather saw her being intimidated by boys on her way to class, he took her home, beat her and forced her to drop out of school.

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Malala raises her hand for girls!

Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl who has become a global symbol of a girls’ right to an education, has given her support to Plan’s Raise Your Hand campaign.

Malala, and her father Ziauddin, have both raised their hands – a symbolic gesture which calls on the United Nations and governments around the world to make girls’ education a global priority.

It is the first time Malala has supported an international non-governmental organisation’s education work since she was shot by Taliban gunmen on her way to school in Pakistan last October – targeted for her support of girls’ education.

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Sunflower crops give farmers new hope in Pakistan

Over the past three years, the people ofPakistan have been living a reoccurring nightmare in the form of severe floods that have affected more than 33 million people.

The flooding has caused 2,865 deaths, damaged 3.6 million homes, and destroyed 5.5 million hectares of land.

Why is this happening in Pakistan? 

Pakistan straddles two major tectonic plates and has a considerable coastline, which ultimately means earthquakes and floods are not uncommon events for over 190 million people occupying this fragile land.

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Life under water: When monsoon season strikes in Bangladesh

Water is essential for survival, yet in Bangladesh, water also has the power to destroy anything in its path.

For months at a time, monsoon season brings heavy rainfall to the country. In fact, approximately 80% of Bangladesh’s yearly rainfall will occur from June to October, and by the end of monsoon season, almost one third of the country is underwater.

Sitting at the foothills of the Himalayas, river erosion and monsoons occur frequently for the remote community of Hatibandha, Bangladesh. When this happens, the community can only be accessed by boat, houses are damaged, and crops and livestock are lost.

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Jordskælv nær Pakistan

Et voldsomt jordskælv, der målte hele 7,8 på Richterskalaen, ramte tirsdag det sydøstlige Iran tæt på grænsen til Pakistan, som er af Plans programlande.

Adskillige børn og voksne frygtes omkommet. Indtil videre meldes der om 25 dræbte i Mashkel området i Baluchistan provinsen i det sydvestlige Pakistan, mens 150 mennesker er sårede. Jordskælvet har desuden ødelagt mere end 3.000 huse og dræbt over 1.100 kvæg.

Redningsaktioner er lige nu i gang, og det undersøges, hvad der ellers er behov for af hjælp. Ingen fadderbørn er berørte, da Plan ikke arbejder i Baluchistan provinsen.

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Fighting for her education

Erum, 22, understood from a young age that being a girl would not work in her favour. Living in rural Pakistan, many young girls, just like Erum, face social and cultural barriers that prevent girls from attending school. Their right to an education is overshadowed by roles women and girls are expected to play in society, like being a wife and mother.

“It’s very difficult for me because I have the motivation to do something for other people,” said Erum. “But in Pakistan, every girl faces the same situation, just because they are girls.”

The situation Erum describes is alarming: girls being assaulted en route to school; young girls being forced to marry and drop out of school; and girls being subjected to cruel names for wanting to continue their education.

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The right to be heard - and to an education

On 9 October 2012, 14 year old Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head because she is a girl and dared to defend every girl’s right to education. 10th December 2012 is Human Rights Day - its focus this year the right to be heard in public life and included in political decision-making. Malala paid a heavy price for trying to be heard. The attack on her sparked a wave of protests and condemnation across the world. The protests revealed a generation no longer willing to tolerate the gap between the promise of opportunity for all and reality.
 
For decades we have assumed the inevitability of the forward march of education, the inexorable year-on-year, continent-by-continent progress towards universal education. But if there is one reality that exposes our failure to deliver, it is that there are 61 million young children like Malala who will not go to school today or any other day. Written off at five and six years old, they will never come close to realizing their true potential.

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Malala - Because I am a Girl urgent action appeal

On 9 October, 15-year-old Malala Yousafzai from Pakistan was shot in the head because she is a girl and dared to defend every girls’ right to an education.

Malala’s story has awakened people everywhere to the fight to make education a reality for all girls - no matter where they are born.

On 10 November, Gordon Brown, the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education, will meet Pakistan's President Zardari and deliver a petition calling for urgent action to support girls’ education.

Please add your voice right now - sign the petition on the UN Education Envoy website.

We need 1 million signatures. Please spread the word and share the link with all your friends.

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Oversvømmelser i Pakistan

5 millioner børn og familier er lige nu påvirket af de alvorlige oversvømmelser, som ramte Pakistan i september som følge af monsunregnen. Værst ramt er Sindh-, Punjab- og Balochistan-provinserne.

De altødelæggende vandmasser har kostet 370 mennesker livet og såret cirka 1.200 børn og voksne.

91 % af de ramte familier har reduceret antallet af måltider pr. dag, og 300.000 mennesker har brug for ekstra ernæring.

Mere end 3.200 skoler er ødelagte, mens 550 skoler nu bebos af indbyggere, der har været tvunget til at forlade hus og hjem. Dermed går dette års monsunregn ud over hele 500.000 skoleelever.


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Lack of birth registrations keep children out of school

Sania, 7, is a very shy girl who lives in the slums of Islamabad in Pakistan. She loves books and learning and was keen to go to school after graduating from a preschool supported by Plan’s early childhood care and development (ECCD) initiative.

As her former caregiver Rehana observed, “She loves studying and questioning. She is now 7 years old and it is time for her to go to primary school.”

But Sania faced a challenge, bigger even than overcoming the initial resistance of her father, who had thought education was wasted on a girl: Sania had no birth certificate. Without one, it’s difficult to enroll in any primary school.

In some districts of Pakistan, fewer than 1 in 10 births are registered – and it’s especially tough for girls. In Kyber Pakhtunkhwa province, for example, from January 2005 to February 2008, 5.7% of boys had their births registered compared to just 3.6% of girls. With statistics appearing to show fewer girls than actually exist, funding for girls’ education has been seriously shortchanged.

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