Child Protection Pakistan Project #18627

Empower 100 Child Brides in Pakistan

by Jaag Welfare Movement

Project Report | Jan 5, 2018
Skill Development is meant to make girls advocates

By Abdul Rub Farooqi | Executive Director

Najma along with her 7 Children thanking you

I must say “Thank You to Girls Not Brides & its Donors, for giving us an opportunity to get skill and awareness about our rights”, said by Najma Ahmed, 28 Years old student of Vocational Centre who married at the age of 15. She further said, “I was not given a chance to learn or earn for livelihood, and this vocational centre for livelihood is providing me with the skill and a hope to earn for my 8 Children”. Najma said, “I give 11 births in last 13 years, I and my children are the victim of malnourishment and remain ill. 50% of our monthly income that is very small goes to medical store and doctors.” She said with sorrow, “My 3 children died due to anaemia and malnourishment, and I did nothing to save them because I was myself a child and illiterate. I did no convince my husband to delay or gap as I always considered it my fate”. Najma said, “I know some sewing but in the village, there is no work order but this vocational centre for livelihood is hope for good income in near future and all because of your support”.

Vocational Centre for Livelihood was taken over and established under the project “Empower 100 Child Brides in Pakistan” in last quarter. 2-year Memorandum of Agreement signed with the Government of Punjab to operational this non-functional Technical Training Center for the flood-affected population. Project team did the following in this quarter:

17 Sewing Machines repaired and updated and 10 Embroidery machines are ready now
7 Sensitization sessions using multimedia presentation conducted which includes the issues of SRHR, Gender-Based Violence, Child marriage, women empowerment, sexual harassment at workplace.
Daily 4-hour training for last 2 months enabled one group to prepare 30 Uniforms and 30 baby dresses while cloth and material provided under project expenses
Tailoring & Embroidery Manuals distributed among literate students
For practice, Plane paper sheets, old newspapers and cheap cloth distributed

For getting feedback, students stand together to say thank you and they said, “We are not getting only skill but we are also becoming advocates to end Gender-Based Violence and Child marriage. Now we can defend our rights, we can change the society; we can change our generation to think for rights of women”.

Students showing their work with happiness

Students group photo in Uniform

Students thanking GirlsNotBrides & Donors

Links:

Short video of Vocational Center for Livelihood thanking you

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Oct 9, 2017
Yes - Now we are on the track of Women Empowerment

By Abdul Rub Farooqi | Executive Director

External view of the Vocational Center of Project

After a long time effort, Project "Empower 100 Child Brides in Pakistan" is now on real track of women empowerment and sustainability. Approximately a project costing 4 Million is handed over to Jaag Welfare Movement from Government of Punjab. The TEVTA Technical Center was developed in a Model village for the flood affected women after devastating flood of 2010. The said Vocational Center was non-functional from 3 years. Frequent meetings with Government officials including Social Welfare, Provincial Disaster Management Authority and District Administration, Jaag convinced them to give management to Jaag Welfare Movement of TEVTA Vocational Center Model Village No. 48/NP Rahim Yar Khan.

Jaag planned it to manage under the project of “Empower 100 Child Brides in Pakistan” to empower girls of the area by provision of skill and livelihood opportunity as well as sustainable point of the project. Government of Punjab has developed Technical Training with Tailoring, embroidery and hand work for girls and provided 25 Sewing, Embroidery, Disc matic, Juki Botton Machines with furniture & Fixture. Building has 3 Rooms with office equipped with Computer, Photocopier etc.

Jaag Welfare Movement upgraded this vocational training center into Vocational Center for Livelihood. The trainees will become partner after completion of 3 month course. Simultaneously these girls and brides will work as worker to prepare low-cost school uniform and earn as per their work. Jaag Welfare Movement is going to develop market by linkage development with different private and government schools to supply the uniform. For purchase of raw material, Zakat & Ushr Department will contribute PKR 350,000 as rehabilitation grant to 20 girls and young brides to become partner of this business of garments. The project “Empower 100 child brides in Pakistan” is promoted, sponsored and facilitated by GirlsNotBrides, Jaag has declared that this project is sponsored by GNB. The Project is contributing half million Rupees (US$ 5000) for Vocational Center for Livelihood (VCL) activities and for raw material/ stock.

Social mobilization is in progress and the community especially girls are happy to become a partner of 1.5% - 2.5% shareholder of profit while loss will be covered from contribution of the project. Jaag will establish online marketing system for increasing livelihood means. GNB brand will be develop and introduce. GNB will be described as Girlz N Boyz .

This all because of your support provided us an opportunity to empower girls of the area and reach to those who are victim of early marriage. I on behalf of Jaag Welfare Movement and community, thank you especially the Secretariat of GirlsNotBride and GlobalGiving for their support to raise funds for this project.

Orientation Meeting with Girls and Young Brides

Embroidery Machines for VCL

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Jul 10, 2017
Helpline is chance to talk about women suffering

By Abdul Rub Farooqi | Executive Director

Saima with her Children are thanking you

In Pakistan, Child Marriage remains a big Psycho-social & Health challenge. It’s correlated with high levels of poverty, and it’s evident in violence, low rates of food consumption and also inadequate nutrient intake. Child marriage and malnutrition is linked to morbidity and mortality, and its impact on young children in the Southern Punjab has become alarming.

At Jaag Welfare Movement, it is our goal to continuously evaluate our programs in the hopes of enhancing them and helping more people achieve positive Social & health outcomes. Here in Rahim Yar Khan, we have established a helpline for the victims of Child Marriage and Gender Based Violence. This Helpline is also providing guidance, moral and legal support to overcome the problems of Child Brides.

The Project “Empower 100 Child Brides in Pakistan”, we have partnered with the GirlsNotBrides.org and received funding thru GlobalGiving from our precious individual committed donors. To achieve the objective of project, Helpline is medium for Provision to women with access to legal & social representation by ensuring the opportunities for all victims of Child Marriage and GBV to pursue justice against perpetrators of violence through the formal legal & social system.

We currently operate Help Line at one site to save Child Brides from physical, mental and sexual abuse analysis the impacts of provided moral and legal help to victims.

Our staff is busy enrolling participants, helping out in their domestic problems, referring to nearest medical facility for measuring children with severe acute malnutrition, maintaining participant records, following up with and monitoring participants’ health & social status.

During the recent quarter, Newly established “Help Line”(Front Desk at Jaag) has provided moral support to 13 Child Brides, Financial support to 30 Child Brides and legal support to 5 Child Brides. What and how moral support works, an example is presented here for reference.

Saima (not original name) one of them who came to Help Line with wet eyes and was crying with marks of torture on her body but no fracture was made as evidence to report in Police. She came with her neighbor and told her story:

I got love marriage at the age of 15 trapped by an elder boy and soon became the mother of 2 kids. Elder son is now of 10 years and younger daughter is of 7 Years old.

My parents are living in District Faisalabad which is 400 KM far from this place. After a month of marriage, my husband was use to torture me for whom I left my loving parents but I could not return back as I felt guilty and later my kids were the hurdle to go back. Both kids are very weak and malnourished as I was so young to birth these children and did not support them with good food. My husband is a daily wager. Then I learned sewing and started to stitch the clothes of nearby community. 8-12 Hours daily working resulted prosperity but my husband’s attitude towards torture was remain same as he realized that I could not go back.

She said, “Now he made worst torture on me and give warning of divorce as he is interested in other woman. He demanded my saving PKR 50,000/- to give the loan to that woman and I refused, and he beaten me a lot. All the neighbors and my children are witnessed for this torture. My friend informed and brings me to this facility”.

Help Line officer called her husband and briefed with newly amended laws, punishment and fine along with the threat to publicize the issue through media and then you must be ready to go to jail for minimum 3-7 years with fine of half million Rupees. Officer realized him that we are so angry on his act and the video record of his children against their father is recorded here and can be a presented in legal case.

The threat & warning worked and he promised to stop this torture as this was my fault and crime. He affirms that he will not touch her for torture and live with peace.

Saima and her children are thanking you for providing assistance to establish this facility in our area. Saima said, "Finally someone is giving me the chance to talk about this suffering".

Jaag Welfare Movement has become the partner of "Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights Movement" named Ujala for Get Up Speak Out project of Awaz Foundation Pakistan. It is similar project and it will strengthen this project and this project will strengthen the other one.

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