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JAAGO Foundation (JAAGO)

Badin Pakistan
November 2011
$4,800

Grant Description

When the Sindh province of Pakistan flooded in late 2011, hundreds of thousands became displaced. Survivors could receive aid such as food and clothing only when they possessed a government-issued “Pakistan card,” available at government collection centers. Retrieving this card would normally only be socially appropriate for the male head of household. If a woman’s husband didn’t survive the flood, she became responsible for obtaining the card for her family at these centers; but women in rural areas usually lacked the wherewithal to access the centers or the knowledge of how to do so. In order to ensure a gendered response to the disaster JAAGO Foundation (JAAGO) requested funds to establish a Women’s Helpline Center to assist women in registering for their cards and coordinate with the government to issue them. They also requested funds for women to travel to flood-affected areas to raise awareness of the Center.

The mission of JAAGO is to generate widespread societal demand and commitment for a socially just, democratic, caring and gender-responsive society in Pakistan, where all citizens, women and men, are recognized as equal, with the right to lead their lives with self-respect and dignity.

Impact Report

Because of the UAF grant, JAAGO was able to establish a women's help line for the flood-affected community in Badin, Sindh, Pakistan. JAAGO hired personnel who traveled to the flood-affected areas and facilitated 527 women to get the government-issued “Pakistan card” required to access humanitarian aid. Through this outreach they were able to help the women, elders, and children that had been ignored by the authorities to access relief money from the government. As a result, the communities now see JAAGO as their advocate and approach the organization's representatives if they experience discrimination while accessing the Pakistan card or humanitarian aid. JAAGO also conducted meetings with the police department and local banks to prevent them from treating the flood-affected communities with violence and discrimination in the aftermath of the flood.