engro’s flood rehab efforts
As the flood waters swept through the Indus plains of Pakistan, Engro and its team of volunteers worked round the clock to support displaced residents of the hardest hit areas, providing rations, shelter and medical aid. Now that the worst is over, Engro recognizes the graveness and difficulty presented by this devastating situation.
To overcome these challenges, Engro Foundation is working on a two-pronged strategy in the hardest hit areas of Sindh and Punjab. One half of this strategy involves the revival of lives, by rebuilding communities through a model village program, whilst simultaneously rehabilitating the local economy by providing medical and nutritional care for livestock.
Khushaal Livestock Rehabilitation Program
Engro Foundation has partnered with USAID|Pakistan for the rehabilitation of livestock in flood affected areas of Larkana and Dadu. Named the ‘Khushaal Livestock’ program, the initiative of USAID|Pakistan’s livelihood assistance project, in collaboration with Engro Foundation, Engro Foods, and the Mennonite Economic Development Authority (MEDA)
The project, worth PKR 77.35 million, targets 15,000 households and over 100,000 animals over a 6 month period ending May 2011, and aims to restore productivity of farm animals to pre flood levels. Learn More Here
Model Village Program
Following the aftermath of Pakistan’s worst floods, the most urgent need for the rehabilitation process is in the building of homes and restoration of livelihoods that have been destroyed. The pressing need is for communities to be approached in a holistic way so that affected persons can have shelter while also beginning the journey towards self-sufficiency.
Engro is embarking on the largest single social investment in its history by building a model village in Ehsanpur, Muzzaffargarh, Punjab which will provide up to 200 families with shelter, upgraded medical facilities and schools, infrastructure, and last but not least, livelihood opportunities. Learn More Here
Engro’s Katcha Schools Program
Engro’s support for education in its host communities also stretches far into the Katcha (reverine belt) area along the Indus in Sindh. These schools serve as the first and at times, the only access to education for children in this area, and many of these schools have been built with the direct help of the communities they are based in.
Engro has been committed to this cause since 2001, and the initiative now covers 11 primary schools with 24 teachers who have educated 1,250 students over the last ten years. Engro’s support has ensured the provision of free education for all the children enrolled in these schools, and includes the provision of infrastructure and learning aids. All teachers at these schools are employed through Engro’s financial support, and receive regular training at the Teaching and Resource Centre (TARC) at Daharki.
The floods that engulfed the Indus plains during the summer of 2010 had a devastating effect on most of the schools in the Katha area, and Engro is currently engaged in the reconstruction of these schools with the provision of new infrastructure.
