SESWA, SWABI

        Year of Establishment:           1986

        Registration:                         Under Social Welfare Agencies Ordinance 1961, No.DSW/465/NWFP.

        Certification                         Certified by Pakistani Center of Philanthropy (PCP)                                

        Tax Exemptions                     Tax Exempted under section 2(36) of Income Tax Ordinance 2001

         Organization Structure          Executive Body & Management                                                

         Operational Area:                 Swabi, Mardan & Bunir

        About the area

Swabi lies between the Indus and Kabul rivers, in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan . Swabi is the fourth most populous district of NWFP with Yousaf Zai clan of Pukhtoons as the predominant clan of this district. Before partition, Muslims and Hindus lived together peacefully. After partition, the Hindus left for India and now the whole population is Pukhtoon.

The History and culture of Swabi is very rich. The late historian Roshan Khan Baba from this region has written extensively about the history of this great tribe. One of his books ‘History of Yousaf Zai tribe’ a comprehensive document on this important tribe.  

A drive to Swabi from Jehangira or Mardan is scenic and a beautiful experience. Lush green fields and shady trees line the road of either side.

People of Swabi are highly civilized, hospitable, skilled, hardworking and enterprising. The main stay of their economy is agriculture. However a significant number also work abroad for earning their livelihood.

Statistics

·      Total area of Swabi is 1543 square kilometers.

·      Population density in the area is 812 persons per square kilometer.

·      The main source of income of the population is agriculture.

·      Total agricultural area is 87050 hectors.

·       

Village Shewa

         Village Shewa is situated three kilometer north of the Mardan-Swabi highway at about 25 Km east of Mardan and 14 Km west of Swabi. It lies in the foothills of the mountains that separate it from Buner District. It is difficult to trace that how old the village is, but it is sure that it came under Muslim influences in the beginning of 10th century AD. Villages Ismaila and Adina situated in the foothills of Karammar range and in the neighborhood of village Shewa were the military camps of Mahmood of Ghazna who attacked India 17 times (1001-1011 AD). The present inhabitants i.e. Mandanr Yousafzai, a major tribe of Pukhtoons, permanently occupied this area in 14th century.

          The population of the village Shewa is 25,000. Majority of its inhabitants depends on agriculture, however significant number of people are also involved in other sectors and contribute to the socio-economic development of the area. The village comprised of various khels (sub-tribes on the basis of linage). Each Khel has its representation in the village Jirga; one of the Pukhtoons’ most revered institution for resolving conflict and addressing collective issues. Shewa has a special privilege in this respect because most of its Jirga members are cognizant of the needs of the time and are actively involved in exploring avenues for the socio-economic uplift of the village and its people. Its positive and accommodative attitude has been a critical factor in the successful implementation of various social, economic, environmental and infrastructure schemes by SESWA with the support of various Government and NGO’s projects during the last 20 years, which has caused a marked change in the life style of the people.

The SESWA

Traditionally, the Jirga’s main responsibility was to maintain status quo, manage conflict and   decide regarding the communal property. It had little capacity and consciousness to deal with the issues of women development, children rights and the various kind of abuses against them at various levels, constraints faced by the poor people engaged with the agriculture, and health & Sanitation. So a group of young educated men got together to work for change. The assorted bunch comprised graduates, educated farmers and high school students who shared the common goal of setting things right. But not one of them knew how. That was 1982 and the NGO phenomenon had yet to take off. With no model to emulate, no skills to apply and no mentor to follow. This group spent all their free time in earnest debate concerning the myriad problems and the possible solutions.

Four years of discussion delivered Shewa Educated Social Workers Association (SESWA). Formulating a set of by-laws, the group elected a voluntary governing body together with an association of voluntary workers and arrived on the scene with a printed letterhead and a couple of registers in September 1986. Since there was no office and no money to rent one, they set themselves up in the Hujra of one of their supporters.

 Now most of them had jobs or agriculture to look after or where students with lessons to mind and the weekly holiday was the only day they could work in the village. One Friday in September that year Shewa woke up to find this bunch of madmen clearing choked drains and removing rubbish from the streets. Conspiracy theorists went into high gear; the young men had received a vast sum of money from the dictatorial regime, one rumor went, to pursue an agenda that was difficult for ordinary folk to perceive. Or, as the mullahs thundered, they were agents of foreign anti-Muslim lobbies.

 Working in the Swabi district at that time was the well-known German donor GTZ and the SESWA members frequently saw its vehicle bearing the European director to their project area north of Shewa. One day these men got it into their heads to stop the foreigner and have a work with him; why was it that GTZ could only work in the neighboring union council while completely ignoring them when they were equally deserving of assistance? As the director’s jeep approached Shewa one fine day, they stepped into the middle of the road to stop it, demanding that the man listen to what they had to say. The GTZ director promised to return for a discussion. The result was SESWA’s first partnership with a donor. Albeit tiny in terms of aid, the 25000 rupees were sufficient for the building of a flood protection wall along one floodwater stream that periodically inundated the village. SESWA provided the entire unskilled workforce and when the GTZ engineer came to inspect the dyke he told the organization they had accomplished 50000 rupees worth of work for half as much. SESWA’s battle for registration with the Social Welfare Department, already into its fourth year, was given new impetus by the GTZ partnership as the agency preferred working with registered bodies. After all the comic twists the effort finally paid off and SESWA emerged as a registered NGO in 1990.that SESWA had already garnered enough respect among local circles is manifest from the fact that their registration fee of 10000 rupees was paid by the district council.

 As catalyst for social change SESWA’s work would not be complete without focusing on elimination of all kind of discrimination against the women, girls and children, provision of education to all, especially to the destitute and vulnerable, uplift of human rights and fight against injustices, environmental issues, health & sanitation and introducing new technologies in the agricultural field. 

Mission: To create awareness among people and organize them to solve their own problems

Objectives;

 ¨      To mobilize people and facilitate them in organizing themselves to solve their own problems.

¨    To undertake developmental initiatives for promoting gender equality and protection of the rights of children.

¨    Socio-economic empowerment of the rural people through formation of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and WOs (Women Organizations) for sustainable development

¨    To build capacities of local people for optimal utilization of local resources such as, human, natural and agriculture.

¨    To take steps to improve the quality of education

¨    To educate the people regarding the health issues 

 Values                 

1 Democracy

1 Accountability

1 Respect for difference of opinion.

1 Merit

1 Discipline

1 Supremacy of constitution

Approach of the Organization

SESWA started its efforts from the grassroots level in 1986 as a youth organization and achieved the status of a professional NGO after an extensive struggle. Through out its journey SESWA believes that development without community participation is impossible.

SESWA uses Participatory Rural Appraisal methodology to involve the community in the course of development. Institution building remains the essential part of all its initiatives and the strategy is to empower the community through grassroots motivation and mobilization. The approach focuses on capacity building initiatives through greater participation of the community in identifying and implementing village level projects, linking communities with surrounding services and by increasing the involvement of government line agencies and institutions. Gender equity remains a dominant concern in all its policies, program initiatives and activities since it ensures the empowerment of women by enhancing their participation in the process of development.

SESWA’s organogram

Programs

Programs of SESWA are the unique examples of volunteerism which is the difference that distinguishes the organization from other NGOs working around the country as these programs are exclusively run by the volunteer members including the Executive Body and devoted general members without any hope of reward. 

These programs are: -

 HID (Human & Institutional Development) and Education Sector

 HID

 Through out its life span, the organization got an experience that without harnessing the veiled potential and recognition of volunteers and activists no developmental intervention can be sustainable. Proper and need based trainings are the only tools that can enable the masses to identify their problems and surmounting them. Observing all these realities, SESWA sketched an inclusive HRD programs for the communities in its target area and also the staff members to enable them to work effectively and efficiently. 

 SESWA has its own training hall at the Office, which is fully equipped with the trainings delivery equipments and other necessary items. The concerned HRD staff members are well trained and experienced to carry out effective Training Need Assessment and plan accordingly. The following table clearly indicates the progress made by the HID Sector SESWA.  

Trainings organized for the VOs & WOs since 1995

 Apart from organizing variety of trainings for the general members and staff members, the Section is also in contact with various national and international organizations and institutions, which are renowned in conducting quality trainings, to build the capacity of the members and affiliated COs and enable them to work effectively in their respective areas.

 General members trained

 Trainings secured by the SESWA’s Employees

 Education

 Quality basic education is important not only for preparing individuals for the subsequent higher educational levels but also to equip them with the requisite basic life skills. Quality education also ensures increased access and equality and it is mainly due to these reasons that various international Forums and Declarations have emphasized improvements in the quality of education.

 Strengthening the quality of education in the area of its influence has been one of our top agenda item. Since inception the organization has been experimenting with a number of initiatives and interventions for improving the quality of education with the assistance of national and international NGOs, foreign donors and influential people of the locality. Moreover, the organization in the collaboration of the Village Jirga and some donors has worked for the expansion of educational infrastructure to bring the area at par with the rest of the N.W.F.P. Recently SESWA Constructed its own building for the Shewa Model School (SMS) with the aim to give a permanent basis to its educational efforts and provide innovative leadership in overcoming the educational deficit of the area which is quite obvious both in terms of quality as well as quantity.

No one can deny the heavy burden over the government schools, aged curriculum and lack of facilities to provide a conducive environment for the students to get quality education. Keeping these facts in mind, the organization took the historical decision to establish a primary model school for the poor and destitute children of the area. It was a difficult job with limited resources but with utmost confidence, courage and dedication of the persons associated with it, the experiment was successfully carried out.

The school was initially started   in the year 2004 in a hired building with seven classrooms, a computer lab and library. Gradually with the growing number of students and interest of the community, the Board of Governors after deliberation with the senior members, HID Sector and educationists of the area, conceived a plan for establishing a middle school to address the demand of the community. The plan was then discussed with the Executive Body, which resulted in an allocation of two million rupees for the construction of the building of the school on land already procured by SESWA.  The Executive Body SESWA also nominated a construction committee to handle the task effectively.

After completion of the project, the Board of Governors and the Executive Body SESWA decided to inaugurate the school on April 22, 2007 . Accordingly all the general members, affiliated members, VOs’ office bearers, local elites, Jarga members and renowned personalities of the area were invited to the eventful ceremony. The permanent building of SESWA model school will not only provide  opportunities of experimenting with innovative ways of learning and education but will also boast the confidence of the SESWA members to work more earnestly in the direction of their cherished goal of building a peaceful and prosperous society.

 Through out its existence SESWA has persistently pursued policies for the welfare of the common man in general and promotion and improvement of education in particular. Some of which are the following;  

1. Holding of competitive examinations: Since 1995 the organization has been regularly conducting competitive examinations among the students of the surrounding schools in order to create the sense of completion and achievement and high light the importance and value of hard work and self reliance. in the children of the area.

2. Distribution of books and schools’ uniform amongst the deserving students:- alongside the competitive examinations, advertisements are published in the local newspapers and also pasted in the public places for the deserving students to submit applications to be considered for the provision of text books and schools’ uniforms. Special committee selects the deserving students.

3. Establishment of Shewa Welfare Fund: Mr. Yousaf Khan (Retired Air Vice Marshall), social worker of the area, has established the SWF for the deserving and talented students of the area. Under the program an amount Rs. 90,000 is given as scholarship to the deserving students. The students are selected with a strict procedure to avoid any kind of discrepancies with the rules and guidelines as set by the founder and the organization mutually.

4. Teachers Training Program (TTP): In order to introduce new methodologies at the classroom level, teachers of the area are trained on regular basis. Modules for the trainings are developed in collaboration with the retired schoolteachers, educationists and experts of the area. Help is also sought from internationally renowned experts and educationists. The trainings are conducted and facilitated by the staff members and external facilitators.

5. SESWA regularly organizes walks, campaigns and rallies for the promotion of education and convincing the parents to get their children admitted. Moreover, efforts are also taken to aware the masses about the importance of education to cope with the drop out rates.

6. Regular workshops and seminars at the district level are arranged for proper lobbying and advocacy purpose.    
7. SESWA also facilitate all the schools of the locality, forward their applications and demands the District Education officials and Ministry of education for necessary actions and help them in mitigating their problems.

 Basic Rights Sector

 The society in N.W.F.P is instinctively motivated by the Pathan traditions where the being of woman is sacrificed on the name of Pathan ghairat and izzat (honour and dignity) and the child is viewed as a tool in the hands of elders and lives its life un-consciously in obedience to the will and choice of the elders. Domestic violence and physical abuse, which include rape, acid throwing, burning, and "honor" killings is widespread in Pakistan . Acid-throwing is on the increase. "Honor" killings continue to be reported daily. Forced marriage of young girls continues to be reported and while slavery is illegal in Pakistan , girls and women continue to be traded to settle debts or conflicts.

 Swara means a female rider, but in traditional terminology it refers to a girl given over to the aggreived family as compensation for blood. Swara, the female rider, figuratively refers to the girl that is given/taken in compensation for a murder or in case of kidnapping of a woman which genrally called the one given away in feudal conditon. In Pathan society, especially in District Swabi, due to the tradition of swara, an innocent girl has to bear the brunt of a crime she never committed. She has to face psychological and mental toruture. More agonising is the fact that she has to live in this bleak scenario till the end of her life. Swara is against the fundamental human rights as the consent or will of the girl is never sought. Swara has played havoce with the lives of the women residing in the area. One can easily assess that Human Rights situation is in the doldrums over here. Women are deliberately kept ignorant of their legal rights and various myths are followed to suit the ulterior motives of a chauvinist society. In such a tyrannical and oppressive situation, they don’t have the courage to speak a word against the norms of such a wretched society. If any one of them resists, she has to face dire consequences. The history of the area shows, widspread women’s rights violation in the Name of Swara and honor, where women and young girls are killed and eliminated with no shame and remorse.

 The status of children is also miserable. Economic and social deprivations, coupled with rising physical and sexual abuse, constitute the most serious threats to children. The absence of public policies to alleviate these problems means a majority of children remain unable to access basic rights, including the right to sufficient food, shelter, education, safe water or medical care.

 The pathetic condition requires time and resources to be properly addressed. The following methodologies and activities are being utilized to educate the masses in fundamental human rights in general and the rights of women and children in particular.

 q     Focus Group Discussions: SESWA’s Basic Rights Sector in collaboration with various CBOs and NGOs conduct FGDs at the village, Tehsil and District level regarding the women and children issues in which people from all walks of life are invited. FGDs are also conducted regarding other issues like the farmers’ issues, human rights violation issues and bringing religious harmony.

q     Development of information, education and Communication (IEC) materials and dissemination: Themes are developed related to women and children particularly about the torture and violence against them. Relevant secondary data, case studies and other information like interviews and dialogues etc are collected in support of themes identified and stickers, brochures and pamphlets are developed and widely disseminated.

 q     Establishing Resource Center for pool of information: - Resource center has been established at the HRD Center SESWA that pools the information related to the rights of women and children. Various law books, international instruments, case studies and relevant data are available. The Center is free for all.  

 q     Media involvement:  We have strong relations with the media people. They are invited in various programs organized by the organization. Human rights violation cases and the news regarding our day-to-day programs are regularly published in provincial and national newspapers. Moreover, visits are also arranged for them to collect information in our target area.

 q     Holding of seminars and workshops etc: The section tries to conduct seminars and workshops etc. for the target groups. Up till now, we have conducted workshops and seminars for the doctors, schools teachers, religious leaders, children, women, and farmers. The following topics were discussed during the programs; corporal punishment at the school level, children rights and the various kind of abuses against them and women development etc.

q     Action Forum: - The sector has constituted an Action Forum which is consisting of two members from the village Jirga, two members from the Union Council Shewa and two members from the Basic Rights Sector. The Forum continuously tries to take steps for religious harmony, tolerance in the society and reconciliation in case of differences and conflicts between clans and families.

q     Capacity building programs for the General members, members from the affiliated VOs and female members: Keeping in view the importance of the issues, the section has organized trainings for its general members (Both male & female), affiliated VOs, UC’s members and members from the Islahi Jirga;

ü    Basic human rights, particularly of women and children

ü    Legal rights in the light of international law

ü    Legal rights ensured in the Constitution of Pakistan 1973

ü    Discriminatory law concerning women and children in Pakistan

ü    Gender, power and conflict in social transformation

ü    Main causes of the torture and violence against women and children

ü    Effective and efficient community-based –monitoring mechanism to watch torture and violations of women and children rights

ü    Special measures for facilitating women and children to easily access justice

ü    Labor laws in force in Pakistan

ü    Corporal punishment at the schools’ level and the causes behind 

 Natural Resource Management & Agriculture Sector  

The world population is growing at 1.33 per cent per annum and is expected to reach seven billion in 2013 and eight billion in 2028. Food needs in developing countries will almost double, but land and water are becoming increasingly scarce.

New lands that are brought under cultivation are marginal and ecologically fragile and cannot make up for the land being removed from cultivation each year due to urbanization and land degradation.

The planet is suffering from global warming, prolonged droughts, degradation of natural resources and associated loss of biodiversity, rampant increase in pollution levels and deteriorating water quality. Food insecurity and rural poverty are also associated with the environmental problems.

Such a tragic and drastic situation compelled the organization to take steps for the conservation of natural resources and awareness raising. The under-mentioned are some of the achievements of the organization;

Forestry

Agriculture

80% of the people of the SESWA’s target area are small-scale farmers who are facing heart tormenting problems and constraints due to poverty and mechanization of farming. The government’s inadvertency adds much to their already deteriorated situation. The benefit-cost ratio of these farmers is negative. The NRM sector is doing its best to change this benefit-cost ratio from negative to positive through various technical and scientific methods. The NRM sector is in contact with various experts and governmental departments for their technical assistance. Some achievements in this respect include;

q     Land leveling and irrigation

q     Seed multiplication program

q     Credit program for small farmers

q     Vegetable nursery raising

q     Provision of technical assistance to the farmers

q     Introduction of modern technology

q     Rallies and campaigns for the rights of small farmers

q     Establishment of resource center

q     Involvement of media for communicating the problems to the concerned Govt. Department 

General Welfare Sector

General Welfare is one of the leading sectors that provides welfare services through out the District Swabi. The sector especially gives preference to the destitute women and girls to enable them to fight poverty and secure an honorable status in the society. The services offered can be summarized as follows;

 The organization with the assistance of doctor and hospitals regularly organizes medical camps for the poor and destitute of the area. The details of which have been mentioned below;

·     Free medical Camps (General)

·     Free Eye Camps

·     Heart Camps

·     Disabled Camps

·     Anti T.B Camps

·     Linkages for hospital with DHO

·     Financial assistance to poor patients

·     Full rehabilitation of T.B and drug addicts patients

·     The inaccessible eye cases to the treatment were referred to the free eye camp Munawar Memorial Hospital Chakwal

·     Distribution of 150 wheel chairs amongst the PWDs in collaboration with the Govt. of Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa.  

 Information Sector

 Information sector tries to communicate all the requisite information to the masses regarding the organization’s day-to-day progress and the decisions made on the union Council level and District level. It also communicates the problems of the area to the policy makers thus contributing much to lobbying and advocacy.

ü    In order to build the capacity of the general members, the sector collects all the information from the outside i.e. publications and IEC materials etc and keep it in the library so that to make them accessible for the general public.

ü    Communicates the progress made by the organization to other NGOs and CBOs of the area in order to strengthen the network.

ü    The progress made by other sectors of the organization is communicated to the print and electronic media. 

ü    Regularly prepares the annual progress report

ü    Linkages with national and international organizations

ü    Access to the Internet has been provided to the general members and the common people to connect them to the global information system and thus equips them with the latest developments made internationally in the various fields of life.

 Networking at the grassroots 

SESWA has established a network of VOs (Village Organizations) and WOs (Women Organizations) in three districts of NWFP, Mardan, Swabi and Bunir with the aim to motivate and mobilize the communities at the grassroots level and enable them to address and redress their own issues and problems and further to link them with the GLDs and other networks at the provincial and national levels. The techniques and tools used for advocacy and lobbying are quite effective and useful and with passage of time more and more experiments are being done to bring radical and needed changes in the process to betterly serve the marginalized and vulnerable segments of the society.

 This unique model was conceived after meetings with the VOs and WOs, experts and the SESWA’s founder members. Moreover, while establishing the structure, the customs and traditions were also kept in mind to gain maximum support from the people of target area. 

 Establishing a network was not a difficult task for the organization as it had a long working relationships within the target population but projects’ implementation and capacity building were extremely hard tasks but the vision and missionary zeal of the our dedicated members made it possible to introduce the model successfully.

The organization conducted various workshops and trainings for the office bearers of the respective organizations and general members to equip them with the basic skills required.  

Macro-Level

 Meso-Level

                                        Micro-Level                                   

Project completed;

 Main Projects/activities of the organisation at present

 SESWA at present is working on four interesting projects;

 PTF (Promotion of Tropical Forest ) by EU-UNDP-SGP

 EU UNDP SGP PTF and SESWA singed an agreement for the promotion of tropical forest in District Bunir, N.W.F.P on 30 April 2004 to 30 September 2006 . Objectives of the project are;

 •      To ensure participation of all stakeholders in promoting of tropical forest through    integrated approach

•      To organize the communities for sustainable and effective forest management system

•      Revival of traditional forest conservation system

•      Provision on possible alternatives to reduce the dependency on forest

•      Capacity Building of the local communities for effective forest management

 The project has carried out a number of activities and initiated a number of processes to promote, protect and sustain the forest and other developmental activities under the overall framework of the project objectives. The project interventions include,

 An example of learning from previous experiences

 NGOs in Pakistan work in a very diverse situation and it is very difficult for the implementing organizations to holistically deal with the tasks assigned, the factors behind are often time so formidable that the organizations have to wind up. Such like situations are beyond the control of the donors, the implementing bodies and the grassroots organizations. We also faced such like situation but it was not so sever. In order to prevail over, the social organizer, Mr. Sher Aman along with the other related staff members and volunteers from the concerned CBO planned and very skillfully dealt the whole scenario. The following steps were taken for the revival organizations and other necessary tasks;

1. New and agreed approach regarding the social organization 
2. Meetings with the influential, teachers, religious leaders and farmers
3. Trainings and workshops at the HRD Center SESWA, focus was given to conflict resolution, leadership and communication 
4. steps were taken to convince the stakeholders to fully participate in the implementation process

The UNDP assigned us the construction of the road which was difficult one due to harsh weather; short day duration and unavailability of necessary items but by the grace of Allah Almighty and commitment and zeal of the project staff and full cooperation of the concerned VO the road was completed in a record time and meager amount than estimated. It would, I think, be unjustified if we don’t recognize the time and services offered by the concerned VO members, the monitoring committed and masses of the area.

One Mr. Sher, VO member, aged about 80 years who volunteered his services for that great task, told, “ We applied several times to the high ups and governmental departments but they demanded money and in case of refusal, we were told to pray to God so that your work be accomplished.” He was really satisfied with the work carried out and he especially Mr. Salimullah Khan, EU-UNDP Coordinator for his valuable services, commitment and zest which he showed during the course of progress.

 Best practices

 o    Social organization in the area for the first time

o    Readiness of the locals to talk about the women development

o    Problems of the area were brought into the notice of the high ups and the concerned Govt. Departments.

o    Awareness regarding the importance of raising nurseries and plantation

o    Self-reliance

o    Sensitization regarding their problems and motivation to solve their own problems

SDGP (Strengthening Democratic Governance Program) by SAP-Pak

 Sap Pakistan has been partner with the SESWA since 1998 with the aim to bring radical changes in the lives of the downtrodden and marginalized segments of the society. Small Farmer Development Program and Strengthening Democratic Governance Program are the two main programs implemented by the organization very successfully in the target area (District Swabi).

Under the SDGP, SESWA is working in advocacy, capacity building and research and in order to attain the ends, the organization established PWGs (Peasants and Workers Groups, both Male & Female) at the villages Mehr Ali, Spinkani and Yar-Hussain. The main activities being carried out include:

·      Social Organization at the grassroots

·      Monthly mobilization meetings

·      Capacity building programs

·      Campaign

·      Rallies

·      Exposure visits at the provincial level

·      Meetings at the UCs’ level

·      Focal Groups discussion

·      Talks

·      Discussions

·      Dialogues

·      Press briefings

·      Meetings with DLGs

·      Establishment of District Resource Centre at the HRD Centre SESWA

·      Networking at the District Level

The established Groups continuously strive for the uplift of the peasants and workers and also advocate various issues being faced at various levels.  The program manager, Mr. Nazeef and internees under his supervision have conceived such a sophisticated framework for the implementation of the project that not only the organization but the donor also in their reports commended their achievements, in an area where initially no one was even ready to talk about the establishment of PWG. The most difficult task was the establishment of female PWG at the village Yar-Hussain, where political leaders, religious segments and elites not only created obstacles in the way of the establishment but also openly opposed the process as being against the prevalent norms, customs and tradition. With progress, all the above mentioned segments were invited to see that the program was nothing to do with the customs or tradition but to bring the desired reforms in the lives of the depressed and marginalized farmers and peasants. Now it is really interesting to note that majority of the masses fully support the venture, which is an encouraging move for stepping ahead.

Recently during the planning workshop at the provincial office, the provincial office awarded highest marks to SESWA in recognition of accomplishing various assigned task and activities effectively and in time.

SFDP (Small Farmers Development Program) by Action-Aid Pakistan

Under the project, the organization has established male and female organizations, which are working for the uplift and promotion of the marginalized and vulnerable small farmer communities at the District Swabi. Rallies, campaigns, capacity building and meetings are some of the activities that are being carried out under the project.

 Women development

 Women Development is our on-going program which is being implemented throughout the District on its own resources since 1999 with the aim to enable the women to fight against injustices and aware the community in general regarding the women rights and the various kind of abuses against them. Under the program, the following activities are being undertaken; (1) Advocacy campaigns (2) awareness raising (3) capacity building (4) social organization (5) development of IEC materials (6) Dissemination of information (7) counselling through ASU (Advocacy Support Unit) (8) Networking.

 Children Rights program under the Basic Rights Sector

In order to introduce reforms in the appalling situation being faced by the children in the district, SESWA initiated the child rights program with the aim to halt degrading and inhuman behaviour inside and outside homes, at the schools level and work places. Under the program, SESWA regularly organize workshops, seminars, advocacy campaigns and awareness through print media.

 Problems/Constraints Encountered and Lesson Learned

 Future strategic Direction