Pakistan, Asia

PAK09b - Women's Sewing Empowerment Youhanabad

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Key Partnership Information:

• Partnership Ref.: PAK09b

• Commenced: 14/09/2020

• Funding Status: No Current Donor

• Partnership Type: Training / Education, Community / Agriculture Development

• Funding Size: $3,000 - $7,999

• Annual Budget: US$ 5,181

• Connected To: PAK09 , PAK09a

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Current Partnership Impact:

• 24 families are being assisted

• 24 people are in vocational or agricultural training

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Partnership Overview

The EGM team are constantly looking for ways to assist the poorest among them to become self-sustaining. They have organised sewing projects in other places but not in their own community. This community is huge, the largest Christian community in Pakistan, with tens of thousands of Christian families.

The project will be run in four different parts of Youhanabad, in four different churches that are associated with EGM and who have been involved with them in ministry for a number of years. The most recent engagement for these four churches is the COVID-19 response. 

There will be 10 participants in each course. At the end of the course the trainees will get to keep the sewing machine they have been using. During the course they will learn pattern making and cutting, sewing and embroidery.  

History of Partnership

In 2007 BHW was contacted by a group of people in Lahore. EGM (Evangelistic Gospel Ministries) have a great understanding of holistic ministry and seek to tell people about the Christian message and at the same time to help the poor and vulnerable.

In October 2008, the Bright Hope World New Partnership Director visited Youhanabad, Lahore and discovered these people had a clear vision and a great plan for development. They had already commenced a number of sewing centres to assist women to train and to learn skills that would give them opportunities for employment. At that stage a decision was made to commence a computer centre as a first point of engagement for BHW (PAK02). Later, in 2013, a scholarship fund was established for exceptional students (PAK07), in 2016 we commenced the funding of sewing courses in Khaliq Nagar (PAK09) and then in 2018 the sewing courses in Faisalabad were commenced (PAK09a).  

EGM have seen firsthand how these courses can transform lives, families and communities and in mid-2020 approached us in regard to financial support so they could run four courses in their own community of Youhanabad.  

Beneficiaries

The beneficiaries are women from poor families in the churches, each church will select those who should attend. There may also be a few from the Muslim community if they are allowed to come. Most will be young women, either single or with small children.  

What We Like About The Partnership

It fits the criteria of being focused on the poorest of the poor.
It is organised by existing partners that have demonstrated an ability to deliver results.
EGM have a lot of experience at organising sewing programmes and have run similar courses successfully in the past in nearby Kaliq Nagar (PAK09) and also rural villages near Faisalabad (PAK09a). 

 

Key People

Leadership Profile

The key person is Edward Qasar. He was a school teacher before going into full time Christian ministry. Edward is married to Shakila and they have a small family. He spends a lot of time with young people, encouraging them, advocating for them and helping them reach their potential. Edward and Shakila live in the area of Yohannabad with their extended family, they lead a church there and he preaches around the country. 

 

Vision And Annual Strategy

Vision 

The vision is to empower women to be able to earn an income, to encourage them and give them more value in their families and in the community. 

Strategy

The strategy is to train these women and then assist them to obtain employment in local garment factories. EGM has numerous contacts in the garment manufacturing sector. It is hoped that the majority of the women will gain employment. At the very least they will be able to save costs in their homes by sewing for their families and make some money by sewing for friends and neighbours.  

BHW is working with the EGM team to explore ways of these programmes becoming self-sustaining, trying to make it possible for programmes to be organised and run from within the community, not from outside. A number of options are being explored. These include; getting the good sewers together to form little co-operative businesses that could support students, having these businesses take on apprentices, seeing if those who get employment in factories would be willing to contribute to helping others. There are significant issues to overcome to achieve this but the conversation has commenced. 

 

Annual Budget

The proposal is to run four courses, each lasting 6 months, for 10 women in each class spread over 2 years. Each course will cost US$2,002 which includes sewing machines for the 10 women, scissors and cutters, an iron, desk and iron stand, tutor stipend, needles, threads and cloth.