AWAZ Foundation Pakistan: Center for Development Services
www.awazcds.org.pk
AWAZ Foundation Pakistan: Centre for Development Services-AWAZCDS is striving for the Socio-economic development and political empowerment of marginalized communities especially women and young people across Pakistan since 1995. AWAZ follows rights based approaches for sustainable development, poverty alleviation, achieving MDGs. AWAZ enjoys special consultative status with UNECOSOC and also certified from Pakistan Centre of Philanthropy.
How it all started
Unlike most of its contemporary NGOs’ which came into being in the aftermath of a natural disaster or a man-made one- AWAZ was not a consequence of any particular such an incident. AWAZ was founded by Mr. Mohammad Zia-ur-Rehman & the group of local university graduates who were politically enlightened and realized that they owe a great deal of return to the society at large in 1995. Widespread ignorance, poverty, sectarianism, violence, non democratic culture & values, human especially women rights violations and social backwardness of the region of Southern Punjab because of the feudalism and constant military regimes only provided extra impetus to this group of youth. AWAZ is an Urdu word, which means ‘voice’. The whole idea was to provide a platform to facilitate and capacitate marginalized communities to raise their voice against socio-economic and political disparities of the region.
AWAZ’s Vision
A democratic, prosperous and peaceful society by working together with local, national, regional, international bodies and partners..
AWAZ’s Mission
to develop and provide integrated and innovative solutions in cooperation with local, national, regional, and international partners, which foster action and change for securing the future of the marginalised community.
AWAZ’s Values
- Well-being and dignity of all rural and marginalised people
- Primacy of the interests and voices of poor and marginalised rural people with emphasis on women
- Equity, inclusion, and respect for diversity and integrity
- Peace for rural peoples and communities
- Conservation of the natural and cultural inheritance of the rural communities
- Excellence at par in executing community development endeavours
- Regional understanding and cooperation
AWAZ’s Objetives
- To Provide essential health and hygiene education and services in the program areas
- To Enhance literacy and education particularly among girls and women in the program areas
- To Empower people, especially women through group formation, training and networking
- To Reduce poverty by providing training, initiating area specific income generation programs
- To Conserve local environment by taking appropriate measures and providing services
- To conduct research and undertake policy level advocacy on related themes and
- To facilitate mechanisms which promote tolerance, social harmony and peace in society
AWAZ’s Strategy
- Mobilization and organisation of marginalised communities
- Capacity building Conscientizing and awareness raising
- Conducting grassroots level research
- Advocacy, lobbying and networking
- Provision of essential services particularly in health, education, water sanitation and human rights
- Linkages development and Information dissemination
AWAZ’s Approach
- Participatory and Target Group (un-rooted people)
- Bottom Up planning and execution
- Social Inclusion (gender sensitive and minority inclusion) and
- Reliance on local knowledge, conventional wisdom and indigenous skills