Newsletter of Malakand Response Program from Save the Children, Pakistan (2010)

1. Saving Lives
Saving Lives
Emergency Response for conflict-affected children and
Response to communities in Pakistan in Pakistan
displaced communities
2009-2010
2009-2010

2. The Emergency
The conflict between the Taliban insurgents and the Pakistani military triggered
a massive humanitarian crises in April 2009, when approximately 2.3 million
people from districts Swat, Buner, Dir and Shangla in the Malakand region of
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) were forced to flee their homes. After completion
of military operations by mid last year, most Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
from these districts later returned home. Thousands of families from South
Waziristan, Orakzai, and Kurram, and other conflict-affected areas, however,
still remain displaced. The majority of conflict-affected families had lost their
livelihoods and were deprived of basic social services such as access to basic
healthcare, education and protection. Both displaced and returnee children and
their families were desperately in need of food, protection, education,
healthcare and nutrition services and livelihoods support. Children mostly
suffered from communicable diseases, disruption in education, and experienced
psychological stress related to conflict, violence and displacement. The displaced
communities on return encountered damaged or destroyed infrastructure
including homes, schools and health centres, disrupted public services, and lost
livelihoods, in addition to uncertain security situation and frequent violence.
Team Leader’s Note Save The Children’s Response
Save the Children initiated the Emergency Response in May 2009 to support
Save the Children’s Malakand the conflict-affected communities in KPK, with the main objective to ensure
Response Program (MRP) recently that children and families affected by the crisis receive immediate assistance.
completed it’s first year of An integrated relief and recovery program was initiated for displaced
emergency support for children and communities, which included provision of essential food and non-food
communities, effectively reaching out items, protection for children and women, livelihoods support and
to over half a million people affected education, and provision of basic health and nutrition services. Since the
by the conflict. We have provided crisis began one year ago, Save the Children has reached an estimated
essential humanitarian services to 750,000 people (including approximately 440,000 children). This was made
children and communities displaced possible through support from multiple donors and the International Save
from conflict-affected districts in KPK the Children Alliance members, contributing over $18 million for the
and FATA agencies through emergency response program. The Malakand emergency response program
integrated interventions, while we focused on meeting urgent needs of the displaced communities, supported
are transitioning our programs the resettlement
towards recovery and rehabilitation, and recovery in
to reach out to even more children areas of origin,
and communities in the coming year. and continued
We acknowledge and appreciate the support to those
support provided to MRP in the past who could not yet
year and hope for it to continue in return.
future. This annual newsletter is
dedicated to the children affected by
conflict, their resilience and the
lovely smiles which we have tried to The children of
four displaced
restore over the past one year. We
families from
hope you enjoy reading it! Buner are
enjoying a cold
Hassan Noor Saadi, Team Leader, MRP bath from the tub
provided by Save
the Children
PAGE 1

3. Children Protection
Since the emergency began, over 26,757 children have benefited from Save
the Children’s child protection programs, particularly Child Friendly Spaces
Saifullah’s Story
that provided psychosocial support to children through play therapy and
recreational activities. Save the Children established 56 child protection
networks to identify child protection issues and refer children in need of “The
support to appropriate health and social service providers. Additionally, 15
Child Friendly Spaces were established in Kohat to support displaced CFS is
children living in this district. Save the Children also established 64 Women
Friendly Spaces (WFS) that provided a safe environment for women as well my
as their children, to
share their concerns home
and gain vocational skills
benefitting over 1500 away
women.
from
For further information
contact, Wajahat Ali Farooqi, home.”
Child Protection Manager,
MRP;
wfarooqi@savechildren.org
Saifullah Rehman, 11, points to the
drawing of his hometown at CFS
Rangpur, DI Khan
Saifullah Rehman, 11, with his family, left
his home in Machi Khel South Waziristan
when the fighting intensified and moved to
Rangpur in Dera Ismail Khan.
At Machi Khel, Saif was studying at school
but in Rangpur there were no schools and
since Saif’s family has moved into a small
Saima, 7, and her friends at the Child Friendly house there was no playground or open
Space in the Buner district
space for him to play. So Saif spent his
time loitering in the streets and hearing
Accountability to Beneficiaries terrible stories about the conflict.
In January 2010, Save the Children
established Child Friendly Spaces (CFS) in
Save the Children upholds accountability to beneficiaries, a complaints and host communities of D.I. Khan to provide
response system was thus developed in December 2009. A telephone line a safe learning and educational
was chosen as the most appropriate method of receiving and responding to environment for IDP children. The CFS
complaints from beneficiaries as it maintained anonymity and ensured wider also provided psychosocial support to
accessibility. The system was piloted in Buner district in January 2010. The children through play therapy and
initial test sites included Child Friendly Spaces and Save the Children- recreational activities. Saif and his brothers
supported health facilities where the complaints and response hotline was learned about the center from the CFS
promoted through posters. Each poster displayed Minimum Standards for supervisors, who encouraged displaced
the relevant intervention, portrayed beneficiary rights and encouraged families to enroll their children at the CFS.
beneficiaries to voice their concerns where required. In the beginning, Saif remained distant and
After a month of successful implementation, the system was replicated to drew pictures of the conflict such as tanks
districts Swat and D.I Khan, and the number of interventions where the and guns. The CFS supervisors engaged
hotline was promoted was also increased. Each district field office is now him in communicative plays, creative
managing its own complaints and response hotline and with total of 19 expression and basic literacy classes with
complaints registered from all districts for different programs. “Real time the help of educational aids.
assessments” were also introduced, through which valuable feedback from Soon, Saif immersed himself in the
beneficiaries at Save the Children program sites was received and efforts activities, especially in reading, drawing,
were made to ensure immediate responses and ratification. painting and playing sports. Now, he
comes to the CFS regularly and drags his
For further information contact, Sajjad Akram, Monitoring, Evaluation & Accountability siblings and peers to join in as well.
Manager, MRP; sakram@savechildren.org
PAGE 2

4. Jaan-Sher’s Story
Seven-year-old Jaan Sher lives in Buner district with his siblings and his
mother, Sadiq Jan. In order to escape the fighting in Buner, his family had fled
to Swabi, a safer district. These conflict-affected communities suffered from
widespread communicable diseases due to crowded living conditions and
poor hygiene. Unfortunately most village-level government health facilities
lack doctors, equipment and medicines, with Jaan Sher’s village being no
exception.
After several months of being displaced, Jaan Sher’s family finally headed back
home. To help such returnee communities, Save the Children sent 10 mobile
health teams to various villages in Buner, to support government health
facilities and provide urgently needed treatment and medicines for the
returnee population. In just three months, the mobile health teams treated
over 50,800 patients.
Three days after the mobile health team began traveling to Jaan Sher’s village,
Sadiq Jan brought her children to the Basic Health Unit. She explained that
Jaan Sher had diarrhea and her other son, Lukman Sher, used to get frequent
stomachaches. In addition, Sadiq Jan and her two-year-old Hilma had skin rashes. Save the
Children’s medical doctor examined the children, prescribed them medicines which they received
Jaan Sher (left), his from the pharmacy. The doctor also educated Sadiq Jan about the importance of basic personal
brother, Lukman- hygiene at the household. She had been using traditional oils to treat her skin rashes, while the
Sher, and two doctor advised to apply medicated lotion and take oral medication instead. Save the Children
sisters, Shama and promotes access to free-of-cost healthcare, and ensured all patients at the health clinics received
Hilma free medical care. Sadiq Jan left the hospital a happy and satisfied mother.
“I have been to
doctors in Mardan
Health
Save the Children’s emergency health teams treated over 355,579 patients in Mardan, Swabi, Buner, Swat,
and Swabi, but I am
DI Khan and Kohat over the past year, through support to 28 government health facilities. Save the
more satisfied with Children deployed medical teams at supported facilities, conducted minor repairs and provided essential
medicines, supplies and equipment to strengthen the government health facilities and promote provision of
this lady doctor quality maternal and child health services. Furthermore, 12 ambulances provided emergency referral
(from SC in Buner). services for pediatric, medical and obstetric cases from rural health facilities, for specialized medical care at
secondary and tertiary hospitals.
I will come again if The medical teams provided antenatal care to over 28,292 women, and provided Clean Delivery Kits to
more than 5,114 pregnant women in third trimester. For health education and promotion, over 2500 Child
we have any
Hygiene Kits containing household items for personal hygiene, were distributed to younger children, while
problems.” similar number of IEC materials in form of family
health booklets were distributed to mothers.
Sadiq Jan, mother of
Weekly health education sessions were conducted
Jan Sher
at supported health facilities to increase awareness
on communicable disease prevention and
promoting healthy behaviors. Save the Children
supported IMNCI training for over 500 lady health
workers from conflict-affected communities, in
collaboration with district department of health and
National LHW Program.
For further information contact Malek Zaeem UlHaq, Health
& Nutrition Advisor, MRP; mzaeem@savechildren.org
Save the Children’s Lady Health Visitor, treating
a baby admitted at Save the Children’s
supported health facility in Mardan district
PAGE 3

5. Nutrition
Save the Children implemented a Community Management of Acute Malnutrition program for malnourished children and
mothers affected by conflict, in four target districts Mardan, Swabi, Swat and Buner, in partnership with two local
organizations; NRSP and RAHBAR. The implementing partners conducted community mobilization and screenings at the
household level, for identification of acutely malnourished children using mid-upper arm circumference procedure and
referring identified cases to designated health centres or
mobile nutrition sites. Children identified with moderate
acute malnutrition were provided a monthly ration of
fortified blended food, micronutrient supplements and de-
worming tablets, while the identified pregnant and lactating
women received nutritional supplements. Children identified
with severe acute malnutrition, were provided with ready-to-
use therapeutic food preparations and symptomatic
outpatient medication, where required, at the designated
health centres or mobile nutrition sites. Over 4240
malnourished children and 870 pregnant and lactating women
were supported through outpatient and supplementary
feeding programs. Save the Children established four
Nutritional Stabilization Centers at district headquarters
hospitals in the target districts, where children with severe
acute malnutrition and medical complications were treated as
inpatients and provided with specialized medical care along
with nutritional supplements. A total of 130 children were
successfully treated at the four centers during the project
duration, while all four centers were handed over to district
health departments in May 2010, at the end of project.
Zainab, 7, is being tested by Save the Children’s Mobile
Nutrition Team for Mid Upper Arm Circumference For further information contact Malek Zaeem UlHaq, Health & Nutrition
(MUAC), used for assessing the nutritional status of Advisor, MRP; mzaeem@savechildren.org
children at BHU Manyar, Swat.
Repair and Rehabilitation
Save the Children conducted minor but essential infrastructure repair and rehabilitation of 21 government health facilities in
conflict-affected districts D.I Khan, Swat, Buner, Swabi and Kohat. The repair and rehabilitation work ensured that all
supported health facilities were fully functional and met basics hygiene and safety standards. The repair work included
plastering and cementing of walls, floors, ceilings and roofs, paint work (weather shield, distemper and enamel), laying of plain
cement concrete, brick and mechanical works as well as carpentry works such as repair of doors and windows. Furthermore,
plumbing work, provision of clean water supply and construction of toilets at
health facilities was
carried out. Save the
Children also established
four nutritional
stabilization centers at
DHQ hospitals, for which
refurbishment of existing
infrastructure and
construction of kitchen
and toilets (at DHQ
Swabi) was carried out.
A view of a BHU at MadiKhel, D.I Khan before (left) and after (right) the repair and
rehabilitation work done by Save the Children
PAGE 4

6. Education Reshma Bibi’s Story
Save the Children established 24 temporary schools in 20 host
communities in district Mardan during the immediate emergency
response, benefiting over 2,000 displaced children, while 20
teachers were hired from among the displaced population to teach
enrolled children at these temporary schools. Save the Children
conducted minor repair and rehabilitation of 50 schools in district
Mardan, out of which 40 were girls’ schools, which enabled 12,000
conflict-affected children to resume their education. In district
Buner, 20 satellite schools were established in 9 union councils,
whereby 800 out of school girls were enrolled, 20 school
management committees were formed and 20 female teachers from
local communities were hired and provided training. In district
Lower Dir, the education program targeted 27 Union Councils
reaching out to more than 14,000 children. Save the Children
recently initiated an education project titled Welcome to School
Initiative, through which the capacity of 792 government primary
school teachers and 3168 Parent Teachers Councils (PTC)
members in 396 schools of Swat and Lower Dir will be enhanced.
Reshama Bibi,11, learns alphabets at a
satellite school established by Save the
For further information contact Khurshid Khan Khalil, Education Advisor, MRP;
kkhalil@savechildren.org
Reshma Bibi, 11, lives in village Manrai in
district Buner. Her father, Umer is a farmer
owning small pieces of land.
There was no Government Girls Primary
School around Manrai in 5 km radius, so
when Reshma was 5 she got admitted in class
prep at a Boys school 1 km away from her
home.
After a few months, however, her father did
not want her to continue her education in
the said school due to culture sensitivity,
social restrictions and pressure. Reshma was
a very serious and enthusiastic student but
due to lack of options she could not continue
her studies.
In May 2010, Save the Children established 20
Satellite schools in District Buner for out of
school girls. Reshma Bibi became one of the
many girls, in this area, who were now able
to easily acquire education. She got enrolled
in a Satellite school by her father in Class
prep. She proves to be an extremely bright
student, outshining in her class and showing
great interest in new teaching methodologies.
Now Reshma bibi aspires for higher
Mujeebullah, 8, learns to read and spell English numbers at a education. She hopes to become a teacher
temporary school in Mardan district supported by Save the one day and help promote education for
Children. girls , particularly in this deprived area.
PAGE 5

7. Livelihoods Gulnaz’s Story
Save the Children provided over 23,392 extremely vulnerable families
in DI Khan and Buner with cash grants to help them meet their basic
needs.113 cash-for-work projects in Swat were completed and these
projects employed more than 5,920 laborers. Save the Children
provided micro-enterprise improvement grants to more than 1,430
families in Swat, Buner and D.I Khan.
To improve families’ earning capacity, livestock management training
was provided to 3,270 people, agricultural skills training to 2,200
people, and business skills training to over 1,380 individuals.
Through the livelihoods program, over 38,500 sheep, goats, cows, and
buffalo, and more than 43,450 chickens were vaccinated against
common diseases, benefiting over 6000 farmers. Livestock support
was provided (food supplements and de-worming medicines) to over
6,250 families in Swat and Buner, while vegetable seeds, kitchen
gardening tools, and organic manure was also given to 2,200 women
and their families from conflict affected districts, out of which 1,800
also received fruit saplings to support their livelihoods. Gulnaz’s daughter Saira is happy to
support her mother and
grandmother with their shop
For further information contact Aqeel Nawaz Khan, Livelihoods Advisor, MRP;
aqnawaz@savechildren.org Gulnaz, 32, belongs to a village in Sarwai.
6 years back her husband had suddenly
Non-Food Relief gotten sick and became unable to support
his family. Gulnaz and her mother-in-law,
Save the Children conducted monthly food distribution for over 32,380 Mohammada Jan, opened a small grocery
displaced families from June 2009 to February 2010. The food and women’s accessories shop at her
distribution program provided more than 226,000 conflict-affected house. Before the conflict, they normally
people with monthly food baskets, while approximately 75% of these earned USD 6 to 12 per month and rarely
beneficiaries were women and children. managed to save. As the conflict
Save the Children successfully completed a Cash-for-Food pilot project intensified, the family was forced to flee
which benefited over 11,200 conflict-affected families in Buner.
their hometown with no source of income
during their displacement. They returned
Food Distribution home when it was safe again but Gulnaz
could not resume her business as they had
Over 190,000 people have benefited from provision of shelter kits, no money to buy goods.
baby kits, household kits, hygiene kits and winterization kits.
Save the Children’s livelihoods team
In response to flash
floods, 50,000 water identified Sarwai and Gulnaz’s village, Hall,
purification sachets and for the micro-enterprise improvement
over 3,100 bars of program for conflict-affected returnees in
Dettol soap were Buner. The Livelihoods Officer helped
distributed to flood- Gulnaz determine her needs and develop
affected families in plans to restart her business. She added a
Mardan and Swabi. variety of items like bangles, jewelry and
henna. Her shop is the only woman-owned
shop of its kind in her village.
Only two weeks after this intervention,
A playground constructed
Gulnaz had already earned USD 18 and
through Save the
was able to save some amount every
Children’s cash-for-work month for reinvesting.
interventions in Swat
PAGE 6

8. Save the Children USA
Malakand Response Program
Pakistan Country Office
92.51.111.107.108
www.savethechildren.org
Designed by; Nadia Ashraf
Edited by; Malek Zaeem UlHaq
© Save the Children Federation Inc. 2010
Tammana, 7, at a mobile Child Friendly Space in Buner,
said, “we don’t have a doctor in our village, so I want to
become a doctor”
Save the Children is the leading independent organization creating lasting change for children in need in the United
States and around the world. For 75 years, Save the Children has been helping children survive and thrive by improving
their health, education and economic opportunities, and in times for acute crises, mobilizing assistance to help children
recover from effects f war, conflict and natural disasters.
Save the Children USA is a member of the International Save the Children Alliance, a global network of 28 independent
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countries. Save the Children USA has been providing humanitarian and development assistance in Pakistan since 1985.