The British Asian Trust’s Programme Manager, Rabia Nusrat recently returned from Pakistan where she explored possibilities for a new initiative in the mental health sector, and evaluated the work of our current charity partners. She arrived as the devastating floods began to wreak havoc on the country.
Scoping the potential for new programme work on mental health
Concerns about mental health and the scarcity of effective services are mounting among professionals in the sector and others in Pakistan.
The Trust is keen to work in the mental health arena in Pakistan. We have been exploring possibilities of introducing a low-cost, community-based model there. I have been focusing on this initiative for the last five months – establishing contacts and links, examining the sector and studying the existing models.
In searching for a charity partner, we identified BasicNeeds which has introduced innovative community-based solutions for people with mental illness and epilepsy in 10 countries – enabling them to live and work successfully in their own towns and villages. BasicNeeds recognises that the only way to create and sustain positive change for poor people with mental illness and epilepsy is to also address related health, social and economic concerns.
The Trust is looking at replicating the BasicNeeds model in Pakistan. Together with its Founder and Director Chris Underhill, I visited Pakistan in August to:
- Assess the need in Pakistan
- Assess existing provisions and services
- Meet with potential funding and implementing partners
- Gauge response towards the BasicNeeds community-based model
During the trip, Chris Underhill and I met with a range of organisations and practitioners who seemed to share our enthusiasm for initiating this community-based model in the country. We at the Trust are firm believers of contextually relevant solutions to the socio-economic issues within a country. We are keen to engage local partners and benefit from the expertise and scholarship of local practitioners.
Please watch The British Asian Trust website for updates on this forthcoming initiative.
Looking in on LRBT’s eye care hospitals
I visited two eye hospitals run by Layton Rahmatulla Benevolent Trust (LRBT) in rural areas outside of Karachi and Sailkot. For the past 24 years, LRBT has been providing free, comprehensive eye care at its 16 hospitals and 39 primary eye care centres.
It always is a matter of patriotic pride for me when I see a state of the art LRBT centre in the midst of a rural landscape in Pakistan. Visiting the LRBT facilities in Pasrur and Rashidabad gave me that feeling. The patients told me wonderful things about LRBT and how happy they were with the care they received. At one hospital I met an eye surgeon who had performed more than 100 operations in a day.
Funds from The British Asian Trust are helping LRBT to introduce screening facilities in six hospitals, which serve more than 300,000 patients from rural areas annually.
Lessons from Developments in Literacy (DIL)
During my six-month evaluation review of DIL, I observed a team meeting in Islamabad where staff were assessing a model to improve the standard of training for more than 600 rural teachers. The evaluation study was funded by The Trust to help DIL introduce teacher training to create the quality education it is striving to achieve in its 149 schools.
It was rewarding to see the DIL team questioning the theories and relating the model to their own individual experiences and contexts. I could see their genuine enthusiasm and the dedication they had for taking forward the new model and implementing it in the field.
DIL has been on an amazing learning journey for the past year. The transformation in the organisation is so visible! A lot of the credit for this goes to their Executive Director Anjana Raza whose commitment and focused stewardship has embarked the organisation on an exciting, transformative path.
On the frontline of the floods in Pakistan
You could see the scale of the disaster from the beginning. The immediate relief efforts and response was heart-warming. Everyone contributed whatever they could. It’s heartening to see the nation reach out with such commitment to their fellow citizens in times of need.
This disaster poses a huge challenge for the country; but I sincerely hope it creates an opportunity to build back better.
Our partner charities DIL and LRBT continue to provide relief in their areas of expertise. Alongside the emergency work, DIL’s director who has a background in disaster management was sharing her experience with other groups and charities to maximise relief efforts.
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