Japan doles out $0.19m uplift grant to NGOs

Islamabad: The Japanese government has decided to provide grant assistance up to $194,493 (around Rs54 million) in total to three local NGOs for development projects in Pakistan.

The grant contracts were signed between Ambassador of Japan Wada Mitsuhiro and representatives of the three NGOs at the Embassy of Japan here on Wednesday. The NGOs that will implement the projects include Friends Welfare Association, Al Khidmat Foundation Pakistan and Al Mezan Islamic Model Secondary School.

Friends Welfare Association will receive a $59,764 grant (equivalent to around Rs16.64 million) to execute a new water scheme in one of the most underdeveloped areas of Mansehra district.

The project will benefit 6,000 people or around 895 households of the area. The project is related to the provision of clean drinking water to the people of that area by constructing water tanks and establishing water supply lines. This is expected to free women and children from the labour of fetching water.

Al Mezan Islamic Model Secondary School will receive a $64,528 grant (equivalent to around Rs17.87 million) to build a road with its supporting bridges over a big water channel which will provide a safe way to the school children to reach their schools. The project will benefit 2,540 people or around 300 households of the area by providing them a safe access to travel main city, markets and hospitals.

Al Khidmat Foundation Pakistan will receive $70,201 grant (equivalent to around Rs19.5 million) to implement a project related to the provision of clean drinking water to the people of an industrial area, Faisalabad. Seven water filtration plants will be installed in Faisalabad city and Okara city to provide filtered water to about 2,870 people in the vicinity of the plants and protect residents from waterborne diseases.

At the signing ceremony, Ambassador Mitsuhiro said he hoped that these development projects in cooperation with local communities would help uplift the living standards of Pakistani people at the grassroots level. He said the government of Japan would provide further flexible and timely support to local NGOs through grant assistance to improve the social well-being of the people of Pakistan at the grassroots level.