PPAF community woman bags Ladies Fund’s Idol Award 2017

The award recognises efforts of individuals who work to
inspire and empower women in less affluent areas

Gul Nazar, a community resource person of the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) from Kalasha Valley, Chitral, has won the Dawood Global Foundation Ladies Fund’s Idol Award 2017. 

The award recognises the efforts of individuals who work to inspire and empower women in the less affluent areas. The award was presented by Sindh Governor Mohammad Zubair at the Governor House, said a statement issued on Saturday. 

Gul Nazar’s contribution under PPAF’s Programme for Poverty Reduction in the areas of nutrition, disease prevention, water sanitation, hygiene and mother and child healthcare in Chitral was highly praised at the ceremony. 

“Her dedication reflects in the reduced susceptibility of numerous diseases, especially among women and children in the Kalasha valley”

Gul Nazar highly regards the importance of education and believes it is the foundation of growth and success. “More opportunities for higher education should be created to educate young adults, especially girls in the northern areas of Pakistan,” she said while receiving the award. “It empowers them to make a difference in the society.”

Besides being an active community resource person, Nazar is the chairperson for the Kalasha People Development Network and an active member of the Kalasha Culture Saving Society. She has also served as a volunteer teacher at the Government Middle School in the Kalash Valley. 

The Programme for Poverty Reduction (PPR) is financed by the Government of Italy through the Directorate General for Development Cooperation, and is supervised by the World Bank. 

The PPAF is implementing the programme through its partner organisations in 38 union councils existing in 14 districts of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces as well as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. The programme aims to transform the lives of poor and marginalised communities by establishing a social and productive infrastructure system supported by sustainable social safety nets. 

Using the community driven development approach, the PPAF has developed more than 350 Community Resource Persons (CRPs) in community engagement, financial and procurement management and development of union council plans. CRPs with PPAF partner organisations facilitate communities to identify and address the key development issues to build healthier societies. 

So far, 287 village development plans have been designed that laid the foundation of need based integrated programming that allow development of villages through community physical infrastructure , education, health and nutrition, disaster preparedness and management, and livelihood, employment and enterprise development.