Harmony Foundation

Unity in Diversity

women workers
Latest news Text line.

Solidarity Network of Pakistan

The development issues being faced by the rural and urban communities in Pakistan are interlinked and integrated. The state is basically responsible for the provision of the basic facilities but the political instability, lack of consistency in the economic policies and non-democratic governments deter the success of the provision of basic needs to the communities both in urban and rural areas. Civil society organizations and grassroots groups have come forth to facilitate the process of the community development and mobilize the communities to struggle for their development. The organizations prioritize their working areas and objectives according to the needs of the concerned communities and stick to the capacity of the organization. The communities face multifaceted and wide range issues which involve more than one external factor as basic cause of the issue. In this situation the need is to analyze the issues with more integrated approach with collaboration of the more groups and organizations working in different sectors. The groups and organizations need collaboration of other organizations for the sustainable solution of the issues.

With this understanding seven organizations working in the different sectors have formed a network for the joint activities on the issues being faced by the communities in the working areas. Solidarity Network Pakistan (SNP) is the joint venture of following seven organizations.

  1. Bishop John Joseph Shaheed Trust (BJST)
  2. Global Response Network Pakistan (GRN)
  3. HOCCS
  4. DAWN
  5. Awareness, Formation, Solidarity Network (AFSN)
  6. STAR organization
  7. Harmony Foundation

Vision:

The member organizations of SNP envision a society where equal rights are ensured for all the human beings and everybody gets the equal share and equal opportunities for their sustainable development

Mission:

Empowring local communities through their effective organizations and initiatives in the fields of mobilization, development and human rights .

Objectives:

  1. Strengthen the initiatives and activities of the member organizations and their respective communities through sharing of human and financial resources
  2. Explore and develop the ideas and activities for the sustainable solutions to the issues being faced by the marginalized and disadvantaged groups by respecting and recognizing the vision, mission and goals of the member organizations
  3. Mobilize and organize the community campaigns to ensure food security, education for all, health facilities, safe drinking water, sanitation and shelter to the communities
  4. Respond to the issues, problems and threats faced by the organizations during their activities.

Working strategy:

The member organizations of Solidarity Network Pakistan have agreed on the following strategy:
All the organizations have equal status in the cluster and will contribute in the development of the network equally for the vital and visible change in the communities. Using the participatory approach the member organizations will share the human and financial resources for the community development and mobilization.
Harmony Foundation is working in the district of Toba Tek Singh on the issues of women brick kiln workers, inclusive education and shoe makers. During its involvement in the rights issues, Harmony Foundation has developed networking with impressive local groups and organizations working on different issues. These organizations have lot of potential to involve in service delivery and human rights work. Harmony Foundation has started documenting the work of these organizations and plans to publish a directory of the NGOs, civil society groups, workers’ groups and women organizations with the aim to disseminate information about these organizations and groups. This directory will be published in the month of June 2009