- Pakistan
- Even it Up
“We had been living with the stink of sewerage water. Now our streets are clean, we can breath in clean air.”
Abdullah lives in the urban outskirts of Dadu, a city located in the Sindh province in Pakistan. His neighbourhood was poorly planned and, despite being situated in an urban area, is deprived of basic facilities including access to clean water and proper sanitation systems. Streets overflow with sewerage water which creates a repugnant stink and an extremely unhealthy environment to live in.
“Our women, who wear veils, and children would often fall in the dirty water. It was getting worse everyday.” Abdullah and his community do not own enough resources to either pave the streets or to develop a sanitation system.
Oxfam started working with urban communities on effective citizenship, including Abdullah’s, a year ago. In partnership with a local organization, Civil Society Support Programme (CSSP), citizen groups were formed to inform them on their rights and how to exercise them. Abdullah became a member of the effective citizen group. He mobilized the communities and worked with the local government to get the streets paved . With Oxfam’s support the community pooled in labour and worked day and night to pave the streets.
“The community was very happy. We are grateful for the initiative. Its been many months since these streets are paved and we maintain them ourselves, as community. It is our asset. There are still unpaved streets without drains, but we will contribute and pool our labour and material together and will build more drains. Oxfam has shown us a way out. ”
Photo: Mariyam Nawa/Oxfam
Find out more here: http://policy-practice.oxfam.org.uk/our-work/citizen-states/urban-programming
Take action!
We live in a world where a select few have more money than they could spend in several lifetimes, while millions of people around the world struggle to have access to food and water or send their children to school. Join Oxfam’s Even It Up campaign, to call on world leaders to end extreme inequality.
Read more about our campaign here: https://act.oxfam.org/international/even
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