In This Edition

Of course, the flagship of our communication efforts remains our newsletter. The editorial team is committed to making e-Chronicles a quality publication so we can have success in this area. The editorial team serves several roles for e-Chronicles. They discuss the content of up- coming issues, focusing on projects, and seeking a balance between the Foundation and the products it offers. In addition, we provide the first line of the peer review process, determining if articles are appropriate, technically sound and well written.

For this issue of e-Chronicles, the editorial team consists of Saeedur Rehman (Head of Strategic Planning and Communication) and Momina

Abrar (Reporting and Documentation Officer), while we shall take support from Mr. Mazhar Yaseen (Graphic Designer). We shall try to work extremely hard together for the later issues as well. The feedback from our valuable readers can be shared with us via email, as this will help us to make improvements in our editorial process as a result of this expanded knowledge base. We are thankful to our colleagues who has helped us by contributing to the publication. Without their efforts, this e-newsletter wouldn't have been possible.

Happy reading!

Editorial Team

Editor: Assistant Editor:

Graphic Designer:

Saeed-Ur-RehmanMomina AbrarMazhar Yaseen

EDITORIAL TEAM Chairperson: Country Director:

Director Programs: Director Finance & Administration:

Sarah HashwaniAli Akbar

Aqeel Nawaz Khan Ishfaq Ahmed

2014 LEADERSHIP

Welcome readers to the first issue of e-Chronicles of Hashoo Foundation. This issue looks at a variety of topics presenting a snapshot of the ongoing activities of the last month as well as a tool to encourage the staff to participate and grasp the activities happening under the Foundation's umbrella. Hopefully, you will find these topics up to date and informative. Balancing the fast moving world of development, and articulating it in our e-Chronicles publication is a constant challenge for the team. We try to get the information to our readers in a timely manner. To this end, we are willing to add regularly slated issues and activities in order to keep our stakeholders and fellow readers informed.

Editor's Note

eCHRONICLES

January 2014 Issue No. 1

Monthly Staff Newsletter

35th Meeting of the Board of TrusteesThe Board of Trustees of Hashoo Foundation met on 05

December 2013 at Marriot Hotel, Islamabad at 4 pm. While

much of the discussion centered around the past achievements

of the Foundation and the challenges that had been faced by the

teams, a number of recommendations and strategies were also

devised on how the Foundation shall welcome 2014. Four

committees were formed under special consideration including

HR & Remuneration Committee, Program Development

Committee, Finance & Audit Committee and External Relations

& Networks Committee. Other than these, the annual plan and

budget of the year 2014 was reviewed and finalized. This first full

meeting of the new Board was graced by the Patron-in-Chief Mr.

Sadruddin Hashwani and chaired by Ms. Sarah Hashwani. The

attendees to the board meeting were: Mr. Qadeer Baig Mr. Athar Khan Mr. Rafiq Jaffer Mr. Shahid Mir Ms. Rukhsana Rashid Mr. Ali Akbar

The other participants were as follows:Mr. Anil HassanAlyMs. Khan BibiMs. Shahnaz Kapadia RahatMr. Noman NassurullahMr. Aqeel NawazMr. Ishfaq Ahmed

Welcoming 2014 Open HeartedlyHashoo Foundation has started its journey to the Year 2014 with dynamic objectives and clearer approach. The roadmap to each program and future projects were laid down in the Annual Plan for the year 2014. The process started with a strategic review workshop in which HF board members and s e n i o r m a n a g e m e n t participated and later on formulated the annual plan for the year 2014. The plan constitutes of t w o a r e a s n a m e l y, Programmatic Plan and G o v e r n a n c e & O r g a n i z a t i o n a l D e v e l o p m e n t . T h e Programmatic Plan covers the four core programs i.e. Economic Development, S k i l l s D e v e l o p m e n t , E d u c a t i o n a n d Humanitarian Assistance a n d R e l i e f. U n d e r

Economic Development, HF aims to reach a total of 3 , 3 0 0 b e n e f i c i a r i e s approximately. Sk i l l s Development Program s h a l l t a r g e t 6 , 0 0 0 b e n e f i c i a r i e s , w h i l e Education shall aim to strengthen the lives of 1,600 recipients in 2014. Whereas, under the toll of Humanitarian Assistance and Relief Program, a target of over 15,500 beneficiaries shall be taken care of through appropriate modalities with i ts appropriate projects.

Thus, overall, HF in the y e a r 2 0 1 4 a i m s t o influence a total of 24,000 direct beneficiaries and m o r e t h a n 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 indirect beneficiaries through its programs across the country.

Training Under Reach Out to Asia (ROTA) Funded ProjectHashoo Foundation has always aimed to work for the betterment of the nation. Keeping the same tradition alive, a group of 30 qualified trainees started their on the job training after completion of successful training in their respective trades in the month of December, 2013 enabling them to get appropriate jobs and self-employment opportunities. The activity was performed under Reach Out To Asia (ROTA) funded project. Likewise, a new batch comprising of 80 trainees have currently been enrolled in a three (3) month training session recently. This training aims to build their capacity in micro enterprise development/ marketing.

Similarly, a labour demand survey had been performed for employers in district Bagh. A MoU with Mustafa Builders and Construction Company (Bypass Road Bagh) had been signed on 24th Dec, 2013. Such activities created market linkages for the newly trained beneficiaries strengthening the income generation opportunities.

HF-ROTA: Practical Session of Tailoring & Embroidery

“Plan Bee” Sets Milestones

The Women Empowerment through Honey Bee Farming Project was initiated to empower 475 women in Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral of Pakistan by e x p a n d i n g h o m e - b a s e d entrepreneurship opportunities for them. This USAID funded Small Grants Program was initiated in January 2012, and has successfully reached its end last year.

The floods of 2010 had severely disrupted the livelihoods of 250 honey beekeepers, as their beehives were w a s h e d a w ay a n d h a d m a j o r i n f r a s t r u c t u r e d a m a g e d . T h e devastation had a major impact on the futures of these farmers. Hashoo

Foundation conducted a post flood evaluation and was in constant touch with these families. Thus, via this project, a number of training sessions on Honey Bee farming were imparted to the beneficiaries and 1,475 beehives along with the production kits were distributed among them. This had increased the income of 4275 including 475 direct and 3800 indirect beneficiaries in the end and the production of honey had been increased to 22 tons. The efforts made by the USAID and Hashoo Foundation were h ighly appreciated and widely acknowledged by not just the beneficiaries but the Government bodies as well.

HF- ROTA: Building Electrician Training Session

Livelihood Activities Brings New Life to LayyahFunded by Walmart, Hashoo

Foundation (HF) has successfully

implemented a livelihood project

(July-November 2013) in district

Layyah, which is one of the largest

milk producing districts in Southern

Punjab. The beneficiaries of the

project were able to adopt and

demonstrate better livestock

management practices, while

successfully forming several women

business groups that were socially

and economically empowered. The

establishment and installation of

chillers for the storage of excessive

milk was a key feature of the

project, which increased the surplus

quantity of milk to be sold in the

loca l market and the mi lk

processing companies (such as

Nestle, Engro and Shakkarganj) in

bulk. Through the successful

implementation of this Walmart

funded project, Layyah has

advanced towards betterment,

empowering lives of the local

residents.

Feedback and participation from communities is the

essence of any well designed project in the development

sector. It serves as a guide to assist people to know how they

and others perceive their performance which leads to

continued improvement. Progressing without a feedback

mechanism is similar to setting out on an important journey

without a map or a frame of reference. Realizing the

importance of feedback, the Foundation has set up a

constructive mechanism to receive and address complaints

from beneficiaries in quick time. A “hotline” has been

established where beneficiaries and the community can call

in and record complains. An authorized member of HF is

A New Mode of Feedback Mechanism Installedresponsible to log complains and address the same within a

certain time frame. Establishing such a mechanism is

instrumental in addressing all grievances at the community

level while ensuring that the principles of accountability

and learning are upheld during project implementation.

As seen in the info-graphic, HF now reaches out to the

communities in three modes. For one to one Complaint

and Feedback Mechanism (CFM), HF arranges the field

visits/meeting where the team meets the communities

and records their views/suggestions directly. The second

mode used to reach out to the communities is the

Suggestion Box where the written feedback is received.

However, to reach out and facilitate all in time, United

States' Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration

(BPRM) in collaboration with Hashoo Foundation has

included a feature of toll-free hotline to reach out to the

beneficiaries. This new feature has provided a way to the

communities to exercise their “right to complaint”. It was

initiated in September, and has been fully functional since

October 2013. Under this new wing, HF-Project

management has successfully resolved 16 complaints and

8 calls for assistance within 3 days from the time complaint

was received. 15 suggestions and recommendations were

also incorporated in the project activities.

The new mode of Complaint and Feedback Mechanism (CFM) has been a hit and thus, it has been installed with the newly initiated projects funded through USAID/FFP (Food for Peace) and Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF).

Compliments Complaints

Suggestions

Resolutions

Hotline Suggestion Boxes

Field visits / meetings

On November 9th November 2013, Hashoo

Foundation organized an orientation session

and Team Building Event for its Project titled

“Skills Training & Income Generation

Project”.

Hashoo Foundation is implementing the

fourth phase of the project for Urban Afghan

Refugees residing at Islamabad/Rawalpindi,

Peshawar and Attock. The project is being

funded by Bureau of Population Refugees

and Migration (BPRM).

The main purpose of this event was to brief

the newly hired staff of BPRM project

regarding the HR policies and procedures

and to act as an ice-breaker between the

staff of two project offices. The workshop

was attended by the team members from the

Staff Team Building Event for BPRM Funded Project Hashoo FoundationFamily GrowsW e , a t t h e H a s h o o

Foundation are passionate

about socio-economic

d e v e l o p m e n t o f

marginalized communities.

This is best practiced when

the Foundat ion h i res

candidates based on their

s k i l l s , i n t e r e s t s a n d

capabilities.

In the month of December,

HF hired 2 project based

employees in its Human

Resource department, 3

core employees and 1

project based employee in

the Strategic Planning and

C o m m u n i c a t i o n s

Department for the smooth

implementation of the

projects.

HF welcomes them on

board and hope their

addition to the fraternity

shall add more worth to the

organization.

Core Office including Country Director,

Director Programs, Director Admin &

Finance and the BPRM Project team from all

three stations Islamabad/Rawalpindi,

Peshawar and Attock. There were many

activities organized and planned that

st rengthened and h igh l ighted the

advantages of building a good team. All these

activities apart from the learning aspect also

had some tangible rewards for the

participants in form of presents, which was

again a motivation factor.

The staff enjoyed the day and appreciated

the efforts of Hashoo Foundation for

providing an enabling platform where the

staff members could communicate with their

fellow colleagues altogether.

Employees of Hashoo Foundation participating and enjoying the activity “Mummy Your Partner”

Copyright © 2014 Hashoo Foundation Publication. All rights reserved.

www.hashoofoundation.org

Hashoo Foundation PakistanHouse #7-A, St # 65, F-8/3Islamabad, PakistanTel: +92 51 228 7712-16Fax: +92 51 228 7718

Hashoo Foundation USA9575 Katy Freeway, Suite 490Houston, TX 77024Tel: +1 713 483 4990 Fax: +1 713 759 0787

Hashoo Foundation UK1, Berkeley Street London W1J8DJ

Note: Facts and opinions contained herein are the sole responsibility of the persons expressing them and should not be attributed to anyone else herein. Feedback is welcome and shall be given special attention by the team. Every piece of information is based/built upon the facts provided to the team.

Beehives been treated for Honey Extraction

Editor's Note

35th Meeting of the Board of Trustees

Welcoming 2014 Open Heartedly

Training Under Reach Out to Asia (ROTA) Funded Project

Livelihood Activities Brings New Life to Layyah

“Plan Bee” Sets Milestones

A New Mode of Feedback Mechanism Installed

Staff Team Building Event for BPRM Funded Project

Hashoo Foundation Family Grows