WANG was featured by Peace Direct International in their monthly news letter, Here is the original Link
WANG and the Active Citizen programme: a journey that must go on.
WANG, short for Welfare Association for New Generation, is a youth-led organisation based in Lasbela, Balochistan. WANG’s primary focus revolves around issues like youth development, conflict resolution, women leadership, Active Citizenship, drug abuse, child development and civic education. All of WANG members, including their facilitators, programme managers and support staff, work on a volunteer basis – which is extremely heartening.
The organisation has been partnering with the British Council through the Active Citizens programme for the last two years, and believes this partnership has helped WANG to build sustainable partnerships and created innumerable networking opportunities for them.
As a partner, WANG has conducted 11 Active Citizen training workshops in different towns of Lasbela, with over 300 people. In the near future it has plans to take this training programme to other regions of Balochistan – especially the mostly untapped districts of Gawadar and Turbat, where young people have been badly affected by insurgency.
WANG is registered under Voluntarily Social Welfares Agencies Act # DSW 300, dated 2 June 1989, and works in different districts in Balochistan, including Awaran, Khuzadar and Gawadar.
Website: www.wangpak.weebly.com
Leading change
Many assume that young people from Balochistan have become disenchanted and disillusioned with democracy because of the longstanding conflict and violence in the province. But two young men from the Lasbela district of Balochistan prove this assumption wrong, by working for the development of their community and choosing to participate – and win – in the Local Body Elections.
Abdul Hafeez, despite holding a Master’s degree in Political Science, was quite content volunteering for the Welfare Association for New Generation, better known as WANG (Lasbela, Baluchistan). Upon the insistence of other WANG members, he travelled to Multan to take part in Active Citizens training – and his perspective toward his civic responsibilities changed completely. He took on a more hands-on role and set up a library in his district, initially managing to secure 60 books for it. Within a year, the library housed over 600 books for the whole district to use.
Abdul decided to take part in the Local Body Elections after careful consideration and support from WANG and fellow Active Citizens. His election campaign was not a patronage-backed affair but crowd-sourced and run by young people in his own community.
Zohaib Nasar held a Master’s in Zoology and taught at many colleges and universities. He took the Active Citizen Facilitator training, after volunteering for over a year with WANG. This gave him the motivation to be more active in his community. He wanted to take part in the elections, despite many factors that went against him, but his confidence led him to believe in himself.
Zohaib says that he was the only person in his circle to take part in the elections, and his work and goodwill through the Active Citizens programme helped him to gain trust and contacts within his district.
Abdul won the election and is now an elected councilor on the Local Body. Zohaib did not, but continues to work for the betterment of his people as the community leader. Both laugh when someone calls them politicians – they prefer being called changemakers.
The Active Citizens programme, and partners like WANG, give young people the confidence to take their future into their own hands – so that they don’t just talk about change, but go out and actually lead it.
