The Swat Youth Front (SYF) is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization in the Malakand Region of the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan. SYF works towards a society where all have equal access to opportunities irrespective of gender, color, race, religion and/or status. SYF’s activities revolve around the development of an informed, healthy, and peaceful society in the Swat district. Through popular education outreach since 1997, SYF encourages ordinary people to have faith in their ability to improve the well-being of their families. Activities to date include: a women’s skills development program with the aim of enhancing the ability of women to create income generating opportunities; a local awareness campaign on the destructive effects of tobacco use; and the administration of 63 non-formal schools, in collaboration with the Pakistan Literacy Commission.
The Swat district is often described as “backwards” because of low literacy rates (especially among women), the large number of people living below the national poverty line, and a high infant mortality rate compared to other parts of Pakistan. Although a small organization, SYF has taken on various projects to improve these conditions.
For example, the “Lady Health Workers Program,” a Pakistani Governmental initiative to provide basic information on a variety of health issues, is specifically aimed at improving the health of women and children. A key mandate of this Program is to track early childhood development. In Swat district, few people have enrolled in the program for a number of reasons, but particularly because of the high rate of illiteracy among women. Even when women do enroll, they find that most of the information the Program distributes is in English. SYF has translated Disabled Village Children into Urdu and organized orientation sessions to familiarize people with the book and how to use it. So far, 500 copies of the Urdu Disabled Village Children have been published and distributed free of charge to “Lady Health Workers,” other community workers, and to public libraries. The book has been very well received.
In fact, demand for the Urdu edition is so high that SYF is printing another 200 copies in April 2007. SYF is also exploring a collaboration with other NGOs (and with the Pakistani government as well) to publish another 10,000 copies for nationwide distribution.
For more information about SYF, visit their website: www.syfswat.org
Contact Information:
Badar Zaman
Executive Director
Swat youth Front
Head Office
Swat Youth Front
Opt G P S Haji Baba Mingora Swat NWFP Pakistan
Post Code: 19130
Phone #: +92-946-723388
Mobile# +92-3049701442
Email: syf@syfswat.org
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