Introduction
1. Formerly known as Awami Welfare Society, is a body of young professionals who started off in 1996 with the mission to help the deprived sections of the district Layyah, South Punjab, to reduce poverty. In subsequent years, ADO underwent a paradigm shift of approach. It realized that the perspective of charity will not work if the organization intends to enable the target audience to get over their financial and social woes. Therefore, it moved from welfare to development paradigm considering the sustainable impact that the latter renders to the peoples' lives.
2. Today, ADO is about enhancing capacities of the people so that they negotiate their needs effectively and sustainably. It organizes communities into groups and assists them to prioritize development thrusts from among the host of issues. It trains and facilitates them to plan and implement corresponding programs and therefore systematically addresses the question of poverty.
3. ADO is currently working in the sectors ofagricultural and general infrastructure development, democratic governance,education, health,violence against women, and disaster response. It employs research, advocacy, s oc i al mobi l i zat i on and
capacity development as its principal strategies. From 1996 through 2011, ADO carriedout a number of projects, in pursuit of its objectives.Most of these projects ADO implemented as an implementing partner.During the reported years,thousands of people, both women and men, have benefited from these projects. This report presents snapshot of our work in the last one and a half decade.
City Introduction
- District Layyah is situated in the Southwest (rather west). It appeared as a district in the province of Punjab in 1982. In the North of this district is situated Bhakkar district. In its west the River Indus flows. Across the Indus River is Dera Ghazi Khan. Jhang District is located in the East and Muzaffargarh in the South. For those interested in nomenclature, the title, Layyah, comes from a commonly grown shrub, 'Layyan' (Tamarisk Dieica). This shrub is used as fuel wood. It used to grow once in abundance here. Layyah was a Tehsil of Muzaffargarh before 1982. This district consists of a semi-rectangular block of sandy land between the Indus and Chenab rivers in Sindh Sagar Doaba. Administratively, it comprises of three tehsils, i.e., Layyah, Chaubara and Karor Lal Esan.
- District Layyah covers 6,291 sq Kms, with a width from East to West of 88 Kms and a length from North to South of 72 Kms. It is populated of 1,121, 951, with population density of 178.2 people/sq km. Majority of the people here are linked with agriculture. Agriculture is found both in irrigated and desert area. The nature of farming of course is different in both cases.
- District Layyah is among the hottest in summers and the coldest in winters. The highest temperature recorded is above 50 Degree Celsius here in June and the lowest to 4 Degree Celsius in December. This area receives very scanty rainfall. As a matter of fact, the average rainfall does not exceed 18.7 centimeters, which is mainly in the monsoons (July-August). In the past, there were some exceptions recorded however. But in such an exceptional phase, the river Indus was in spate and people were displaced.
- Layyah is not known for minerals as of today. It is though rich in natural/wild trees, plants, mushrooms and wild animals. Since above subsistence level farming is possible in the irrigated area, mainly and most lands in such areas are owned by a few influential land owners. As far as natural resources are concerned, Jand/Kana (Prosopis Spicigera), Shesham (Dalbergia Sissoo), Keekar (Acasia Arabica), Beri (Ziziphus Jajoba), Lai/Pilchhi and Jhan (Tamarix Gallion), Jhal (Salvadora Oleoides), Talla (Deb), Chambhar, Madhana, Thir and Jawan/Jawa, Kharpal, Munjhar, Mainon, Bhuk Bhathun, Savi, Phit Sain, Patrali, Phuli, Ludri, Budiam Asit, Tange Kamali But, Naun and Hemcha etc., are some wild trees and shrubs growing in the district. Other indigenous, though very rare, trees include Pippal, Banyan (Ficus Relugiosa), Bohar (Ficus Indica) and Jaman/Jammun (Engenia), etc.
