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Imkaan Welfare Organization

Karachi, Pakistan
Joined February 2023

Imkaan works in Karachi - Pakistan which is host to 3 million ethnic bengali inhabitants that struggle with issues of citizenship and identity, with a large majority of them remaining stateless.

Presence in: Pakistan
Focus: Children's Rights, Citizenship & Identification, Community Organizing, Community Paralegals, Education, Health, Legal Aid & Public Interest Law, Other, Women's Rights

There is an estimated three (3) million Bengali speaking population in Pakistan. They are pre-dominantly residing in Karachi and a large percentage of the same is impacted with issues of identity and statelessness. This does not include the Bihari and Rohingya population who also are impacted with the same issues. Imkaan is the only organization in Pakistan that has worked with a focus on the issues faced by the community. The challenges of the community, specifically with right to nationality have been address through Imkaans projects via the use of media, social media and advocacy and awareness at the governmental, semi-governmental and private level. Imkaan has been working in stateless communities since 2012 with the following interventions:
• Community Healthcare Centre that houses the mother & child healthcare clinic and mental health clinic
• Khel, a learning & recreational centre provides the children of the stateless as well as the host community informal education, sports and recreational activities.
• Maternal Health Initiative focuses on a medically conducive space for the women of the community to give birth as and receive support from qualified doctors and midwives during and after the gestational period.
• Legal Aid Project: Supported by UNHCR, the project provides pro-bono legal aid to stateless communities
All projects as are mentioned hereinabove have an outreach and awareness component that works extensively with the communities with the aim of empowering them with knowledge regarding law and process, resulting in facilitating decisions that are impactful and result oriented. Projects are located in Machar Colony and Orangi Town, Imkaan has worked with 20 other communities in Karachi that are stateless and of Bengali ethnicity with training of youth in legal rights and an understanding of the framework of the process of citizenship and identity.