ISLAMABAD - Ehsaas has opened 11 Panagahs (shelter homes) in the current quarter across different parts of the country as part of Prime Minister’s initiative to protect the destitute and helpless people from extreme weather conditions. Out of these, five Panagahs have been established in Karachi, four in Quetta, Killa Abdullah, Gwadar and Lasbela districts of Balochistan, and one each in Skardu and Mardan districts of Gilgit Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa respectively. Drawing on proper need assessment, these shelter homes have been established in low-income neighborhoods and the residential areas of migrant workers to reach maximum number of labourers. The concept of Panagah emerges from Prime Minister’s vision of compassion to facilitate the destitute and helpless people, while upholding their self-respect. Panagahs protect the people from extreme weather conditions and chilling temperatures. Last year in August, the Prime Minister had entrusted the Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division with the responsibility of improving quality standards within Panagahs. Since then, work was accelerated speedily, and a framework was developed to upgrade standards of all five Panagahs in Islamabad as a starting point. The Poverty division developed the policy framework and Pakistan Bait ul Mal was given responsibility for execution.
“These Panagahs provide one star bed and breakfast facility with meals, essentials, hygiene and security standards.
And, each Panagah serves free meals to around 500 people and offers 100-bed facility for overnight stay. There is 24/7 camera surveillance, with power back-up, with clean sheets, fully functioning shared bathrooms with hot running water, self-service meals in dining halls seven days a week and since meals were served in shifts. There is laundry and housekeeping service and mosque in every panagah”, said Dr Sania. She continued, “There are protocols for the need assessment to ensure Panagahs open in the right place. The funding model is such that each Panagah has its own account and government funding for essentials is ensured. Accounts are set up to accept donations for every Panagah”.
“In the new funding model, we mandated Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) with NGOs and individuals that want to contribute in-kind so that the contributions are predictable at both ends. We embedded many integrity features in the donation model for panagahs—stipulating that no cash will be accepted on site at the Panagah by staff or any other authority. And third-party audit is mandatory as per the Ehsaas Governance and Integrity policy”, she further added.
