Written By: Adil Sajid

Social organization or social institution refers to a group of social positions, connected by social relations, performing a social role. Pakistan is amongst those lucky countries in the world where humanity prospers. People care for others, not only in monetary value but also by understanding their feelings. Although there are few of them who are doing it on a large scale but what their contribution to the society is immeasurable. Now a days people over here are not even willing to help their own people but there are a lot of organizations who are only working for the welfare of the people. Amongst many of the social organizations I will be discussing some of the organizations in my article.

EDHI

The Edhi Foundation is a non profit social welfare program in Pakistan, founded by Abdul Sattar Edhi in1951. Edhi is the head of the organization and his wife Bilquis, a nurse, oversees the maternity and adoption services of the foundation. Its headquarters are in Karachi, Pakistan. Edhi Foundation is the largest and most organized social welfare system in Pakistan. Foundation works round the clock, without any discrimination on the basis of color, race, language, religion or politics. The Foundation modifies the phrase "Live and let live" to "Live and help live".

The Edhi Foundation provides 24-hour emergency assistance across the nation of Pakistan and abroad. The Foundation provides, among many other services, shelter for the destitute, free hospitals and medical care, drug rehabilitation services, and national and international relief efforts. Its main focuses are Emergency Services, Orphans, Handicapped Persons, Shelters, Education, Healthcare, International Community Centers, Blood & Drug Bank, Air Ambulance Services, Marrine and Costal Service, Ending poverty.

Edhi strongly adheres to the principle of self help. It is hard to think of any welfare organization or a non-governmental organization, sustaining its functions while refraining from soliciting financial support from the government and foreign aid-giving agencies. It is even harder to understand the active rejection of the concept of such a support. All donations for Edhi Foundation come from individuals and a few business enterprises.

There are different sort of programs launched by Edhi foundation for the welfare of the society such as:

· Welfare activities

o Baby cradles (jhoolas) are installed at most Edhi centers, where unwanted or abandoned babies may be left. Adoptions are then arranged for the infants.

o Destitute homes (Apna Ghar) service orphans, runaways, and the mentally ill.

o Warehouses hold supplies for emergency situations.

o Missing Persons Service posts bulletins for missing persons in the press, on radio and TV.

o Prisoner's Aid provides provisions and legal aid to imprisoned persons.

o Graveyard Services provide washing and burials for unclaimed bodies. Religious services are provided according to the deceased's religious affiliation.

o Public Kitchens feed the hungry in Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi.

· Emergency Services

o Field Ambulance Service provides 700 ambulances (the largest ambulance fleet in Pakistan and the largest private ambulance service network in the world).

o Air Ambulance Service provides two airplanes and one helicopter.

o Marine and Coastal Service provides weather warnings, air-drops food supplies, and recovers dead bodies.

o Emergency Check posts provide immediate, emergency care.

· Projects

o Highway Projects are developing new Edhi centers across the nation of Pakistan.

o Blood and Drug Banks provide medicine to needy persons. They also collect and store blood for transfusions.

o Cancer Research Hostel houses 50 cancer patients in Karachi.

· International Activities

o Refugee Assistance provides help to refugees in Pakistan.

o International Community Centers are established in several nations to assist Pakistanis and other Asians overseas.

o Edhi Foundation offices established in other nations, such as Japan, the UK, and the USA.

Mission of service to humanity knows no barriers of religion, caste, creed or national boundaries. Edhi Foundation's network has now extended beyond its national boundaries and acquired an international charter. With its international operations, Edhi is also setting up good examples for other countries to follow and provide better welfare services to the people. From all the evidence mentioned above we as a Pakistani are proud to have people like Abdul Sattar Edhi who are conveying the perfect message for peace, humanity and love.

Apart from Edhi there are various numbers of social organizations present in Pakistan who are constantly working for the betterment of the society by providing people with their basic necessities of life.

THE CITIZENS FOUNDATION

TCF is a professionally managed, non-profit organization set up in 1995 by a group of citizens concerned with the dismal state of education in Pakistan. It is now one of Pakistan's leading organizations in the field of formal education. As of 2010 TCF has established 660 purpose-built school units nationwide with an enrollment of 92,000 students. TCF encourages female enrollment and boasts of a 50% female ratio in almost every campus. TCF has a full Female Faculty of 4,800 members. TCF also has a dedicated Teacher Training Center in Karachi for the ongoing training of its faculty and provides logistical support to all its teachers. More than 7000 jobs have been created in communities in which TCF operates. The vision of TCF is to remove barriers of class and privilege and to make the citizens of Pakistan Agents of Positive Change. They believe that access to basic education is the right of each individual and not a privilege. Apart from following the regular curriculum, they focus on the character building of students to equip them with high moral values and confidence.

· What has TCF contributed to the Pakistani Society?

o 502 Primary School Units

o 158 Secondary School Units

o TCF present in total 68 Locations all over Pakistan.

o Created more than 7000 jobs of which 4,800 are female faculty positions.

o TCF organizes an extensive Pre-Service Training (PRESET) for its new staff every year. This training is spread over 100 hours of various modules dealing with child psychology, learning styles, assessment methods and child-centered teaching strategies.

The basic focus of TCF is to make education common for all the people living in the society because according to them education is the first step towards a success of a nation and Pakistan has insufficient amount of literate people.

AGHA KHAN DEVELOPMENT NETWORK (AKDN)

The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) is a group of development agencies with mandates that include the environment, health, education, architecture, culture, microfinance, rural development, disaster reduction, the promotion of private-sector enterprise and the revitalization of historic cities. Their basic motive is that they are dedicated to improve living conditions and opportunities for the poor by focusing on health, education, culture, rural development, and the promotion of economic development in Pakistan. AKDN agencies conduct their programmes without regard to faith, origin or gender.

AMAL Human Development Network

AMAL started in 1994 as a youth-focused HIV/AIDS action group, today AMAL is one of the most visible advocates for prevention, treatment and awareness in Pakistan. Part of a network of 400 non-governmental and community-based organizations, AMAL engages with a number of important related issues in the course of tackling the HIV/AIDS problem. Patriarchal social structures are at the root of the exclusion of women and young children from their full rights as citizens. As a result, these vulnerable groups not only suffer social exclusion, they are also highly exposed to the evils of violence, trafficking and sexual abuse. AMAL tackles the problems of HIV/AIDS in women and young people in two ways.

· The first is through its growing project portfolio, designed to bring about change in the lives of individuals and communities.

· The second is through a series of events and collaborations with other organizations, intended to raise the profile of issues central to women and young people in Pakistan.

AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF SINDHULOGY

American Institute of Sindhulogy has been established in response to the growing need for increasing awareness in the United States of America and elsewhere about Sindhi Civilization, its ancient history and unique cultural heritage and glowing contribution to the World Civilization. The mission of AIS is to put modern hostility aside and revive our ancient civilization.

PAKISTAN FOUNDATION FIGHTING BLINDNESS

Pakistan Foundation Fighting Blindness (PFFB) founded in 1988, formerly known as the Pakistan Retinitis Pigmentosa Society (PREPS) is a registered national, non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO) working in the field of medical research and humanitarian services for the visually impaired in Pakistan. They implements medical research and humanitarian services for the visually impaired. They also serve as a source of information for the affected families and specialists.

SOS’s Children’s Village Of Pakistan:

SOS Children's Villages of Pakistan is a private social welfare organization providing orphans and abandoned children a home, good nurturing and a fair chance in life. a new and permanent home. The children remain in SOS care until they are able to lead independent lives. The primary need of children deprived of their natural parents is to be placed in a situation which is as close as possible to a normal home. SOS Children's Villages meet this need and provide them with security and loving care.

POPULATION ASSOCIATION OF PAKISTAN (PAP)

Founded in early 2000 the PAP is a non-profit, non-political, scientific, and professional association established for individuals and organizations interested in population and development in the Pakistani context. The objective of the Association is to promote and strengthen the disciplines of population by providing forum to subject experts, facilitating their professional development, sharing scientific knowledge in population, and sharing experiences in the different disciplines of population.

FRIENDS ORGANIZATION PAKISTAN

The Foundation for Research on International Environment, National Development and Security with acronym FRIENDS was established on August 21, 1991 at Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The Foundation undertakes studies and research on global, regional as well as national issues for promoting peace, harmony, progress for the overall betterment of humanity. In order to realize the requisite objectives, it functions as an independent apolitical, non-governmental, and non-profit organization. The Foundation also undertakes various academic and field-oriented socio-economic developmental activities in collaboration with national as well as international organizations – governmental and non-governmental.

ROZAN

Rozan is an Islamabad based NGO working on issues related to emotional and psychological health, gender, violence against women and children, and the psychological and reproductive health of adolescents. Most Rozan team members are qualified psychologists who work to enhance the emotional health of people from all sections of the society by conducting awareness raising activities, trainings and counseling.

There are five programs at Rozan, four of which are active at this time:

• Aangan, which works on child sexual abuse
• Zeest, which works on violence against women
• Rabta, which is Rozan's police training program
• Youth Help Line which works on adolescents' emotional and reproductive health
• Pehchaan, which is Rozan's gender resource center and is currently inactive (even though its activities continue to be carried out informally)

Above mentioned are only a few numbers of social organizations working in Pakistan. There are a lot of them but no one notice them because of their small size. Being a social worker not only increases your good deeds but it also makes your inner self satisfy. Being a helping hand in some one’s life is an duty for every human being on earth. Being a Pakistani I am really proud to say that yes we Pakistani have the heart to help each other, have the feelings to understand the other person and are always there to help our brothers in every stage of life.