ABOUT BSS WELFARE ORGANIZATION SINDH

BSS takes an integrated, community-based approach to sustainable development while its development programmes address not only the immediate issues at hand, but also, the overall impact that these initiatives have on the economic, social and environmental sustainability. Poverty alleviation, environmental sustainability, gender equality, economic regeneration and empowerment of the downtrodden are corner stones of BSS’s activities. It undertakes the delivery of services in collaboration with local and national development agencies, the local government representatives, community-based organizations and donors to have an extended outreach. It strives to promote sustainable social, economic and environmental development in the country.

 

ORGANIZATIONAL INFORMATION

The humanitarian and non-profit development activities of BSS Welfare Organization encompass the entire country with the hub of its activities in Jacobabad, Sindh. It has employed various focal points nationwide with the objective of comprehensive situational scrutiny and monitoring. This in turn allows the organization to perform the following multi-fold functions:

• Effective identification of possible problem areas.
• Implementation of pre-emptive measures in the areas identified with follow-up and follow-through policies in place.
• Continuous up gradation and improvement in internal processes based on external data input for the purpose of effective crisis management.
• Liaison with local and national development agencies, the local government representatives, community-based organizations and donors to ensure response efficiency and effectiveness.
  

 

CHAIRPERSON

Begum Saeeda Soomro founder and chairperson. Active political service and involvement has been the pre-dominant tradition of the Soomro family since as early as 1937. The members of Soomro family in politics are:

• Sardar Mohammad Usman Soomro, Member of Legislative Assembly, 1937-1945
• Khan Bahadur Soomro: Chief Minister of Sindh for two terms
• Khan Bahadur Maula Bux Soomro, remained Federal and Provincial Minister, for several periods
• Ahmad Mian Soomro, Parliamentarian, Deputy Speaker of the West Pakistan Assembly, Senator
• Elahi Bux Soomro, remained Member of National Assembly of Pakistan, Speaker National Assembly of Pakistan, Federal Minister
• Rahim Bux Soomro, Minister Sindh
• Mohammadmian Soomro, remained President of Pakistan, Prime Minister of Pakistan, Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan and Governor of Sindh
• Begum Saeeda Soomro District Nazim Jacobabad
• Mohammad Khan Soomro, s/o Sardar Usman Soomro, remained MPA and Member of National Assembly of Pakistan
• Iftikhar Soomro, MPA, Provincial Minister Sindh
• Mr. Justice Ghulam Nabi Soomro, Hon'ble Justice, High Court of Sindh, Presently Chairman of Sindh Services Tribunal
• Sardar Junaid Haider Soomro, MPA of Sindh Assembly
• Afzal Soomro, Chief Justice, High Court of Sindh
• Ayaz Soomro, Law Minister Sindh
• Jameel Ahmad Soomro, Minister Sindh

Begum Saeeda Soomro, wife of Ahmedmian Soomro moved to Lahore in 1965 when her husband became Deputy Speaker of West Pakistan Assembly.

The Soomros have elaborated a well-defined institutional framework to build capacity and improve the quality of life within the community in which they live. Eventually this framework expanded and evolved to work for the common good of all citizens far and wide, regardless of caste, creed, gender or origin.

ENDEAVOURS AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF CHAIRPERSON:
INITIAL STAGE:

Begum Saeeda Soomro started philanthropic work as early as the age of fifteen under the patronage of Maulana Ahmed Ali Lahori wherby she formed a ''League'' or 'Anjuman'' of students to help the less fortunate people out of her meagre pocket money.

 

1947:
Helping the Refugees:

During the traumatic partition of Pakistan from India she took it upon herself to help the refugees in their camps by providing them food, clothing and medication against diseases such as Cholera and Typhoid.

 

1952:
The first girls high school in Jacobabad, Sindh:

Despite the existence of co-education, female schooling was normally cut off by the ages of 10 - 12. Begum Soomro, with the cooperation of Head Master Channa and School Director Mrs. Sheikh, set up the first girls high school in Jacobabad (Revenue Office) but extended her activities to other cities of Pakistan and also abroad in Birmingham (England) and Sana'a (Yemen).

 

All Pakistan Women's Association.

Women's Club:

Begum Soomro formed the Women's Club whose purpose was to hold various activities that would allow women to grow within relevant functions and expand their horizons.

 

Industrial Homes for Sindhi and Baluchi Embroidery:

Begum Soomro initiated the Industrial Homes for Sindhi and Baluchi embroidery with the double objective of firstly, providing employment opportunity to the poor masses for improving their hopeless economic condition and secondly, allowing them the chance to become self sustaining individuals. The commodities produced here were sold in Karachi, Lahore, Murree and Faisalabad through Begum Aminuddin (wife of the then Governor of Sindh and later Governor of Punjab).

 

Sewing Machine Centres in Jacobabad, Sindh:

Begum Soomro set up Sewing Machine Centres within the city of Jacobabad to allow women the opportunity to earn a living and become self-reliant

 

1953:
Kindergarten School in Jacobabad:

Begum Soomro helped her husband set up a kindergarten school in Jacobabad on a solo basis. This visionary effort served to introduce systematic schooling with regular attendance as well as proficiency in the English language. It was a revolution in the history of Jacobabad as it produced a unique generation of politicians, civil officers and successful businessmen. The effects of the transformational impact can be seen to this day.

 

EARLY SIXTIES:
Awareness of Family Laws:

In the early sixties, when family laws were facing the worst criticism in the Assemblies and the Press, Begum Soomro fought for women's rights and organized large gatherings to create awareness amongst the women. The response was tremendous with illiterate, backward women flocking to these meetings amidst torrid conditions. After acquiring the general consensus of the downtrodden female population, these Family Laws were passed in the Assemblies however, to date, their implementation by the Government is still pending.

 

1965:
Social Welfare:

o Polio Patients:

Begum Soomro helped in arranging for surgeries, physiotherapy, special shoes, braces and walkers specially designed for the use of Polio patients. Her efforts served to introduce normality in the lives of these disadvantaged people.

o Ladies Clubs:

Begum Soomro became a member of various clubs that pooled in their own resources in order to help needy people from all walks of life. She proceeded to obtain lifetime membership in the following two:

• Lahore Set Club
• Atefat-A group of social workers who provide medication and monthly stipends to Tuberculosis and Cancer patients.

 

1977:
Rehabilitation of Affected Families:

Begum Soomro helped in the rehabilitation of the families of 18 people that were killed during political riots in Lahore. She was assisted in her work by a group of philanthropists including Ms. Nishat Akhter, Ms. Zohra Manzoor Elahi, Mrs. Waheeda Mushtaq and Ms. Mahjabeen Noon.

 

2000:
Imparting Modern Education in Jacobabad:

Begum Soomro arranged for four American Muslim teachers to come to Jacobabad, Pakistan for the purpose of teaching modern methods of education, the English language and computer basics to the teachers in of government and public schools in surrounding villages as well as in Jacobabad proper.

 

Aid to Civil Hospital, Jacobabad:

Begum Soomro distributes, on a regular basis, food, clothes, shoes and blankets to poor and needy patients in the Civil Hospital, Jacobabad.

 

Free Hospital in Darakhan Mohalla:

One of the greatest accomplishments of this organization is the formation of a free hospital in Darakhan Mohalla where 50-100 patients are provided with medicines on a daily basis.

 

Free Access to Clean Drinking Water:

Begum Soomro realized the hardships being faced by innumerable households in Jacobabad and led a campaign to install hand pumps across numerous slums of the city, far off villages, schools and mosques.

 

2002:
Khushal Nagar:

o Alternative Sources of Power:

Obtaining the inspiration from Dr. Fariddin Baqai's model village project called Khushal Nagar and in view of the scarcity of electric supply to most parts of rural Sindh, Begum Soomro identified the need of setting up a village that could sustain itself using cheap energy resources like biogas, windmills and solar energy. She began by donating 160 acres of her private land for this purpose and has since been working with multiple engineers to find a way of channeling solar energy for power consumption.

o Recovery of Saline Land:

Salinity is another problem which has rendered the land useless for agriculture. Begum Soomro in collaboration with other members of the organization has undertaken a major effort for the recovery of the land near Nasirabad employing numerous innovative measures to desalinate and make the land fertile and beneficial to the local population.

 

Fish Farming:

Begum Soomro, through her organization, has built a man-made lake on five acres of land, where sustainable fish farming has been introduced for the purpose of providing the poor populace with some means of feeding their families.

 

Modern Methods of Farming:

The most significant and revolutionary contribution of Begum Soomro's organization has been to introduce modern methods of farming to local farmers.

o Zero Tillage Technology:

Introduced in upper Sindh and Baluchistan. It increases the productivity of the land by more than 260% thus enabling an acre of land to produce 40 mounds of wheat instead of the usual 15 mounds. This method was originally used in Punjab and by rich landlords in Sindh. Begum Soomro and her workers organized a program in conjunction with the Punjab Government, whereby local farmers were brought to Punjab to attend farmer schools specifically set up for this purpose. The Punjab Government, in addition to teaching the new technology, also gifted these farmers the zero tillage machines and high quality seeds.

o Hybrid Seeds:

Another revolutionary effort was the introduction of Hybrid seeds that resulted in paddy production increases to 100 mounds per acre. The implementation of this project was made possible through cooperation of the Punjab Governor and Secretary Agriculture.

 

School for Handicapped Children:

A recent project of Begum Soomro was the setting up of a school in Darakhan Muhalla for deaf and dumb boys. This school is a multipurpose institution which not only serves to educate but also to provide these disadvantaged boys the added skill of sewing along with sewing machines and other facilities in order to sustain themselves and earn their livelihood.

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRPERSON:

Begum Saeeda Soomro would like to bestow Allama Iqbal's prayer upon future generations:

"On my lips is coming a wish- like prayer Lord!
May my life shine like a beam of light!
With that beam may the darkness depart,
With my light let every corner brightens.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love,
Where there in injury, healing,
Where there is hinder, help,
Where is despair, hope.
Oh my Lord
Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console
To be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that receive
Let my being add help, hope and healing to the world
Like how a flower adds to the beauty of a garden
May my task be to defend the poor
To love those who at heart are weak and sore
O my Lord! Save me from doing what is bad
On the path that is right, on that you lead!
Ameen"