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Project Description:

Situated in the extreme northern part of Pakistan, the remote Chipursan valley is famous for its harsh climate and inaccessibility. The total population of 3000 is virtually cut off from all areas in the region with long travel required to access a telephone. Communication beyond the region is almost impossible as no single telephone or internet connection exists within the area.

The project goal is to install a satellite phone and internet facility for the 3000 people of Chipursan. This facility will open the door to knowledge and education through access to internet and email. By connecting the area to the rest of the world, the creation of new sources of economic opportunity become possible.

The Local Support Organisation of Chipursan will oversee the project and provide the necessary training. The local community will contribute land, the building and operational costs for this project. Donor contributions will be used for equipment and connection costs.

The facility will be located in Kirmin, one of the largest villages in Chipursan with a population of about 1000 people, 51% whom are literate. The centrality of this village will offer easy access for the rest of the region reducing communication travel time from several hours to thirty minutes.

When the project is complete the region will have access to an internet café with twenty desktops, hookups for the use of laptops, and a public call office connected through a VSAT system. Operating cost will be approximately $ 500/month which will be shared by the eleven men’s and women’s organizations in the area.

Update from the field: November 2010

HiMaT Winter Newsletter

Update from the field: October 2010

Letter From Four Worlds

HiMaT Fall Newsletter

Update on Flooding in Pakistan

In August of 2010, Pakistan experienced the worst flood disaster in the country’s history, a disaster that the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called “the worst disaster in the history of the United Nations”.

The heavy rains that caused the floods first impacted the northern high mountain region. For at least three weeks, Hunza was cut-off from the world—an island in the midst of a vast inland sea that eventually flowed downhill and left millions of households and thousands of communities in southern Pakistan devastated and vagrant.

Again our project area was entirely cut-off. This time there was no road access at all from the north to the capital, Islamabad. Electricity, phone and Internet were out for three weeks. We had to postpone a scheduled field visit set for the end of September. And, to make matters even worse for the people of Gojal, the promised disaster recovery money was withdrawn.

What Now?

The flooding, along with the Hunza Landslide that occurred on January 4, have both turned our project areas from one where 70% of households were ranked as “poor” or “ultra poor” to one in which the entire population has been devastated, the local economy has been destroyed, and almost all households are ultra poor and struggling to help others that are even worse off than they are.

This November we will again try to launch our HiMaT area training and support centre, (which is partially operational now). Our goal will be to begin training programs during our fall visit and continue them in the spring.

The opportunity has never been greater to build the strength of local leaders and local institutions and for using the shared problem of disaster recovery as a focal point for continuous improvement in community capacity for sustainable development.