Organizational Profile – Charter for Compassion Pakistan

1. Introduction

The Charter for Compassion Pakistan is a cooperative effort to restore not only compassionate
thinking but, more importantly, compassionate action as the center of our lives. Charter for
Compassion Society of Pakistan (CfC) aims to create a vibrant, peaceful, and compassionate
society through the creation of innovative programs, education, and training on compassionate
thought and action. Our programs, tools, and activities allow our stakeholders and partners the
opportunity to explore the value of collaboration, empathy, and compassion within their own
respective entities, and institutionalize these positive changes across all sections of society. We
believe that when all and various compassionate action projects and interventions are initiated
simultaneously all across the city, a Compassionate City begins to emerge. In a Compassionate
Karachi, there would be Compassionate Schools, Compassionate Businesses, Compassionate
Healthcare, Compassionate Sports and many more initiatives where the civil society would interact
with each other as altruistic beings.

The following initiatives taken by Charter for Compassion Pakistan are the first steps in making
Karachi a more compassionate city for generations to come:

• Charter for Compassion Pakistan (www.charterforcompassion.org)

• Charter for Compassion Global (www.charterforcompassion.com)
• Education: The Compassionate School Network (www.compassionateschool.org)
• Mumkin – Women Empowerment Initiative
 • Business: The Compassionate Business Group
(www.charterforcompassion.org.pk)
• Health: Compassion in Healthcare
• Compassionate Sports: Compassionate Cricket Camp
• Compassionate Karachi (www.compassionatekarachi.org)

2. Our Projects

2.1. Compassionate Karachi

The internationally acclaimed Compassionate Cities Campaign has successfully made its mark in
Karachi by initiating its wave of change in the city of lights in 2014. Compassionate Karachi is a
civil society movement that engages all the city’s stakeholders from education sector, development
sector, and businesses to advocate and engage in compassionate action in schools, workplaces,
homes, businesses, and government to bring about meaningful changes in their lives. The aim of
Compassionate Karachi is to create multiple compassion-based actions all over the city that engage
our civil society members and teach them the importance of compassion in the process. We create
projects that involve stakeholders from multiple facets of our society including Schools,
Universities, Organizations, and Associations. We started with a play that introduced the concept
of a Compassionate Karachi to 3500 children from 20 Schools. It laid the foundation for
Compassionate Karachi campaign, also called the ‘Five Visions’ Campaign where we asked
citizens to submit their vision of a more Compassionate Karachi. The Campaign engaged 400
schools, 28 universities, and 100 organizations and we received over 400,000 visions. Based on
the received 400,000 visions, Charter for a Compassionate Karachi was drafted. This is the first
document in the history of the Nation that has a direct input from over 400,000 people. In the
second phase, we launched the One Million Signature Campaign. The Campaign has once again
allowed us to strengthen our campaign in all the 400 schools, 28 universities, and 60+ organizations
that participated earlier.
2.2. Compassionate School Network (CSN)

CSN started in December 2012 following two years of research on integration of Compassion in
the daily lives of Pakistan’s citizens. The Compassionate School Network is the first of its kind in
the world and is a locally grown initiative with the objective to give educators the tools and training
they need to teach compassion. The goal is to raise compassionate children who will then grow up
to become compassionate adults, creating a more tolerant and peaceful society. Compassionate
School Network project incorporates nine behavior-based skills of compassion in students’ lives
through training of educators and creation of supplementary curriculum. 200 schools are part of
this network; however, 200 schools are actively participating as of today. Out of those, 120 reside
in high-income groups while 80 cater to children from low-income areas of Karachi. Over the
years, CfC Pakistan has trained 25,000 teachers in nine skills of compassion, (Government &
Private) conflict management, and Peace, the teachings of which have trickled down to over
135,000 children in the city.

2.3. Compassionate Schools

2.3.1. Compassionate School Development under EMO Initiative

Education management organization, a component of Sindh Basic Education Program (SBEP)

is a joint collaboration of USAID and School Education Department (SED), formerly known
as Education and Literacy Department, Government of Sindh (GoS). In order to improve the
standard of education in the province of Sindh, SED, in consultation with the Public Private
Partnership (PPP) Unit, Finance Department of GoS, in collaboration with the USAID and
SBEP, announced an invitation for bids to outsource the management and administration of
selected public schools established under SBEP Program to Education Management
Organizations (EMOs). CfC Pakistan won two schools (GBHS Koro Goth, Khairpur and
GGHS Arain, Sukkur) in first phase, two schools (GHS Abad Lakha, Sukkur and GHS Bedil
Bekas, Sukkur) in second phase, and five schools (GBHS Dodanko, GBHS G(N) Modern, GBHS
Tando Nazar Ali, GBHSS Setharja, and GBHSS Hussainabad) in third phase, each for ten year
projects as Education Management Organization (EMO). Through performance-based
management contracts that is based on a public-private partnership (PPP) model, CfC Pakistan is
managing and improving the functioning of these government schools by introducing
innovations.

2.3.2. Compassionate Schools – Thar

Charter for Compassion Pakistan, in collaboration with Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company
(SECMC). This initiative aims to improve the standards of education in the province of Sindh
and highlight the importance of studying in a compassionate environment. CfC Pakistan’s
major goal is to manage and improve the functioning of these schools by introducing
innovations, modernizing the education system.

2.3.3. Compassionate Schools – PPRS Badin

Charter for Compassion Pakistan has collaborated with Sindh Education Foundation and has
signed a contract with Sindh Education Foundation on 20th December, 2017 for the
management of eight schools in Badin. These schools are located in underserved areas of Badin
and we encountered various problems before formally initiating our program. For instance, the
GR directory had the student names but there was no proof of them attending schools at all.
While CfC has been ensuring students attendance, students learning outcomes, assessment
plans, career development of teachers as well students, at the end, it is the will of the local
community that will help us accomplish the goal. Education is an important avenue for personal
growth and CfC envisions a generation of students who is compassionate and altruistic, and to
this end, we have integrated the nine compassionate skills with formal education system. Since
 we have acquired the school, we have designed and applied different criteria to hire quality
teachers, and comprehensive methods were used to administer the gap analysis.
The main objectives are to provide primary and secondary education in rural areas of Sindh, to
engage/retain students in order to create friendly education system, and to promote education
system through sports activity.

2.4. Compassionate Community Projects

From the progression of teacher training, parent training has started as well. These parents and
teachers, along with the community leaders are conjuring sustainable and meaningful projects for
their respective community with the help of various FGD’s (focus group discussions). The most
viable projects receive seed money from CfC Pakistan for its initiation. The stakeholders who are
nominated by the community members during the FGD’s look after all projects and report the
progress to CfC Pakistan from time to time.

2.5. Adult and Adolescent Learning and Training Program – Shamool

CfC Pakistan is working in collaboration with Sindh Education Foundation (SEF) for Adolescent
and Adult Learning and Training Program (AALTP). This program has been designed to cater to
the adolescents and adults who have missed an opportunity to avail education during childhood.
CfC has established 15 AALTP centres engaging 4000 adolescents and adults in the districts of
Karachi, Sukkur, Khairpur, and Badin. The project is providing accelerated formal primary
education for vulnerable adolescents and basic functional literacy for adults; both linked with a
certified Skill Development / Vocational Training course for each learner.
2.6. Bridges – Compassionate Community Centre

The stark contrast between polar opposite segments of Karachi – Pakistan’s largest city – could
not be more evident than around the Qayyumabad bridge. The vacant space under the bridge is
usually occupied by homeless families and drug addicts, whilst only a few kilometers away from
the bridge is situated a huge college campus where student enrollment is up to ten thousand.
Borrowing its core objective from the irony of the situation, Charter for Compassion
Pakistan’s new initiative aims at bringing the two sections of the society under one bridge. The
project title, Bridges, is more than a reference to the physical space being used to create a
compassionate community center and points to the act of connecting or bridging existing social
dichotomies. The community center is to act as a safe space for out-of-school children who are
otherwise vulnerable to falling prey to illegal activities or simply growing up on the streets. The
approach to get these kids off the street and into a school setting follows a simple rule – learning
by engaging their imagination through fun academic and sporting activities.

2.7. Compassionate Footprint – Environmental Project

Compassionate Footprint is an ecological project that is aimed at reducing our carbon footprint that
in turn will reduce the greenhouse effect. It will engage schools, universities and organizations to
adopt trees and become environmentally responsible. We aim to actively spread the project to 160
schools of Karachi (80 privileged and 80 underserved) in the first year. Compassionate behaviors
will be instilled in the students of these schools by designing initiatives that prepare them to take
ownership of their environment and practice peaceful activities. The first initiative is creating a
dialogue regarding ‘peaceful sustainable environment’ by having a debate in partnership between
the privileged and underserved schools. The second initiative lets you adopt a tree that teaches
students about empathy, humility, altruism, and mindfulness (four of CfC's compassionate skills)
by making them fully responsible for trees’ wellbeing. The project will link privilege and
underserved schools of Karachi by having them plant trees in each other’s schools. The students
will then adopt trees planted by their counterparts. This will teach them to co-exist and practice
compassion. The project will expand with the activity being conducted in parks and walls being
adopted. The final objective of the project will be a complete change in the landscape with the help
of the youth in the creation of a harmonious society by instilling a peaceful attitude in them.
2.8. Mumkin – Possible (A Women Empowerment Initiative)

Women Empowerment project is directed towards uplifting the social and economic status of
women. Three learning centers for women have been created Karachi, Sukkur, Badin, Khairpur
and Tharparkar to socially mobilize them and enable them to become educated and informed
change agents in their communities. These females will then become advocates of social agents in
their communities. Furthermore, CfC Pakistan works with women in underprivileged areas,
inculcates soft skills, provides them training on entrepreneurial skills, and connects them to market
institutions. This serves as a tool to contribute towards household income as well as making a
woman more independent. The overall objective is to inculcate compassionate values and empower
them to fight for their rights in a healthy manner which will be beneficial for the society. Lastly,
these women will transfer their skills to other members in their locality, so that the learning cycle
is repeated constantly. At the moment the there are 1,000 females trained with 400 entrepreneurs.

2.9. Compassionate Business Quotient

Compassionate Business Quotient is an effort to evoke compassionate thought and action in

individuals from different walks of life. In 2011, a study was conducted in Pakistan to determine
the level of compassion in professionals from 21 organizations from different industries and
sectors, surprisingly none of these reputable organizations could be categorized as highly
compassionate. This indicates the dire need for compassionate trainings in organizations.

Compassionate business practices can provide businesses not only with improved financial
performance, but also an all new organizational behavior where compassion will be a fundamental
part of the organizational values. Compassionate behaviors between the organization and the
stakeholders can better work situations and work ethics, resulting in improved corporate relations,
decreased turnover costs, and high employee productivity.
CBQ assists in the overall cultural development of an organization, helps build strong employer
employee relationships, enhances organizational performance, increases employee job satisfaction,
and most importantly provides training at all levels to improve interpersonal relationships by
instilling team-building, conflict resolution, and intrinsic motivation skills. Happy employees also
make for a more congenial workplace and improved customer service. Employees in positive
moods are more willing to help peers and to provide customer service on their own accord. In
doing so, they boost coworkers’ productivity levels and increase coworkers’ feeling of social
connection, as well as their commitment to the workplace and their levels of engagement with their
job.

2.10. Compassion in Healthcare

Coherent and committed with the goal of creating a compassionate Pakistan, the Charter for
Compassion/Pakistan (CFC) embarked on a first of its kind initiative titled "Compassion in
Healthcare (CIH)" in July of 2018. Since its inception, this department has been working with
healthcare professionals from both the public and private sectors to enhance their patient
experience and to revitalize the spirit of compassion in the Healthcare system of Pakistan.

In July 2018, CIH collaborated with The Aga Khan University Hospital's (AKUH) Service Line 4,
Children's Hospital, in July 2018, and conducted training on the nine skills of compassion
(integrity, forgiveness, mindfulness, empathy, self-compassion, gratitude, humility, courage and
altruism) to enhance mentorship roles of Hospital's 35 leading personnel, including Head Nurses,
Head Doctors, and Admin Staff. Following its success with the staff of AKUH, the department
was awarded a subgrant for a World Bank project titled "Technical Support for the Early Learning
and Stimulation pilot in selected UCs of Sindh" where the department successfully trained selected
Lady Health Supervisors of the district of Tharparkar in the skills of Early Learning Stimulation
and Compassionate leadership. Recently, to expand their services towards mental health, they have
brought the online mental health platform Ruhbaru under their wing.
2.10.1. Ruhbaru (face to face): It is an online mental health and counseling platform that caters to
the needs of the population. Ruhbaru provides education on the different mental health issues faced
by people to remove the stigma around these; self-assessments of wellbeing and compassionate
skills among the people; and, tele and online consultations with psychologists and psychiatrists,
and free counseling services.

As of yet, Ruhbaru has served approximately 1500 people who have signed up on their platform
and provided 270 counseling services to the people. Ruhbaru hopes to create a market niche for
itself by expanding its services to all classes within Pakistan including the People with Disabilities
and LGBT community so they have access to empathetic and compassionate mental healthcare.

Ruhbaru is to extend its services to the CfC schools in rural Sukkur in order to promote mental
health and teach the children the 9 compassionate skills that are the core of CfC. The teachers are
to be trained in basic play therapy techniques and will be known as ‘Play Workers’ who will
employ those techniques to teach and empower children. Each teacher is to be equipped with play
therapy kits that are specifically designed to cater to the 9 skills and mental health of the children.

2.11. Razakar

CfC Pakistan is engaged in a number of community initiatives and the role of volunteers is key to
the success of each. Not only does volunteering builds a sense of empathy and fulfilment for the
persons contributing, but also help us deliver the projects in an efficient manner. We aim to foster
sustainability with the concept of care-and-grow where a volunteer can carry the knowledge and
skills to new ventures in new places for the common good. Razakar is a volunteer program that
aims to create a community of volunteers around Pakistan and increase awareness on the
importance of volunteerism
2.12. Compassionate Sports

Compassionate Sports is one of the many initiatives undertaken by Charter for Compassion
Pakistan to engage youth of lesser privileged areas to participate in productive and healthy sports
activities to help improve their personality and character. The objective is to develop feelings of
resilience and self-efficacy, team cohesion, synergy, and problem solving capabilities for both
communities and individuals. To this end, the Compassionate Cricket Camp was established on
1st February 2014. The focus of the sports program is on the mental, physical and social health of
sports participants. A trials period lasting over two months engaging 1200 children allowed our
committed coaches to select vulnerable yet motivated players for the camp from Korangi, Lyari
and Sultanabad/ Hijrat Colony. The Compassionate Cricket Camp currently acts as a second home
to 270 Children from these areas giving them the opportunity to regularly partake in practice
sessions, matches, tournaments and compassionate skill-based trainings in 4 specific skills of
compassion i.e. Mindfulness, Courage, Integrity, and Forgiveness. In September 2017, sports
goods were provided to 15 literacy centers across 4 districts of Sindh, catering to 4000 learners to
inculcate healthy living style and providing them a platform to showcase their sports talents. In
October 2017, sports week was also organized in 4 government schools in Sukkur and Khairpur,
engaging 3500 students in athletic activities. In

November 2017, another cricket camp was launched at Eidgah Nazimabad cricket ground for
nearby underprivileged areas.