Introduction
Health And Rural Development (HARD) Balochistan is a non-profit, non-political, non-religious and non-governmental organization of Pakistan. The Organization is registered in Social Welfare Act 1961 Later in 2014 registered in Society Act 1860 under the law of Pakistan. The organization was established by a group of young development professionals who were motivated while working development sector to serve the people of Balochistan. Initially, the young group members started working from one room office at community level in District Khuzdar. At first step they planned to organize communities and engage them in development and social welfare related voluntary activities on self-support basis. Spending years on voluntary work as from 1996 to 2002 the group members developed trust among communities and decided to formally register the organization naming “Health And Rural Development (HARD) Balochistan”.
Keeping in view the key objectives of the organization, the team moved forward gradually to identify and reach the most vulnerable and marginalized communities of the Balochistan for protecting their human rights and serving them in need. In this way, the organization management decided to access local, national and international level donor organizations for joining hands to reach the most deserving people.
With the passage of the time, HARD has launched several campaigns, projects and programs with the partnership of The Asia Foundation, Action Aid International, Oxfam, USAID Pakistan, European Union, TVO, District and Provincial Government, Aurat Foundation, Azat Foundation, TDEA, UAF Women Human Rights Defenders, UNDP CHANAN, GPE and World Bank. Besides HARD initiated many campaigns on self-help basis as and when are required particularly for general awareness of the communities on issues such as human rights, civic amenities, violence against women, School Enrolment, HIV/AIDs, Civic and Voting Education and against the other social evils like human tracking, drugs addiction and etc. HARD has also responded in emergencies as per intensity and demand of the situations. HARD has conducted several surveys and studies to build an information base and ran capacity building programmes as well. Since its establishment, the organization has been working on diversified issues affecting the lives of rural as well as urban communities of Balochistan. The considerable work of the organization revolves around issues with human rights perspective. Despite a typically resistant atmosphere around, the activists of HARD have been struggling for bringing about a behavioural change.
As a result of working with different donors, HARD team developed linkages with government departments, local influential, political leaders and donor organizations and other stakeholders and besides, HARD gained strong team with a huge experience of voluntary and community based work, implemented more than 30 short and long term projects and multi-sector programs. For instances, HARD has been implementing multi-sector program funded by Action Aid Pakistan since 2008 and still the program is continue. Leaving high impact on the lives of poor and vulnerable people through different interventions and projects, the HARD team set an example of social development and protecting the human rights. These have endeared HARD among local communities and brought a valuable credibility among the local as well as national institutions.