Pakistan is one of the youngest countries in the world. According to the Pakistan National Human Development Report, 64% of the population is under the age of 30 and around 29% is between the ages of 15 and 30. This ‘youth bulge’ provides unique opportunities for the country’s social and economic uplift whereby the latent potential of young people can be harnessed by providing openings for growth and personal development. Unfortunately, lack of youth focussed development in Pakistan has made young people vulnerable to violence and conflict, a situation exacerbated by the volatile security situation in the country.
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Over the years, Karachi has been riddled with violence of a political, ethnic and sectarian nature, thus infusing the city with a narrative of violence that often spills over into communities and renders then inert at anything other than basic day-to-day functioning. This violence is propelled by divisive narratives built around different ethnic, sectarian, political and religious ideologies, and leads to isolation for different communities, if not within communities themselves. In areas with large immigrant populations such as Moach Goth, there’s an effective disconnect between the youth and community elders themselves. These divisions, residing within communities themselves, often add to dangerous narratives propelled by violence and extremist group.
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DFT is committed to understanding the needs and expectations of young people and incorporating them in the organization’s objectives. Dream Youth Network is established to gather the youth in one platform to promote peace and encourage them through various activities, such as educational, social and recreational activities, leading them towards peaceful environment and excellent career. Engaging Youth in a democratic procedure, DFT recruited 300 youth volunteers (girls and boys). The Dream Youth Network aims at identifying and solving the problems of youth in the community; encouraging them to find home grown solutions.
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These young girls and boys are engaged in healthy activities such as continuation of education, social welfare activities, creative efforts to improve environment, in order to keep them away from criminal activities.
They are given the opportunity to visit other cities to attend different conferences, Youth Camps, Training workshops on leadership skills and summits. They are pretty much empowered, giving back to the organization by helping with organization’s day to day operations.
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According to their observations, the major barrier leading to the limited access of SRHR services for young people is the sociocultural stigmatization of youth sexuality, rooted in conservative and traditional values. Young people are not perceived as autonomous human beings able to make their own decisions. To break these barriers, Dream Foundation Trust is engaging young girls and boys and educating them regarding their SRHR and motivating them to stay positive about their SRHR needs.
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Majority of them had been part of Writing, Photography and Filmmaking workshops organized by the Dream Foundation Trust in collaboration with The School of Writing. The series of workshops gave them a path towards a brighter career. Many of them taken this as a life changing opportunity and now earning through various modes of photography and filmmaking.
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Unemployment is one of the biggest challenge today’s youth has been facing. In order to counter this issue, Dream Foundation Trust is connecting them with successful entrepreneurs, encouraging them to become young entrepreneurs in order to explore earning opportunities.