The month in pictures: September

The community in Salamieh comes together following a small but destructive earthquake that hit the area in August. In partnership with local community associations and volunteer teams, AKF organised a series of playful activities for children and families, providing psychological support and relief for those affected – some of whom have had to move into temporary accommodation.

At Habibullah’s farm in Shigar, Baltistan, the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) Pakistan has helped to plant 3,000 new trees. The planting is part of AKRSP’s wider efforts to restore barren land affected by the floods that hit Gilgit-Baltistan in 2022. So far, through this initiative, AKRSP has worked with ten communities to plant 236,250 trees. Since its inception in 1982, AKRSP has planted over 51 million trees across northern Pakistan.

After nine years of success in Mozambique, AKF’s civil society initiative – Juntos! – has kickstarted a new phase Portugal. This event, featuring workshops and lectures, brought together civil society organisations from across Porto to explore innovative solutions for the social challenges they face. They formed new networks – represented by a web of colourful strings – from which they can build collaborative community projects juntos! (meaning ‘together!’). The initiative is supported by ”la Caixa” Foundation.

Naima Adam leads a workshop focused on amplifying the power of play-based learning and creative play for early childhood development (ECD). Naima is the Lead Programme Officer for the Madrasa Early Childhood Programme (MECP) in East Africa, an AKF-established ECD programme that operates in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and which celebrated 40 years of impact this year. During the workshop, participants – including ECD teachers and partners of MECP – could test out various low-cost and environmentally friendly play activities and learning resources, which they were encouraged to recreate in their classrooms.

The night sky fades over a mosque as its door opens for early morning prayer. The mosque was founded by Alima Julai, a woman from the local community. In Mozambique, AKF is working with diverse civil society actors, including religious groups, artisans, community courts, and traditional leaders, to identify and address barriers to women’s empowerment. These efforts include facilitating community engagement activities, including interfaith discussions, to enhance knowledge on gender equality and the importance of women’s participation in the community.

At the inaugural annual meeting of the Mesha Mahila Bakripalak Producer Company Limited – a women-led goat rearing company – over 700 women attended alongside state government officials, livestock market experts, and members of the AKF team. The company was borne out of Project Mesha, an AKF initiative supporting ‘pashu sakhis’ (animal health workers), providing preventative health services to goats to support rural livelihoods. In just nine months, the company has achieved a business turnover of more than INR 7,000,000 ($83,692.77 USD) and has 3,166 female shareholders.

Planting the 125th microforest in Tanzania since 2022! In collaboration with private sector partner, Jubilee Insurance, AKF facilitated a community-led planting event at Madenge Primary School in Temeke district in the outskirts of Dar es Salaam. 200 fruit trees were planted by students, teachers, civil society groups, AKF and Jubilee Insurance staff, as well as government officials, including Temeke’s District Commissioner Sixtus Mapunda.

On ‘World Cleanup Day’, AKF brought together more than 140 volunteers to help clean up the urban space surrounding Pemba Airport, the gateway to the city of Pemba. Volunteers hailed from AKF’s team in Mozambique, the local Ismaili community, civil society organisations, as well as airport staff. Their efforts are supporting a greener, cleaner urban environment for Pemba’s residents and visitors.