Human Aid Focus and its subsidiary Maqsood Welfare Foundation was set up by London based and Azad Kashmir born philanthropist Mohammad Maqsood Sheikh who is still CEO/Chairman of both organisations to serve Humanity starting with the deserving and needy people of Azad Kashmir

Human Aid Focus by using its subsidiary Charity Maqsood Welfare Foundation which is a pre 2005 registered and running charity(NGO) actively participated in the rescue and relief operations after the 2005 earthquake and assisted the International NGO’s and UN agencies in their activities of camp management and relief operations. This coordination grew out of proportion and MWF entered in partnerships with International NGO’s & UN agencies like OXFAM GB, UNICEF, American World Jewish Service and many more. It proposed and implemented water project with the funding from OXFAM GB and then to larger activities of village Sanitation and Hygiene in Bagh. Water Quality Improvement and Promotion of Hygiene (WAQIPH) project launched by ERRA with the technical assistance of UNICEF through Oxfam in Tehsil Bagh. HAF/MWF believes in the provision and continuity of LGRDD for sustainable development. With this belief HAF/MWF proposed this project of WAQIPH of ERRA and OXFAM GB. Project focus area was Tehsil & district Bagh with four union councils. Project proposed to cover 149 water supply schemes.

Project focused on the formation & reactivation of Water Management Committees WMC’s, register with the District Council and training of their members. Formation and Reactivation of these WMC’s has been accomplished where all training programs are completed in time. Water Management Committees members trained on managerial financial and technical aspects. 300 village activists, scholars, teachers and LHW’s identified for hygiene trainings, and house hold water treatment options , 300 volunteers masons and carpenter identified for training on Rain Water Harvesting and same number of plumbers trained on  plumbing and maintenance of WSS. 298 health & hygiene sessions were completed in villages and schools. WMC members also trained on Water Quality Testing and they visited the district water quality testing lab. Two Sanitation weeks carried out during the project. OXFAM GB guidelines were implemented in all targeted villages and schools throughout the sessions. WMC’s participation in managerial, financial and technical aspects training ensured that they may assume their role practically.

This project is unique in many aspects like there has been no intervention of WMC formation, reactivation and trainings, health & Hygiene training programs and sessions have been organized after long time Rain Water Harvesting system training is interesting for all participants. Bringing back Water quality tests could not have been possible without the active involvement of WMC’s. We may take this project as first step towards the improvement of water quality and promotion of hygiene in villages.

 Roof Top Rainwater Harvesting:

Bagh is located at more then 5000 feet above the sea level. The terrain is largely mountainous and covered with thick forests. Road link have been destroyed during the devastating earthquake of October 2005 and people are still struggling to resume their lives to normal. As a result of the disaster most of the water sources have either dried up and/or changed their courses that created problems for the dependent population in getting water for their domestic use. The government and other non-governmental organizations did helped many areas in restoring their water supply but there still remain many areas which are without proper water supply. Women were going into far flung areas and fetches water for home consumption on walking distance of ½ km. by almost spending 4 hrs per day. About 30% community members were selling their livestock due to shortage of water, and almost the same percentage had been displaced, which was an alarming situation.

Keeping in view the above mentioned alarming water situation of the area and to meet the water needs of the communities of these areas Roof Top Rain Water Harvesting project was designed by Human Aid Focus/Maqsood Welfare Foundation which was submitted to Oxfam – GB office. The project proposal for the said project was approved by the Oxfam – GB, and a formal agreement was signed between Oxfam – GB and HAF/MWF on 27-Feb-08 for the implementation of this project.

Sustainable Development:

Due to the earthquake of October 8, 2005, the communities of the affected areas not only lost their loving ones but also their source of income as well. Majority of the people and mostly women of these areas depend upon on the income generated through their Cattle/livestock. This quake grabs this source from these people and they reached to hand to mouth situation. 

Maqsood Welfare Foundation/Human Aid Focus, being a local NGO, understands this situation very well. HAF/MWF submits a detailed proposal to AJWS for lamb fattening activities for those community members who are deserving & poor women, affected by the devastating effect of earthquake, want to establish an additional source of livelihood / income for themselves & for their families. AJWS recommend this proposal and extend their generous co-operation to rebuild the source of income of these communities. We are thankful to AJWS for their kind cooperation and assistance for reviving the lives of these poor people.

AJWS and HAF/MWF signed an agreement to lunch “Sustainable Economic Development for Earthquake Victims – Year 2”. Through this program a credit amounting to US $10,000 disbursed among 60 women in two batches to purchase the lambs for fattening purpose and also deliver trainings on women related issues. This project is an effort to create the awareness among the female community members for their rights, and financially empower them to get rid from the dependency life.

With your help and the help of AJWS, Maqsood Welfare Foundation/Human Aid Focus, has started long term program "Sustainable economic development for earthquake victims", spreading over the years, for rebuilding the economical sources on sustainable basis for these communities. In first year of this women focused program 300 goats had been distributed among 100 families, in second year micro credit amounting to PKR 600,000/= had been disbursed among 60 women to purchase lamb for fattening purpose and in the current, third year 04 Vocational Centers (Agreed number of Vocational were 03 but HAF/MWF established 04 centers, (for reason please refer to Challenges Faced head) for women at U/C Dharay of Tehsile & District Bagh to trained 163 women (target of the project was 90 candidates) in different income generating skills.

The chairman Muhammad Maqsood Sheikh made a speech at the Woolf Institute for Abrahamic Faiths at Cambridge University 2009  http://www.woolf.cam.ac.uk/conferences/worldjewishrelief.php

Muhammad Maqsood Sheikh was born in District Bagh, the state of Azad Jammu & Kashmir in a working class family. After completing his education in local institutions, he joined the foreign office of Pakistan to look after the needs of his large, extended family.?In 1986, Mr Sheikh came to the United Kingdom as a Junior Diplomat in the coordination office and worked for the Embassy in London until 2003. He held part-time jobs and set-up his own retail business outlets and real estate business in both the UK and Pakistan. ?Azad Kashmir’s high level of poverty led Mr. Sheikh to want to help his country-men. He has funded the education of 100s of students until the college level and arranged weddings of 100s of girls from poor backgrounds whose families were unable to bear wedding costs. He also helped many people, trapped in land disputes, by providing them with legal aid.?In 2000, the local community in Azad Kashmir decided to formalise the help they were receiving and registered the aid under the title of Maqsood Welfare Foundation. In 2004, Mr Sheikh registered his charitable work with the charity commission as Human Aid Focus in order to carry out development projects on a larger scale and to reach out to more people. ?Mr Sheikh was in Kashmir when the October 2005 earthquake struck and saw the destruction first hand. He was instrumental in facilitating the aid coordination activities from the UK. ??Human Aid Focus (HAF) was established in 2004 in order to formalise the philanthropy of Mr. Maqsood Sheikh in Kashmir in health, education and reconstruction. The Mqsood Welfare Foundatin is registered as an NGO in Azad Kashmir.  Prior to the earthquake that struck Pakistan in October 2005, Human Aid Focus was the only charity operating in Bagh, delivering aid to promote education, health services and basic skills courses for people requiring assistance. Work began in the area with the construction of a 100 room general hospital in Bagh but following the earthquake, moved to rehabilitation and the provision of shelter to those surviving the earthquake.?The organisation now operates in 59 villages in the remote Bagh District of Azad Kashmir, encouraging social development for communities through the establishment of CBOs, allowing communities to identify their own problems, prioritise their needs and solve issues. ?Human Aid Focus’s vision is to promote a tolerant, peaceful, gender friendly society based on the principles of social justice, freedom, empowerment and equality for all. The mission is to enable and assist the disadvantaged, marginalised, under-privileged, and neglected populations to achieve stability and economical development in life.