Sindh governor gives assent to Covid-19 emergency relief ordinance
https://www.dawn.com/news/1557385
“The Sindh cabinet a couple of weeks ago approved the Sindh Covid-19 Emergency Relief Ordinance, 2020 to provide relief to the people and address the challenges emanating from the province-wide lockdown,” said a source. “After its approval, the government claims that the ordinance would provide equal relief to domestic residential and commercial tenants, employees and daily-wage workers; extending deadlines associated with responding to school fees, rent and utility charges, conduct of trial or indictment and extension of the period for performance of duties by a court or an office.”
According to the relief envisaged in the ordinance, no educational institution shall charge more than 80 per cent of the total monthly fees, he said. No employee or worker, he added, shall be laid off, terminated or removed and the employee shall be paid salary by the employers.
The salary amount and the deduction, if necessary, was given in schedule-I of the ordinance, added the source.
Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2020
The ordinance was drafted to provide relief to the people of the province amid the corona virus crisis. During the prescribed period the following Reliefs must be provided:
http://sindhlaws.gov.pk/setup/Publications/PUB-20-000013.pdf
Clauses listed in the Ordinance and FBF responses.
2 a) In another order the Sindh Government had asked the private schools to reduce fees by 20 percent for the months of April and May 2020. No student should be placed at a disadvantaged position in terms of paying the fee before the promulgation of this ordinance. The Ordinance had provided legal cover to this order.
FBF compliance/response to the government orders.
- FBF does not charge fee from students whose families cannot afford to pay
- FBF has a strict policy in place where no student is placed at a disadvantage
- A very Basic Fee structure of Rs.100-200 per month has been put in place simply to have the Parents commitment towards the school and to provide a sense of dignity for the students so that they value their education.
- Over time a lot of families have been exempted from paying the basic fee too, if they are unable to pay.
In compliance to the Sindh COVID-19 Emergency Relief Ordinance 2020 by the Sindh Government, we provide relief to working class groups especially daily wage workers, middle class tenants and parents of school-going children who have been badly hit economically due to pandemic corona virus and prolonged lockdown.
2.b) This new Ordinance would provide a legal cover to the earlier issued various notifications and orders in which the provincial government had asked the employers not to lay off their workers due to lockdown and provide them salaries for the month of March. The ordinance mandates that the salaries of those employed in the private sector are paid. Income slabs would be notified as well under the new legislation.
FBF compliance/response to the government orders.
- FBF has not laid off any worker on its payroll.
- Salaries disbursed in full and on time.
2.c)Relief shall be provided to all residential consumers in the monthly bills of water and sewerage
FBF compliance/response to the government orders.
- Not applicable.
2,d) The landlord shall defer or suspend the recovery of 50% of the total rent of the premises.
FBF compliance/response to the government orders.
Not applicable to FBF management
The Ordinance also provides a mechanism for payment of reduced salaries to employees of the companies/industries which have been shut as part of anti-corona virus restrictions in the province.
Not applicable to FBF management
2.e). The government may provide exemption in provincial taxes
FBF compliance/response to the government orders.
Not applicable to FBF management
2f.) For NGOs registered with departments of government – to submit a report giving details of the relief activities for mitigating Covid-19 pandemic
FBF compliance/response to the government orders.
Listed below are the details of services rendered by Fahmida Begum Foundation of the relief activities for mitigating Covid-19 pandemic.
- Worksheet Distribution during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Periodic distribution of worksheets for our students
Amid the COVID-19 outbreak situation we are offering our students a platform that allows our Teachers to distribute teaching materials, collect worksheets and setting action plans on how to best support children during school closures. The primary purpose is to keep classroom learning fresh in their minds and not be forgotten.
Fahmida Begum Foundation teaching and admin staff is working to continue providing evening meals (aftari packs) to students. These packs can be taken home, and parents or guardians can pick meals for their children. The worksheets were given with the meal pack. The worksheets will be checked and returned to the students.
- Homeschooling stationery packs for students during the Covid19 pandemic.
Fahmida Begum Foundation has mobilized efforts for remote learning through a homeschooling gift scheme. The purpose is to provide children of the community with the basic study material that will enable them to practice and revise concepts taught in the classrooms before the Covid 19 outbreak.
More than 117 stationery packs have been distributed among children (FBF students as well as other children of the community). The children were happy to receive them. It was a kind of a challenge to put those packs together but we are confident that the children will surely find these useful.
As corona virus concerns closes school around the world, the needs of children in the disadvantaged communities must be addressed. They are our responsibility, and we will be helping them remotely until schools are up and running.
- Allocation for extra learning support for children with special needs
We eagerly await the return of our students who have been identified with special education needs. We have tried to facilitate these students at Fahmida Begum Foundation School. We have tried to reach them but so far there has been no positive response from the families.. However, we shall continue to pursue them to return as soon as school reopens.
In our Academic Plan (2019-2020) Fahmida Begum Foundation School has reached out to many students to address SEN issues with a substantial amount of success. Steps to identify and facilitate such children will be a central mission for us.
We measure our successes step by step and results are heartwarming.
- Public awareness message during the Covid19 pandemic.
Periodic updates on our FB page for public awareness through pictures, visuals and text.
Staff and
Public Awareness message on how COVID-19 spreads.
The virus that causes COVID-19 is mainly spread by respiratory droplets. When
someone infected with COVID-19 coughs or sneezes, respiratory droplets that
contain the virus are expelled and can be breathed in by someone nearby.
Although the virus cannot enter the body through the skin, the respiratory
droplets carrying the virus can get into your airways or mucous membranes of
your eyes, nose, or mouth to infect you. The virus can also be spread if you
touch a surface contaminated with virus and then touch your eyes, nose or
mouth, although this is not the primary way the virus spreads.
- Medical services rendered by FBF during the Covid-19 pandemic.
We at FBF believe that Primary health care is
indispensable. Each child is born with the right to survival, food and
nutrition, health and shelter, an education, and equality.
We provide health care services, which includes several initial primary level
services to children, women and elderly of the community, through a team of
health professionals, consultants and various doctors.
The Foundation, hosts a health clinic three days a week 5-8 pm for women and children and conducts health checks for an average 40 patients at each OPD. The FBF Clinic covers basic medical needs including free medicine and referrals to tertiary heath care providers.
FBF continued to provide emergency medical response to the local population of Mehran Town and beyond for mitigating the socio-economic disruption caused by Covid-19 crisis. Our clinic remained open for public throughout March-April-May and now in June. However, the number of patients was relatively low due to lockdown and restricted movement.
- Jan 2020- (14 OPDs and 456 patients).
- Feb 2020, (27 OPDs and 639 patients)
- During March-April-May 2020 (11 OPDs and 220 patients) were given health check-ups and prescriptions were issued. Patient turnout was low due to lockdown.
- June 2020 onwards – work continues
- Daily food distribution during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Through daily food distribution program we have strived to serve warm food for the people from Mehran Town and neighboring community that gives them the strength to carry on in their fight against hunger. We serve minimum 250 people every day. We also work to teach the children about the values of social distancing while sharing and caring as well as the importance of personal hygiene.
FBF staff helps to serve the food and clean up afterwards. We have a daily nutritious lunch coverage and our daily food distribution regimen has been smooth, efficient and dependable throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
Our belief is that the lunch distribution has an important “socialization role”. Food is served in an organized, dignified and friendly manner. Towards this, our nutritious meals and free food program routine strictly observes rules for serving with grace and dignity, exercising caution not to undermine the respect of each recipient.
All our meals are served in a clean open space, which has
been swept in advance every day. Fahmida
Begum Foundation offered a variety of food items as per the weekly menu plan.
The food is always well cooked and freshly served. The queues of people, old
and young are served hot and healthy food. The young and old reflect discipline
and patience knowing that each one will be served. Fahmida Begum Foundation
committed staff perform their respective duties as they have been clearly
instructed to.
– Adequate quantity is served. Meals vary
from day to day to add variety, nutrition and flavour for the people living in
Mehran Town and adjoining areas.
– No wastage of food is permitted and any extra
food, if any, re-distributed to the needy.
– Strict hygiene is established and maintained in
our kitchen being used to prepare the mid-day meal.
The Excellence of Feeding people especially in times of crisis.
In Islam, feeding people carries great virtues as can be seen from Qur’an and Hadith. Qur’an mentions feeding people is a quality of those who love Almighty Allah. Ahadith mention that feeding people is among the best aspects of Islam.
Allah [SWT] Says:
“And they give food in spite of their own need to the destitute, the orphan, and the captive” … [Quran 76:8]
Ibn ‘Abbas’ may Allah be pleased with him Exegesis of the Verse … “The verse denotes that some feed the needy, the orphan and the captive, despite the scarcity of food and their own need and love for it.”
Fahmida Begum Foundation has served
- 9450 meals in Jan 2020
- 7350 meals in Feb 2020
- 5501 meals in March 2020
- 3771 meals in April 2020
- 6000 Aftari meals in May 2020
TOTAL = 32072
- FBF 2020 distribution of Ramadan Food Parcels Project.
For Muslims
around the world, Ramadan is an important month for fasting and prayer. It is
also a time for family and friends to worship Almighty Allah, observe fasts and
celebrate Eid al-Fitr. Each year the Fahmida Begum Foundation distributes
Ramadan Food Parcels to the deserving people living in Mehran Town. FBF
arranges for a special pre- Ramadan Food parcels distribution for more than 707
families of Mehran Town as well as for others who come from adjoining
low-income and disadvantaged areas of Korangi. We work around the year to
assess the needs of poor and minorities in poverty struck areas. Alhamdulillah,
the number of families, and individuals we help has been increasing every year.
All these programs have been possible because of sincere prayers and efforts of
the FBF management and staff
The food parcels include pulses, rice, flour, oil, sugar, dates, tea, powdered
milk and local
beverages. The parcels are carefully put together to suit the local culinary
choices and practices. They contain enough food to suffice for a family for a
month.
The FBF Ramadan Food Pack Distribution 2020 project enabled us to reach the
most vulnerable segment of the population in Mehran Town and adjoining areas
which have no access to proper meal even in the holy month of Ramadan. A large
number of people have benefited from this project. FBF distributes food parcels
in impoverished communities to provide relief to them during the holy month of
Ramadan. The parcels are designed to meet at least one month dietary
requirements of an average family. Special preference was given to the families
comprising widows, special people and ailing ones.
Well structured procedure for FBF Ramadan Food Pack Distribution:
i. 3500 Households were identified through vulnerability criteria
ii.100% selection of deserving families for distribution of food after verification process.
iii. Verification/Validation of beneficiaries’ families.
iv. Distribution of food packages among beneficiaries families
Through the Fahmida Begum Foundation’s Ramadan Food
Parcels distribution project, the
residents of Mehran Town and adjoining localities have food available during
the month of
Ramadan and they do not have to worry about the next meal during their fasts.
The current
situation due to the corona virus pandemic has worsened the living situation in
the area and
people are worried about a one-time meal.
- Aftari Distribution during Covid_19 pandemic
The Holy month of Ramadan is the month of giving and a time to show support for the cause of humanity by helping the less privileged within our communities. The objective of this project is to reach out to the most underprivileged segment of our society and directly engage with them and show them our support by distributing the basic food items for aftari. Our goal is to promote healthy lifestyle in addition to providing relief from the extreme weather by providing juices, seasonal fruits, dates and vegetable pakoras.
Fahmida Begum Foundation pledges to help the disadvantaged segment of our society and to give sustained relief to the needy during the holy month of Ramadan.
FBF had served 6000 Aftari meals during the month of fasting.
- Public awareness message during the Covid19 pandemic.
Periodic updates on our FB page for public awareness through pictures, visuals and text.
Staff and
Public Awareness message on how COVID-19 spreads.
The virus that causes COVID-19 is mainly spread by respiratory droplets. When
someone infected with COVID-19 coughs or sneezes, respiratory droplets that
contain the virus are expelled and can be breathed in by someone nearby.
Although the virus cannot enter the body through the skin, the respiratory
droplets carrying the virus can get into your airways or mucous membranes of
your eyes, nose, or mouth to infect you. The virus can also be spread if you
touch a surface contaminated with virus and then touch your eyes, nose or
mouth, although this is not the primary way the virus spreads.
| In these unprecedented times, Fahmida Begum Foundation supports students’ learning through improvised strategies. Teachers and school administrators have been distributing curriculum related worksheets to assist our students during the official closure of educational institutions. FBF believes in keeping the doors of learning open during the current pandemic and inspire our students with the quest for learning. Each day when worksheets were distributed, was a joyous one. We hope the keep up our efforts till schools reopen. |
- Routine daily cleanliness and hygiene of the school
during the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Routine cleaning and disinfecting during the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Maintaining a neat, clean and hygienic school premises
FBF staff has
worked throughout the lockdown to keep the school premises neat and clean.
Teaching and playing resources are also checked and stored safely.
The staff has been provided with soap, sanitizer and masks for personal health
and safety.
Basic guidance for cleaning and disinfecting for our cleaning staff.
Routine
cleaning and disinfecting is key to maintaining a safe environment for
students, and staff. Outdoor areas, like playgrounds in schools generally require normal routine cleaning, but do not require disinfection. Hence we did not
use spray disinfectant on outdoor playgrounds. It is not proven to reduce risk of COVID-19
to the public. High touch surfaces made of plastic or metal were cleaned
routinely. Cleaning of wooden surfaces (play structures, benches, and tables) was
done on a regular basis.
Cleaning removes dirt and most germs and is usually done with soap and water.
Disinfecting kills most germs, depending on the type of chemical, and only when
the chemical product is used as directed on the label.
Cleaning and
disinfecting at least once daily all surfaces and objects such as:
Door knobs and handles
Classroom desks and chairs
Lunchroom tables and chairs
Countertops
Handrails
Light switches
Handles on equipment (e.g., medical equipment)
Shared toys
Shared remote controls
Shared telephones
Shared desktops
Shared computer keyboards and mouse.
- Communication with Teaching and Admin staff during the Covid-19 pandemic
In the absence of a face-to-face communication, the staff was contacted and facilitated through emails, Whatsapp, ZOOM and telephonic modes.
- to maintain a continuum of planning ( where we were before the lockdown and where we should be after school reopens.
- to refresh training concepts
- curriculum development
- Team working purposes
- To enquire about each staff welfare and needs