A Training Center to Support 400 Women Every Year

AWARD Pakistan continues to make strides in empowering women and girls in Warispura, Faisalabad, where cultural pressures and socio-economic limitations often restrict women to traditional household roles. To address this, AWARD has been developing a multi-story training centre aimed at equipping marginalized women with vocational skills, helping them achieve financial independence and social dignity.

From the latest training batch, 120 women and girls participated in courses in computer literacy,  beautician skills, and stitching. 48 in beautification (20 now offering home-based services), 18 in stitching (10 working or starting businesses), 12 in computer literacy (5 securing freelance jobs), and 42 in bike riding (30 reporting increased mobility). To make learning engaging and holistic, the participants were also given a recreational trip, followed by end-of-course examinations. Successful trainees received their certificates during a formal distribution ceremony, recognizing their hard work and achievement. In addition, the centre hosted a breast cancer awareness seminar, sensitizing women to important health issues and encouraging proactive care.

With demand growing, AWARD Pakistan is now preparing to enroll the next batch of trainees, ensuring more women from Warispura and surrounding rural areas have access to these life-changing opportunities.

However, despite these achievements, the centre still requires USD 13,793 to complete the construction of the multi-story building, including a residential hostel. This hostel is crucial for women coming from distant rural areas who are otherwise unable to attend due to a lack of safe and affordable accommodation. Completing this facility will ensure that unskilled and school-dropout women can fully participate in training, gain essential skills, and transform their lives.

We humbly appeal to the GlobalGiving community and our supporters to help us bridge this funding gap. Your contribution will directly enable women to access education, vocational skills, and opportunities they would not otherwise have while creating a safer, more empowered, and independent generation of women in Faisalabad.

A Centre of Hope for Women in Faisalabad

Azeem Christopher/ Project Leader

Since 1994, AWARD Pakistan has been empowering rural women from its head office in Dawood Nagar, Warispura, Faisalabad, a less-developed area where women and girls face socio-economic challenges due to limited education and skills. Most live in poverty, with restricted access to vocational institutions, often resorting to low-paid domestic work where they face harassment and exploitation. AWARD’s Women’s Resource Centre, supported by Kerk in Actie (Netherlands), serves as a safe hub for training and community programs, offering courses in stitching, beautification, computer literacy, mobile repairing, and bike riding. To date, 3,594 women, youth, and persons with disabilities have benefited, gaining skills to start businesses, secure employment, and break cycles of poverty. The centre promotes inter-faith harmony and fosters gender equality, confidence, and leadership.

In July–August 2025, AWARD trained 115 women and girls: 43 in beautification (20 now offering home-based services), 18 in stitching (10 working or starting businesses), 12 in computer literacy (5 securing freelance jobs), and 42 in bike riding (30 reporting increased mobility). Additionally, 200 community members participated in a Giving Tuesday Pakistan event promoting sustainability, and 30 schoolgirls attended a leadership workshop in Islamabad. Follow-up mentorship supported 50 beneficiaries, and 10 persons with disabilities received assistive devices. Of these, 45 women have started income-generating activities, enhancing household incomes and challenging gender norms.

We are grateful for the USD 6,087 donated by 30 donors, 2 monthly donors, and 2 fundraisers, enabling 390 girls to be trained in income-generating skills like make-up art, stitching, mobile repair, computer basics, and bike riding. These efforts have empowered women to achieve financial independence and improve their livelihoods.

With growing demand, AWARD urgently needs to expand the Women’s Resource Centre by constructing a residential hostel on the upper floor to accommodate women from distant rural areas. An additional USD 18,000 is required to develop this safe, affordable space, ensuring access for marginalised, school dropouts, and unskilled girls in Faisalabad. This will help AWARD achieve its goal of empowering 400 women and girls annually.

Out of the total project goal of $20,000, we still need $13,793 to fully fund the construction of this new training centre. We appeal to the GlobalGiving community to support this initiative, helping us create a lasting space where women gain the skills, dignity, and opportunities they deserve.