ILO Country Office for Pakistan

As ILO’s partner organization, Mera Maan is piloting a Program to improve the last mile connectivity with regard to safe and informed migration in Pakistan. Currently in its pilot-phase, the model advocates the identification, development and eventual sustainability of Community Based Migrant Changemakers, who would be trained as business development service providers that can orient, guide, mentor and link 10,000 potential labour migrants so that they may remain risk free, and undertake legal and safe migration.

The contours of the pilot project are as follows:

• 32 community based changemakers selected from 4 hot spot districts to be trained and supported as Community Based Migrant Changemakers (CBMCs)
• Development of experiential and participatory information material for use in Migrant Information Sessions (MIS)
• Orientation sessions held in target districts to motivate youth groups and community leaders to apply for the CBMC position; the use of tools and established process to select the CBMCs.
• Design and conduct an eight-day, two-part, residential bootcamp using a customized training module that systematically covers how safe and informed migration must be practiced in Pakistan.
• Identification of ways in which the CBMCs can institutionalize this information at the district level through established institutions, e.g. TVET and skills training centers, colleges, universities, protractorate offices, and the migrant resource centers.
• Monitoring and mentoring of CBMCs.

This partnership with ILO allows Mera Maan, and its partner organizations (YEN and Bint-e-Hawwa), to reframe and revolutionize how information about labour migration is disseminated at the grass roots level. It will also showcase a cost effective and sustainable way in which such information can be disseminated on scale without comprising on quality and passion.