Beyond the Tunnel: What an NGO in Kohat Can Offer Families Who Apply From Home

South of Peshawar, through the Kohat Pass and the long tunnel, lies a district of guava orchards, army cantonments and villages that have sent their sons to the Gulf for generations. People searching for an NGO in Kohat usually have a specific worry: a loan they cannot repay, a kitchen that is empty, a student without a laptop, or a marriage that has broken down.

Peace and Humanity Welfare Organization (PHWO) accepts requests from Kohat, but it runs no local office, centre or team. PHWO is run from Larkana, Sindh, and families in Kohat, Lachi and Gumbat talk to it online, through Message PHWO in a free PHWO account, or through volunteers. Everything is free of charge. Requests are verified and assessed, and no outcome is guaranteed.

Kohat's people and languages

The 2023 Census put Kohat District’s population at 1,234,661, with about 23 percent living in urban areas and an average of just over seven people per household (Pakistan Bureau of Statistics). Pashto is the first language of roughly 86 percent of residents. Kohat also has a real Hindko-speaking community, about 12 percent, concentrated in the city, as shown in the mother-tongue table. Bangash and Khattak tribes, city traders and families of serving and retired soldiers all share the district.

The money that comes from abroad, and what happens when it stops

Remittances from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman and Qatar keep many Kohat households going. A single worker abroad may support parents, a wife, children and unmarried sisters. When that worker loses his visa, falls sick or dies, the family can go from comfortable to desperate within months, often with loans taken for his travel still unpaid.

This is one of the situations where people turn to PHWO. You can explain what happened in a Request help application, with a live photo of yourself. Tell us about any debt clearly: who is owed, how much and why. Debt, ration and a device for study or work are the three things people across Pakistan ask for most.

Guavas, stone and daily wages

Kohat guavas are sold in markets across the country, and orchards around the city give seasonal work to pickers and packers. Beyond farming, many men earn a daily wage in construction, in stone and gravel crushing along the hills, in transport along the Indus Highway, or in the coal and mineral workings of the surrounding ranges. Daily-wage work has no sick pay and no pension. One injury can end a family’s income for months.

If the earner in your house has been hurt at work, include the hospital papers with your request. Medical costs, ration during recovery and small debts are all things you can ask about. Where children’s studies are at risk because a father cannot work, you can mention that too; school and college fees and study devices are assessed along with everything else.

Women in Kohat who stitch clothes or embroider at home for shops are often paid very little. PHWO’s Programmes cover women’s empowerment, digital skills and vocational training, and you can ask about them when you apply.

Guests who stayed: displacement from the tribal districts

Kohat has taken in people fleeing conflict in the neighbouring tribal districts more than once. During the 2014 North Waziristan operation, UN OCHA recorded displaced families moving into Bannu and also into Kohat, Karak and Hangu (OCHA situation report, June 2014). Some never went back and now rent homes on the city’s edges, often without land, steady jobs or family networks nearby. Their needs are the same as anyone else’s, and they can apply in the same way.

Family cases and free legal aid in Kohat

Kohat’s district and sessions courts, including the family courts, sit in the city; anyone unhappy with a verdict can appeal in Peshawar, at the High Court. Women who want khula, mothers owed maintenance and parents in custody fights make up most of the legal questions PHWO gets from districts like this.

With Free legal aid you send your documents and a short account of the problem; volunteer advocates study them and advise you. There is no requirement to register an FIR first. Custody and near hearings are read before others. The Kohat bar and the district’s legal empowerment committee are also worth approaching if you cannot afford a lawyer.

Public help available in Kohat

• KDA Teaching Hospital Kohat, the main government teaching hospital for the division.
• Rescue 1122 for any emergency, including highway crashes; 15 for police.
• BISP Kafaalat for eligible women: send your CNIC number to 8171, or read more on bisp.gov.pk.
• Kohat’s District Zakat Committee for government zakat to registered deserving people.
• The Provincial Disaster Management Authority helpline, 1700, during floods.

How Kohatis at home and abroad can support an NGO in Kohat searches bring them to

Many Kohat families who once needed help now have sons earning well in the Gulf or professionals living in the UK and North America. They can Donate from anywhere; Every Zakat and Sadaqah rupee is passed to someone in need. Sponsor a case lets a donor choose one verified family.

If you can encourage colleagues abroad to give, PHWO would welcome you as a fundraiser. Advocates who practise in Kohat are also needed. Join through the Volunteer page; every volunteer is given a certificate, a letter of appreciation and an experience letter.

Public services in Kohat you can also use

• District and Sessions Courts Kohat (family courts)Khula, maintenance and custody
• District Bar Association KohatReferral to advocates
• District Legal Empowerment Committee KohatLegal aid for poor litigants
• Peshawar High CourtAppeals from Kohat
• KDA Teaching Hospital KohatGovernment teaching hospital
• Rescue 1122Dial 1122
• PoliceDial 15
• BISP office KohatSMS CNIC to 8171
• District Zakat Committee KohatGovernment zakat
• PDMA Khyber PakhtunkhwaHelpline 1700

These are public or independent services, listed to help you. They are not part of PHWO.

Frequently asked questions