Tharparkar is the largest district in Sindh by area and the most rural. From Mithi, its small, peaceful headquarters town, sandy tracks run out to hundreds of goths where life depends on the monsoon: good rain brings millet, guar and grass for the herds, and a failed one brings hunger. Peace and Humanity Welfare Organization (PHWO) aims to be a free, dependable NGO in Mithi and across the Thar for families of every faith, Hindu and Muslim alike.
PHWO has no office or field team in Mithi, Islamkot, Diplo, Chachro or Nagarparkar. We work from our head office in Larkana only. People in Tharparkar send their request through the website, message PHWO from your free PHWO account, or get a volunteer from a nearby goth to fill in the form with them.
Tharparkar in the 2023 Census
The census recorded 1,778,407 people in Tharparkar District across 19,637 square kilometres, more land than any other district of Sindh. Only 8.1 percent live in towns, the lowest urban share in the province, and there are just over 90 people per square kilometre. In 2017 the count was 1,647,036.
According to the Sindh census report, between 30 and 40 percent of Tharparkar’s people aged ten and over can read, over six in ten boys and girls of school age are not enrolled, and it is one of three districts where no more than a tenth of households cook with gas. Dhatki, also called Thari, is the language of most homes, alongside Sindhi and Marwari dialects. Hindus make up a large part of the population.
Drought, hunger and children's health
Thar has lived with drought for as long as anyone remembers, but recent decades have brought repeated crises. In 2014 Dawn reported a famine-like situation in Thar after a severe drought, with livestock dying and children falling ill. Since then, malnutrition among mothers and small children has stayed a serious concern, and the Civil Hospital in Mithi is often the only place families can take a sick child.
When the rains fail, a household may lose its goats and cattle, its only savings. That is why many requests from desert districts are for ration and for help repaying debt taken on to buy food or fodder. You can describe exactly what your family has lost when you apply.
Coal, jobs and young people in Islamkot
The Thar coal field near Islamkot has brought roads, power plants and some jobs, and more young Tharis now finish school and college than before. Many of them want to study further or work online, but a laptop or smartphone is out of reach. Across Pakistan, requests for a device to learn or earn with reach PHWO more often than almost anything else. Students in Mithi, Islamkot or Chachro can request one, explaining their course and how the device will help. Our programmes list digital skills and vocational training among eight areas of work.
How a Tharparkar request moves forward
Begin at Request help. Choose ration, a loan, medical costs, school fees, rent, drought or rain losses, or a device. Add a live photo of the person in need, and explain the need in Dhatki, Sindhi or Urdu.
Because distances are long, a volunteer will usually confirm details by phone rather than by visiting. PHWO then assesses the case. If the need is established and we can meet it, help is arranged. There is no fixed timeline and no promised amount, and no one should ever ask you to pay for this service.
Free legal aid in Mithi
Family cases, especially khula, maintenance and custody, are the legal matters people bring to PHWO most. Tharparkar’s family courts sit at the district courts in Mithi. Hindu families may also need help with marriage registration or inheritance under Sindh’s Hindu marriage law.
Write to us through the free legal aid form; an FIR is not a condition. If a child’s custody is involved or your next hearing is close, mention it at the top of your message so volunteer advocates can see it quickly. We cannot promise to find a lawyer or predict a judgment. The District Legal Empowerment Committee in Mithi is another place to ask for a state-paid lawyer.
Rain in 2022, and roads that disappear
The 2022 monsoon was unusually heavy in the Thar. PDMA Sindh reported on 13 September that 597 kilometres of road in Tharparkar had been damaged, one of the longest stretches in the province, cutting villages off from Mithi and its hospital. Heavy rain in the desert can still destroy mud and thatch houses and drown young animals.
Standing with Thar from anywhere
Volunteers from Mithi and Islamkot who know the goths and speak Dhatki are invaluable, and lawyers even more so. Sign up on the volunteer page. For the time given, PHWO provides a certificate, a letter of thanks and an experience letter.
Many people in Karachi and abroad feel a bond with Thar. You can donate, sponsor a case for one desert household, and find your Zakat due with the Zakat calculator. Zakat and Sadaqah sent through PHWO are handed on whole. Families in Tharparkar looking for a match can join the free Rishta Desk, which is for all faiths, checks each profile with a live selfie and a PHWO staff review, and leaves the choice to the families.
Public services in Mithi (Tharparkar) you can also use
- Civil Hospital MithiMain government hospital for Tharparkar, including children's care.
- District courts, MithiTharparkar's family judges; poor litigants can seek a state-paid lawyer here.
- BISP tehsil officesMithi, Islamkot and other tehsils; Kafaalat and Nashonuma for mothers and children.
- Sindh Emergency Rescue Service 1122Ambulance and rescue on the desert roads, as far as they reach.
- Police and helplinesPolice 15; women's helpline 1094; Edhi 115.
These are public or independent services, listed to help you. They are not part of PHWO.
Frequently asked questions
Does this page cover the whole of Tharparkar?
Yes. Mithi is the district headquarters, and PHWO accepts requests from Islamkot, Diplo, Chachro, Nagarparkar, Kaloi, Dahli and every goth.
We have no internet in our village. Can we still apply?
Yes. Any phone with internet is enough to start: open the form or message PHWO from a free PHWO account, and a relative or volunteer can help with the form.
Is there a PHWO camp or office in Mithi?
No. PHWO's only office is in Larkana. Nobody in Tharparkar is authorised to collect money in PHWO's name.
Can PHWO help a malnourished child?
Take the child to Civil Hospital Mithi or the nearest health facility first. You can then ask PHWO for ration or medical costs; each request is assessed and help is not guaranteed.
Are Hindu families welcome?
Yes. PHWO serves every faith equally.