Thatta's Families Deserve a Fair Start: Ask PHWO

Thatta holds some of the finest monuments in Pakistan: the tombs of Makli Hill and the Shah Jahan Mosque. It also has the lowest literacy rate of any district in Sindh. Families in the delta watch the sea push inland, fish catches fall and farmland turn salty. If you need an NGO in Thatta that will read your request fairly and free of charge, the Peace and Humanity Welfare Organization (PHWO) is here for you, whatever your faith or politics.

PHWO keeps no office in Thatta. Its only office is its head office in Larkana. People write to us from Thatta, Makli, Gharo, Mirpur Sakro, Ghorabari or Keti Bandar on phwo.org or by messaging PHWO from a free PHWO account, or through a volunteer.

Where Thatta stands in the census

Census enumerators found 1,083,191 people in Thatta District in 2023, spread over 8,570 square kilometres of delta, creeks and dry hills. Only 17.9 percent live in towns. The province’s census report states that Thatta, at 26.88 percent, has the lowest literacy rate in Sindh, and that 75.79 percent of its school-age children are not enrolled, the worst figure in the province.

Sindhi is the language of nearly every home. Along the coast you also meet Jat camel herders, Mohana boat families and Kutchi-speaking fishing communities, each with their own customs.

Only about one person in five in Thatta District lives in a town, and the census counts roughly 105 males for every 100 females.

Why school help matters here

With three in four children out of school, even one child kept in class can change a family’s future. PHWO accepts requests for school and college fees, books and uniforms. We also receive many requests from young people who need a laptop or smartphone to study or to find work, and in a district where jobs are scarce, online skills can open doors. Our programmes include education and digital skills among eight areas of work.

The sea, the river and debt

Less fresh water now reaches the Indus delta, and the sea has moved into land that once grew rice and coconuts. Fishermen in Keti Bandar and Kharo Chan often borrow from middlemen for boats and nets and repay with their catch, which keeps them in debt year after year. Farm families in the upper district were hit by the 2022 floods: PDMA Sindh reported 40 union councils affected in Thatta, with 291 kilometres of road and 23 bridges damaged.

If your family is stuck in a loan you cannot clear, or has run out of food between seasons, you can ask PHWO for help with debt or ration.

In the 2022 floods Thatta District had 12 relief camps, which together held 22,109 people in mid-September, an unusually high number per camp. Households that hosted displaced relatives for weeks carried that cost themselves, and some are still recovering from it.

How a request from Thatta is handled

1. Fill in Request help, or ask a literate relative or teacher to do it with you.
2. Add a live photo of the applicant, and explain your need in Sindhi or Urdu.
3. A volunteer confirms the details, sometimes by visiting.
4. The case is assessed. Help is arranged only if the need is confirmed and there is a way for PHWO to respond.

We never promise money or a date. No fee is ever charged, and no one may collect money from you on PHWO’s behalf.

Free legal aid in Thatta

Women in Thatta can face early marriage, desertion and disputes over dower and maintenance. Cases of khula, maintenance and custody are filed in the family courts at the Thatta district courts in Makli. The free legal aid form lets you explain your case, and you may apply without any FIR. Our volunteer advocates read custody cases and urgent hearings before others. No lawyer or outcome can be assured, yet we can explain your options, including the legal empowerment committee that the district judge chairs.

Health on the coast

Salty groundwater, long distances and few doctors make health care hard in the southern talukas. Mothers often give birth at home, and a complicated delivery can mean a long drive to Makli or Karachi. Skin and stomach illnesses linked to unsafe water are common among children. If a hospital bill, a course of medicine or the cost of travelling for treatment is more than your family can manage, send the prescriptions and reports with your request. For an accident or a drowning, call 1122 at once; PHWO does not run ambulances or clinics.

Giving and volunteering

Thatta’s people who have moved to Karachi, only two hours away, often want to help. You can send a donation or sponsor one child’s education. Zakat and Sadaqah passed through PHWO reach deserving people in full; the Zakat calculator gives you a quick figure.

Teachers, lawyers and students in Thatta can volunteer. Local volunteers know the creeks and villages that outsiders cannot find. PHWO issues each volunteer a certificate, and also an appreciation letter and experience letter.

For proposals, families of any religion may use the Rishta Desk at no cost; each profile is checked with a live selfie and reviewed by PHWO staff, and the families remain in charge.

Public services in Thatta you can also use

• Civil Hospital Makli, ThattaDistrict headquarters government hospital.
• Thatta district courts, MakliFamily courts; legal empowerment committee for free counsel.
• Sindh Emergency Rescue Service 1122Its teams cover Thatta for accidents, drowning and fires.
• BISP office ThattaKafaalat and school stipends for mothers; 0800-26477.
• Other emergency linesPolice 15; Edhi 115; women's helpline 1094.

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

Frequently asked questions