From Gojra to Kamalia: How an NGO in Toba Tek Singh Can Help Your Family

Toba Tek Singh takes its name from a pond where, the story goes, a man named Tek Singh gave water to travellers, and Saadat Hasan Manto made the name famous in one of Urdu’s best-known short stories. Today it is a canal-colony district of neat chak villages, cotton and wheat, and handloom cloth in Kamalia. Behind that calm picture are farmers in debt, weavers with little work and families who cannot meet a hospital bill, many of whom search for an NGO in Toba Tek Singh.

PHWO (Peace and Humanity Welfare Organization) depends on volunteers, takes requests from every corner of the country and asks for no payment. Look as you might, there is no PHWO office, camp or agent in Toba Tek Singh, Gojra, Kamalia or Pirmahal. Its only office is in Larkana, Sindh, and people here reach it online, through Message PHWO in a free PHWO account, or by email to info@phwo.org .

Toba Tek Singh in the 2023 Census

The census counted 2,524,044 people in Toba Tek Singh District, about 22% of them in towns. The district has four tehsils: Toba Tek Singh, Gojra, Kamalia and Pirmahal. Gojra is the most urban, with around 28% of its people in the town. Punjabi is the mother tongue of about 96% of residents.

The villages are known by their chak numbers, a legacy of the canal colonies laid out more than a century ago. Farming, livestock and small trades are the main sources of income, and many families send a son to Faisalabad’s mills. Women in the chaks often raise buffaloes and goats and sell milk, which can be the only regular cash a household sees between harvests, so the loss of an animal to disease is felt immediately.

Weavers, farmers and the struggle to keep up

Kamalia is known across Pakistan for its khaddar cloth, much of it woven on power looms in small workshops. When orders fall, weavers go without pay. Farmers in the chaks depend on canal water and tube wells, and rising costs of diesel, electricity and fertiliser eat into thin margins. Gojra and Pirmahal have busy markets, but most workers there are paid by the day. For families like these, one serious illness or a daughter’s wedding can mean years of debt.

Financial help in Toba Tek Singh

Families from the chaks and towns send their requests through Request help. A Kamalia weaver without orders, a chak farmer after a bad wheat year and a Gojra labourer with a broken arm have very different stories; the form has room for each, whether the need is food, medicine, fees, rent, a debt, a laptop or disaster losses. The form needs a live photo of you.

Volunteers check the details and then assess the need. Where the need proves real and can be met, PHWO organises support. PHWO never promises a result or a timeline, and there is no cost to apply.

Free legal aid in Toba Tek Singh

Toba Tek Singh city hosts the sessions court, and Gojra, Kamalia and Pirmahal each have civil and family judges. Appeals from the district are taken to Lahore. Quarrels over chak land shares, inheritance, maintenance and custody are what people most often bring.

The free legal aid page is where you explain your situation; no FIR is needed. Custody files, and dates falling in the next few days, are read first. Representation hinges on a volunteer lawyer being free, which nobody can guarantee in advance.

Public services in the district

In the public sector there is District Headquarters Hospital Toba Tek Singh and the THQ hospitals at Gojra, Kamalia and Pirmahal. Rescue 1122 covers crashes on the busy Gojra and Faisalabad roads. Police can be reached on 15; women in danger can call 1043. The BISP office handles Kafaalat; the District Zakat Committee Toba Tek Singh deals with government Zakat; the District Bar Association Toba Tek Singh can put you in touch with lawyers.

Students and young people

Gojra is famous for producing hockey players, and the district’s schools and colleges send many students on to Faisalabad’s universities. For a family living on a weaver’s or labourer’s wage, the cost of fees, hostel and a laptop can be too much. Students can ask for fee support or a laptop through the request form; mention your institution, programme and what you need. PHWO’s programmes page explains its work on education, digital skills and vocational training.

Giving and volunteering from Toba Tek Singh

Sons and daughters of the district now living in Faisalabad, Lahore, the Gulf or Europe can help their home chaks through Donate, as cash or as goods, knowing that Zakat and Sadaqah are spent in full on qualifying families. Check what you owe on the Zakat calculator; to support one chak family whose need is confirmed, choose Sponsor a case.

The volunteers PHWO needs most are advocates practising in Pakistan and fundraisers at home or abroad. Lawyers at the Toba, Gojra, Kamalia and Pirmahal courts are especially welcome on the volunteer page, and every volunteer’s work is recognised with a certificate, a letter of appreciation and an experience letter.

Rishta Desk

Families of any faith in Toba Tek Singh can use the Rishta Desk at no cost. Profiles are checked with a live selfie and reviewed by PHWO staff. The choice is the families’ own, and a match is never assured.

Public services in Toba Tek Singh you can also use

• District Headquarters Hospital Toba Tek SinghPublic hospital
• Rescue 1122Emergency service
• District Administration Toba Tek SinghDeputy Commissioner's office
• Zakat and Ushr Department PunjabDistrict Zakat Committee
• Lahore High CourtAppeals from Toba Tek Singh courts

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

Frequently asked questions