LASOONA is a Pushto word, literally meaning ‘HANDS’. LASOONA: Society for Human & Natural Resource Development is a national, multi-disciplinary, development focused, non-profit organization. It was established in 1997 by a dedicated and visionary group of motivated and civic-minded people with a passion to support human and natural resource development in vulnerable and impoverished areas of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa Province and Newly Merged Districts (formerly FATA). Registered as an NGO under Societies Registration Act, 1860, LASOONA is also certified/accredited by Pakistan Center for Philanthropy (PCP), and has a tax exemption status from Federal Board of Revenue, Government of Pakistan under Section 2(36) of Income Tax Ordinance 2001. In KP (KhyberPunkhtunKhwa), LASOONA is a role model institution, recognized for its pioneering work for the conservation, promotion and sustainable management of natural resources at community level in ways that can lead to livelihood security. In the wake of both natural and human made disasters, LASOONA has also demonstrated leadership in Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change as thematic foci to reduce the risk of future calamities. In its more than 25 years of implementation, LASOONA has worked deligently, and with spirit, to serve humanity with no discrimination on the basis of gender, caste and creed. LASOONA’s core philosophy extends beyond ‘community participation’. As a strategy, it aims to make the recipients or benificiaries of development active contributors, capable to lending a ‘hand’ to others in need. Through its ‘Social Guidance Approach’, LASOONA has created a cadre of selfless, honest and dedicated volunteer activists from within the community, who, in turn, are given the responsibility to lead their community. As an organization, LASOONA therefore has an institutional base that gives it a competititve advantage, and the ability to expand multifold.

• Swat