Machar Art Program
Since 2006, CFC organizes an annual summer art program which brings professional artists, art teachers, photographers and ceramic artists into Mohammadi Machar Colony schools to facilitate art workshops for the community’s children. This program aims to address issues of disenfranchisement by introducing a new form of expression for the children. Art is used as therapy, as expression and as recreation to allow children from the colony to tell stories about their lives and through this process, develop a cohesive community narrative.

Machar Art Exhibition 2009
Each year since 2006 , Machar art has grown and expanded through the involvement of more schools from the colony, introduction of new art mediums and building on participants skill level by making breaking classes up into basic and advanced levels.

This year five schools from Mohammadi colony participated with the total number of students exceeding 250. Art and photography classes were conducted on basic (for new recruits) and advanced (for returning students) levels. This was also the first year that clay was introduced as an art component.

Our Art Coordinator Adnan Lotia together with artists Saleem Ansari, Hina Farooqui and Zohaib Zuby handled the art component. Photography was overseen by four year vetran Photography Coordinator Kohi Marri along with esteemed professional photographers, Arif Mehmood, Tapu Javeri, Yousuf Bashir, Stephan Andrew. We were also excited this year to welcome two up and coming young photographers, Mustafa Mohsin and Jamal Ashiqain. Helping the professionals out was a team of thirteen interns most of whom were first year students from The Karachi School of Arts.

This year the Exhibition will be held to display the artwork of the students along with their teacher on October 2-5, 2009.

Public Health and Education Launch in Machar Colony
In line with the Mohammadi Colony: Community Driven Development Project’s long term objective, CFC has introduced the Public Health Initiative and Project Kitab in this community in an effort to move towards the provision of a holistic approach to community development. The Public Health Initiative will provide training, using an empowerment based approach to the para-medical clinics in the community. The Project Kitab Initiative will work toward teacher/administrative training, syllabus review and infrastructure support for the pre existing schools within the community.

Kashmir Project Funding
In May 2006, CFC received project funding from AusAID for its Kashmir based Mental Health Project. Later the same month, the Australian High Commission granted CFC additional funding through its Direct Aid Program for CFC’s Mother Child Health Center and Education Project, Project Kitab in the Bandi Chakkan village in AJK.

CFC’s strategic plan for 2009 is to finish construction of the school building, which will also include a room for medical services. School is under construction, and expected date of completion would be August 2009.