THE COMMUNITY
Imkaan Welfare Organization works at the heart of Karachi’s most marginalized communities, focusing on the welfare and empowerment of stateless populations who are excluded from basic rights and services.
Most of Imkaan’s initiatives are based in Machar Colony, one of Karachi’s largest informal settlements, with expanded Legal Aid and Health programs in Orangi Town and Korangi District.
Recognized among the leading community welfare organizations in Karachi, Imkaan’s efforts address the systemic inequalities faced by those without nationality, identity documents, or access to essential human rights.
Understanding Statelessness
According to the UNHCR, a stateless person is:
"Not recognized as a national by any state under the operation of its law.”
- UNHCR official definition
Simply put, a stateless person has no legal nationality in any country. Statelessness can occur due to historical, political, or legal factors often affecting ethnic minorities and marginalized groups.
Common causes of statelessness include:
- Discrimination: Based on race, ethnicity, religion, language, or gender.
- Gaps in nationality laws: Conflicts between birth and citizenship laws that leave individuals without legal recognition.
- Migration and displacement: Movement across borders leading to loss of citizenship status.
- Emergence of new states: Political shifts and redrawn borders that leave minority groups unrecognized.
- Loss or deprivation of nationality: Revocation or denial of citizenship due to restrictive national laws.
- Lack of birth registration: Absence of official documentation that proves identity and lineage, increasing vulnerability to statelessness.
Challenges Faced by the Community
Communities without citizenship face multidimensional exclusion that affects every aspect of daily life. Key challenges include:
- No access to formal or higher education.
- Lack of quality healthcare and maternal health services.
- Poor sanitation and waste management infrastructure.
- Unstable or seasonal employment, often coupled with workplace discrimination.
- Police harassment and lack of legal recourse.
- Intergenerational insecurity, statelessness is inherited, trapping families in cycles of exclusion.
Imkaan’s community-led programs work to reduce these disparities through education, healthcare, livelihood training, and legal empowerment.
Key Areas of Focus
Machar Colony
Home to more than 800,000 residents, Machar Colony is one of the largest Katchi Abadis (informal settlements) in Pakistan.
Located near the Arabian Sea, its economy revolves around the fishing and seafood processing industries, including shrimp peeling, boat-making, and fish drying for export.
Approximately 63% of residents are Bengali or Burmese by ethnicity most of whom are stateless and face severe social and economic marginalization.
Orangi Town
With a population exceeding 2.4 million, Orangi Town is the largest urban slum in the world and home to large stateless groups of Bihari and Bengali descent. While municipal connections have improved over time, access to quality healthcare, education, and sanitation remains limited.
Imkaan’s Legal Aid Centre and Health Initiatives operate within this area to provide accessible justice and welfare support.
Korangi District
Established in 1959 as a housing colony for refugees, Korangi District now hosts more than 2.5 million people, including many stateless individuals living near the industrial zone.
Imkaan’s outreach programs here focus on maternal health, legal documentation, and community mobilization to ensure greater inclusion and protection.
Emergency & Crisis Response
Imkaan is equipped to deliver disaster response and emergency relief services. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization extended food, healthcare, and awareness support to multiple communities, including:
- Madarsa Islamia (Moosa Colony)
- Ibrahim Hyderi
- Tesir Town
- Bara Maidan (Kati Pahari)
- Aisha Primary School – Campus 1 & 2 (Machar Colony)
- Madarsa Qasim-Ul-Uloom (Arkanabad)
- Shaheen English Grammar School (Kemari Town)
- Zubaida Aziz School (Tesir Town)
- Madarsa Khadij-Tul-Akhlaq (Arkanabad)
- Transgender Community
Through these interventions, Imkaan demonstrated its adaptive, inclusive, and community-first approach, ensuring that no one, regardless of identity or documentation, is left behind in times of crisis.
We look forward to support from interested individuals and groups to continue serving stateless communities in Karachi.
For more information on how you can help us, please click here to Donate.
Community awareness and participation is a core component of each of Imkaan Welfare Organization’s projects. Learn more about this initiative here.