When a woman learns a skill, the benefit does not stop with her. It reaches her children, her household and the whole neighborhood. This simple idea is the heart of HunarGah, the skills training program of Sarwar Foundation.
HunarGah was founded in 2015 by Perveen Sarwar, Co-Chair of Sarwar Foundation. Its aim is to give women practical skills, confidence and a way to earn a living with dignity, so that they can stand on their own feet and support their families for years to come.
By attending HunarGah, women invest in their own future and in their children's future as well.
HunarGah in numbers
- 70 HunarGah centers across Pakistan
- 35,000+ lives changed since the program began
- 8,384 lives changed in 2026 alone
- 15 of Pakistan's 50 women's prisons have a HunarGah center
- An estimated 1,000 sewing machines and beauty salon kits given to trained women
What women learn
Each center teaches skills that women can turn into income straight away:
- Tailoring and stitching
- Beauty parlour skills
- Handicrafts
- Hand painting
After the training, deserving women such as widows and orphans receive sewing machines or beauty salon kits, so they can start their own small business from home.
Where HunarGah works
HunarGah centers now run in Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Kashmir. They are set up in schools and community centers, so they are easy to reach for women living nearby. Many centers also offer free schooling to the children of the women who are enrolled, so a mother can learn while her children study.
Reaching women who are often left behind
HunarGah also reaches women who rarely get a second chance. Centers inside women's prisons give female inmates training and a positive path back into society. At District Jail Faisalabad, a center was set up with sewing machines and beauty parlour facilities, along with a water filtration plant.
At SOS Village Faisalabad, a HunarGah center was opened with computers, together with a water filtration plant, a mobile hepatitis screening unit and a pharmacy. The program has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Child Protection Bureau.
Why it matters
- Women earn a steady income and depend less on irregular work
- Families can plan for the future and keep their children in school
- Women gain confidence and a stronger voice in their homes and communities
- Skills stay with a woman for life and are often passed on to others
How you can help
Every donation helps us train more women and give more sewing machines to those who need them most. You can donate online or by bank transfer from our Ways to Donate page and choose HunarGah Skills Centers as the program. You can also join us as a volunteer or read more on our HunarGah program page.