WAFA is committed to providing sustainable, life-long solutions to the challenges that arise from poverty and gender inequality in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. Located in Gilgit, Pakistan, WAFA partners with local communities and institutions, and national and international organizations to construct a socio-economic climate that is conducive to female empowerment and poverty alleviation. We are dedicated to providing humanitarian assistance to people, particularly women and children, in the event of natural disasters and severe financial hardships. WAFA primarily serves the rural, mountainous communities in Gilgit and Chitral whose citizens live below the poverty line and are deprived of basic health and educational facilities and barred from economic opportunity. Our multi-faceted approach encourages equal access to education, health care, and economic opportunity, irrespective of gender or socioeconomic status. Empowering women to become economically self-sufficient is a critical step in achieving peace and alleviating poverty. Women represent a maltreated and neglected population with great potential for impacting their families, communities, and local economies. Providing microcredit to entrepreneurial women will help them to realize their full capabilities and their right to participate, and will inspire them to take ownership over their lives.