LARKANA: European Union funded 6-year Sindh Union Council and Community Economic Strengthening Support (SUCCESS) Programme launched in Larkana and Qambar-Shahdadkot districts of Sindh Province, in this connection a launching cermony held at Shaheed Zuilfqar Ali Bhutto Intitute of Science and Technology (SZBIST) Larkana on Yesterday.
The program is launched by the European Union (EU) delegation to Pakistan, the Government of Sindh and the Sindh Rural Support Organization (SRSO).
Addressing the event, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), SRSO Muhammad Dital Kalhoro said that the programme will cover two districts of the northern Sindh which are being implemented by Sindh Rural Support Organization.
The objective of the SUCCESS programme is to reduce poverty through undertaking Community Driven Development (CDD) based on the proven social mobilisation approach of Rural Support Programmes (RSPs).
Commissioner Larkana, Ghulam Akbar Laghari, Chairman RSPN/SRSO Shoaib Sultan Khan, Deputy Commissioner Larkana Javed Jagirani, Assistant Commissioner Shikarpur Naeem Ahmed, PPP MPA Muhammad Ali Bhutto, President PPP Women Wing of District Qambar Shahdadot chapter, Ms Farah Broh, Cheif of Chnadio Community Sardar Burhan Khan Chandio, lawyers, educationists, Journalists, representatives of various NGOs,notables of the areas and hundreds of Women of the Local Support Organizations (LSOs), EU officials, representatives of partner organisations for SUCCESS programme, government officials and civil society representatives attended the launching ceremony.
CEO Kalhoro said that SUCCESS programme would keep its focus on fostering sustainable and financially viable network of community institutions and to contribute to poverty reduction, and also to link
the community institutions with the government service delivery departments.
He furthe said SUCCESS is a historic programme in terms of poverty reduction as there were milestones achieved earlier.He was of the view that the programme would change the
dynamics of the lives of rural poor in Sindh and transform them into
productive citizens. He congratulated the Sindh government and EU for taking a
decision which will have sustainable impact on poor as well as rural poverty.
SUCCESS was a salient innovation in making and through this programme we could be able to bring actual change in the society. He said that it was very encouraging that the programme are being involved and be led by the women.
He said that Sindh government was fully committed to this programme and was intended to back it until end.
He observed that one of the fundamental issues in Sindh was to accommodate talented and educated youth into industry and job market.
Chairman SRSO Shoib Sultan Khan said that SUCCESS project will also open door to new opportunities for rural youth who would be able to work in their home districts, he said that the philosophy of the Rural Support Programmes, with their 30 years long experience widely documented in its successes across Pakistan, convinced the EU to recognise the multiple opportunities offered by the three-tiered social mobilization approach in fields as different as promotion of a culture of participation, exclusivity and solidarity, direct provision of front-line services, planning and development, business creation, savings, conflict resolution, dialogue and interaction with local authorities.
He said that SUCCESS programme was developed by the EU at the request of the government of Sindh (GoS) to extend the geographic coverage of their Union Council Based Poverty Reduction Programme
(UCBPRP) to eight rural districts of Sindh which already successfully complted by the Sindh Rural Supoort Orgnization.
The SUCCESS programme, as the UCBPRP, has been focusing heavily on women as their primary beneficiaries, he added that shared with the audience that back in 2009, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah listened to the strategies of RSPs and approved the Union Council Based Poverty Reduction Programme (UCBPRP) for two most backward districts of the province namely Shikarpur and Kashmor.
Shoaib said that the UCBRPR worked only with women and empowered them not only economically but also on attaining self-confidence and power of their own potential to improve their status.
Shoaib termed it a fortunate incidence saying that a group of EU Delegation officials led by Brendde Groot visited interior of Sindh, going to coastal areas, desert area and Upper Sindh.
The group was so impressed by the RSPs\’ mobilization process especially empowerment of women achieved under the UCBPRP. He said that the Sindh government is planning to cover the
remaining districts of the province according to union council based strategy through provincial funding under its annual development fund.
