Category: News and Events

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari addressed thousands of rural women during a launching ceremony of Peoples Poverty Reduction Programme (PPRP), organized by Sindh Rural Support organization (SRSO) in Ghotki district on September 01, 2021. Chief Minister Sindh, Syed Murad Ali Shah, Provincial Minister, Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, Nisar Ahmed Khoro, Chairperson P&DD Sindh , senior officials of various departments and other dignitaries, 4000 Women members of Community Organizations and community leaders/ CRPs across the Sindh Province and media representatives attended the launching ceremony. Sindh Rural Support Organization is being executed Peoples’ Poverty Reduction programme in 6 districts of Sindh with the financial support of the Govt. of Sindh and now extended to 2 more districts i.e; Ghotki and Sukkur, which was appreciated by the European Union and initiated Sindh Union Council and Community Economic Strengthening Support (Success) Program in 8 districts of Sindh province in 2016. The same program was further replicated in another six districts in 2017 by the Govt. of Sindh.

The Sindh government has extended financial support to the rural support programmes (RSPs) for rural people to enable them to articulate their aspirations and to effectively marshal the resources they need to meet their identified needs. SRSO has economically strengthened 1.3 million families and provided interest free loan to more than 200,000 women and established 23,000 houses besides providing them opportunities for skill development.

Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said that poverty alleviation programme had been approved by [then prime minister] Ms. Benazir Bhutto and launched by [then Sindh chief minister] Syed Qaim Ali Shah. Now it was being extended to eight more districts. With the required funding expected to be received this programme would be extended to all districts of the province.

As part of the social mobilisation process, the SRSO has adopted the Poverty Score Card (PSC) tool for identifying the poor and to discern the poverty score of each beneficiary household. SRSO is conducting PSC survey in rural UCs of Sukkur and Ghotki districts under the Peoples’ Poverty Reduction Program (PPRP) funded by the Government of Sindh.

Sindh Rural Support Organization organized a Community Conference on July 11, 2019 at Mehran Cultural Complex Sukkur under the Peoples’ Poverty Reduction Program.
The Conference was presided by Chief Minister of Sindh Mr. Murad Ali Shah and Chairman Peoples Party Mr. Bilawal Zardari . Ex Chief Minister of Sindh Mr. Qaim Ali Shah, MNAs Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah and Noman Islam Shaikh, PPP Sindh president Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, MNA Dr Nafeesa Shah, provincial minister Saeed Ghani, provincial adviser Murtaza Wahab, Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, provincial minister Syed Awais Qadir Shah, Waqar Mehdi, Sukkur Mayor Arsalan Islam Shaikh and others accompanied the PPP chairman. A large number of women Community Leaders from Khairpur, Sukkur, Ghotki, Naushahro Feroze, Qambar-Shahdadkot, Shikar­pur, Jacobabad, Kandhkot-Kashmore and Larkana districts attended the conference.
Mr. Bilawal visited the stalls and exchanged views with stall holders. These stalls was setup by beneficiaries of different Projects and programmes implementing by SRSO with the financial support of Govt. of Sindh. Women Community Leaders shared their success stories during the community conference.
Mr. Bilawal distributed laptops among women office bearers of the Local Support Organizations and cheques under community investment fund.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said that the Peoples’ Poverty Reduction Programme of SRSO would continue despite shortage of funds and limited resources. He said that they would spread the programme in all districts of Sindh and help women stand on their own feet.
The PPP Chairman Mr. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said the Peoples’ Poverty Reduction Programme will be implemented to bring prosperity to the lives of poor families specially women. He said the Sindh Rural Support Organization (SRSO) is executing Peoples’ Poverty Reduction programme which was appreciated by the European Union. He said the EU has decided to increase the funding of the project. Mr. Bilawal said the SRSO economically strengthened one million families and provided interest free loan to 180,000 women and established 50,000 houses besides providing them opportunities for skill development. He said the Sindh government in its budget allocated funds for empowerment of women.

The Sindh government approved on Friday provision of funds worth Rs4 billion for a poverty reduction programme which was initiated in the province on a pilot-basis nine years ago. According to officials, this intervention will cover Umerkot, Sanghar, Mirpurkhas, Khairpur, Badin and Thatta districts. The Sindh government has already declared these areas ‘calamity-hit’ due to low rainfall in the outgoing monsoon season.
The funds were approved during a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah at the Chief Minister House. Officials in the Sindh government said that six districts have been selected in the first phase of the programme while it will be replicated in around 16 districts with a total investment of Rs14.2 billion. “This decision has been taken in light of the PPP [Pakistan Peoples Party] manifesto. It [aims to] develop a good impact in the rural areas,” the CM said.
The meeting was attended by Planning and Development Chairperson Mohammad Waseem, Principal Secretary to the CM Sajjid Jamal Abro, Sindh Rural Support Organisation Chairperson (SRSO) Shoaib Sultan Khan, SRSO Chief Executive Officer Dittal Kalhoro and other concerned officers.
The chief minister said that the provincial government has already launched the Rs3.36 billion Union Council Based Poverty Reduction Progrmme (UCBPRP) with specific objectives to reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of the poor and marginalised communities through social mobilisation, capacity development, asset creation and income generation.
He said that the programme was a symbol of the performance of the provincial government in service delivery to the poorest rural population through social mobilisation. It aims to empower the local communities by socially and economically enabling them to improve their livelihood and increase their earnings through the Income Generating Grants (IGG) and a community fund giving interest-free loans.
Shah termed the programme as unique. According to him, it has focused on women empowerment and livelihood of the poorest households, identified through a scientific survey.
“This not only gives them the confidence in their ability and direct exposure to the market, but also enables them to become economically independent,” he said.
The chief minister said that the programme not only focuses on social sector improvement by addressing the indicators of health, poverty, environment, social security, shelter, employment and basic livelihood, but also helps achieve the objectives and targets of universally-accepted Sustaiable Development Goals — of which Pakistan is a signatory.
Initially launched in only two districts – Shikapur and Kashmore – on a pilot basis in 2009 for a period of 30 months, the programme achieved its desired objectives of organising households into a community and providing rural communities a common platform to discuss and resolve socio-economic issues.
Realising the importance of mobilising communities for collective action and for sustained reduction in poverty, the programme was further extended to two more districts — Jacobabad and Tharparkar — in 2010 with an allocation of more than Rs2 billion.
Waseem, briefing the meeting about the UCBPRP, said that it achieved great success in these four districts. It included coverage of 175 union councils, organistions of 343,084 households at community and village level and distribution of income generation grants and interest-free loans to 10,043 and 112,406 households respectively.
He said that under the programme, 9,072 low cost housing units were provided to shelter-less households, 1,124 households were supplied water, 34,211 persons were imparted vocational training, 114,328 households were provided protection of micro-health insurance plan, 195 schools were made functional and 43 small villages were rehabilitated.
Waseem said that considering the success of the programme, the project is being expanded to another six districts. This scheme is being implemented through SRSO.

Express Tribune

A delegation of SRSO-Board of Directors (BoD) members visited different initiatives under the Government of Sindh funded People’s Poverty Reduction Program (PPRP) in the district of Thatta. The delegation was comprised of Ms. Sadiqa Salahuddin, Ms. Raheema Panhwar, Mr. Aazar Ayaz, Mr. Ghulam Mustafa Abro, Mr. Ghulam Sarwar Khero, Dr. Waheed Umrani, and Mr. Muhammad Dittal Kalhoro (CEO SRSO). Mr. Parvez Ahmed Chandio(DG Directorate PPRP), Mr. Muhammad Siddique Palijo (Deputy District Education Officer Thatta), Mr Khuda Bux Behrani(Deputy Director Social Welfare Department Thatta), Mr. Niaz Ahmed Memon(Additional Director Social Welfare Thatta), and other officials of Social Welfare Department were also accompanied them.
They visited different interventions of PPRP, in village Qaim Shoro of UC Jhangri, like low cast houses(LCH), there are 102 LCH have been provided in the Union Council, met with beneficiaries of Community Investment Fund(CIF)- Revolving Fund), Vocational Training Programme and Enterprise Development. Also attended Managerial Activist Conference and Rural women Leaders of Community Institutions (COs, VOs & LSOs) from different villages participated in the conference and shared the progress of their Village and community level initiatives under different interventions of PPRP that have changed their lives. 253 female community leaders and activists participated in the conference(MAC).

Launching ceremony of the People’s Poverty Reduction Programme was held on Monday 08 January 2018 in Sukkur. SRSO is implementing the Union Council Based Poverty Reduction Program in 9 districts of the Sindh Province with the financial support of the Govt. of Sindh. The Sindh government has extended financial support to the rural support programmes (RSPs) for rural people to enable them to articulate their aspirations and to effectively marshal the resources they need to meet their identified needs.

Chairman Pakistan People’s Party Mr. Bilawal Zardari accompanied by the Chief Minister of the SIndh Mr. Murad Ali Shah graced the occasion with their presence and inaugurated the Expansion of UCBPRP. Ex CM Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah and SRSO chairman Shoaib Sultan, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khur­sheed Ahmed Shah, Sindh PPP President Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, Information Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah and other senior party leaders of PPP, elected public representatives, as well as senior officials of various departments,Members of Districts Councils and other dignitaries of the concerned districts,14000 Women members of Community Organizations and community leaders/ CRPs and media representatives attended the ceremony.

Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said that poverty alleviation programme had been approved by [then prime minister] Benazir Bhutto and launched by [then Sindh chief minister] Syed Qaim Ali Shah. Now it was being extended to eight more districts. With the required funding expected to be received from the European Union next year, this programme would be extended to all districts of the province.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Mr. Bilawal Zardari said on the occasion , the PPP believed that NGOs including charity and public welfare organisations were carrying out a commendable job by looking after people at grass roots level and in urban as well as far off rural areas of the country. Their public welfare programmes greatly benefited the needy, destitute and other deserving people, he observed, and said such programmes were essentially required to ensure a continued impro­ve­ment in the standard of life in this country. He said that his party always worked with NGOs and social organisations because public-private partnership was beneficial to masses and helped bring about prosperity in society. It also created employment and business opportunities, he added. He appreciated the SRSO and Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah for their efforts in this regard and noted that by extending financial and administrative support to the SRSO to implement the programme, the Sindh government discharged its duty of alleviating poverty at UC level. Mr Bhutto-Zardari told the audience that the programme was launched in 2009 to initially cover around a few thousand deserving families in the UCs of four selected districts. “I am informed that by 2016, more than 600,000 families living in 395 UCs of 52 talukas in 11 districts were benefiting from the programme,” he said. Appreciating the progress, the PPP chairman expressed his confidence that within the next five years, the coverage would touch the figure of 1.1 million families. He said the PPP and Sindh government had resolved to alleviate poverty from across the province for which several other programmes, projects and schemes were also in progress. He stressed the need for women empowerment at all levels. He noted that the PPP and Sindh government arranged for interest-free loans extended to womenfolk to enable them to run their own ventures in different trades like livestock, tailoring, embroidery etc. “It’s heartening to see that 97 per cent of the women paid off their loans while running their businesses,” he said. Mr Bhutto-Zardari highlighted the role of his mother, Benazir Bhutto, in public welfare activities and women empowerment throughout her life, and said that being the first woman prime minister of the Muslim World, his mother did her best for the self-respect of womenfolk in Pakistani society. “A dictator in collusion with terrorists snatched my mother from me and the people of Pakistan lost a great politician,” he said, adding: “But I regard every mother as my mother and have same the respect for each of them”. He held out the assurance that the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), as well as all other such PPP initiatives, would be extended more vigorously to the people across the country after the PPP would return to Centre in the next election. He said PPP would continue to support any institution which came forward with the cause of empowering women of the low-income group. He hoped that the SRSO programme would reach each and every district of Sindh. “By making joint efforts, we and you can eliminate poverty from society,” he said, and pointed to former chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah to say that he was the man who had implemented the SRSO programme in 2009 to alleviate poverty and empower women, specially the rural ones.

PPP women wing president MNA Ms. Faryal Talpur, speaking to the audience, said that those who were talking of a “change” should realise that the real change was bringing about prosperity and ensure massive development in the country۔

Speaking at the occasion, the Chairman – SRSO (Mr. Shoaib Sultan Khan) was most grateful to Syed Nasir Hussain Shah for arranging the visit of Chairman – PPP (Mr. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and also inviting other dignitaries of the area where SRSO works. He was happy to meet the third generation of Bhutto family. Mr. Shoaib Sultan briefly illustrated the incorporation of SRSO. He informed about his efforts in convincing the Govt. of Sindh through the then Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, back in 2009, for the approval of UC based poverty reduction program in Shikarpur, Kashmore-Kandhkot & Jacobabad. He further added that upon acknowledging the results of the said program, the EU offered funding for implementing the same in eight more districts of Sindh in 2016. The same program was further replicated in another six districts in 2017 by the Govt. of Sindh. He also thanked all those who facilitated at every step including the Chairman P&D Mr. Muhammad Wasim and the Secretaries. He lauded the tremendous support of Sindh Government for approving the poverty reduction program for the Province. He also acknowledged the efforts and dedication of staff for making it a success. He was happy to see how these poor rural Sindhi women got organized actively and very positively responded to these programs. Mr. Shoaib Sultan Khan further requested the Government to approve the remaining districts for UCBPRP. His request was recognized by the CM – Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah who in his speech announced to implement the same program in the remaining districts of Sindh, during the current year. The guests were greatly delighted to see these organized women, inspired and appreciated their work.

Photo Album of PPRP

The Sindh Rural Support Organization (SRSO) arranged an interactive dialogue of community leaders and community resource persons (CRPs) from SRSO’s organized female community members in rural Sindh, at the SRSO – Complex, Sukkur, on April 18, 2017. Ms. Iram Khalid, Special Assistant to Chief Minister Sindh for Women Development Department (Govt. of Sindh), was the Chief Guest. Organized Female Community Members, who are the beneficiaries of the Interest Free Loan (funded by Women Development Department, Govt. of Sindh) from Sukkur, Khairpur and Naushero Feroz; beneficiaries of Community Investment Fund (Interest Free Loan being managed by the Community) under the Union Council Based Poverty Reduction Program (UCBPRP funded by the Govt. of Sindh) from Shikarpur, Kashmore-Kandhkot & Jacobabad, and Community Members of the Sindh Union Council and Community Economic Strengthening Support (SUCCESS) Programme from Larkana and Qamber-Shahdadkot funded by the European Union (EU).

The beneficiaries shared their struggling stories narrating right from the beginning up to the achievement they have made, which have empowered them both socially and economically. While addressing the community member, Ms. Iram Khalid (the Chief Guest) said that the stories of these women have impressed much beyond her expectations. She narrated that these women are the leaders in themselves and have proved their courage and determinations through the work they have done, as a nation can only progress, if both of its men and women work all together. She expected that the community women would share their problems, issues, etc. but she only heard their achievements and successes, and proved them as good leaders. She expressed that the education is also necessary in order to move ahead in this cause. She also applauded the marvelous efforts of SRSO in transforming these communities, and the Sindh Government will continue to work for these communities in coordination with SRSO. In the end, Ms. Iram Khalid thanked the community participants and the SRSO for organizing such an inspiring event.

Sindh Rural Support Organization’s Jacobabad Office organized a “Community Conference” in village Muhammadpur of Taluka Garhi Khairo and district Jacobabad on February 28, 2017. The Community Conference was organized to share, learn and connect with each others to create a motivated and healthy rural community and was attended by Community Leaders and activists from different Local Support Organizations(LSOs) and Older People Associations (OPAs) of the district Jacobabad . Mr. Muhammad Panah Odho ,Chairman of the District Council Jacobabad was the chief Guest on the occasion. Other stakeholders like Mr. Sawan SHhaikh (DHO Jacobabad) , Muhakhtiar of Garhi Khairo, Elected representatives of local government, notables, media persons and SRSO official were also invited to inform them about the community level initiatives. Community leaders shared the self-help initiatives taken by the rural communities and also Local Support Organizations in their respective Union Councils. Mr. Manzoor Jalbani (District Manager-SRSO) shared the overall progress and achievements of the SRSO in the district Jacobabad. SRSO officials conducted detailed sessions on Micro- Health Insurance, Gender and Development, Importance of of backyard poultry and kitchen gardening. SRSO distributed cheques of Micro-Health Insurance, plants and “Vegetable Seeds Kit” for Kitchen Gardening along with literature among poor rural women. Dr. Ghulam Rasool Samejo(Regional Manager-SRSO) shared the overall progress and achievements of the SRSO in the Region III (Shikarpur, Kashmore@ Kandhkot and Jacobabad).

SRSO is implementing Union Council based Poverty Reduction Program (UCBPRP) in Shikarpur, Kashmore-Kandhkot and Jacobabad with the support of the Govt. of Sindh. The Community Conference ended with the vote of thanks.

To share, learn, connect and mobilize with others dedications and to creating a thriving and healthy rural community ,Sindh Rural Support Organization’s Shikarpur Office organized a “Community Conference” in the office of LSO “Sindh Surhan” in UC Sehwani and taluka Lakhi Ghulam Shah on February 20, 2017. The conference was attended by Community Leaders and CRPs from 11 different LSOs . Mr. Muhammad Shaharyar Khan Mahar (Minister of Provincial Assembly Sindh PS-10) honoured the occasion with his presence. Other stakeholders like Mr. Tarique Tahir Mahar (Member of district Council Shikarpur), Mr. Muhammad Dawood Hakro (UC Vice Chairman), Mr. Muhammad Dittal Kalhoro (CEO-SRSO) , notables, media persons and SRSO official were also invited to inform them about the community level initiatives. The community leaders Ms. Mehnaz, Ms. Gulshad and Ms. Naseem shared the self-help initiatives taken by rural communities and also Local Support Organizations in their respective Union Councils. Mr. Abdul Latif Soomro(District Manager -Shikarpur) briefed the participants on the importance of population census 2017 and defined the role of our community institution, will be played in upcoming census. Mr. Rashid Hussain Bhatti (Manager Micro health Insurance Unit -SRSO) conducted a detailed session on importance of Micro Health Insurance coverage for communities while Mr. Niaz Ahmed Somro(Program officer GAD-SRSO) conducted a session on Gender and Development. Mr. Nisar Ahmed Pathan ( Manager Natural Resources Management -SRSO) delivered a session on importance of backyard poultry and kitchen gardening. He said that it is a income- earning opportunity for the rural women, if chicken are bred and raised properly , it will reduce rural poverty. Later Poultry Units (5 hens and one rooster) distributed among beneficiaries. “Vegetable Seeds Kit” for Kitchen Gardening along with literature were also distributed among poor rural women. Mr. Shahryar Mahar said that he has witnessed the positive change in rural communities and rural women are now more empowered and playing a more visible role after the interventions of SRSO in Shikarpur , district. As per request of LSO Network “Khushal” of taluka Lakhi , Mr. Shaharyar Khan announced a dedicated space for the establishment of office of LSO Network. Dr. Ghulam Rasool Samejo(Regional Manager-SRSO) shared the overall progress and achievements of the SRSO in the Region III (Shikarpur, Kashmore@ Kandhkot and Jacobabad). SRSO is implementing Union Council based Poverty Reduction Program (UCBPRP) in Shikarpur,Kashmore-Kandhkot and Jacobabad with the support of the Govt. of Sindh.

In the last but not least Mr. Muhammad Dital Kalhoro (CEO-SRSO) shared the outcomes of the Union Council Based Poverty Reduction Programme (UCBPRP) funded by the GoS. The Community Conference concluded with the vote of thanks and a hope that participants come away more informed, connected with a supportive community, and empowered to take on life with more dedication.

Sindh Rural Support Organization(SRSO) organized the retreat of “Union Council Based Poverty Reduction Program (UCBPRP)” on 2 – 4 October 2016, at SRSO Complex, Sukkur . The objective was to develop a future strategy and to strategize institutional strengthening and sustainability, through collaboration by defining role of the Community, Government and SRSO. Different stakeholders, government officials, RSPs experienced professionals, community representatives and program staff attended this event. The Union Council Based Poverty Reduction Programme (UCBPRP) was funded by Planning & Development Department (Govt. of Sindh), aimed at reducing poverty in rural areas of Sindh, was launched in February 2009, in district Shikarpur and Kashmore-Kandhkot. After analyzing the performance in both the districts, Government of Sindh subsequently expanded this program in Jacobabad district as well in Mar 2010. The UCBPRP aimed at improving the quality of life of the rural communities, especially poorest of the poor, through the conceptual package of social mobilization, organizing them into “organizations of the poor” at the community, village and union council level. The main objective of forming these community institutions is to foster and nurture inclusive, democratic and accountable grassroots organizations of the poor through social mobilization approach which is a problem-solving approach, whereby the community is empowered with the knowledge and skills to identify and prioritize its needs and problems, harness its resources to deal with these problems and take action collectively. Thus, the program has really proved social and economic empowerment of rural women. The UCBPRP is creating an impact in transforming the social mobilization process into a more effective tool for empowering people and distinguishing the community organizations, as effective sources for poverty reduction and delivery of services. These institutions / organizations had not only empowered the most neglected segments of the society, but also made positive impacts on the social fabric of the society. Nonetheless, in their effort to contribute towards the social well-being of their areas, women venturing into the development sector are contributing to the social cause by adhering to the social norms and values of their areas. The trust in these poor women social workers was evident from the support they are getting from SRSO. To expand the impact of social mobilization, this program focused on; expanding the role of community activists; increasing participation of women in the socioeconomic development process; accountability and equitable distribution; independent fund management by the communities, self-help; civic responsibilities and forging linkages. Thus, these poor women have started to develop concrete action oriented solutions to identify problems and challenges.

Prominent development policy makers and practitioners who attended the event stressed on strengthening and sustainability of people’s organisations to complement government’s political and administrative pillars by defining role of the Community, Government and the SRSO. The event concluded on 04 October with the commitment to continue strengthening of institutions of the people.