Seeing the light at the end of your own dark tunnel is powerful. It offers hope despite the condition within which you may find yourself. In fact, it is only the light at the end of the tunnel, which contrasts so bright with the gloom of darkness that shows the extent to which you were previously accustomed to the dark. Such was the case with Muhammad Akbar Ali of village 102-IL in Rahim Yar Khan. He has seen his community transformed. While earlier, there was a lack of education, little clean water, no arrangement for solid waste disposal, inadequate credit, and unpaved, muddy streets. Within a few years he has witnessed and participated in the transformation of his community on all these fronts, and more.
The greatest danger that rides on the back of extreme poverty is a pervasive lack of self-confidence that stifles attempts at self-reliance. Lack of education and awareness also foster an acceptance of the status quo. This was the scenario, when in the year 2000 HDF initiated its work in all fields of development in and around Rahim Yar Khan.
Since then, HDF has involved the residents of the area to work together for the installation of street lights, to pave streets, and have facilitated the construction of a link road, as well as lined water-courses and installed hand-pumps. A clean drinking water supply project has been completed, which was also partially funded by the community. Members of the community were inspired to build a children’s park, which has brought about a healthy environment. Other achievements include setting up a goat farm. But perhaps the most unique feature in the village was the formation of a children’s social forum that allows kids to actively participate in social work, like tree-planting campaigns and cleanliness drives, etc.
Schools, health centers and physical infrastructure have been built through initiatives undertaken by the local community and facilitated by HDF. In addition, the provision of micro-credit has enabled people to become financially independent.
Akbar Ali of village 102 IL in Rahim Yar Khan himself joined HDF as a social activist and has since greatly mobilized his community. Through social gatherings at his home Akbar collected resources and took the initiative to construct a park, mentioned above, as well as a girls’ school building.
HDF’s holistic approach mobilized not only Akbar, but also his entire community. The people are now aware of their options and, with a little bit of support, no longer wish to depend upon their government. Instead, they have taken their destiny into their own hands, and are working to solve their own problems.
In the process of transforming individual lives and bringing about a positive social change, HDF has brought awareness to the community such that community members independently took the initiative and constructed a school building, and installed a drip-irrigation system along the trees that line the link roads. Muhammad Akbar Ali expressed his gratitude and sense of debt to HDF for the transformation of his life. In his own words,
"HDF has transformed our despair into hope. I see a bright future for my children and my children’s children, as they are now able to acquire education and make choices for themselves. We have access to drinking water without strenuously working for a bucket all day. We have enough to feed our families, thanks to the loans granted by HDF. Due to the skills training meted out to individuals, we have now the confidence to venture into small businesses. And above all, we are aware of our own collective capabilities to take on the challenges facing us."
Village 102-1L is a model village for Human Development Foundation & Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), which funded this project under Integrated Area Uplift Program (IAUP). Together, we can transform communities across Pakistan.
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