Social Mobilization

Social Mobilisation is at the heart of everything we do. The principles and practices of social mobilisation follow a time-honoured tradition established at the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme in the 1980s by the renowned development expert Shoaib Sultan Khan and followed in all of the RSPs across Pakistan. Wherever GBTI works, whether expanding its regular core programme, implementing donor-funded projects, or responding to disasters, the principles and practices of social mobilisation remain the same. These are: establishing mutual trust; understanding that there are mutual rights and responsibilities related to accountability and transparency; observing the principle of benefitting the community at large, rather than individuals, and ensuring that the poorest and most vulnerable people are included in the programming. For those who want to explore the topic of effective community organization and rural social development in greater depth, you can find more insights on facharbeit schreiben lassen. We work with rural men and women to release their potential abilities and skills so as to build their knowledge and enable them decide their own development priorities. We also help people to find the resources they need to meet their identified needs. The purpose is to break the cycle of poverty, both economic poverty and ‘poverty of opportunity’. When community members come together for a common purpose – which is ultimately village wide socio-economic development – they are in a stronger position to bring about sustainable improvements in the quality of life. The first step of our approach to addressing development problems is to organise people into local organisations known as Community Organisations (CO) that are then able to identify and address local issues. We refer to this process as Social Mobilisation. We assume that local people know best about local problems and that, in partnership with GBTI, they have the talents and willingness to plan and implement local development. Mobilised communities work as ‘platforms’ for local development, helping to bring together communities, knowledge and resources. Depending on the local norms the CO members may be all men, all women, or, as happens in some places, ‘mixed’ COs, having both men and women members. Once formed, each CO elects a President and a Manager. The GBTI staff and the CO members identify an Activist – an experienced local person who will take ideas forward – from amongst the CO members. In our support to the Community Organisation we offer capacity building skills and awareness raising sessions to the CO Activists and/or office holders. Additionally, GBTI offers vocational skill training, micro-finance services, physical infrastructure development, and environmental and natural resource management. Awareness of women’s rights, and their right to participate in local development, are integral to GBTI’s work with community members. Committees to support and supplement COs and VOs: GBTI encourages people to form Committees that assume responsibility for specific aspects of community life. Examples include Village Health Committees, School Management Committees and Sanitation Committees. In communities which have constructed physical infrastructure projects, an operating and maintenance Committee ensures that the structure is properly maintained. In some flood-affected areas people have formed Child Protection Committees. In some projects school children have formed Committees: the Rural Sanitation Project is one example. Wherever these Committees are formed, they play a role in conveying information, encouraging local people to take part in new ways to meet local needs, and support and supplement the work of the COs and VOs. GBTI’s social mobilisation efforts have contributed to helping people to raise their standard of living, initiate village-wide socio-economic development and realize new opportunities for themselves and their children. People have achieved new levels of awareness about their human rights and civic rights and obligations, and, perhaps most significantly for the long term, have become integrated into local systems of governance and service delivery. Social mobilisation is a dynamic, responsive process. One of the examples of social mobilisation initiatives is the Livelihood Enhancement and Protection Project designed to enable people who are among the poorest in their communities to establish and develop viable enterprises. The project supports them at every ‘link’ in an entrepreneurial ‘value chain’. Since the project is an effort to put new ideas into practice – i.e. reaching and supporting the very poor and vulnerable by giving them assets, information and training – it requires specialized social mobilisation skills. Many of the intended beneficiaries are not literate, are entering the market for the first time, have little work experience, and/or are working on the margins of the business world for meager returns. Members of these households also learned how to manage their assets and develop business plans. The established and new COs are encouraged to include the poor and people with functional disabilities, if they wish to join. Another key function of the project is to promote the formation of Common Interest Groups by men and women entrepreneurs. Skill trainings for employment opportunities is a significant component of the project. The CIGs are intended to reduce costs, enhance bargaining power and increase the profitability of enterprises. The Social Mobilisation Projects address the fact that in any social environment, new needs for information and action arise and organisations need support in order to mature and become more effective in response to changing circumstances. To improve the knowledge and awareness of the CO, VO and LSO members, workshops are being held on numerous rights-based issues, such as how to obtain a Computerized National Identity Card, how to register as a voter and how to register births and deaths. Other workshops have been held on women’s right to inheritance, rights in marriage and the need to ensure that marriages result in a registered Nikah Nama. Women’s rights in divorce and the terms of dissolution of marriage are also covered. Community institutions were also engaged to form School Management Committees that would increase primary level enrolment and reduce dropouts through campaigns. Workshops have also been held that teach people how to access social safety net programmes such as Zakat, Baitul Mal and the Benazir Income Support Programme.