From humble beginnings in northern Pakistan, a community-based model of social betterment is addressing poverty worldwide
THE POWER TO CHANGE
More than 25 years ago in northern Pakistan, the seeds of a social movement took root when impoverished communities overcame their long-held differences to sit together in a ring of chairs.
Forces beyond their control loomed large. Power had recently shifted to the distant capital in Islamabad, and a new highway was opening up once inaccessible mountain passes.
But the most profound change came from within the communities, which were starting to establish village level organizations that would give men and women the tools to plan the future of their communities and improve their quality of life. The ring of chairs was a powerful catalyst for change.
The Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP), which received early support from the Canadian International Development Agency and Canadians, was conceived as a new approach to development, especially for small, subsistence farmers and communities living in the harsh, mountain environment, isolated from the rest of the world. The goal was not just to plant better crops so communities would survive the winter, but to plant ideas, grounded in hope and courage.
Safida Begum benefited from the momentum created by this grassroots movement.
She was one of the first women of her village to get a university education and become a leader for women in her region and beyond. “When we sit in the ring of chairs, we are part of the community, we are all together to reflect on issues and plan together,” said Ms. Begum, who now works as an education advisor for Aga Khan Foundation, Afghanistan.
Over the course of 25 years, incomes in these northern communities would increase by 300 per cent, literacy rates would soar. Moreover, the experience of AKRSP has provided valuable insight into the role of community-led institutions in development, an approach now being applied in some of the poorest parts of Asia and Africa.
Some of the most daunting challenges lie in Afghanistan, where communities are mired in poverty compounded by decades of war, and where the greatest obstacle to progress is the innocent-looking opium poppy.
Yet, democratic village development councils are eager to find alternatives, said Steve Mason, a Canadian program manager who has worked with Aga Khan Foundation in northern Afghanistan.
“The communities themselves identified this need,” he said. “They knew that they were growing opium illegally, but they were unable to give it up because of the income that it provided, so they turned to us for help.”
AKFC is working with the Canadian and Afghan governments to ensure that communities have access to the funds and expertise they need to plant alternative crops and develop new sources of income.
In one village, said Mr. Mason, the council established a wheat seed bank to help the poorest farmers. The bank was so successful that surplus seeds were sold at market. The council used the profits to purchase a small hydro power plant that is generating more revenue.
Early results suggest that with the right combination of resources and time, communities in Afghanistan can become self-governing and self-sufficient. “Change is never an easy process,” said Ms. Begum. “I know because I was the change in my village.”
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