Sarhad Rural Support Programme

Sarhad Rural Support Programme

Founded	1989
Focus	Social Mobilization, Poverty Alleviation, Community Physical Infrastructure, Renewable Energy, Microcredit, Social Sector Services, Human Resource Development, Humanitarian Aid
Area served	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa & FATA, Pakistan
Key people	Shoaib Sultan Khan, Founder and Member Board of Directors, Mrs Munawar Humayun Khan, Chair Person Masood Ul Mulk, Chief Executive Officer,
Mission	To build social capital by mobilizing communities for poverty reduction, improved livelihoods and sustainable development in KP
Website	www.srsp.org.pk
Formerly called	Sarhad Rural Support Cooperation

The Sarhad Rural Support Programme (SRSP) is the largest Non Government Organization working to alleviate poverty in North West Pakistan.^[1] It was established in 1989 with the aim of reducing poverty and ensuring sustainable means of livelihood in what is now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. SRSP is part of the Rural Support Programmes initiated by United Nations Environment Programme Global 500 Award winner Shoaib Sultan Khan.^[2] It is now the largest regional RSP, with extensive outreach into communities.^[3][4] In recent years because of its vast outreach, SRSP has had to play a prominent role in disasters that have hit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. As a result humanitarian work along with development has become a core competency of the organization.^[5]

Formation

SRSP began it operations in 1989.^[6] It was established by members of the civil society, members of the government in their individual capacities, and members of the academia, media and training institutions.^[7] SRSP was created to replicate the RSP approach from the north to rural development in the province now called Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.^[8]

Approach

SRSPs framework is based on the RSP approach to community empowerment, and economic and livelihood development.^[9] At the heart of this approach is the belief that marginalized communities and disadvantaged people have within them the capacity for self-help. Pakistan’s Rural Support Program (RSP) movement pioneered bottom-up, community-driven development using a flexible, autonomous, politically neutral approach, which has been replicated successfully across Pakistan as well as in India and Bangladesh.^[10][11]

Programmes

SRSP specialises in social mobilisation, gender and development, community infrastructure, education, micro-finance, micro-enterprise development, governance, conflict resolution, humanitarian assistance, and human resource development.^[12]

SRSP’s wide array of programmes includes support for developing:

1. Community Physical Infrastructure
2. Renewable Energy
3. Community Investment/Livelihoods Funds, Microcredit, Village Banks
4. Social Sector Services
5. Human Resource Development
6. Enterprise and Value Chain development
7. Development and Humanitarian programmes

Achievements

Since its inception, SRSP has emerged as the largest non-government, non-profit organisation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.^[13] It works in 22 out of 25 districts in the province. In 2007 it also initiated a programme for community empowerment and economic development in parts of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

SRSP has organized over 21,000 Community Organizations, covering 500,000 households; one third of the members being women.^[14] It has established over 7,000 small-scale infrastructure schemes worth RS 32.6 billion benefiting a population of more than 10 million. Its major community infrastructure schemes include drinking water supply schemes, farm to market/link roads and bridges, sanitation schemes, irrigation channels, micro-hydels, mini dams and rehabilitation of schools. SRSP has also installed more than 80 micro hydel power plants across KP with production capacities ranging from 20 to 400 kilowatts.^[15][16][17]

SRSP has played a significant role in leveraging resources and providing humanitarian assistance to disasters affected communities in KP and its contribution has been acknowledged by the provincial government.^[18][19] During the earthquake of 2005, it helped rebuilt 62,000 houses in one of the biggest community driven housing programmes, funded by the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Programme (PPAF). In addition to this, 40 public, public-private and community-based schools were reconstructed enabling over 5000 children to return to school.^[20] Following the IDP crisis of 2009 and the floods of 2010, SRSP emerged as one of the largest implementing partners for UNHCR, reaching out to over 3.5 million IDPs. SRSP has reached out to over 263,000 families with its flood response projects and programmes.^[21][22]

Donors/Partners

SRSP has worked with a multitude of bilateral and multilateral donors, and international and national NGOs including:

1. The Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ^[23]
2. European Union (EU)^[24]
3. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)^[25]
4. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) ^[26]
5. Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)^[27]
6. The Imran Khan Foundation (IKF) ^[28]
7. UNHCR ^[29]
8. Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF)^[30]
9. Australian Agency for International Development (AusAid) ^[31]
10. Department for International Development (DFID) ^[32]
11. Foundation for Open Society Institute (OSF) ^[33]
12. United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)^[34]
13. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)^[35]

References