Compiled by SRSO Team
Faqeer Muhammad is residing in Chutto Joyo village with his five family members – wife, two sons and two daughters. He used to be daily-wage labourer. Quite frequently he could not find work and missed out on earning daily wages. This would create great difficulties for his family. Food intake was minimised and as a result the health of Faqeer Mohammad and his family members was deteriorating.
Faqeer Mohammad says, “One day a team from Sindh Rural Support Organisation (SRSO) visited our village to meet the community. During the meeting, a large number of community members, especially women, were present. SRSO’s team explained the objectives of their visit and how they work with communities in many districts. The SRSO team explained that each household has the capacity to improve its livelihoods and lives, yet this this potential is not realised in many cases, causing economic and other constraints. These constraints can be removed once the households get together and form their own organisation, what SRSO calls Tanzeem (Community Organisation(CO)).”
The women appreciated SRSO’s message, and agreed to set up a CO, choosing the name “Najma” for their organisation. Faqeer Mohammad’s wife became a member and was also selected as the president of CO Najma. The CO began to conduct fortnightly meetings and members began to save money with the CO, as per their capacities. Faqeer’s wife also attended Community Management Skills Training organised by SRSO and learnt how to manage the daily affairs of CO. She also learnt about utilisation of savings, i.e. how to do internal lending to members.
Faqeer Mohammad said that when the CO members were preparing their Micro Investment Plans (MIPs), his wife suggested to him to plan to open up a small grocery shop in the village as the family’s financial position was poor with no signs of improvement as labouring opportunities were limited. Faqeer Mohammad agreed to this suggestion.
Since the family did not have money to open the grocery store, the issue was discussed at the next CO meeting. During the meeting , Faqeer’s wife explained her family’s sad situation and share her proposed plan of opening a shop. After some discussion, fellow CO members agreed that a loan from CO savings amounting to Rs 5,000 could be given for the opening of the small store. Repayments period was agreed to be four months, i.e. four installments. With a small loan of Rs 5,000 (EUR 44) from CO, Faqeer Mohammad opened his small grocery store.
After getting the loan amount, Faqeer Mohammad went to the local town and purchased the necessary grocery items for his store. The very next day day, Faqeer Mohammad started selling grocery items from his store in the village. Over weeks and months, the sales increased, and Faqeer Mohammad began to make a daily profit of Rs 200 – Rs 300 (EUR 1.7 to EUR 2.6).
Faqeer Mohammad says that now his wife is feeling much better and more secure; the diet has improved and all family members are happier. Faqeer Mohammad concludes by saying that, “This small example shows that women’s empowerment can lead to much improvement in household’s conditions”. He also added that there now much more social harmony within the family.
Mrs. Faqeer Mohammad says, “Out lives are beginning to change for better. First, I want to thank SRSO for coming to our village and mobilising us. And, secondly I want to thank the fellow CO members who supported us to set up this small store. Once we have repaid the loan to the CO, then another CO member will be supported. We plan to carry on building our savings and doing internal lending for the benefit of our members.The CO is now our own platform, for our own development”.