ISLAMABAD - The Rural Support Programmes Network hosted the National Dissemination and Project Closing Event of EU-funded Sindh Union Council and Community Economic Strengthening Support (SUCCESS) Programme at Marriott Hotel, Islamabad, on Wednesday. Head of Cooperation of European Union to Pakistan, Mr. Ovidiu Mic, Chairman Rural Support Programmes Network Mr. Shoaib Sultan Khan, Deputy Secretary of Ministry of Economic Affairs, Mr. Khalid Khan, CEOs of the implementing partners and community activists attended the event. Ms. Shandana Humayun Khan, Chief Executive Officer, Rural Support Programmes Network, gave the opening remarks. She thanked the European Union for its generous funding and support in community driven development programmes, Government of Sindh, the member Rural Support Programmes, community members, especially women, for the successful implementation of seven years of the SUCCESS Programme. She said, “Our biggest achievement is that with the commitment of EU and the Government, we were able to do this programme which was 100% led by women. This network of women is the largest grassroots development network in the country. Provincial and federal government officials from other provinces are taken to Sindh for exposure and learning from the efforts of these women.”
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Women community members also participated in the event and shared their experiences and the improvement in their lives led by the interventions of the SUCCESS Programme. Reflecting on the journey of the SUCCESS Programme, Ms. Iffat Batool, Chairperson, LSO Ibtida of District Qamber Shadadkot shared, “We are determined that through selfhelp initiatives, we won’t let any child especially girl child out of school.” The speakers reflected on the achievements and lessons learnt from the SUCCESS programme. The programme has mobilised 608,000 women members of poor households into 30, 274 community institutions. The programme has also been able to increase the real income of the targeted poor households by 37 percent with 25 percent of the households graduating from the lowest poverty score band to a relatively higher poverty score. Head of Cooperation of European Union Delegation to Pakistan Mr. Ovidiu Mic said, “When we look back, we have achieved more in poverty reduction. The area where we are more prouder is the work that is done with women in rural areas. 80% of the initiative is driven by women in Sindh that is empowering them financially and vocationally.”
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SUCCESS programme has worked diligently to improve the living conditions of the rural communities of Sindh, making it the one province with the largest, grassroots poverty reduction programme led and run by women in Pakistan