Aga Khan Rural Support Programme

Last updated

The Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) is a private, non profit organization, established by the Aga Khan Foundation in 1982 to help improve the quality of life of the villagers of Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral. [1] [2] It is a Non Governmental Organization which is part of the Rural Support Programmes Network in Pakistan. [3] [4]

Contents

Philosophy

AKRSP’s development approach gives primacy to the people and their abilities. It is based on the belief that local communities have tremendous potential to plan and manage their own social development, once they are organized and provided access to necessary skills and capital. The organisations proclivity for a participatory approach found much support in Shoaib Sultan, the founding General Manager of AKRSP. [5] [6]

Achievements

AKRSP’s past efforts have led to many notable achievements in social and economic domains. Key achievements include manifold increase in incomes, construction/rehabilitation of more than 4000 small infrastructure projects (bridges, roads, irrigation channels, hydropower units and other small projects). [7] The planting of tens of millions of trees and the development of hundreds of acres of marginal lands, developing a cadre of more than 50,000 community activists, mobilization of nearly $5 million village savings, and the establishment of more than 4,993 community organisations. AKRSP supported community organisations, which have established patterns of local governance that are participatory, democratic, transparent and accountable to their members, are now federating at the union council level to establish Local Support Organization (LSOs). Currently, there 67 LSOs across Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral that are forging direct partnerships with government departments, local development partners, donors and the private sector actors to increase the scope and outreach of services for their member communities. [8] [9] [10]

It has since won a number of awards, including the 2005 Global Development Awards for Most Innovative Development Project and an Ashden Award for Sustainable Energy in 2004. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdul Hamid Khan (Gilgit-Baltistan activist)</span> Pakistani politician (born 1953)

Abdul Hamid Khan is the chairman of the Balawaristan National Front (BNF-H), a sub-nationalist organisation. He founded the Balawaristan National Front Hameed Group (BNF-H), which sought autonomy for Gilgit-Baltistan and opposed the construction of hydroelectric dams there. BNF-H was founded in 1995 by Abdul Hamid. In 1999, Abdul Hameed Khan left Pakistan. He spent 20 years living in India and Belgium. However, after spending 20 years living abroad, Abdul Hamid unconditionally surrendered to Pakistani security officials on 8 February 2019. His organisation, BNF-H, was banned by National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) on 26 February 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aga Khan Development Network</span> Network of development agencies founded by the Aga Khan

The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) is a network of private, non-denominational development agencies founded by the Aga Khan, with the primary focus of improving the quality of life in different regions of Asia and Africa.

HBL Microfinance Bank Ltd (HBL MfB) is a Pakistani microfinance bank headquartered in Islamabad. HBL MfB operates over 200 locations all over Pakistan. It is one of the oldest microfinance bank in the country with its roots in the credit and saving section of the Agha Khan Rural Support Program (AKRSP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shandur Pass</span> Mountain pass in Pakistan

Shandur Pass(Urdu: شندور) is a pass located on the boundary of district Chitral, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan and Gilgit-Baltistan, a disputed territory within the larger region of Kashmir. Historically part of Gilgit-Baltistan; however, recent Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments have made claims for the Shandur. It is often referred to as 'The Roof of the World.

Balawaristan, is a term coined by Nawaz Khan Naji, founder of the Pakistani political party Balawaristan National Front (BNF), for a proposed autonomous province or a sovereign state consisting of Gilgit-Baltistan, Chitral and Kohistan regions in Pakistan as well as Indian-controlled Ladakh. Although the name, first used in 1989, does not have any historical basis, it sounds similar to Baloristan, which has been documented in Chinese sources to describe Baltistan and Gilgit Valley from the 8th century CE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aga Khan Foundation</span> Private international development agency

The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) is a private, not-for-profit international development agency, which was founded in 1967 by Shah Karim Al Hussaini, Aga Khan IV, the 49th Hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims. AKF seeks to provide long-term solutions to problems of poverty, hunger, illiteracy and ill health in the poorest parts of South and Central Asia, Eastern and Western Africa, and the Middle East. In these regions, the needs of rural communities in mountainous, coastal and resource poor areas are given particular attention. The Foundation's activities often reinforce the work of other sister agencies within the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). While these agencies are guided by different mandates pertaining to their respective fields of expertise, their activities are often coordinated with one another in order to "multiply" the overall effect that the Network has in any given place or community. AKF also collaborates with local, national and international partners in order to bring about sustainable improvements of life in the 14 countries in which it implements programmes. The Foundation's head office is located in Geneva, Switzerland.

Akhter Hameed Khan was a Pakistani development practitioner and social scientist. He promoted participatory rural development in Pakistan and other developing countries, and widely advocated community participation in development. His particular contribution was the establishment of a comprehensive project for rural development, the Comilla Model (1959). It earned him the Ramon Magsaysay Award from the Philippines and an honorary Doctorate of law from Michigan State University.

Diamer-Bhasha Dam is a concreted-filled gravity dam, in the preliminary stages of construction, on the River Indus between Kohistan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Diamer district in Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan administered Kashmir. Its foundation stone was laid by the then Prime Minister of Pakistan in 1998. The dam site is situated near a place called "Bhasha", hence the name which is 40 km downstream of Chilas town and 315 km from Tarbela Dam. The eight million acre feet (MAF) reservoir with 272-metre height will be the tallest roller compact concrete (RCC) dam in the world.

Syed Yahya Shah سيد يحي was a Pakistani politician and scholar from Gilgit-Baltistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glacier growing</span> Artificial process used for making glaciers

Glacier growing, artificial glaciation or glacier grafting, is a practice carried out in the Hindu Kush and Himalaya regions aimed at creating small new glaciers to increase water supply for crops and in some cases to sustain micro hydro power. In order to encourage the growth of a glacier local farmers acquire ice from naturally occurring glaciers, and carry it to high altitude areas where the ice is put inside a small cave dug out in a scree-slope. Along with the ice other ingredients such as water, salt, sawdust, wheat husks and charcoal are also placed at the site. The use of glacier grafting is an old skill of the mountain farmers of Baltistan and Gilgit, where it is used for irrigation purposes since at least the 19th century. This technique was described by Lieutenant David Lockhart Robertson Lorimer (1876–1962) in the 1920s. Allegedly glacier grafting also has been used to block mountain passes.

The Building and Construction Improvement Program(BACIP) is a program of the Aga Khan Planning and Building Service, Pakistan (AKPBS,P) that is engaged in developing and promoting solutions to housing and built environment-related issues of rural communities living in Gilgit-Baltistan and the province of Sindh.

The Katoor dynasty was a dynasty, which along with its collateral branches ruled the sovereign, later princely state of Chitral and its neighbours in the eastern Hindu Kush region for over 450 years, from around 1570 until 1947. At the height its power under Mehtar Aman ul-Mulk the territory controlled by the dynasty extended from Asmar in the Kunar Valley to Sher Qilla in the Gilgit valley. The Mehtar of Chitral was an influential player in the power politics of the region as he acted as an intermediary between the rulers of Badakhshan, the Yousafzai pashtuns, the Maharaja of Kashmir and later the Amir of Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shoaib Sultan Khan</span>

Shoaib Sultan Khan NI is one of the pioneers of rural development programmes in Pakistan. As a CSP Officer, he worked with the Government of Pakistan for 25 years, later on he served Geneva based Aga Khan Foundation for 12 years, then UNICEF and UNDP for 14 years. Since his retirement, he has been involved with the Rural Support Programmes (RSPs) of Pakistan full-time, on voluntary basis. Today, the Rural Support Programmes have helped form 297,000 community organisations in 110 districts including two Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broghil Valley National Park</span> National park in Pakistan

Broghil Valley National Park is located in the extreme northern reaches of the Upper Chitral District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, close to the Afghan-Pakistan border.

Masood ul-Mulk TI is a Pakistani expert on humanitarian aid and a development practitioner. He is the CEO of SRSP the largest NGO working to alleviate poverty in North-West Pakistan.

The Sarhad Rural Support Programme (SRSP) is a non-governmental organization dedicated to alleviating poverty in North West Pakistan. Established in 1989, its mission is to reduce poverty and promote sustainable livelihoods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

The Rural Support Programmes Network (RSPN) is the largest development network in Pakistan with an outreach to over 34 million rural Pakistanis. It consists of a network of 12 Rural Support Programmes (RSPs). The RSP’s rely on a community driven model of development. Communities are mobilised around their needs and organised to stimulate more effective demand for services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aly Muhammad Aga Khan</span> British cinematographer; fourth child of Aga Khan IV (born 2000)

Prince Aly Muhammad Aga Khan is a British cinematographer, the only child of Aga Khan IV by his second wife, Gabriele Renate Homey.

Muhammad Khalid Khurshid Khan is a politician who served as the President of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Gilgit-Baltistan from May 2022 to December 2023 and as the Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, a territory in Northern Pakistan until he was disqualified from his post on 4 July 2023 by the Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Court. He was also a member of the Gilgit Baltistan Assembly from 25 November 2020 until his disqualification.

Chatorkhand is a village in Pakistan. It is situated in Ghizer district of Gilgit-Baltistan. It is the headquarter of Ishkoman tehsil.

References

  1. ↑ Abbott, John (2013-11-05). Sharing the City: Community Participation in Urban Management. Routledge. p. 73. ISBN   9781134173068.
  2. ↑ Mulk, Masoodul (1991-01-01). A Microcosm of Farmers Strategies in Chitral. AKRSP. pp. 2–80.
  3. ↑ Outlook Business. Outlook Publishing. 20 April – 3 May 2008. p. 69.
  4. ↑ The Aga Khan Rural Support Program: A Third Evaluation. World Bank. 1996-01-01. pp. 110–113. ISBN   9780821336649.
  5. ↑ Kreutzmann, Hermann. Sharing Water: Irrigation and Water Management in the Hindukush, Karakoram, Himalaya. Oxford University Press. p. 145.
  6. ↑ Alkire, Sabina (2005-01-01). Valuing Freedoms: Sen's Capability Approach and Poverty Reduction. Oxford University Press. p. 235. ISBN   9780199283316.
  7. ↑ "AKRSP builds small hydropower station in Chitral". Business Recorder. Retrieved 2016-08-24.
  8. ↑ Nelson, Ridley (2002-01-01). The Next Ascent: An Evaluation of the Aga Khan Rural Support Program, Pakistan. World Bank Publications. ISBN   9780821349793.
  9. ↑ Satterthwaite, David; Reid, Hannah; Bass, Stephen (2013-06-17). Reducing Poverty and Sustaining the Environment: The Politics of Local Engagement. Taylor & Francis. ISBN   9781136558955.
  10. ↑ Khan, Mahmood Hasan; Khan, Shoaib Sultan (1992-01-01). Rural Change in the Third World: Pakistan and the Aga Khan Rural Support Program. Greenwood Press. ISBN   9780313280115.
  11. ↑ "Micro-hydro power for remote mountain villages". 2004-12-24. Archived from the original on 2016-03-25. Retrieved 2016-09-04.

12. Darjat, Muhammad (2023). Institutional Model Of Rural Development. Medium. https://medium.com/@darjatmd/institutional-model-of-rural-development-7f81d629286b

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.