Tales of Change National Poverty Graduation Programme
From Productive Assets to Sustainable Livelihoods Rozi Khan’s family en route to graduate out of poverty.
Before the Ehsaas Amdan and National Poverty Graduation Programme (NPGP) co-funded by the Government of Pakistan (GoP) and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Mr. Rozi Khan’s family resident of village Bar Kally, union council Judbah, district Torghar of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province was struggling with extreme poverty. He has a family of seven members including two daughters and three sons. He used to work as a mason however, in 2020, he had developed a cardiovascular issue due to which he could not engage in labor-intensive work and faced difficulty in earning a living for his family.
Rozi Khan’s son is busy handling customers at his newly established general store. PHOTO: LASOONA, PPAF’s partner organization in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
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IFAD-funded NPGP has restored hopes of my family by offering us an independent income-generating source which I can manage with my medical conditions. With sufficient savings, we are able to meet basic survival needs of food and health. ~Rozi Khan
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“With the discontinuation of the only livelihood source, my family’s survival became an unprecedented problem. On one end I was struggling with my medical condition and on the other seeing my children suffer exacerbate my anxiety. The amount we had saved for emergencies was not enough to fulfill the exigencies of daily life and it quickly depleted due to my expensive medical treatment. We faced the worst days of our life. The absence of an alternative livelihood opportunity led us to the extreme levels of poverty” Rozi recalled old days of struggle and pain. “The household survival was challenging in a conservative society where no one is ready to pay for others on account of welfare and support”, expressed Rozi, dolefully. Regardless of this depressing situation, Rozi Khan with his firm belief in His god never lost hope. He always remained optimistic and on the look for opportunities, he can avail to improve his families living conditions. The same year, Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) through its partner organization LASOONA: Society for Human and Natural Resource Development initiated village activities under the Ehsaas Amdan and NPGP in district Torghar. The village organization identified
Rozi’s family as vulnerably poor with a poverty scorecard of 12. Rozi Khan household was eligible to have productive assets under the livelihood development component of NPGP. LASOONA team visited his house and in consultation with his family developed a Livelihood Investment Plan. The family intended to establish a home-based general store and asked provision of store items. The village procurement committee transferred the required assets worth PKR 59,840 to the family.
District Torghar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Rozi Khan’s elder son started managing the store operatons along with his father. Due to a strenuous efforts and unbroken commitment, the family started earning up to PKR 800 per day, which was sufficient for family to survive compared to the previous days of agony and troubles. Before Ehsaas Amdan/NPGP support, their household monthly income was less than PKR 10,000. With the opening of a general store, their average monthly income raised to PKR 22000- 25000. While expressing gratitude to the Government of Pakistan and IFAD he shared, “IFAD-funded NPGP has restored hopes of my family by offering us an independent income-generating source which I can manage with my medical conditions. This suitable livelihood support has revived our self-esteemed. With sufficient savings, we are able to meet basic survival needs of food and health.” LASOONA team will provide basic business/asset management and financial literacy training to Rozi Khan which will help him in expanding his livelihood sustainably and ultimately to graduate his family out of poverty. Rozi’s family is one of the thousands of families who have benefited from the IFAD-supported NPGP programme and are en route to poverty graduation. The programme aims to provide the ultra-poor segment of the population (poverty scorecard of 0 to 18) with a combination of safety nets combined with livelihood interventions and training. The process involves initial grant-based productive asset provision, skill development, and asset management training, and linkage with the government’s interest-free loan schemes (poverty scorecard of 12 to 40) to expand their businesses. The success story presented above is based on anecdotal evidence. For more information, visit the programme website:
www.ppaf.org.pk/NPGP/
The above map highlights the targeted district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
