A visit to a village in, Gharo, one on the many villages which is targeted by IET for its Livelihood Enhancement Scheme, became a a journey
of learning for me. Among the many things learnt, I would like to dwell on some most pertinent to development, the possibilities of peaceful coexistence of multi faith groups in
times of religious intolerance and strife, the existence of sharing and
reciprocity as values, and importance of organization for development,
independence and ownership in any community.
Hidden away from the eyes of those driving down the
Super Highway a small village, Essa Jamadar, Deh Khari Seer (Salty Lake) houses
a population comprising of Hindus, Muslims and Christians. Its a lovely
sheltered village which is ably managed and represented by the Village
Organization's president Qaiser and finance secretary Raja Farukh Abbas. The
Village organization is Jai Shiv Shanker. "There has never been any strife
based on religion in this village. I am a muslim and I have lived in the
village for 15 years, these people are my own," explains Farrukh.
"I also teach the villagers in the evenings."
What was strikingly different was the circular
structures of the houses which are not common in this area but are evident in
the Tharparkar region. The community most probably originates from there. The
plan of the houses was in a radial grid like formation, reflecting a close knit community and organic nature of evolution. The villagers were lovely and
welcoming.
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| Women gather to welcome us |
As soon as I got off the car I was welcomed by the
President and the Finance secretary. We carefully made our way across the iron
girder, all alert lest we fall off the bridge into the canal below. This girder
acts as a bridge across the canal and I was proudly told that the villagers had
raised funds and along with external funding, replaced the old dangerous bridge
with this broad new and more safe one. " The old bridge was so dangerous
we would fall and get hurt all the time." I wondered how restricted would
be my movement if I had to cross a dangerous bridge to enter my neighborhood
every time. Ease of access is an important concept in development, but in this
case it is shocking how basic the manifestation of access is.
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| Farukkh and Qaiser on the newly installed bridge |
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| Farrukh, the finance secretary of the Village organization |
Inside the was the newly acquired School. Farukh
and Qaiser explain that the village did not have a school and now with
the help of a linkages program they have acquired a school. " We were
introduced to the sources available and then we made a proposal. And this
Christian mission accepted our proposal and now we have a school. We have a new
teacher here from Karachi, Elizabeth. She is trained from St. Patrick's
School." The pride they feel in their accomplishments is very
evident, the fact that they have been able to use their newly acquired
knowledge on existing funding opportunities, making proposals and getting things
accomplished within the realties of the village life is empowerment indeed.
Would this have been the case had the school been made by some alien
organization entirely?
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| Elizabeth, a trained teacher from Karachi, in the school building |
We moved onto examining the goats of Dharmi, a
recent recipient of the Livelihood Enhancement Schemes. She showed us her
lovely flock now comprising of 6. "I got four goats but one died. The
three reproduced and now i have 6." I questioned her about how she was
using her newly acquired assets. "My children did not have milk before now
my family of 5 all have milk". But what about the left over milk, aren't
you selling any to the villagers? She looked at me nonplussed. "I don't sell to villagers, when they need milk they just come and milk my goat and take
the milk, and when I need something I also just ask them for it. When I will
have more goats I will then think of selling milk to the outsiders".
Another eye opener. Community development is based on the concept of sharing
and reciprocity, and seen at its most basic form in this village. Perhaps it's
my goggles of urban life which limits me to measuring value in predominantly
monetary terms. For Dharmi it is quite simple and uncomplicated. On the
question of whether then this is Livelihood Enhancement, it is. Its not just
the family benefiting from the scheme but collectively the whole community
benefits from the milk of the goats.
The villagers paint their houses, with images of
birds trees peacocks or whatever they like. While on one side of the wall, a
mother paints the motif of tree and flowers, the other side is a train drawn by
her son. "He was remembering his journey to Mithi, where we had gone to
visit his grandmother," the mother explained to me. Nature and
modernization coexist on these wall, but for how long, I wondered. Qaiser
and Farukh then told me about their next plan, a community space or hall for
the people. However there are problem with their plans. The land does not
belong to them, but to the local landlord. "We were left in peace
and were never troubled by the landlord. But now we are becoming organized and
speaking out and achieving things; they have told us to pack up and
leave." Organisation is another important step in development. However it
can also be dangerous as it challenges and disturbs the heirarchial and traditional
structures. In this case i am struck with a sense of foreboding. A multi racial
and faith community and challenging the local heirarchy. Will this peaceful
community be punished for becoming independent and disguised as religious
strife.
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| Showing her art work |
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| A son relives his train journey to Mithi |
