Even though she works as a washerwoman in different houses, 35-year-old Nazo aims to send her children to school and secure their future. She is among the 442 people from the marginalised communities of Kabal tehsil who were given the Enterprise Development Training conducted under the Livelihood Enhancement and Protection project.
Under the project, each individual is given grant of Rs30,000 to start their own businesses in accordance with the business plans they prepare during the training. Nazo sees a silver lining in the training, which, she said, will lend her an opportunity to start up her own cosmetic line from her house.
“This is a great chance for me to start my own enterprise. I’m tired of working for two meals a day,” she told The Express Tribune here on Friday. She supports her husband, a drug addict, and their four children.
Talemand, 37, a barber in Mahak village had to abandon his profession once the militants came. Now with this programme, he intends to go back to it. “Since I left my profession, I have been working as a day labourer but on irregular basis. With the amount I get from this training, I will buy new tools and reopen my shop,” he said.
Ibrahim, an elderly person from Deolai village, is another beneficiary of the programme. He is suffering from diabetes and high blood-pressure. “I work as a day labourer but due to illness, I am unable to work regularly. That’s why I joined this programme, to start my general store,” he said.
The training aims to educate the community towards the market approaches and update them on how to run their business smoothly, develop business plans and market demands. Apart from enterprise activity, 75 men and 60 women from the community are being given skill trainings in the trades of tailoring, electrician, plumbing and mobile repair.
The project is being implemented by the Sarhad Rural Support Programme and financed under the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 30th, 2012.
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