UNESCAP

A Matter of Rights

Rural Development

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16. Simplifying poverty alleviation -- Many agencies have launched projects to improve the economic status of the poor. But lack of co-ordination among these institutions has hindered them from achieving their fullest potential. Under the auspices of UNESCAP's Seven Sisters project, organizations such as banks and NGOs are being brought together with their beneficiaries to strengthen cooperation in poverty-related areas dealing with the informal section, women and youth. This program focus on one of the project's success stories - a successful women's self-help group in the Ahmednagar district of India. (India)

17. Self-help is the best help -- In many developing countries poverty alleviation projects have often failed due to a lack of people’s participation. In the rugged and mountainous North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan, however, entire communities are lifting their lives out of poverty through their own local initiatives. The motivating force behind these unique efforts has been the Sungi Development Foundation, an NGO set up in 1989 by a handful of committed young community volunteers who felt that, given the resources, the poor were intelligent enough to help themselves. (Pakistan)

18. Horses on the Steppes -- With the world developing at such a rapid pace, the challenges faced by indigenous people are increasing. In Mongolia the UN is working with the Government to set up a sanctuary for the fast-disappearing Takhi breed of horses in the Steppes and at the same time improve the lives of indigenous people displaced to make way for the new sanctuary. Oyunnemekh, a dairy farmer, describes how the move and a dairy set up by the UN have improved their standards of living. (Mongolia)

19. Multiplying success -- It is a concept so simple, with results so impressive, that it could be one of the most potent tools available in the battle against poverty and unemployment. Called “success case replication,” the method has at its core the basic philosophy that it is part of human nature to observe and to imitate one’s successful peers. Applied at the village level, this involves turning successful entrepreneurs into teachers to train poor families to replicate their own success. (Sri Lanka)

20. Rural and yet upwardly mobile -- Like many poor village women in Asia, Rukhsana Monir does not own a car, a television, or even a radio. But what she does have, like an increasing number of her sisters in rural Bangladesh, is a mobile phone. This report highlights a unique and innovative project, undertaken by the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, to improve both the income and connectivity of rural women. The project is an example of how new technology can be used for bringing change to the poorest Asian countryside. (Bangladesh)