November 7, 2002
A senior expert of the United Nations Development Plan (UNDP) said here on Wednesday that development in most fields in advanced western countries is indebted to activities of Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs).
Shaeeb Sultan Khan, who was speaking at a day-long conference entitled "NGOs' role in Public Participation and Allocation of Small Scale Budgets to Sistan and Baluchestan Province", at the GovernorateBuilding of the province, added, "many western governments, too, have come up with the conclusion that trusting the people and permitting them to take the lead of their own affairs is a lot more practical than running the whole system by the central government."
He meanwhile confirmed that the NGOs cannot take roots and become involved in basic activities independent of governments' financial and political support for quite a while.
Soltan Khan further emphasized that providing sufficient capital and necessary assets for the NGOs at their initial stages, play an essential role in letting them blossom in the long run.
The senior UNDP official added, "it is in return the job of the NGOs to get to know the people from various walks of life, particularly those living in shabby parts of cities and towns, and to attract and direct those interested in working with the NGOs to such job opportunities.
He said that once the people's grass root cooperation with the NGOs will be secured and ensured, the population of the deprived regions could not only stand on their own feet in hardships, but proceed towards advancement and well being at a steady pace.
The UNDP official said, "the government organizations raise the level of public demands and expectations by asking the residents of oppressed regions about their difficulties, and their regions' shortcomings, while the native regional NGO officials, who know such matters try to solve them without unnecessary instigating of sensitivities.
Shaeeb Sulayman Khan added, "by analyzing the demographic situation of each region, including the number of families living in each district, the number of villages and townships, etc, it is possible to draw the map of poverty of the region that is needed in order to direct the national and international assets aimed at uprooting deprivation."
Emphasizing on the need for establishing a tradition of facilitating public participation in ruling the countries, he said, "by organizing the people's participation, and attracting them to take part in shaping up their own future, achieving all tough goals would become possible."
He then tuned to the role families can play in uprooting poverty, arguing, "in a country like the United States the involvement of families in uprooting poverty will do no good, but in such countries as Pakistan, India, and the like, such a measure would work perfectly."
In response to a question on the Pakistani nation's role in constructing new schools' buildings, the senior UNDP official said, "the religious schools in Pakistan are enrolling over seven million students currently and the Pak government intends to encourage them study in the official framework of the country's education system."
"That is where the NGOs role in construction of new modern schools comes to aid the government in achieving its objective," he added.
Shaeeb Sultan Khan, who is himself from Pakistan has activated a large number of NGOs in that country.
During the meeting the representative of the Family Sustainable Development Fund of Tehran (FSDFT), Habibollah Karimian, too, said during the meeting that the FSDFT had managed to organize the activities of 400 of its members in the framework of small sized assistance groups to work in a region in Zahedan's Shirabad Place, and at Bent Nikshah district's Dahan village in Sistan and Baluchestan Province.
Karimian added, "our fund has granted loans ranging form 600 thousand to 3 million rials to 61 members of regional NGOs, and the plan's output has been satisfactory so far."
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