Characteristics of  UCBPRP

The characteristics of the Union Council Based Poverty Reduction Programme (UCBPRP) are:

Targeting the Poor :

The fundamental basis of the Union Council Based Poverty Reduction Programme (UCBPRP) is to alleviate poverty, for this purpose the Poverty Score Card  approved by the World Bank has to be used as a census survey, (visiting all households) and situation analysis  of target area to identify those poor households which are ordinarily excluded from social welfare initiatives, in order to provide them the products and services included in the project.

The Poverty Score Card is thus a simple and practical tool to measure poverty at different levels i.e. household level, Deh level, Union Council level, Taluka level and District level. It is blind and neither the enumerator nor the respondent can interpret its results because it does not ask direct questions about incomes and expenditures.

The PSC uses 13 questions to evaluate the poverty levels of a household; questions which are easily verifiable. The PSC has the ability to categorise entire union councils and districts into different poverty bands, ( 0-11 Extremely poor/destitute, 12-18 Chronically poor, 19-23 Transitory poor, 24-100 Non poor.) making it easier to distinguish products for each band.

Social Mobilization :

In the Union Council Based Poverty Reduction Programme (UCBPRP), communities in the 2 districts will be organized at the village level into Village Organizations (VOs). By having their own organizations, the communities (especially the poorest) will be able to present themselves in a unified manner and will have the ability to voice their developmental concerns to relevant bodies, such as Provincial and District Governments, Taluka and Union Administrations etc. Eventually, it is envisaged that these Village Organizations will be able to develop their own linkages with external organizations in order to cater for their needs. At the same time, by managing their own organizations, the confidence and skills of these communities will be greatly increased.

Products of UCBPRP :

The UCBPRP includes the following products and services for the poorest households in the target districts.

• Income Generating Grants (In Kind / Non-Cash):

In Sindh province there are many households who do not have the capacity to pay back even interest free loan/credit, but have the potential to perform so the intervention of Income Generating Grant (IGG) has been designed for such households to help them come out of the poverty trap. These will be grants for the women of extremely poor households, for the purpose of increasing their incomes. Each eligible household will be able to receive a grant (in-kind) of upto Rs. 20,000 for purchasing income-generating assets, mainly livestock such as goats, cows, buffaloes, and productive tools and inputs etc.

• Community Investment Fund (CIF):

The CIF is a programme which increases the confidence and empowerment of the poorest of rural women by providing them access to flexible micro loans.

Community investment fund is aimed at to empower women through institution building and capacity building of extremely poor and chronically poor women of the area. Identification is made on the Poverty score card.CIF enables above two bands to get rid of poverty through small scale loan. On the other hand the ultimate goal of CIF is to establish institutions at Village level for the betterment of rural women. It goes without saying that institutions not for community but institutions of community.

Each Village Organization (VO) will be given a revolving fund for giving out small flexible loans to poor women only. The amount of the fund that each Village Organization (VO) receives depends on the number of chronically poor households, with Rs. 25,000 allocated per household. The distinguishing aspect of the Community Investment Fund (CIF) is the fact that the fund will be managed by the women themselves, as they will be the ones who decide which poor woman should receive a loan and at what flexible terms.

• Scholarships for Vocational Training:

The UCBPRP includes a component whereby one youth from an extremely poor or chronically poor household will be identified and provided a scholarship for receiving vocational training. The type of training provided will depend on assessments conducted during consultations between the individual, their household and the Village Organization (VO). Numerous studies have pointed out to the benefits and impact that a skilled labour force has, not just at the micro and meso levels, but also at the macro level.

•  Community Physical Infrastructures (CPIs):

Community Physical Infrastructures (CPIs) are development infrastructure projects which are carried out with the help of organised communities. These are projects such as installation of hand-pumps, maintenance of small local roads, etc. The labour used for the construction of the CPI will be sourced from extremely and chronically poor households of the village, with market-based wages being provided. As a result, these CPIs will not only improve the village, but will also provide much-needed employment for extremely poor and chronically poor households.

• Productivity Enhancement :

Research & Development is an important component of UCBPRP for the productivity enhancement; to enhance the productivity of poor  farmers in agriculture and livestock sectors. The UCBPRP is clearly focusing on the development of Agriculture and Live Stock to increase the productivity of the poorest community members. The concept of “More Crop per Drop” is a guiding concept through Drip irrigation and Water Management which is being used in water scarce areas of Sindh. UCBPRP also has started Drip Water System for better irrigation and better productivity for the poor communities. In order to efficiently reach out to women and the poorest segment of rural villages of Sindh, community members have to be trained especially in Agriculture sector” through 10 days extensive trainings in modern farm management techniques, use of tunnels for growing off-season crops, etc. in Fisheries and Enterprise Development.

• Education:

In the light of situation analysis’s findings, the Government of Sindh has recognized that education can be a powerful tool for empowerment and building capacity to challenge inequalities and poverty. This project will be implemented in 300 schools of selected UCs.

Major objectives of this project are;
1: Improving Primary School System for increased enrolment by making 300 non functional schools functional,
2: Establishing 100 second shift primary schools for girl child primary/middle education and 100 early childhood education centers and School feeding programme in two union councils. The project activity has just begun from the mid of October 2009 and has taken the pace to catch up with the targets.

Seven (7) School Management Committees have been formed as per guidelines provided by the Education and Literacy Department, Government of Sindh.

• Traditional Birth Attendant (TBA):

UCBPRP has started the TBA training programme to improve maternal evaluation and child health and as a part of the safe motherhood initiatives. Under this project traditional birth attendants will be trained through 10 days of extensive training. in preventing post-partum sepsis by applying “three clean” during delivery and following placenta management procedures.

• Micro Health Insurance:

In October 2009, Adamjee Insurance Company collaboration with Rural Support Program introduced a product of Micro Health Family Insurance for the poor households covering parents, married couple with children up to 18 years old and unmarried sisters. To provide micro health insurance is to provide a social safety net to poor households who lie in the 0-18 poverty band. The service package with a ceiling of RS.25000/ per person per year includes OPD, day care, diagnostic services, and hospitalization (for more than 24 hours’ stay) and maternity care. The package also includes accidental cover (disability compensation) and financial support of a sum of Rs.25000/ as Funeral Charges in case of death of a bread winner of the family.