Development plans shaped by & for the Poor – Tehsil Haripur
The Foundation facilitated a pro-poor planning process to improve the provision of social services in poor villages of VCs/NCs of Tehsil Haripur. These were selected by key local activists through well-being ranking held in Haripur on 3 July 2019. This was followed by intensive training of staff and field-based facilitators (FBFs) in participatory methodologies including Participatory Reflection & Action (PRA) and Stimulating, Learning/Listening, Appreciating and Transforming (SALT).
This trained team facilitated a series of meetings in 63 villages and neighborhoods in which 929 women and 894 men defined their dreams and priorities in a creative participatory dialogue. The meetings were convened in the poorest areas of 23 Union Councils of Tehsil Haripur, ensuring that the voices of the poorest are their interests are taken into account in shaping development plans. Combined they will produce a Tehsil Haripur plan, which has gained more importance after the Tehsil was made the highest in the revised two-tier structure introduced by amendments introduced in KP’s local government law in 2019. 812 priority demands were included in the 23 plans. Education topped the priority list with 180 demands for furniture, fans, playground and other facilities for different schools. Control on teacher absenteeism was also commonly demanded.