Urban poverty, therefore poses a major challenge in Pakistan: morally, intellectually, socially, economically, and politically.  To meet this challenge SEHER launched a Mitigation of Urban Poverty Program (MUPP)  in October 2006.  Its focus areas are selected  the Union Councils (please Refer to Annex A) from both of Zarghoon and Chilton town  since they are two of the poorest areas in Quetta.

SEHER believes that poverty is a multidimensional problem that needs relentless and holistic approach. SEHER’s rich experience of the field and extensive study of the subject revealed the grim reality of dependency trap, which were social, economic and political. Unlike the conventional approach of service delivery SEHER adopted a right-based approach of reaching to poorest of the poor and empower them to combat for their rights and survival. The strategy intrigued development of a model project to translate the idea into practicality terms and finally replicate/expand to other areas.

Mitigating Urban Poverty Program

The MUPP started with conducting a base line survey followed by group formation of the poorest. Twenty such male and female groups were formed.  These primary organizations were strengthened through a dialogical process which encouraged critical thinking and understanding of socio-economic and political dynamics of poverty and later on they were converted into CCBs. The groups worked with twenty animators who were provided basic organizational skills such as conducting meetings, record keeping, opening and operating bank accounts, documentation, conflict resolution, and information on human right conventions, governance and disaster management. The process enabled groups to generate internal leadership as well create self momentum for social and economic management. The groups developed a comprehensive strategy and related activities designed to get out of the poverty trap and change their lives. This included understanding the poverty trap mechanism, improvement of consumption and saving patterns, initiate income generating activities, skills development, vocational training, and various health and hygiene related support.

Pre base-line process
Demarcation is one of the most important steps of pro-poor participatory Model, in which boundaries of the potential Areas/pockets are determined, in next step sort out the potential pockets and once again deeply assess each potent ional pocket further more in order to filtrization and access to true segment an exercise undertake (pre-RIE) through which along with stakeholder and beneficiaries rectify social mapping and add the remaining target groups and exclude the well off  on the basis of sharp economic, social, cultural and religious contradiction, poor social infrastructure and social indicators. SEHER field teams successfully carried out process of demarcation in both UC Nawa Killi and UC Podh Galli .  

Baseline Survey
Having compiled the results of demarcation, a baseline survey was carried out to gather data regarding the socio-economic conditions of the communities in the targeted areas of Nawa Killi and Podh Galli, with a special focus on the poorest of the poor.

The baseline survey encompassed a dual purpose. Firstly it enabled the team to establish a clear cut bench mark which in turn allowed the measurement of progress and secondly it ensured participation of the community from the very beginning right from the planning and designing the project interventions. Data collection focused mainly on production, consumption and Assets  patterns and established the average resource base of the communities. Moreover, a participatory data collection tools, techniques were adopted to gather the household information and data.

Consensus Building Meeting
Participatory Development Model believes in creativity of the poor and acknowledges their existing knowledge as scientific knowledge. Hence committed to treat poor/target group as “subject” of the change process. To devolve this conceptual framework in action/practice it starts from consensus building meeting with poor/target group, wether or not they (poor/target group) feel and or consider any particular intervention in their interest in the short run and in the interest of larger community/society in the long run. In the CBM meeting all the identified individuals who met the criteria of being the poorest were mobilized and invited to participate in the meeting. 

Groups Formation
Poor are poor because they are weak, they can not resist to the exploitation individually, they have all the potential to overcome their poverty Burdon, if they are properly organized, concretized and empowered. Therefore building their organizations was a prerequisite. The poors were facilitated to organize themselves and exhibit their collective strength to over their poverty burden.

Surplus Leakage
Surpluses Leakage is the exploitative tool of non-poor in the game of poverty trap mechanism, which causes a great deal of deterioration in the lives of poor. Some of the deadly threads of this cobweb could be exorbitant prices of grocery, lower wages than market and complexities of Loan and their perpetually increasing Interests.

Surplus Leakage Exercise plays dual role. On one hand it exposes the exploitative mechanism which sucks the resources of the poor and keeps them remain poor. And on the other hand it makes the poor realize to take action and change the situation. SEHER carried out surplus leakage exercise with all the poors’ organizations. 

Using the idle resources as tool for strengthening the economic Base of the poor
Idle Resources are resources which exist in the surrounding but, poor never think about them; never consider them as collateral resources to be used. Idle Resources varies from area to area, it could be small unused piece of land within household or in surroundings, could be wool, could be shrubs and bushes, could be many more things to be used in productivity.

In both the pockets of Podh Gali and Nawa Killi the groups were facilitated in identification of idol resources, which enabled them to identify their individual and collective idle resources.

Livelihood Improvement
Livelihood Improvement is one of the main objectives of this poverty mitigation program. This component of the program provides economic base and creates windows of income generating opportunities for the group. This also focuses economic sustainability through enhancing negotiation and managerial skill development; because they better understand their situation, the poor are enabled to take their decision at their own free will. 

Matching Grants, not micro-credit and grant of soft money
Saving provides groups with a common agenda for their meetings and creates a sense of belonging and feeling of importance in the groups. Unlike other organizations SEHER does not believe in micro-credit and soft money grant. Because, in micro-credit the major part of the interest generated by the poor goes to the implementing agencies in terms of interest. While, in case of soft money people start taking things for granted and miss the core objective of empowerment and self-reliance.

SEHER believes in provision of matching grants. Once, members of the groups played their part of saving money by controlling their surplus leakages and utilization of idle resources. Then the provision of matching grants is made to boast their efforts of expediting savings. Matching grants at this stage also provide them with ample cash flow and investment capital to start small income generating activities

Investment through Income Generation Activities
Investment through income generation activity was a second action taken by poor of the poorest (groups), who were able to initiate small enterprises as a direct result of their saving and providence of matching grants.

The strategic activity of entrepreneurship was devised by keeping the urban context in consideration as lack of collective means of production (contrary to rural experience). The small scale investment was initiated in shape of sole proprietorship of the individual ultimately divertible to a larger partnership and possibly could be furthered with formation of consolidated corporation, where every poor has their own fixed share in proportion to their investment.

The small scale enterprises is inclusive of activation of their idle resources such as calligraphy, Plumbing, cycle repairing, beauty parlour, book and digest selling, candle making, opening of Public call office, small shop and live stock.
               
Skill Development:
Skills development was made crucial part of the livelihood improvement component. As majority of target group members were unskilled and low waged workers. This state of unskilfulness had made them prone to exploitation trap, insecurity and dependency. Therefore, it was immensely imperative to conduct demanding trainings of marketable items such as candle making, tailoring and bead works etc.

Establishment of Skill Development Centres
SEHER has established 8 skill development centres in both the Union councils of Nawa Killi and Podh Galli.

A number of 149 trainings were conducted on skill development out of which 1056 participants inclusive of 590 males and 446 females benefited. A number of 17 people (12 Male and 5 females) have successfully completed their formal certification from Technical Training Center and Women Technical Center) in trades of Electric, plumbing, wielding, Motor Winding, Computer and beautician courses. After completion the trainees initiate their own income generation activities and became financial sharer in household expenses.  

Like all other governmental departments SEHER also mobilized the Labour and Manpower to make their contribution through partial waiver of their fees. SEHER contributed an amount of Rs.115, 614 through direct payments of the fees and got an amount of Rs. 28890 waived off from the Labour and Manpower.

Trainings on Social Awareness of the Community
Awareness on the all internationally accepted and recognized conventions was kept as integral part of the entire process. The community groups were frequently oriented about their different rights by the experts of the particular field and an encouraging response was received from the community.

Apart from skill development trainings 111 awareness sessions have been conducted to aware the primary groups about Disaster Risk Reduction, Child Rights Convention, Health & hygiene, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Convention of elimination of all kinds of discrimination against women.

The most encouraging point in the above illustrated table is women participation, which is almost 48%, which is ideal in any social development process. The training brought forth visible change in the overall behaviour of the community, which helped identify 32 cases of violence against women and tackled through SEHER Legal Forum and Ministry of Human Rights.

Vocational Training:
Members of the target groups and community members in general, who fulfilled the public sector criteria, were facilitated to get admission in Technical Training Centres for multiple skills enhancement courses offered by the Manpower Department.

Rehabilitation Package
Post trainings, for the continuity of their developed skills the trainees were not left alone to find fend for themselves, but financial supports were provided through Baitul-Mal Department to initiate their own work, while SEHER itself remained the major financial contributor.

Moreover, Efforts were made to make the access of poorest of poor more smooth to Baitulmal’s financial package of treatment of Major Diseases, Scholarship to students and provision of grants to widows.

Marketing of the products:
Marketing of the products of the poor was the most important element improving their livelihood pattern. The best strategy to achieve long term sustainability was to link the groups with existing market places, which was carried out as:

Stalls in Local and National Events/Exhibitions:
For the purpose of marketing products made by project beneficiaries, SEHER not only set up stalls at the Women’s Expo Exhibition in Karachi, but also marketed the products by setting up stalls in local fun fares and festivals. Though marketing of the product did not receive a notable response, however, they provided the beneficiaries with exposure to huge gatherings and provided them with new ideas to improve their products. The team and group members participated in 2 national level Expos in Karachi and 12 local exhibitions organized by various national and International Organizations.

Moreover, SEHER team has developed links with 12 major shops of the market to put the product of the beneficiaries for sale and promote their products. Although, products did not receive encouraging response from the market, however, the initiative will come up with more rewarding results in future.
 
 Collective Response to Area Problems
Poverty phenomena can be understood at two level, firstly on economic level and secondly on social level both are interlinked, because of poor’s economic vulnerability they also remain deprived from the social services, even remain away from the decision of the general problems of the area. Once their economic issues are overcome they need to be facilitated to play their role in the social and general problem or the process could take place simultaneously. In this regard following exercise and actions are taken.