LAYYAH EMPOWERED THROUGH LIVELIHOOD

A BLOG BY BUSHRA TAHIR

The 4th Project Steering Committee Meeting on “Community Empowerment through Livelihood” was held at the project office, Layyah on February 28th, 2014. The aim of the meeting was to review the progress of the CELD project and discuss the ways in which to tackle the bottlenecks. The meeting initiated with a detailed presentation from the project manager on the progress achieved and the way forward to formally conclude the project.  Hashoo Foundation has initiated the process of installing three chillers each within three dairy business centers owned by Community Based Organizations (CBO).This shall be completed by mid of March 2014. It was also proposed that HF should remain in Layyah rather than phase out after the project conclusion, to oversee the successful operations of the dairy business centers, while increasing its geographic focus in Southern Punjab.

The HF team visited the site to meet the community members and obtain their feedback about HF’s interventions. Ms. Fozia from Hamlet Siari, in Layyah was among the 1200 beneficiaries who undertook the dairy farming training and was later appointed as a Livestock Extension Worker (LEW) in the area. Ms. Fozia was provided with a kit for the vaccination and medication of livestock by the CBOs, which enabled her to practice the acquired skills more efficiently. “Now, I can earn more money per month by visiting 4-5 customers monthly to vaccinate their animals, in addition I have increased my income from improved milk production of 12-14 liters of milk at a time.” Ms. Fozia charges Rs. 200 from each of her customers for vaccinating their animals. “HF have made me more than just a housewife, I am now the captain of my own ship”, exclaims Ms.Fozia, with tears of joy in her eyes.