National Solidarity Programme (NSP)
|
The National Solidarity Programme (NSP) has been established for supporting the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) to develop the ability of Afghan communities to identify, plan, manage and monitor their reconstruction and promote a new development paradigm. BRAC Afghanistan is implementing the National Solidarity programme (NSP) in the provinces of Nangarhar, Paktika, Helmand , Samangan, Badghis and Takhar.
Goals and Objectives
The goal of NSP is to reduce poverty through empowering communities with regard to improved governance, and social, human, and economic capital.
The Specific Objectives are
- Lay the foundations for strengthening of community level governance.
- Support community managed sub-projects comprising reconstruction and development that improve the access of rural communities to social and productive infrastructure and services.
. 
|
Community Mobilization
The first work with the community is the mobilization process. Extensive staff field visit in each community and arrangement of community meetings is conducted throughout the community people in order to make the whole community people aware about the goals, objectives of NSP and participation in the CDC election process irrespective of men and women. Apart from the community, meetings with the Government officials, commanders, community leaders, Imams , members of the Loya Jirga, and village leaders for ensuring their participations.
Survey
A survey is conducted in each community to enlist the family number, population, voter number, and identification of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP), refugees including their socio-economic and demographic background. Data is collected in a prescribed format and then compiled.
Cluster Formation
Clusters are formed during survey for each community based on the geographical location of households and number of families and it is formed between 5-15 according to the guideline in the NSP Operation Manual.
Process of Election and CDC Formation
Many people remain unacquainted with the voting processes, leading them to shy away from full citizen participation in governmental elections. As a result, BRAC has worked to develop familiarity among local populations with the election processes and to convince rural administrators that their power will not be threatened by transparent election procedures. On the Election Day two ballot boxes were kept for each cluster, one for males and another for females inside the centre for maintaining privacy and pardhya. BRAC Afghanistan disseminated the date, time and place where the election was being held. Provincial and district level government personnel to observe CDC election in order to foster greater cooperation and understanding.On the day of CDC election, BRAC brought voter lists, ballot papers, ballot boxes with lock and keys, formats for result sheet to the central community gathering place. Social Organisers divided voters into clusters. Volunteers kept notes with tick marks on the voter list after confirming the votes besides their names. After completion of casting votes, BRAC, Oversight Consultant, and RRD personnel opened the ballot boxes in front of the villagers for counting and completed the result sheets with confirming signatures of elected persons,. The Executive Committee of the CDC was formed from the election and declared in public. Each CDC consists of 5-15 elected representatives from the community structuring Chair, Vice-chair, Secretary, Treasurer and Members. After election CDC is registered with the Provincial RRD and immediately opens a Bank Account for receiving Block Grant money for implementing sub-project.
|
Khulure Payen micro hidro power project Khuram wa Sarbagh
|
Community Development Plan and Sub-project Preparation
The communities are assisted in identifying their immediate needs and actions required to meet the needs through Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) methods. Communities prepare their Development Plan by themselves prioritizing their need which develop the capacity of the communities to take appropriate action for their own development. First approach to a community development plan is to set-up priorities of the projects selected by the community and as soon as the priorities have been set-up the process of sub-project preparation is started. A detailed engineering survey is followed by a preliminary sketch survey by the social organizer. After survey required engineering drawing? Design and cost estimation are done maintaining standard construction code and norms especially following the technical manual of the Oversight Consultant.
Community Sub-project Submission, Approval and Implementation
After preparation and through cross-checking, the sub-project is submitted to the provincial oversight consultant office for approval. Oversight Consultant verifies/checks and send it to the central ( Kabul ) Oversight Consultant office for allocation of Block Grant money against each sub-project.Money is received by the concerned CDC members by installment wise and starts the work immediately after receiving money. A completion certificate is issued to the CDC by OC/RRD after appropriate completion of the sub-project.
Capacity Building
The capacity building is an integral part of NSP and it is two of way-folds, one for the staff and the other one for CDCs. BRAC has identified a series of training for its staff, CDC members and communities. In addition to training, workshops, forums and exchange visits will also be organized for the CDCs as a part of capacity building.A core team of NSP is working for preparing training modules, materials and managing the implementation of the required training courses, as planned. BRAC-NSP seeks required support from BRAC Training and Resources Centre (BTRC) in terms of training conduction, training material and hiring selective resource person as required. In addition, BRAC Staff receive required training from the Oversight Consultant.The communities have chosen a varieties of projects which includes: hand pump, Culvert & bridge, road, pipe water supply, diesel generator for electricity, water intake,; dam and protection wall construction, aqueduct, micro-hydro power, school and public bath. A good number of vulnerable women and disabled persons have been supported with income generating activities like carpet weaving, tailoring and sheep rearing under productive asset transfer programme.
|
Sheep Rearing Project
NSP has changed the livelihood of this village. 48 women have got job those had not anything to do earlier. Now these families are self-dependent. The children of these families are going to school. People are keeping themselves clean and well dressed. Women also now aware, and empowered. They can take decision themselves. NSP has scored success against the poverty here.
|
| 
Road-Wakil sadi |
NSP Brings Significant Changes in People Life
Water is sometimes called life. But in Afghanistan water scarcity is the main barrier for well-being livelihood. People of some CDC areas are suffering a lot from scarcity of water. The people were collected water from far distance or drank dirty water. They did not seem that a day might come with some miracles when they will get relief and save their life. This story is of the village of Tagchi , under Dara-I-Suf district in Samangan province. People of this village were not aware about the activities of NSP. Diseases regarding water were their normal phenomenon. |
|
When the NSP team went to the village, the villagers are became surprised, they thought eoh yes, some helping hand can safe our life, no need to go beyond the trust of Almighty Allah', they have realized. People have understood the objectives of NSP, agreed with them and commonly decided to implement the project of deep water well. All technical supports were given by the NSP, but the project was implemented by the community (CDC). They prepare Deep well along with two reservoirs. The villagers now have access to drinking water.
At the end of the project we went to evaluate the project, we talked to some people, one of them Abdullah the son of Md. Nazir was sharing his exiting feelings with us. gNow our children are safe, we are safeh he was telling. Furthermore his shared on pathetic accident about his beloved children. Once in 2005, his 3 children were attacked by diarrhea, due to drinking of contaminated water, there was no any safe water at that village at that time. The children were suffered a lot, finally one of his son died. When he was sharing this fact in front of us he was crying. Again he said, gOkay, now we have available safe water in our village. NSP gave us this scope to have this gift, and we are safe now Insha-Allahh.
From the other activities of NSP the women of this village received orientation training on NSP Orientation, Leadership Development, Gender Awareness, Enterprise Development and Accounts and Procurement Policy. All the community people were involved with this process. By this way they became empowered. Also, both sexes are gender unbiased and they belief that men and women can bring development by working together. This conceptual knowledge has changed their attitudinal behaviors, which will bring development in all aspects no doubt.
National Solidarity Programme : At a Glance as of December, 2009
| Province Covered |
6 |
| District Covered |
38 |
| Population Covered in million |
|
| No. of Provincial Office |
|
| No. of District office |
|
| Community Development Projects Plan Prepared |
2,327 |
| Sub Project being implemented |
|
| Sub project Completed |
|
|
|