About BRSP

A brief history

In 1983, a project “Pak-German self help initiative” was initiated with a joint collaboration of Government of Germany and Pakistan. The project was implemented by the Local Government Department of Balochistan with the financial assistance of GTZ (German Agency for Technical Co-operation) advisory group. The initiative primarily aimed at developing the socio economic condition of poor rural areas of Balochistan. Later in 1991, it was transformed into a company limited by guarantee named as “Balochistan Rural Support Programme” under the new organizational and administrative structures. In 1991, BRSP was registered under the Companies Ordinance as a non-profit organization dedicated to rural development in the province.

Mission

BRSP aims to reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of the rural poor by harnessing the potential of people to manage their own development, through their own institutions;

Objectives

• To improve the living condition and quality of life of the disadvantaged rural population through social mobilization and grassroots institutional development;
• To nurture and foster human resources at community level and enable them to plan, implement and manage development initiatives for sustainable development;
• To organize and improve services in sectors i.e. health, education, rural enterprise, physical infrastructure, agriculture, livestock, water & sanitation and women empowerment in rural areas;

Thrusts and thematic areas

• Community Mobilization and Capacity Building of Community Institutions to Undertake Pro-Poor Sustainable Development;
• Development and rehabilitation of water supply schemes and construction and provision of sanitation services;
• Provision of education services;
• Improved Natural Resource Management (NRM)
• Enterprise development (small and medium level enterprise development for Improved Livelihoods;
• Employment Opportunities and Incomes for Men and Women; off and on farm employment/income generation;
• Development and Rehabilitation of Rural and Community Physical Infrastructure;
• Promotion of basic health services with special focus on reproductive health;
• Gender mainstreaming at policies' and programs level;
• Promotion of rights based interventions;
• Child Protection & Empowerment of Adolescents;
• Promotion of peace and interfaith harmony;
• Youth development and empowerment;

Program philosophy

BRSP believes that poor people have a great deal of potential and willingness to work for their own development. BRSP's primary role in poverty alleviation and community development is to encourage self-help and, in the long term, guide the Community Organizations into becoming mature and self-reliant institutions. This is the route to community empowerment, which must arise organically from the COs themselves. BRSP’s programme is holistic: multi-sectoral interventions achieve synergies which in return ensure sustainable outcomes. BRSP acknowledges that unless the concept of 'gender' is understood and mainstreamed into every aspect of the organisation and the programme, the kind of development, poverty alleviation and community empowerment that it wishes to attain will not be possible. This must be done in culturally appropriate ways: the skill lies in finding the ways to do this while upholding the principle of equality.