BARAKA PROJECT
(Baraka, also barakah, in Arabic Islam and Arabic-influenced languages such as , Urdu, Persian, Turkish,
a blessing from God)
Overall goal of the project is poverty alleviation from target families through livestock.
“The NGO World” will provide domestic animals (goats, Cows, Calves) by signing an agreement with the poor beneficiary families based on specific set of term and co
nditions for different animals. After the agreed period animals will be sold and profit will be divided between the beneficiary family and organization according to the terms & conditions of agreement signed. The beneficiary family will enjoy the benefit and hopefully its status will be improved and will not be zakat deserving after this. Organization will target other poor families and use this profit to uplift them. Why Livestock:
About two third of the farming community in Pakistan consists of small farmers who are characterized by small land holdings (less than 5 hectares) and by several factors that influence their productive potential and income generating capacity [Pakistan (1998)]. Livestock farming is an integral part of rural smallholders and has a vast untapped potential for productivity increase and income generation. Livestock holdings by the small farmers constitute a significant portion of the farm incomes. Small farmers and landless livestock producers derive around 10–25 percent of their incomes from this sub‐sector. There have been and, largely, still are two primary purposes of raising livestock:
• To meet the dietary needs of the rural and urban populace for milk and meat consumption; and
• To fulfill the work performance requirements of the farm.
• To generate hard cash and accomplish their immediate needs.
“The NGO World Foundation “has observed since the poverty alleviation efforts made by different organizations not showed any noticeable impact. In spite of all their sincere endeavors, theirs poverty alleviation tools and mechanism could not address poverty and inflation as such. However, Islamic banking and finance proved its inbuilt strength and shock bearing capacity particularly during the recent global financial crunch. In this regard CGAP’S strategic move towards Islamic Microfinance turned the attention of the serious players of the sector towards Islamic Microfinance. When we look around, we find a very innovative Islamic Microfinance organization leading the Islamic Microfinance sector with their innovative products, social performance oriented methodology and strong operational tools. The organization named Farz Foundation is The First Shariah Certified Microfinance Institute of Pakistan and S&CP registered. The NGO World, visited Farz Foundation, discussed different aspects and decided to develop a partnership with Farz Foundation to hit the curse of poverty jointly. The NGO World has signed an MOU with Farz Foundation and started building the capacity of our staff, setting the tools, developing our systems and kicking of our operations by implementing Farz Islamic Microfinance Methodology through livestock. Target Beneficiaries:
Our main focus will be on:
• Widows;
• Marginalized, landless or with small landholding poor families;
• Zakat deserving families;
• Unemployed youth. Target Area Profile:
The project is being executed in different villages of Tehsil Kabir wala district Khanewal. This district is in center of Punjab province and suitable for livestock farming. They love to be involved with this noble profession. Climatic conditions of this reign are very much favorable for livestock. Overall economic conditions of the majority are week and poverty situation is worse than other districts of province. Poor farmers are illiterate but they feel pride on having livestock as their asset. This area is easily accessible for big breeders of the province. Social support to the target families:
Additional support activities will also be part of the project for social development of target families like;
1. Educational support to the schools going children of the target families
2. Initiative for improvement of family health especially children and women
3. Awareness raising interventions
4. Economic uplift initiatives
5. Social welfare
Strengths of the model:
• It is self sustainable
• It develops a chain of beneficiaries
• It is conventional and well documented
• Matches with the nature, values and civilization of the rural communities of Pakistan.
• Community adopt it as a noble profession
• Favorable climate and soil conditions
• Easy access to markets
• It is also traditional and acceptable at global level
• The growth and the profitability is remarkable
Partnership with Farz Foundation:
Shriah certified Islamic Micro Finance Organization “Farz Foundation” is supporting us technically. Farz Foundation is our partner in implementation of the project according to the principals of islamic micro finance. In this regard an agreement has already been signed between The NGO World Foundation and Farz Foundation. According to the agreement “The NGO World Foundation” will provide funds with the support of Turkish philanthropist organization “Deniz Feneri”. The Farz Foundation will provide Islamic Microfinance methodology to launch the operations. Farz Foundation will also provide Islamic Microfinance Institutional Development services while ensuring the Shariah Compliance process and procedures through out the project. Coordination with relevant departments:
During the project cycle close coordination will be maintained with government livestock department and other relevant institutions & departments and organization for better delivery of services.
