Social Mobilization
To undertake development at any level, the importance of a delivery mechanism
that fulfils the development objectives cannot be overlooked. The presence
of a receiving mechanism at the grassroots level is necessary. But more important
than acting as a receiving mechanism, is the organized fold of the poor. This
acts as a vehicle to increase the general capacity of the poor for self improvement.
Thus the full participation at the grassroots level is only possible if the
rural poor are organized.
To achieve this objective, homogeneity of the organization is essential. The
landowners and the landless, the agriculture farm labour and the workers in
the non-farm sector, the tenants and the share-croppers, the women as a special
deprived group, may have to be organized as separate interest groups, to identify
their needs and to meet their requirements.
The organizations of the poor, especially the community organizations, are
meant to be selfsustaining development institutions that can enter into a
partnership for development with government and private agencies. In order
to achieve this status, the organization must be viewed by all parties, especially
the poor, as legitimate and credible. The organization will be not be legitimate
if it does not compromise with existing social and political vested interests.
And it will be credible if it continues to confer benefits to its members.
To ensure that the organization remains a broad-based institution with a potential
for self-
reliance, SRSO has emphasized that two fundamental rules have to be observed
at all times.
Firstly, the organization has to meet as a general body on a regular basis.
This requirement is necessary, so that all members review the needs and performance
of their organization
regularly. Because the responsibility for the comprehensive development of
a village cannot be undertaken by individuals and committees, all members
(stake holders) must participate in the development process in their village,
in order to benefit from it. The second fundamental rule to be followed is
that all members must make savings deposits at their regular meetings. The
accumulation of this equity capital is of paramount importance to the viability
of the organization.
To be viable, all community organizations formed by SRSO meet as a general
body regularly twice a month and do not leave the affairs of the organization
to be managed by a few members. The community organizations elect a president
and a manager, as its office bearers, but it does not elect a committee to
manage the organization. It is through the regular fortnightly meetings of
the general body, that the participation and involvement of the members is
assured. Otherwise it helps to avoid the organization being hijacked by a
few, for their own benefit.
During the reporting period (July 2004 June 2005), Social Mobilization has
gone beyond the target by extending its operational area 123% more than the
previous years. The programme itself was extended from 7 Union Councils to
17 Union Councils.
The SRSO social mobilization teams reached 730 villages where programme introduction
was carried out by targeting 46,335 households. 1,234 community organizations
were formed, of which 69% were male and 31% female COs. These comprised of
a membership of 26,012
