Message from Executive Director

DASE envisions in its planning to serve as national level organization and in its first phase, its leadership aspired it to start comprehensive interventions in Seraiki Wasiab within the span of one year to serve as its developmental role model to be replicated elsewhere.

Seraiki Wasiab means Southern Punjab. The area consists of 15 districts and 57 Tehsils. It begins from District Mianwali and bordering to Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa (KPK) in the North casts deep influence on its Southern neighbor the upper of Sindh Province. In the East, it has long belt border with India and in the West it shares its diverse cultural and ethnical bonds with Balochistan Province.

It has a population of more than 31 Millions but all regions falls in bottom-line of poverty and average per capita income of this population is less than one American dollar. This vicious poverty gives this population all miseries which are basic element of deprived communities e.g. health & education, feudalism, unemployment/under employment, gender discrimination, religious extremism, lawlessness and human trafficking etc.

Social sector technocrats see this area as a main challenge for social development that has only one solution. New local leadership, unfortunately, the current political and social leadership is not only corrupt but also have their interests to not develop these communities and areas. Therefore, there is corrupt political authorities and corrupt civil society for local development. Another issue is administration. Although administration has comparatively good discipline in respect of political bodies but these administrators are usually belongs from other areas of the country and they do not have keen interest for development. If they try for betterment, they have pressure from local political bodies. At the end the Pandora box of genies is the fate of local communities.

The only options remain by social bodies. These NGOs are doing a lot but the issue is that they are not local organizations. They belong from metropolitan cities of the country and they are doing work just by their branch offices. Therefore, what they feel for these people cannot be equal to the feelings of a local person.

Imported social leadership, administration and fuddle set mind makes the situation just a fix. So, the actual and realistic need is local leadership from local and middleclass community for some solid bases development and DFP is convinced to play its role and make some institute to develop, capacitate and promote local NGOs/NPOs from all areas of Seraiki Wasiab for development/promotion of local area based social leadership.

Zeshan Shahzad

Executive Director