Human Development Foundation

What a Village Needs From You: Q & A session

Read the following facts about Village life:
- 17 million have no Safe Water to drink!
- 370,000 children die of Malnutrition each year!
- 53% of the national population have no access to sanitation!

These are just some of the dismal facts that indicate the condition of Pakistan’s rural population, and motivate HDF supporters to rally behind our self-help initiatives. HDF supporters, people like You, can and will make a difference if they are willing to Give by Volunteering or Donating to a specific cause.

One such dedicated HDF supporter, Mubasher Rana writes to Human Development Foundation Co-Chairperson Khalid Riaz asking about Adopting a Village in Pakistan. The following is the informative Question and Answer Session that resulted.

Mubasher Rana: I have had a lot of positive feedback about all the wonderful things HDF is doing and the tremendous difference it is making in the lives of the underprivileged people of the world. One of the usual questions is about adopting a village so the donors can see tangible results and follow the lives of people they have touched. I hope you can let us know if:

Mubasher Rana Q: It is possible to "adopt a village" so the funds donated from a certain community will be earmarked to that village?

Khalid Riaz A: Yes

Q: If the above is possible, can the donor community choose a village, of-course in the area where HDF is already active or HDF will need to pick the village that best suites their current and future plans?

A: It would be preferable to adopt a village in one of current HDF sites. The community can pick the particular village of course or preferably a unit that consists of one thousand households. This will make it more cost effective for them.

Q: What will be the management structure in this arrangement and would it be possible to trace the funds that are being donated for the adopted village?

A: The project will be managed by the management team in Pakistan under supervision of the Board of Directors, which under the law has the ultimate responsibility for all the work of the organization. We will be happy to provide the donor group with regular monthly reports of all the development related activities in the unit. You are also welcome to visit the village at any time and meet the beneficiaries.

The funds can be traced all the way. Actually this is one of the accounting requirements for restricted donations under the FASB and AICPA standards, that we are required to abide by.

Q: Our concept was to adopt a village and take care of 4 things in that village .
1. Clean water (one or more wells to begin with and go from there)
2. Education (maybe start with primary school and slowly upgrade or upgrade whatever is already there)
3. Health Care (maybe establish a fully staffed clinic with essential supplies that provides basic care based on ability to pay)
4. Sanitation
How does HDF satisfy these requirements?

A: The HDF model covers all of these basic needs. However we also include a component of microenterprise development which we believe is essential for long term sustainability of the projects, and social mobilization and management training for the villagers so that we help develop a community that can take care of itself rather than depend on charity and handouts for ever.

The cost of a new project for 1,000 (approximately 8,000 population) household unit in a totally new place is approx. $80,000 to 90,000 per year. The maintenance cost for the existing units which are part of our clusters of four contiguous units is closer to $60,000 per unit. (The costs per beneficiary decrease as the number of beneficiaries in contiguous areas increases.)

If these numbers are too high your group can take responsibility for one component or a segment of the program.

Q: What we wanted to know was that in the HDF model, there must be some estimates of initial cost for establishing each of these services and then for the ongoing maintenance. What are the initial costs for these services?

A: Please see above comments. Cost of individual sectors can be provided if you need.

Q: Depending on what these costs are, we would then try to sign up the appropriate number of people from our community so that the burden on each is not too high. On the receiving end, we need to make sure that the money is not given to an individual but to the person or company providing the service. How can HDF accommodate this ?

A: We do not give any cash to any beneficiary, but only help them acquire the business through MicroCredit.

You want to learn more about Micro-Credit, HDF Model system, and Adopting a Village?

There are countless things we can do help those not equipped with the right resources, such as an education, or proper sanitation facilities and it may seem overwhelming. Don’t give up hope! Here is where HDF comes in, with our realistic projects, and community-based development goals and here is where You come in, with your willingness contribute your time, your donations, and your belief in the mission of Helping Others Help Themselves! With the both of Us working together with our beneficiaries, these villagers will have skills to empower themselves!

Date/Time Last Modified: 5/22/2003 12:54:41 PM

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