PML-N govt committed to bring

SUKKUR: Minister of State and Chairperson Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) Marvi Memon has said Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif was committed to bringing a positive change in the living standard of women, especially rural women and allocation of Rs102 billion for five million families registered under the BISP was meant to achieve this objective.
She was addressing an event organised by the Sindh Rural Support Organization (SRSO) at its complex here on Saturday. Marvi Memon expressed her gratitude to the beneficiaries of BISP/SRSO who had travelled far and wide to greet the chairperson of the programme.
She said that she is happy to be there with the rural women of Shikarpur, Jacobabad, Kashmore-Kandhkot and other rural areas of northern Sindh and the purpose of the visit was to understand the problems of the beneficiaries in order to have a clear picture of her own responsibilities towards the poorest of the poor people.
She said the facilities, which were being extended to the BISP beneficiaries other than the quarterly financial support, would soon be reintroduced in an improved form after removing lacunae in their previous versions to ensure that these initiatives become result-oriented and start actually benefiting the women and their families.
Memon said she was taking steps at the higher level to eliminate the role of middle men or agents who try to fleece the BISP beneficiaries adding that she had also received complaints of beneficiaries regarding banks.
Marvi Memon said she chose to spend Eid-ul-Azha with rural women to express solidarity with them and to demonstrate that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government stood with them.
She appreciated the role of SRSO in the northern Sindh and appreciated the staff of SRSO as well for their efforts regarding elimination of poverty through the areas.
During the interaction with organized rural women and beneficiaries, Marvi Memon listened to their problems and directed the BSISP officials to resolve them.
She reiterated her stance against such elements and said that for achieving PM’s vision of women empowerment, these people will be defeated at all costs. The chairperson BISP also paid a visit to different portions of the SRSO complex including a show room of exquisite handicrafts made
by women of rural Sindh including home textiles, basketry, jewellery, dresses, Dupattas and shawls embellished with traditional embroidery and cut work.
Earlier, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), SRSO, Muhammad Dital Kalhoro in his welcome address said his organization is providing loans to poor women as well as rural male and female through Community Investment Fund (CIF) in which women collectively manages the fund, distributing loans for investment in income-generating activities only. This has built the confidence and capabilities of poor rural women, whose concerns are often brushed aside by male tribal elders, he added.
He said the SRSO is also helping poor rural communities through CIF and capacity building of village organizations and community organizations under the banner of Local Support Organization (LSO) at Union Councils (UCs) level.
He said the Chairman of his organization Shoaib Sultan Khan’s work is based on the belief that the poor can bring themselves out of poverty if they are organised and their capacity developed adding that his life struggle suggested that the poor were the best judge of what was good for them.
Director BISP Sindh Zulfiqar Abro, Jamal Shoro, representatives of different banks, journalists and hundreds of women were present on the occasion,