"...Children educated in NRSP supported schools outperform their government school counterparts by some 20-30 percentage points in school leaving exams." Final Evaluation of Project 200 (conducted in 2003)

Where COs members identify primary education as a need which they are committed to addressing, NRSP works with the CO to establish a Community Model School. Community based schools occupy a particular niche in the education sector in Pakistan. In many rural and a few peri-urban communities, these schools offer the only primary education available to children. In other communities, they provide an alternative to Government schools, some of which - not all - are not functioning properly to educate young minds. In yet other situations, community-based schools offer affordable education to children of poor families who cannot afford the fees of private schools. It is part of the mandate of NRSP Community schools that fees are subsidized for children whose parents are too poor to pay them.

"Quality Education for All" Project in Rahim Yar Khan, Punjab

NRSP has established a pilot project with the local Government of District Rahim Yar Khan. The purpose is to improve the quality of education in primary schools over the next 5 years. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed on July 8, 2002. The QEFA Project's operational objectives are:
 

The Tawana Pakistan School Nutrition Project is aimed two groups: 5 -12 year old girls enrolled in Government primary schools, and girls in the same age group who are out of school. The latter will be encouraged to enrol in school, so they can take part in the Project. All together, the Project will attempt to reach 530,000 girls in 29 Districts: 200,000 in Punjab; 100,000 each in Sindh, Baluchistan and NWFP; 20,000 in the Northern Areas and 10,000 in AJK.

NRSP is the implementing partner for the Tawana Project in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. To date, 91 schoolteachers and 97 Community Organisation members in the Rawalakot region have received basic information about the Project and their roles in making it successful. 78 School Tawana Committees have been formed and have opened bank accounts for the transfer of funds. Funds amounting to Rs 3,089,238 have been transferred to 57 of the Committees. The feeding Programme was started on 19th March 2004 in 15 schools.

NRSP's Adult Literacy Training Programme 

NRSP recognises the importance of literacy in every sphere of life. CO members who cannot read and write and perform simple calculations cannot function as effectively as necessary in their COs. NRSP has established 24 Adult Literacy Centres, 6 in Turbat (144 participants), 13 in Badin/Thatta (82 men and 71 women) and 6 in Rawalpindi Region (112 women). Altogether, 380 people have achieved functional literacy through these programmes. The main objective was to empower the CO members with reading and writing skills: i.e. to read and write their own name and the names of their CO, Village, Union Council and District. Participants also learn how to read and write the names of the items for which they take credit (for example a shop or a buffalo, or agri-inputs) and to recognize relevant NRSP documents such as Resolutions, the Terms of Partnership, attendance and savings registers and savings and credit pass books. Basic numeracy is also taught. Participants learn to read and write numbers and do simple calculations. They also learn how to read and understand their repayment schedule. The teacher administers a test on the last day of the programme, with a Government teacher serving as an external auditor.

Health Initiatives

Poverty, illiteracy, lack of health care facilities, poor or non-existent transportation and communication facilities, social constraints on women's mobility - all of these factors contribute to the need for health care services to be made available to the rural poor, especially those in remote areas. NRSP works to respond to the health needs identified by CO members in a number of ways. In most cases, the COs are linked with a Government Line Department or an international agency such as UNICEF or UNDP. In a few cases, they are linked with a private sector institution.

NRSP & the Ministry of Population Welfare: Meeting the Need for Reproductive Health Information and Care

Since mid-2003, NRSP and the Ministry of Population Welfare have been working together to organize family planning health camps in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT). The motive for instituting these Camps is to explore the under-utilised potential of the Family Planning infrastructure, both human and physical. It is particularly necessary to provide reproductive health information and care to women in remote villages where no facilities exist. The joint operation between NRSP and the Ministry of Population Welfare will build on (i) the medical and technical skills of the Ministry and (ii) the trust and rapport between NRSP staff, Community Organisations and village residents, to fill a much-needed gap.

(1) to provide rural women with Family Planning methods and medicines (2) to provide accurate information about the use of contraceptives and (3) to minimise the health risks associated with frequent pregnancies. Medicines are provided to those patients requiring them. Those who attend the camps pay a nominal fee for IUCDs (Rs 3), injections (Rs 3), condoms (Rs 6 per dozen) and oral pills (Rs 3 per one-cycle pack). Women interested in contraceptive surgery are referred to Family Planning Centres or to Government hospitals for guidance and the surgery.