KADO’s learning and action forums in full swing

PT Report

Fourth Learning and Action workshop of HiMaT Indigenous Leadership and Development Program (HiMaT-ILDP), a project of the Karakoram Area Development Organization (KADO), was conducted in Hussaini Gojal in the first week of November. The session was attended by around 100 participants including men, women and youth from Chipurson to Shishkat and Shimshal.

The session was a continuation of the quarterly Learning and Action Circles series under the HiMaT project, aimed at training the participants in development of business plan. Case studies relating to small scale enterprises were presented to ignite and encourage people towards entrepreneurship.

The curriculum for the session has been developed by Dr. Michael Bopp and Dr. Judie Bopp two development specialists from Canada who have served in number of rural communities around the world for the last two decades. Michael and Judie are part of the HiMaT project team and they facilitated the session with the local team from KADO.

The four-days session was applauded by the community and civil society representatives, who termed it a positive move towards self reliance through diverting the attention of the communities towards utilize the local resources for livelihood.

At the end of the session prayer offered for the departed soul of Rai Ghulam ud Din (late).

Before the session in Hussaini, a day-long session was also held in Sost attended by representatives of the Village and women Organizations V/WOs and other Community based organizations from Gojal Area Rural Support Organization GRSO. The session was aimed at enabling the local organizations to make the development plan for the area taking into account the local communities. The development planning process has almost been completed in Chipurson area which is now to be replicated in other Local Support Organizations, LSOs.

The HiMaT team also visited Shimshal valley to meet the community and invite them to join the learning and action forum and other activities of the project.

The team also met the representatives of the LSOs and V/WOs of central and lower Hunza at Karimabad where they agreed to sign an MoU to formally start the leaning and action forum in central and lower parts of Hunza as well.