Sindh has a population of 30,439,893, of which 7,048,595 resides in districts Sanghar, Matyari, Mirpurkhas and Nawabshah (Safwco CED main area of operation). Percentage of adult men and women in the target area are 52% and 48% respectively. Major occupations in this region are farming, raising livestock, and small trade and businesses related to handicrafts, local services provision, transport facilities and ration shops. Amongst the women, raising livestock and handicrafts and small scale local service provisions like stitching and embroidery are popular. Rural poverty in Sindh is 48% and as communities the religious minorities and landless peasants are the most deprived. Gender discrimination is historical and discriminatory practices are common. In Sindh, improving gender sensitivity and balance is important to poverty alleviation. Safwco’s struggle for women empowerment is based on the realization that micro finance is a tool for economic empowerment and not economic empowerment itself. Enabling women to be gainfully employed, strengthening local markets, establishing learning centers and providing micro credit (capital) are required to lead to empowerment. These tools have and are directly contributing towards reducing poverty and supporting development of the communities towards sustainability.
One of the major reasons for poverty is lack of access to financial market and an unstable household income pattern. Presently, there are about 33 micro finance institutions operating in Sindh with a total outreach to 91,827 households. These institutions provide mainly credit up to Rs.30,000 at a time. Besides the MFIs, commercial banks and Agricultural Development Bank also provide credit with a higher ceiling and a requirement for financial collateral. The potential market for micro finance in Sindh is estimated as 6.4 m and in 2009 outreach of micro credit programs was to 405,151 borrowers. Following table depicts market outreach and potential in Safwco operation area.
|
