Transition of the Village Project
Saturday, October 8, 2016
Since the beginning of the project 25 years ago when Dr Senta Siller and Dr Norbert Pintsch set their feet here, the Dolls Village (Thatta Ghulamka Dheroka) is changing at a very fast pace. Those who are familiar with the project know how the village has transformed in the past quarter century and how it stands out not only in Pakistan but also at international level.
Now the transition has gone to the wonderful new level.
Soon after his arrival in Pakistan this time, Prof Dr Norbert Pintsch met with Mr Shahbaz Sharif, CM Punjab on on 30 October 2016. On the interest and instructions of CM Punjab, Okara district is taking a fresh look at the Project. Many of the senior district administrators have visited the Village and want to contribute to the uplift of the Village.
First meeting in this connection was held (on 3 October 2016) with Secretary Energy Punjab where solarization of the Village was discussed. It was agreed that work on provision of Solar Power at the household level will start soon. (Friends of the Dolls remember that Thatta Ghulamka Dheroka is already one of the first Punjab village where solar power was installed in Women Art Center building.)
On 4 October 2016, office bearers of Village NGO AFA along with Dr Norbert Pintsch and Mr Aamir Rafiq met with DCO Okara. The DCO was also forthcoming and plans to uplift the village Schools (there are two primary Schools in the village), provision of furniture for students, conversion of Village Pond into a Children Playing Park, disposal of gray water and appointment of Lady Health Worker in the village were discussed.
Next day, Dr Norbert had a meeting with Punjab Small Industries Department who promised to declare Thatta Ghulamka Dheroka as Model Artisan Village of Punjab and promised to promote the Dolls Making Skills at National and International levels. He also said that Thatta Kedona products will be displayed in Small Industries outlets through out the country.
On academic front, Prof Dr Norbert Pintsch delivered a lecture at the Institute of Social and Cultural Studies, University of the Punjab on 6 October 2016 on the topic of “City-Village-Development, between holistic models for rural areas, of the prevailing general situation, to the closed system”.
Dr Norbert Pintsch is working fast on the transition of the all NGO to the local office bearers. Hope is that locals will be able to take on the NGO work to next level without any dependence soon.
Labels: AFA, CM Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, Dr Senta Siller, Networking, Prof Dr Norbert Pintsch, Punjab, Thatta Kedona
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 9:13 AM,
0 Comments:
Post a Comment