Innovative Capacity Building/ Training Programs

These initiatives were undertaken to enhance the skills of the poor through needs based training to achieve self sufficiency using their existing resources. It also helped people in generating incomes and gaining self employment. These programs included:

Micro-Enterprise Development (MED) Training:

  • 9 Programs of MED Training for  Technical skill up gradation of women,
  • 6 Programs of Non-formal Education and Technical Skills Training for child labor children,
  • Initiation of a micro credit line (Pakeen Bank).
The locations of these programs included:
  • Shah Nawaz Bhutto Colony
  • North Karachi, Sector 5B- 3
  • Muhajir Camp Sector 9
  • Sher Pao Basti
  • Sachal Goth
  • Malir
  • Seminar on Child Labor/ Children in Street Trade
A.COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION PROGRAMS:
Most of these programs were undertaken in collaboration with the Aga Khan Women Activities Committee and the Water, Environment and Sanitation (WESS) to develop personal, social and community development skills of Community Based Organizations. The concept was to enable these organizations to design programs with a modular participatory approach that could in turn enable communities to take action for their social and economic benefit. Eight Motivation and Community Mobilization Trainings entitled Working Together for Community Development were undertaken in four areas of Karachi and one area of Baluchistan, namely, Metroville, Evershine Colony, Sultanabad, Neelam Colony and Awaran.

B.ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS (EDP):

Seventy Four self-employment and entrepreneurship development workshops and courses for women were conducted to identify and tap potential rural/ urban men and women to augment their entrepreneurial, managerial and technical skills for initiating sustainable and growth oriented enterprises, thus generating employment for others. Many of the participants are now owners of small businesses in the garment and handicrafts subsector, while others are in the service industry and own small businesses such as beauty parlors, bakeries and computer training institutes. Over 2000 women entrepreneurs were trained, and 180 trainers developed who are working with banks and other organizations in micro-enterprise development efforts. These trainings included:

  • 27 Urban and 8 Rural Small Enterprise Initiation and Management Trainings,
  • 27 Performance Improvement Trainings for Existing Entrepreneurs,
  • 12 entrepreneur meetings and national and local exhibitions of products made by women entrepreneurs.
C.TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AND SKILL UP-GRADATION PROGRAMS:

ECDI identified and selected feasible micro technologies for skill development and up-gradation in order to generate new employment opportunities, and arranged Training of Trainers in various technical skills. Furthermore, ECDI also successfully imported a technical skill transfer program from Bangladesh in vegetable dying and handmade paper making. Many national and international experts who were trainers/ entrepreneurs in micro technologies were identified to help further this initiative. This included 20 Micro Technology Transfer Trainings, Trainer of Trainings, and a Product Design Development Workshops in Karachi, rural parts of Sindh, and Punjab.

D.ASSESSMENT & IMPROVEMENT (DEMAND & SUPPLY)

Throughout the years ECDI has conducted marketing research to provide BDS suppliers with market information and training and used the research to identify opportunities to serve SMEs and develop and sell appropriate products to other suppliers. The researches have helped to pinpoint MSE problems, and  facilitated linkages to financial institutions, to acquire loans and to technical experts for gaining technical and marketing skills and access markets. The Market Assessments / Program Design conducted by ECDI in the past have included:

  • Market Assessment of BDS market in Pakistan,
  • Feasibility of a marketing initiative for women entrepreneurs in multiple sub-sectors across Pakistan,
  • In-depth research on the Garment Industry in Pakistan,
  • Embroidered garment sub-sector development project entitled “Access to Contemporary Markets for Homebound Women Embroiderers in Pakistan”.
  • 7 sessions on Assessing the BDS needs of Micro Entrepreneurs
  • 5 Focus Group Discussions with BDS Providers
  • 3 Marketing Workshops for BDS Providers
  These trainings and workshops covered Karachi, Quetta, Multan, Thatta, Sukkur, Lahore, and Islamabad.

E.MANAGEMENT AND CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT ECDI has rendered continuous pro bono consulting support and advisory services to the Women Technical Training Centre being run in Buffer Zone, Karachi, under the Directorate of Manpower & Training, Labour Department Sindh, for the past fifteen years.

F.GENDER SENSITIZATION PROGRAMS:

Since 1994, ECDI has been offering gender sensitization/advocacy programs and more vigorously so in the post- Beijing process. Numerous workshops/ seminars for government officials, NGOs, CBOs and police officers were conducted for generating awareness and promoting the rights of women in the light of NPS and Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). In this regard, Gender sensitization Workshops undertaken by ECDI in all 20 districts of Karachi, included:

  • 14 Gender Sensitization Workshops for Divisional and District Core Groups (NGOs and Govt. functionaries),
  • 5 Gender Sensitization  Workshops for Sindh Police Official, and
  • 5 Seminars / Focus Group Meetings on various themes related to women in Beijing Plus (12 areas of concern).
AT THE ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL, GENDER HAS BEEN MAINSTREAMED IN ALL AREAS OF ECDI’S WORK – BOTH IN ITS PROJECTS AND PROGRAMMES.