Why It Works - The Logic Behind PPK

The Logic Behind PPK

Why It Works…

The idea of creating sustained development in the poor and disenfranchised that can eventually be self-managed by the very people that are the focus of such development is something that has been attempted by many governmental and non-governmental organizations in the past.  CSG is one of the few NGOs that can actually claim to have accomplished this feat repeatedly, as evidenced by both the PPIs and PPKs.  The reasons for this success are multifold.  CSG rarely focused on single cause, but rather on the holistic development of its constituents that encompassed the social, economic and political spectrums, with an overarching emphasis and priority placed on creating sustainable development.  The idea of sustainability and the eventual self-management of programs by women was a running theme in all that CSG set out to do from the very time of its inception.

Although it has taken over a decade, CSG began handing over its programs starting with the formation of the PPIs, and more recently, the PPKs.  CSG has been able to do so because of continuous and specific training spanning decades that has given its members confidence in their own abilities, and the aspiration to be in charge of their own lives.  CSG enters and works in communities for years to involve women in their own lives and their communities, and to make them aware of and ingrain in them their many rights and powers, and then slowly withdraws from these communities leaving the women that it worked with to continue the progress.

CSG has worked to educate women and children, and instill in them the practice of activism, collective bargaining, micro-finance, and much more, as well as the importance of formal education and training in order that they may be free to run their own lives.  The PPKs currently being created with help from CSG have set the stage for these women to do just that.  With years of training and practice in managing their own savings, finances and businesses, working to improve living conditions in their communities, and ensuring education for themselves and their children, the women have come to recognize the value in unifying for the sake of their communities and themselves.  They are poised to take over the full-time management of CSG programs under the newly-formed PPKs, in order to ensure that their progress and the development of future members may continue.

The three-tier structuring of the PPKs described previously ensures that the women continue to have the kind of safe environment that they had while under CSG, which allows them to share successes and resolve any problems that may occur, and work together to continue the development process.  The organization of the PPKs also ensures that members from all tiers (SHG, CLF, and PPK) are well-represented at each level, and kept apprised of all relevant information so as to avoid confusion or miscommunication. Annual third-party external audits conducted at the SHG and PPK levels guard the best interests of the women, and make certain that all finances are kept in order.  Additionally, as it did with the PPIs, CSG (or any other NGO of a PPK’s choosing) will establish and maintain a consultative relationship with each PPK so as to provide them with support and guidance, as and when requested, until such a time as when the PPKs feel they are able to manage and operate their programs independently.