PESHAWAR: Speakers at a cash card distribution ceremony appreciated the FATA Recovery Programme (FRP) launched by United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in collaboration with World Food Program (WFP) and FATA Secretariat in the tribal region.
Implementing the FATA Sustainable Return and Rehabilitation Strategy, the FATA Secretariat supported by UNDP and WFP implementing a community based livelihood recovery project in tehsil Bara, Khyber Agency aimed at focusing on livelihood rehabilitation and enhancing resilience among returned Tribal Displaced Persons (TDPs) of the agency.
The speakers of the event were Switzay James, Chief Technical Specialist, UNDP, Fida Wazir, Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) FATA Secretariat, Mir Raza Asghar, Additional Political Agent (APA) Khyber Agency, Masood Malik and other officials and representatives of Sarhad Rural Support Program (SRSP) addressed the gathering.
Fida Wazir, the ACS said that the project was a very good initiative taken by the partners, UNDP, WFP and SRSP to create short term employment opportunities for the people returning to their homes located in tribal areas.
Emphasizing the importance of early recovery project, he said that it would benefit the local communities at the grass root level particularly the women and youth of FATA.
“We want to do something to recover the affected areas of Bara, Khyber Agency damaged during operation against militants”, he said and maintained that South Waziristan Agency (SWA) and Thall were more affected while rehabilitation process had been started therein.
He said that Frontier Regions (FRs) had been neglected in the past but now they did not want conflict in the areas. He further said that FATA was a peaceful area but due to some difficulties the areas had been faced various miseries for the past 30 years.
Switzay James, Chief Technical Specialist, UNDP said that the UNDP with WFP assisted 3000 households with cash for work recovery interventions and provided material and tools to the community members engaged in cash work activities. He said that they provided skill and training assistance in different field of life and after completion of the initial process they also provided funds to the engaged persons for business development.
However, he said clearly to make the process transparent they hand over the responsibility to United Bank Limited (UBL). He added that under the cast for work programme, community members of Bara had been engaged in rehabilitation of structure and non-structure activities and had completed 263 km long irrigation channels and 104 km links roads in the area.
Since February 2016, WFP Cash assistance modality of Food for Asset (FFA) programme has significantly contributed towards the uplift of community members returned to Bara.
Meanwhile the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) provided high-yielding certified seeds to the farmers within the same villages where WFP rehabilitated irrigation channels to improve the food security of the newly return Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) communities.
WFP cash for training programme in tehsil Bara, Khyber Agency aims to help participants learn useful skills that will help them make a living and improve food security and disaster resilience.
At the conclusion of the event cash cards were distributed among Sharief Khan, Said Malik, Muhammad Razak, Alif Khan Afridi, Muhammad Rashad, Muhammad Younas, Taj Gul, Sabir and Noor Sameen.