Reflecting on Community Participation for Institutional Success

It is propitious that the Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) government's responsible figures are visiting various areas to monitor institutional progress.

They have met communities, seeking their feedback to monitor governance, and management. They had tried to gather insights for future improvements in different sectors. 

I would like to share my reflections, in connection to my experiences, and offer suggestions for better institutional approach in future.

This approach should prioritize socio-political and socio-economic development through active community involvement for success.

Besides, my personal and professional life, I have been enthusiastic about the power of community participation.

My involvement in social activities began in childhood, and I remained an active member of the village-based Boy Scouts Group from 1983 to 1991. 

Later, I worked in diversified village-based organizations, local, regional, and national level voluntary institutions in various positions. This experience educated me the importance of community service, rituals, social and religious congregations, development work, and the challenges that involve in community participation. As I pursued my academic and professional journey, I continued to engage in community service through various volunteering roles, including the Ismaili Council and other honorary set-up closely working with AKRSP and other AKDN institutions.

Although, there were many success stories from working in Village/Women Organizations (VO/WO's), which were formed by rural communities with the help of Aga Khan Rural Support Program (AKRSP). 

I have seen and experienced that how villagers showcased their success stories in micro-credit, savings and institutional development presenting them to various national and international visitors including Chief Executive General Musharraf during his visit to Sost on March 1st, 2000 and  then to the former Governor of State Bank of Pakistan ; Mr. Ishrat Hussain who visited Ghulkin Gojal in Year 2001.

Gen.(R) Pervez Musharaf while visiting Sost in March 2000

The dignitaries were impressed by the community model savings, internal banking (micro credit model) and network of village based institutions announcing the establishment of "Khushali Bank" and "The First Micro Finance Bank" respectively.

Today, both banks are operating in Pakistan in urban and rural areas regulated by the State Bank of Pakistan with some modifications to the community internal banking model.

In the mean time, other key projects were many to name a few, for instance, fruit orchards, link roads, irrigation channels including the Sost Irrigation Tunnel, a unique project and another success story of community participation where the community has established a lush green village through this tunnel. 

Likewise there are many success stories in community initiated wildlife conservancy initiatives in villages, for example, Khunjerab Village Organizations (KVO), Khyber, Ghulkin and many more rural communities have also been successful with trophy hunting initiatives replicated across the country as best practices.

Furthermore, many model schools were established and are successfully run by the community which have improved the quality of education, earning a reputation for producing high-caliber professionals contributing to various fields at the national and international levels.

Furthermore, I was fortunate to work with the Institute of Rural Management - National Rural Support Program (NRSP-IRM), which broadened my experience and understanding, allowing me to visit diverse community-based organizations throughout the country, including AJK. I met with urban and rural communities to observe their participation in rural development, teacher trainings, micro-credit, Natural Resources Management (NRM), and social forestry under the dynamic leadership of Mr. Shoaib Sultan Khan, the Guru of Social Development.

Shoaib Sultan Khan in Shimshal in 2018

In addition, I recall a remarkable experience as a field-based teacher training Master Trainer (MT) in department of Education the then "Northern Areas", where I had the opportunity to work with some of my former school teachers, who had taught me from grade six to grade tenth. 

Along with them, some young novice  teachers, became my mentors and I served as their mentor later. This assignment was challenging as I had to work with senior educators who had a wealth of experience and knowledge.

Even though their social works and contributions were impressive as they had dedicated significant time and efforts to their craft. However, I was able to lead them effectively by drawing on lessons I had learned from my community work experience.

I have always emphasized the Importance of inclusiveness and mutual respect which helps to foster a positive and productive mentor- mentee relationship. 

As a result of this experience I learned that leading by example while being open to learn from others and showing genuine respect can help bridge gaps and build strong partnerships even with those who have more experience and knowledge.

Moreover in 2002-2003 from the Directorate of education Northern Areas Gilgit I was part of the Whole School Improvement Program (WSIP) and served as a Master Trainer (MT) at AKU-PDCN. 

This program aimed to strengthen government schools by implementing six focused areas including community participation. Besides, this experience, I had the opportunity to work with four schools ; Government, Community based English Medium Schools and Diamond Jubilee (D.J.) Schools (AKES,P) in Gojal- Hunza. 

This program allowed me to closely work with communities, parents, School Management Committees (SMCs), and Village Education Committees (VECs) and it helped me understand their role in improving student and school relationships as well as curricular and co-curricular activities.

After all, It was blessing to access the literature while I got admission at AKU-IED in two years Master in Education (M.Ed) program from 2004-2006.  

I conducted my Masters (MEd) research dissertation in community participation titled " Role of school management committee in strengthening relationships between the school and local community in a community based school in Pakistan". 

It provided me a unique opportunity to transform theories into practice.

Furthermore, In summer break in 2006, I applied for Summer Camp on Islam offered by the Institute of  Ismaili Studies London and luckily met the criteria and got selected. Indeed It was a privilege to visit McGill University in Montreal, Canada, for a ten-day "Summer Camp on Islam" where I observed the community's voluntary services facilitating  the participants without any personal gain or fame.

Consequently, in continuation of my professional service, return back to the Department I served as a Professional Development Teacher (PDT- Mentor) in collaboration with The Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development-Professional Development Center North (AKU-IED-PDCN).

I had honoured to lead the UNICEF "Child-Friendly Schools (CFS)" project as a Coordinator at PDCN run in the ambit of the Directorate of Education Gilgit-Baltistan and UNICEF, it further deepened my understanding of community participation in school improvement. 

I got exposure to work closely with community leaders, School Management Committees (SMCs), and Mother Support Groups (MSGs) to foster positive relationships between schools and communities.

Conversely, I experienced to work as Principal and Vice Principal with different government secondary and higher secondary schools through my long journey in education, I realized that community involvement brings positive change and improvement in teaching and learning.

In brief success and failure both offer opportunities for learning and growth with patience. 

I have identified essential qualities for institutional success including: vision and mission with clear goals, rule of law, (the implementation of Bye-laws and Terms of References-TORs) with honesty and devotion. 

In addition to this, good governance, 

hard work, time management, commitment and patience leads to success. 

Furthermore project interventions with proper planning, monitoring, gender balance, financial discipline and transparency needs to be incorporated.

Likewise positive community relations with mutual respect, Human Resource Development (HRD) team work, strong networking & linkages, gender sensitivity, accountability and sustainability are the key components for  successful Institutional growth.

Based on the above mentioned points and my diverse experiences, from grassroot level community involvement to international exposure, I have formulated a definition of community participation as under: "Community participation and involvement begins at the grassroots level, where individuals come together to form strong, supportive networks, 

just like a plant requires soil, water, air, and light to grow, community participation necessitates nourishment and patience with mutual respect to flourish and become a powerful force for change."

In conclusion community participation are vital for both NGOs and government institutions to implement programs or projects and initiatives effectively by prioritizing community engagement and community leadership role to assure the smooth functioning of their operations and ultimately achieve success.