What We Do
Focus Group Discussion
Stigmatized Twin Children
A beneficiary of Micro Credit Program for Widows
What We Do
Multi Sector Projects Foundation is a general development Foundation established to address sustainability and livelihood issues particularly among the hard -to- reach communities where the real people are facing the real challenges. The rural hard to reach areas face more challenges than the urban centers and constitutes about 40% of the total population in most developing countries without access to good health care facilities, education, modern technology and communication including the internet, without access to credits from financial institutions in modern economy, good housing etc.
The real people are negatively impacted both by their ignorance and neglect by their government and other development agencies. The circumstance of the real people creates the viciousness of poverty leaving them in perpetual predicament. It is the very context of extreme poverty making them to live below the poverty line that gives birth to several other developmental challenges such as Maternal Mortality and Morbidity, child - labor, high population of street children, school dropouts, teenage pregnancy, Sexually Transmitted Infections, HIV/AIDs, Child Trafficking, prostitution, rural-urban migration, high unemployment, increase in crime rate etc.
Unfortunately, most development agencies respond in quick succession to these manifestations rather than tackling the problems from the roots- a case of cutting the tree from the top. MPF focuses on tackling livelihoods and sustainability issues within the context of the real people facing the real challenges.
Our experience has shown that in designing a program of interventions targeting the real people, the involvement of beneficiaries and particularly indigenous professionals in implementing intervention activities is a vital link. One major advantage is that it does not only mainstream these issues among the local population, but it builds local capacity that could be on - hand to deal with the problems in a sustainable manner after the intervention activities.
In all of these, our consistent focus has been to deepen sustainable development through research. Each research effort is designed to gather information on how beneficiaries interpret the situation – as a problem or as normal. The beneficiaries’ definition of the situation is critical and it is the take - off point to driving a program of change.
Over the years, our interventions in rural communities cut across issues of poverty alleviation, particularly Small Business Development or Enterprise Development, Micro Credits, Skills Acquisition, Capacity Building, issues of Culture, Gender, Health, and Economic well-being as well as breaking traditional communication barriers.
Findings from a research on Gender and Culture initiated by the Foundation established “a strong linkage between pervasive poverty and the vulnerability of women to Harmful Traditional Practices in response to pressure for survival”. This underscores the important work of the Foundation and the need to address livelihood issues as a forerunner to dealing with other developmental challenges.
