Youth groups formed to maintain peace in Chitral

CHITRAL, April 7: The South Asia Partnership Pakistan and the Citizen Action for Peace and Development (CAPD) in collaboration with Rural Support Program (RCDP) has set up different youth and senior citizen joint groups for maintaining the peaceful environment of Chitral and its sustainable development.

Addressing on the occasion, program coordinator Allah Noor Afridi said SAP always supported youth as well as elders and senior citizens and motivated them by their capacity building to play their role in peace and development. He said that RCDP had established five village committees and five youth groups comprising over 40 persons and enhanced their skill and capacity to motivate other people in their territory for sustainable development and peace.

“We always take onboard local people because they know better their problems and their possible solution.” He said that they also tarin these youth in different sectors to sensitize them about development works in their areas and how to get fund from the elected representatives and concerned authorities. Besides, we also create awareness among the masses about delivery of social services of line departments in their areas.

These trained youth will bring different issues into the notice of high-ups of concerned departments for its settlement. He said that if our young generation is well equipped and made aware of their rights they can ask for their rights and raise issues through their parliamentarians for development of their area.

Salma Haq, the program officer, said these youths are our ambassadors and that is why SAP, CAPD work for capacity building, career counseling of youth to sensitize them about their duty and rights. Some leaders of youth group complained of no developmental work in their areas since long and after this training they will able to get their rights from their elected representatives.

Engineer Temour Shah, the coordinator of RCDP, said the main objective of the program was to organize different groups of youth as well as elderly people to train them for motivating other people for strengthening community participation in developmental works of the area and for maintaining of peace.He highlighted teh aims and objectives of the program.–Gul Hamaad Farooqi