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Women in the southern Punjab province training other villagers in setting up and running small businesses. (Photo: UNDP Pakistan)

“Our village was in utter destruction with dead animals and rubble scattered all over. UNDP encouraged us to take the lead and now we’ve cleaned all the fields and most of our houses. With the money I earned, I plan to buy goats to invest in a future for my family.”
- Kaneez Bibi of Muzaffargarh’s Cheekal East village.

Muzaffargarh - Women in the Muzaffargarh area of southern Punjab are among 1,300 in the province who climbed through the debris-strewn aftermath of the floods to clear and clean public buildings, fields and houses.

The women received a total of US$176 over 50 days of employment provided through UNDP to get schools, clinics, mosques and farmland back in working condition and to contribute to re-starting the local economy.

By the end of January 2011 the teams had cleared the public buildings and fields of 32 villages in Muzaffargarh and were completing debris removal from residential buildings. They had also salvaged bricks and other reusable material.

Women working in the project, implemented by the non-governmental group Women Social Organization, are now taking advantage of UNDP resources and expertise to train other villagers in setting up and running small businesses.

Investing the salaries they earned from clearance work, the women are mounting a range of ventures including livestock and poultry farming, and they are purchasing equipment, such as sewing machines, for home-based businesses.