“FIRST we give shape to buildings and then one day, buildings will shape us” — Winston Churchill

Pakistan has shaped many buildings but, unfortunately buildings have not shaped Pakistan. Since 54 years we have shaped big infrastructure of education, health departments but nation is mostly illiterate and living in unhygienic conditions.

Why after 54 years Pakistanis are facing the same situation? Because, we have never got community perception about needs of the masses. We are just giving our attention to one or two issues, which are before the community, bound no value.

Community’s needs are different and we are addressing the issues, which suit to planning makers, which are product of the drawing room politics. Think that if one village has no facility of drinking water, how community can remain healthy? If there is a three-room well constructed school and without teacher (we all remember stories of ghost teachers and doctors) what benefit this school building will give to villagers? If one village has BHU, but without medicine and staff, then what is the use of that BHU?

Considering such things in mind, community has changed their priority and now school and BHU building is there, but students are using madrassah for their worldly and spiritual education and patients are going to quacks/hakims for the treatment. In the urban areas, private school network has got momentum due to non-availability of good teachers in government schools. Private hospitals are full to its capacity in urban areas.

Now question is everywhere that what is the proper use of this largely built infrastructure? The government must take extra measures to save these buildings from collapse. Large sum of money is being spent on the maintenance of this infrastructure. We are aware that in China there is proper use of government infrastructure. They have built commune centres in the villages and urban areas of China. In these commune centres, every department has its own desk and all departments are serving together under the one roof. If one department fails in serving the purpose of the community, other departments are more successful. All departments are using one infrastructure for the multipurpose use. Because of this, Chinese have owned government infrastructure and their community participation is remarkable.

In our case, community does not know that which service is available in village for its benefit, it has o sense of community participation. So it does not own institutions, which are being built for its benefit.

Community relates education with jobs and medical facility with medicines (In rural areas, specially, you can find one BHU and school building average within one square kilo meter). Villagers are aware that there is no job left in Pakistan and due to ghost teachers, government schools are not serving very well. So how these children will compete in the open market? On health side, BHU has ghost Doctors and their is no facility of medication. In other parts of the world, basic health units are meant for primary health care and health education. Basic health units are serving as primary health care institutions, not as tertiary care level facility. Unfortunately, our planners have made BHUs as a facility only serving for tertiary care. When ghost doctors increased, villagers started giving preference to private practitioners and quacks of their own village.

I again repeat that villagers’ needs are different and we are addressing different issues since the birth of Pakistan. There is strong need of community perception about the needs of villagers and assessment of the existing situation of the areas. In this way, planners can get actual needs of the community and then they will address properly. Agrarian community is living all around villages of Pakistan and we have on our disposal there is large infrastructure. The government can use this infrastructure for the multipurpose benefit to the community. At village level, there is need of health education, agriculture knowledge, water management, care of the live stock, use of appropriate technology, use of natural energy etc. Though these all facilities do exist in district centres, but villagers have no approach to these institutions and mostly they don’t know that what these facilities are doing in their own district. If such type of facilities exist amidst rural community, they can easily get benefit and it will greatly support to them.

I have almost visited each and every village of rural Sindh on my job assignment, I don’t want to say that there is no need of schools or BHUs in the villages, but there must be proper use of infrastructure according to the need of the community which will highly supportable. BHUs must be play role of Basic Health and Development Centres and the educational institutions do play the role of Education, Planning and Social Development Centres.

In the last ten years, there were so many donor funded projects have worked in the rural areas and they achieve some good results as well. Take example of Govt. Village Health Worker or Lady Health Worker programme. When female of the same community approached villagers at their doorstep, programme is more successful then any other programme of Govt. in the villages. there is strong need of addressing villagers issues at their doorstep. Community will certainly participate when we properly approached them at their doorstep. In this way this infrastructure will properly shape future of the communities.

Governments new devolution plan will certainly work if they properly address the issues of the community. All Govt. departments can easily get benefit of the well established school and health infrastructure.