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NewsDay

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NGO to bridge information gap in rural areas

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A LOCAL non-governmental organisation Growthedge Development Programme (GDP) has lined up programmes to provide relevant information to rural communities aimed at eradicating poverty.

A LOCAL non-governmental organisation Growthedge Development Programme (GDP) has lined up programmes to provide relevant information to rural communities aimed at eradicating poverty.

BY KENNEDY NYAVAYA

In an interview with NewsDay, GDP executive director Zisunko Ndlovu said the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of ending extreme poverty largely failed because most projects marginalised rural areas.

“The MDG failed because of rural marginalisation. All plans that were set did not get to the poorest societies as they did not include institutions from these areas, even in framework and strategic decision-making,” he said.

Ndlovu said GDP would be fundamental in sealing the gap of information through engaging rural district councils (RDCs) and linking them directly to the willing donors in the international community at the beginning of next year.

“Our philosophy is that we liaise with RDCs who will tell us their immediate development needs and priorities, then we engage with the donor world through investment conferences and channel the funds to that community,” he said.

“We should not be seen duplicating problems of yesteryear which saw rural areas being blockaded from crucial information highways, thereby contributing towards a negative national socio-economic outlook.”

Ndlovu also urged organisations to remember that 70% of the MDG target groups were rural people in Asia and Africa.

The MDGs, which are being substituted by sustainable development goals, were formulated in 2000 by the United Nations to among others, counter extreme poverty and hunger among other adversities affecting mostly African countries