When a Shirkat-Gah member suggested the idea of publishing a newsletter for women working in development at the grassroots level, we jumped at it —for two reasons. Firstly, because development communication, to a very large extent does not operate at the grassroots level—non-governmental organisations have little opportunity to interact or coordinate their efforts through the printed word. Lack of information can, and often does, lead to duplication of work. Thus, the need for a newsletter.
Secondly, some of the members of Shirkat-Gah were already working on communications/journalism. The concept of working on a project that dealt with dissemination, analysis and documentation, therefore, appealed to them.
We are thus pleased to announce the birth of SUBHA—a newsletter in English and Urdu on women and development. Initially the newsletter will focus on grassroots activities in Sind; at a later stage we hope to extend the coverage to the Punjab, Baluchistan and the NWFP.
The objectives of this newsletter are as follows:
- to build a communication network for NGOs for the exchange of ideas, information and analysis
- to collect and disseminate information on the work being done by NGOs
- to identify the potential in development reporting
- to focus on governmental, non-governmental and inter-sectoral efforts in child survival and development, maternal health, population planning, adult literacy, income generation, the status and legal rights of women, and other major issues.
Since this is a newsletter for NGOs being produced by an NGO we thought it fitting to relate the first issue of SUBHA (April 1988) to the theme of non-governmental organisations. Our next issue will be on the subject of health.
Contributions from our readers-letters, articles, book reviews, case studies and constructive criticism—will be more than welcome. Shirkat-Gah acknowledges the material help offered by UNICEF in providing funding for this newsletter.