DAMEN

DAMEN is a non-government, non-profit organization that was established in May 1992. It comprises an alliance of social scientists, philanthropists, and professionals from various fields working at the community level for the mobilization and emancipation of people from the marginalized sections of society. DAMEN is working in the rural/peri-urban areas around Lahore, including union councils Shahpur and Chung.
Vision
DAMEN visualizes “development” as a capacity-building process for people in order to empower them to solve their own socioeconomic problems through collective action and their own participation.
Overall Objectives
DAMEN concentrates on the social and economic uplift of communities, especially in rural areas and urban slums, by encouraging them to ascertain their own needs. This leads to build capacity and local resources to an extent that enables community members to eradicate the most tangible problems. The organization’s emphasis is on programmes that:

  • Concentrate on activities for the integrated, self-reliant, and long-term development of communities through various education and health programmes;
  • Enable the cause of women development (income generation, credit provision, and awareness of their legal and basic rights).
  • Train and support human resources for devising, implementing, and overseeing development projects and programmes.

Operational Strategies
DAMEN has a four-pronged strategy to achieve its overall objectives:

  1. Non-formal education;
  2. Micro-financing and community revolving loans;
  3. Training, capacity building, and skill development of community action groups;
  4. Research, networking, and linkages.

Microfinance Programme
DAMEN’s microfinance programme

  • Established ten field offices and two area offices in 12 union councils of Lahore;
  • Extended loans to 17,200 clients;
  • Disbursed a sum of PKR 197.14 million in the form of 25,300 loans;
  • Maintained a 98 % recovery rate over a period of eight years;
  • Achieved 100 % operational self-sufficiency at the field level with all field offices covering their operational and financial costs and fully covering the costs of area offices, and partly subsidizing the costs of the head office;
  • Contributed to raising the status of women by helping them become productive members of their families as a result of the raised income levels from their businesses;
  • Helped strengthen and expand client businesses by providing credit facilities and conducting trainings and workshops for women entrepreneurs;
  • Initiated insurance packages covering client portfolios in case of death or disability.

Annual Report 2004      Read More

Performance Indicator (The MIX)     Read More