ORGANIZATION PROFILE
Dhaka Ahsania Mission
Annual Report
2002-2003
House #19, Road #12 (New), Dhanmondi R/A, Dhaka-1209, Bangladesh.
Telephone : (880-2) 8119521-22, 8115909, 9123402, 9123420
Fax : (880-2) 8113010, 8118522. E-mail : dambgd@
Website :
Chief Editor
Kazi Rafiqul Alam
Editors
Prof. Nurul Islam
&
M. Sadequr Rahman
Computer Compose & Graphics
Md. Zahangir Alam
Photographs
Mamoon Mahmood Mallick
Printer
Triune (Pvt) Ltd
Published by
Public Relations Division
Contents
Foreword 00
Highlights of Activities 00
Chapter-I : ORGANIZATION PROFILE 00
Chapter-II : EDUCATION 00
Non-Formal Education
Formal Education
Khanbahadur Ahsanullah Teachers’ Training College, Ahsanullah
University of Science and Technology, Institute of Technical and
Vocational Education and Training, Ahsanullah Institute of Information
and Communication Technology, Ahsania Mission College of Science
Business Studies
Chapter-III : POVERTY ALLVIATION 00
Poverty alleviation through-Ganokendra, Training & skill Development,
Micro-credit support, Use of Information & Communication materials,
Vocational Training Institute for Working Children
Chapter-IV : HUMAN RIGHTS 00
Access to education, awareness building,
Gender mainstreaming, Gender policy
Child and Women Trafficking Prevention Programme
Shelter Home
Chapter-V : HEALTH CARE
Delivery of health care services through Ganokendra
Health Awareness Building 00
Ahsania Mission Cancer Hospital
Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Programme
Anti Tobacco Activities
HIV/AIDS Prevention
Chapter-VII : WATER & SANITATION 00
Chapter-VIII : ENVIRONMENT 00
Natural Environment
Fuel-efficient Oven Making
Nursery raising and Plantation
Social Environment Environment Education Materials
Training on environmental issues
Chapter-IX : TECHNICAL RESOURCE SUPPORT SERVICES 00
Training
Materials Development
Bangladesh Literacy Resource Centre
Research and Consultancy
Chapter-X : TECHNICAL SERVICES & ADVOCACY AT 00
INTERNATIONAL LEVEL
Chapter-X : FINANCE & ACCOUNTS 00
Annual Report 2002-2003
Final Draft
Foreword
Working over a long period of time with many donor partners Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM) has successfully established its credibility, transparency and overall efficiency in management of programmes. Having constant interface with concerned agencies and stakeholders, DAM’s management capacity has resulted in the successful implementation of a wide variety of programmes of its own and also of the Government of Bangladesh and of UNESCO as well. Because of its usual concern on human suffering, DAM’s interventions have been multifarious. Wide multiplicity of programmes is one of the unique features of DAMs activities and interventions. In fact it has earned long years of experience in multi-sectoral development programmes and projects through networking, advocacy, social mobilization and partnership relations with international, national and local level organizations/ agencies.
It is very much gratifying to note here that the Mission’s contribution in different fields of activities has earned wide acclamation and recognition both at national as well as international levels. I feel happy to mention particularly the receipt of the International Literacy Award-2003 from UNESCO for our significant contribution in the field of literacy and non-formal education. This is indeed, a matter of great satisfaction and pride for us all. However, we should not indulge in any sense of complacence; we should rather feel that this valuable recognition has enhanced our responsibility to work harder and harder with greater amount of efficiency and commitment.
We acknowledge with gratitude the contribution, support and proactive assistance of all our development partners, well-wishers and programme participants in realising our objectives during the year 2002-03 and sincerely desire to work together in the years ahead.
Kazi Rafiqul Alam
Executive Director
Highlights of Activities
Dhaka Ahsania Mission’s (DAM) during the year 2002-03 had undertaken to address myriad national issues concerning literacy and non-formal education, training, materials development, poverty alleviation & community development, water and sanitation, prevention of drug abuse & HIV/AIDS, environmental preservation & protection, prevention of trafficking in child & women, elimination of child labour, health care and services etc. Besides, various cross-cutting issues like- gender, human rights, skills development etc. were also in the agenda of DAM during the year.
Under the non-formal education programme, a total of 59,100 beneficiaries of different age-groups including children, adolescents and adults received literacy and non-formal education during the period. Its continuing education programme benefited 65,700 adult Gonokendra (GK) learning through the 758 GKs. Of these 65,700 members, many received skills training in different vocations / trades. A total of 13,088 members received micro-credit for purposes like income generation, sinking of tube-wells, construction of sanitary latrines, plantation of saplings etc. Also 540 members of GKs received skills training on simpler vocations. These are some of the quantifiable achievements of GKs.
In addition, a number of activities were undertaken during the year through the GKs to address community development, health care, water & sanitation and cross-cutting issues like, gender sensitisation, human rights, prevention of violence against women & children etc. Various socio-cultural aspects such as, dowry system, early marriage, registration of birth, death and marriage were also addressed through GKs.
32,488 participants of different types of training courses received training & orientation on ten different areas during the review period. Training course materials were designed on areas like, environment, continuing education, staff development, capacity development, entrepreneurship development, gender, etc.50 titles of books, booklets and other materials were developed during the period under review. These include :12 titles on income-generation activities, 8 on education/literacy, 2 on hazardous child labour, 6 life sketches, 10 Posters, 11 Folders on different development and other issues.
DAM’s interventions in the health sector included activities addressed through GKs on health awareness building, accessing the GK members to the existing community based government health facilities including also those of the other providers. GKs were also involved in enabling the GK members to participate in government programmes of preventive health care including inoculation, vaccination and EPI programme. The GKs also facilitated the health delivery services of different categories of health workers, professionals and also service delivery by the NGOs, etc. The most spectacular health sector intervention of the Mission so far had been the establishment of Ahsania Mission Cancer Hospital and Early Detection Centre, established at Mirpur, Dhaka. During the year the Hospital offered treatment to 6,229 outdoor patients while the number of indoor patients treated were 1,300 and 1,681 patients were attended to at the Chemotherapy Day Care Centre, number of surgical patients was 896. Out of that total number of patients (9,451) served, 4,219 were female patients.
The largest single health related programme was on Water & Sanitation (WATSAN) Component and Arsenic Mitigation Component of a government/DANIDA project. They include: Provision of facilitation for installation of 5,605 Deep Hand Tube-wells (DHTW), 3,053 Rural and 2,552 Arsenic, access of more than 7,00,000 people to safe water, installation of 8 (eight) Ponds Sand Filters and 204 Rain Water Harvesting Plants, Screening of 64,183 Tube-wells – both Shallow and Deep Hand, identification of 375 persons with manifestation of arsenicosis. Also the programme provided training / orientation to 412 UCs and HPs, 279 field staff, 1,281 component staff, 852 school teachers, 5,020 members of Watsan Committees, 859 members of SMCs, 428 Imams, 475 Youths, 13,512 caretakers under Rural Component and 3,805 Caretakers under Arsenic Mitigation Component. Besides, 7,00,000 people from user groups were brought under interactive hygiene promotion activities at household level and 1,08,606 households including 68,159 under Rural Component were covered as part of interactive hygiene promotion activities. As many as 52,387 latrines were provided under the Rural Component and AMC.
In the formal sector of education, 300 students received B.Ed. Degree and 100 M.Ed. Degree from Khanbahadur Ahsanullah Teachers Training College (KATTC) during the year. In the Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology (AUST) 189 students were admitted in the Fall Semester 2003 and 361 in the Spring Semester in the 6 departments. Institute of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (ITVET) admitted 222 students including 06 women during the session 2002-03. Whereas the Ahsanullah Institute of Information & Communication Technology (AIICT), starting with its 4-year B.Sc. (Hons.) Course in Computer Science under the National University in the previous year, has admitted 30 students in the second batch during the 2002-03 session.
Chapter I
ORGANIZATION PROFILE
Introduction
Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM), one of the leading national NGOs in Bangladesh, was founded in 1958 by Hazrat Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah (R.A.), an eminent educationist, social reformer, a great humanist and spiritual leader. With a modest beginning as a philanthropic organization, the Mission gone through a radical metamorphosis to stand tall as one of the major private sector national development organizations having international visibility. It now enjoys virtually a quasi-international consultative status (Special Category) with UN, ECOSOC, Associate status with UNDPI and operational relations with UNESCO. Dhaka Ahsania Mission is member of a number of NGO networks including Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE), Coalition for Urban Poor (CUP), Bangladesh Sishu Adhikar Forum (BSAF), NGO Forum for Drinking Water and Sanitation, Voluntary Health Services Society (VHSS) in Bangladesh. It is also a member of different international networks and coalitions like- Asia South Pacific Bureau of Adult education (ASPBAE), International Council for Adult Education (ICAE), Appeal Resource & Training Consortium (ARTC), International Council on Alcohol and Addiction (ICAA) and Commonwealth Association for Education and Training of Adults (CAETA). DAM is also am member of the Policy Action Group on Education and Learning (PAGEL), a prestigious body of an important global forum known as the Commission on Globalisation-State of the World Forum.
Membership
Dhaka Ahsania Mission, with the cherished and enshrined motto of ‘Divine and Humanitarian Service’, its membership is open to all, irrespective of caste, creed or religion and without any geographical barrier.
Aims and Objectives
The founding aims of DAM are:
• To develop the social and spiritual life of the entire human community.
• To annihilate distinction between man and man.
• To cultivate unity and brotherhood and inspire divine love.
• To teach one one’s insignificance and shun one’s pride.
• To enable one to recognise and realise the relation between the Creator and the creation.
• To enable one to realise the duty of man to his Creator and his fellow beings.
• To render all possible help to the suffering humanity at large.
Following are the objectives of DAM
• Promotion of Human Resource Development (HRD) through both formal and non-formal basic and higher education;
• Undertaking programmes for eradication of illiteracy and alleviation of poverty;
• Undertaking programmes for uplifting the dignity of women through spiritual, social and economic development;
• Preservation of natural environment and ecology;
• Prevention of illicit use of narcotic drugs and treatment and rehabilitation of drug addicts;
• Promotion of preventive and curative health services including establishment of general/specialised hospitals, health clinics, maternity & child health centres, homes for the old etc.;
• Development, publication and distribution of books and other teaching-learning materials;
• Supporting the work of the United Nations and the dissemination of knowledge of its principles and activities;
• Performing all other acts, deeds, things and matters which, in the opinion of the Executive Committee may serve the purpose of the Mission.
Mission
The Mission for which DAM stands, consists of reduction of human suffering by improving the socio-economic status of the poor, disadvantaged and marginalized people, specially girls and women in difficult situations, both in rural and urban settings, promoting human development, freeing the backward communities from the curse of illiteracy, poverty, malnutrition, poor sanitation condition, ill health, disease, deprivation and exploitation and inspiring them with hopes and aspiration for a better living.
Programme participants
The DAM’s programmes and activities though aimed at the entire community, the major thrust is on the poorest of the poor, such as the illiterate, semi-literate, school drop outs, adolescent and adults from the poor, landless, marginal farmer families in the rural areas and in urban slums. The family members of the existing Ganokendra members and participants in DAM’s literacy/NFE programmes as well are also the beneficiaries. About 75% of the target people are women/girls.
There are programmes that cover in some way or other, the community as a whole, viz. DAM’s Anti-drug programme, environment programme, disaster management and relief and rehabilitation programme, cancer hospital initiative- all are addressed to the community at large.
There are programmes in the formal education sector including teachers training, technical/vocational education, science and technology education at tertiary level, offered to achieve over all socio-economic transformation designed to benefit the larger community in varying degrees though.
Management and administration
DAM functions through an Executive Committee, the policy making body of the Mission. The Executive Committee comprises 21 Members chaired by a President. The general body of members elects all Members of the Executive Committee for a term of two years. The General Secretary of the Mission is the CEO of the organisation. He is designated as the Executive Director who oversees the day-to-day administration.
The organisation functions through its working divisions and institutions all headed by Directors or Heads of Divisions. There is a Management Co-ordination Forum, which is the highest body headed also by the Executive Director to make decisions relating to execution of policies. The Deputy Executive Director assists the Executive Director with decentralised authority.
The Directors head their respective divisions under general terms of reference. The works in the divisions are planned and implemented through a vertical management structure. Performance of the divisions is reviewed monthly through a co-ordination meeting. A new management information system (MIS) has been introduced recently.
The Programmes Division implements projects through its field offices. The Programme Co-ordinators and Programme Officers remain responsible for implementation of the projects. Monthly Progress Review Meetings are held at the field and the head office levels. The Programme Officers visit fields on monthly basis. Monitoring Officers visit the project areas to check progress on sampling basis and give feedback to the Management. The Programme Co-ordinator and the Director also make regular field visits and share their experience at the monthly meetings.
The Administration Division provides administrative support services like procurement, supply, recruitment & management of personnel. The Finance Division is responsible for the fund management including accounts keeping. Training and Materials Development Division provides technical services including personnel training at Headquarters and field levels, and develops need based educational materials for use in programmes. The Research Division undertakes research & evaluation of project activities with a view to, inter-alia, improving project designs, identifying lapses and weaknesses, in any of the projects under implementation.
Human Resource
The organisation has a man-power of 25,634 as on June 2003 out of which 820 are full-time, 1210 part-time and 23,604 community level workers and volunteers engaged in DAM’s community level field programmes on education, continuing education, income generation and also community level programmes on environment, drug abuse prevention programmes.
Geographical Area Coverage of Field-based Programmes
Programmes District Upazilla (sub-district)
Non-Formal Basic Education 21 40
Continuing Education 5 11
Institution Building & Income Generation 7 11
Prevention of Child & Women Trafficking 6 12
Environment Protection & Development 49 107
Drug Prevention and Control Programme 58 150
Water and Sanitation 11 35
Adolescents Empowerment 1 2
Institutions sponsored by DAM
Dhaka Ahsania Mission sponsored the following institutions:
Khanbahadur Ahsanullah Teachers Training College (KATTC);
Ahsanullah University of Science & Technology (AUST);
Institute of Technical & Vocational Education and Training (ITVET);
Ahsanullah Institute of Information & Communication Technology (AIICT)
Vocational Training Institute for Working Children (VTIWC);
Ahsania Mission College of Science & Business Studies (AMCSBS);
National & International Recognition
In recognition of DAMs contribution and meritorious activities and interventions in different fields it received a number of prizes and awards at National and International levels in different years. The following is a list of some important awards and prizes received so far by DAM including the most recent one received within the year under report.
|International Literacy Award-2003 from UNESCO, Paris. |- |2003 |
|Independence Award-2002, the highest national award for contribution in social welfare activities. |- |2002 |
|National Literacy Prize from the Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh |- |1998 |
|Second Prize for Innovative Literacy Follow-up materials from the Government of Bangladesh. |- |1997 |
|Grand Prize for development of Innovative Literacy Follow-up material from Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO |- |1996 |
|(ACCU), Japan. | | |
|Honourable mentions for a video entitled 'Rewards of Literacy' from ACCU, Japan. | | |
|Second Prize for Innovative Literacy Follow-up materials from the Government of Bangladesh. |- |1996 |
|ESCAP HRD AWARD- 1994 for significant contribution to Non-Formal Education, especially of girls and women. |- |1995 |
|3rd prize for development of a video on a distressed women, from Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU), Japan. | | |
|Second Prize for publication of Follow-up Reading Materials for neo-literates from the Government of Bangladesh. |- |1995 |
|Third prize for publication of a monthly newsletter (Alaap) for neo-literates from the Government of Bangladesh. | | |
|Special Prize for publication of a wall magazine (Amader Patrika) for neo-literates from the Government of Bangladesh. | | |
|Hon'ble mention for Development of NFE Materials (Poster on equal rights for women) from Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for|- |1992 |
|UNESCO (ACCU), Japan. | | |
|First Prize and 3 other awards for development of NFE materials from National Academy for Primary Education, Bangladesh. |- |1991 |
|J. Roby Kidd Special Citation from International Council for Adult Education, Canada. |- |1987 |
Addresses
Head Office
House #19, Road #12 (New), Dhanmondi R/A, Dhaka-1209, Bangladesh
Telephone: (880-2) 8119521-22, 8115909, 9123402, 9123420
Fax: (880-2) 8113010, 8118522. E-mail: dambgd@
Website:
Europe Office
4 Hayne Close, Tipton St John, Devon EX 10 OBA, ENGLAND, Tel & Fax: 01404-813996, E-mail: ZinaFear@, Contact Persons: Ms. Zina Fear, Director, UK Office; Mr. David Fear, Member, DAM-UK Charity
America Office
P.O. Box # 3674, New York NY 10017, USA, Tel # 718-658-3870, Fax # 718-739-3473, E-mail: ahsania@ , Contact Person: Mr. Mohammed Anisul Kabir
Chapter II
EDUCATION
Introduction
Education tops the priority agenda of Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM). This is because DAM recognises the crucial role that education plays in human resource development (HRD) and socio-economic empowerment of the people. DAM firmly believes that education can offer remedies to many of our national problems, social vices and protection of human rights inhibiting development of both the individuals and the community at large. Therefore DAM gives highest priority to education in its development interventions. Strategically, it is the take off point for all development interventions of DAM, in which warps and woofs of issues like socio-economic development, women empowerment, reduction of human sufferings, poverty reduction, prevention of environmental degradation, drug demand reduction, and also some cross-cutting issues like social justice, human rights, gender, etc are delicately woven.
As educational interventions and programmes of DAM are based on some fundamental tenets, it is inevitable that programme components, delivery mechanisms and approaches should have wide variations meeting varying needs. This is fully reflected in DAMs education programmes that have been designed to cover people of all age groups as also people of different socio economic classes. One can see how DAM has undertaken formal as well as non-formal educational approaches geared to meet this particular aspect and how it has also developed an equivalency programme to facilitate both way movement of beneficiaries to and from non-formal to formal sector and vice-versa.
Non-Formal Education
DAM has been working for basic education of the poor since mid-80s, covering a wide range of areas including early childhood education, primary education, adolescent education and adult education and also literacy & post-literacy programmes for the new literates. DAM has actively participated in and contributed to the development of NFE national curriculum and materials for adults, adolescents and children.
Features of DAM’s NFE Programme
• Learner centred teaching-learning process
• Need based curriculum contents
• Learning from real life environment
• Community participation in organization and management of NFE/community learning centres
• Result-based supervision and monitoring
• Professional development of NFE personnel
• Equivalency of learning between non-formal and formal education
• Poverty alleviation and critical thinking for way out of the vicious poverty cycle
Equivalency Framework in Dhaka Ahsania Mission
|6. | | |Linkage with Diploma | | |
|Post Secondary | | |programmes under | | |
| | | |ITVET/AUST | | |
|5. Secondary | | |Linkage with SSC |Vocational education| |
|(IX – SSC) | | |Programme of BOU |(Certificate course)| |
|4. | | |Non-formal Secondary |Vocational education| |
|Junior Secondary | | |Education |(Advanced) | |
|(VI – VIII) | | | | | |
|3. | |Advanced Literacy |Centre-based NFPE |Vocational education| |
|Upper Primary | |Programme |programme (Package I1) |(Basic) | |
|(III – V) |Ganokendra | | | | |
|2. |Centre based Adult |Centre based Literacy|Centre-based NFPE | |EOTO Programme |
|Lower Primary |Literacy Programme |Programme for |programme (Package 1) | | |
|(I – II) | |Adolescents | | | |
|1. | | |Ganokendra/ | | |
|ECE/ | | |Community-based early | | |
|Pre-Primary | | |childhood education | | |
| | | |programme | | |
| |Adult |Adolescents |Children |Anybody |Anybody |
|Programme Participant| | | | |(who do not join |
| | | | | |centre-based |
| | | | | |programmes) |
NFE Programme Components
Early Childhood Care and Development: It is designed for the children of the age of 0-5 years coming from the most disadvantaged groups. The main objective of this programme component is physical, social, emotional and behavioural development of the children. The mothers of the children also participate in the home-based centres or sessions in the community learning centres for their awareness building on child care and development issues including health care, food and nutrition, as also for physical, social, emotional and behavioural growth of their children. In the year under report DAM and Plan Bangladesh has agreed to work together in implementing comprehensive community-based child development programmes in three project locations, Narsingdi, Jessore and Satkhira.
Primary Education: It addresses the out-of-school and dropout children of primary age group and the curriculum is similar to the formal primary education. National Curriculum and Textbook Board's Primers are used in the programme. A total of 2250 learners received primary education in 85 centres in Jessore and Dhaka cities during the period. The courses cover the competency level equivalent to grade-V of the formal system. Supplementary information package of life skill, knowledge and understanding of qualitative aspects of jobs as well as their right to job security constitute part of the package. Moreover, hygiene, sanitation, environmental awareness are additional items in the project. Most importantly, they are provided with working skill on different vocations so as to enable them to get better job opportunities. During the year 500 children had been provided with skills training in non-formal settings and 200 including 95 girls have been provided with vocational training in different trades in DAM’s Vocational Training Institute for Working Children (VTIWC) at Mirpur.
In the Urban Informal Sector, a project called Elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labour continues to be implemented in the city of Dhaka. The project addresses the Worst Forms of Child Labour (WFCL) issues through a package of interventions with the set purpose of significantly reducing the number of those working children who are engaged in the WFCL along with prevention of their younger siblings from entering WFCL. The children thus withdrawn from their workplaces were provided with non-formal primary education and further education and also skill training for employment (wage or self-employment). The programme also addresses the issue of socio economic empowerment of guardians/parents of the children withdrawn, through income generation activities/micro-credit support with a view to reduce their dependence on earnings of the children. DAM along with three other NGOs– Underprivileged Children’s Education Programme (UCEP), Resource Integration Centre (RIC) and Thengamara Mohila Sabuj Sangha (TMSS) had been implementing the programme. 54 Multi-Purpose Centres (MPC) in the slum areas of the city of Dhaka were organised and a total of 8,800 children received non-formal education through these centres.
Gradual Elimination of Child Labour
In spite of the initiative for developing a child policy by the government, child labour situation in Bangladesh sill remains quite unsatisfactory. According to one estimate nearly 20% of children aged between 5-14 years are engaged in some sort of work, in some cases, hazardous ones. In many of the urban poor families, child labour is the main source of income. Multiple causes, like illiteracy, poverty, lack of skills, lack of awareness, etc. is responsible for this. Although it is very difficult to combat child labour totally, DAM has launched a programme of education and training for urban working children for elimination of child labour.
This programme is addressed through a number of projects designed to provide education and vocational training to the urban poor working children and to prevent new intake of child labour in the targeted families by raising parents’ awareness and providing them support for economic empowerment and by providing NFE and Vocational Training to the children.
Children between the age of 8–17 years living in urban slums are the direct target beneficiaries. At present DAM has being implementing several projects addressing this issue, which covered a number of children in three cities, namely- Dhaka, Jessore and Chittagong. These children are now working either for income earning as porter, labour, factory workers, children working as domestic labour, brick breaker, transport helper, hawker, etc., or helping their parents at workplace or at home. About 50% of them are girls.
A separate project called Eradication of Hazardous Child Labour is under implementation in the Chittagong City since February 2003 with financial support of the Ministry of Labour and Man Power. Under this project 360 children are being provided with NFE and Vocational Training with the objective to help them out of their hazardous jobs. Under framework of this project, parents or the guardians are provided with credit support so as to enable them to raise alternative income earning enterprises and thus to reduce their dependence on the income of the children.
During the year under report, DAM signed a memorandum with Plan Bangladesh to work closely with the community and local primary schools and provide technical support for quality primary education and reduction of drop out from primary education.
In Jhenaidaha district, an action research project was initiated to facilitate continuation of education of the primary school drop out children between class III to V through educational support in non-formal setting and counselling for re-entry to primary or secondary schools.
DAM also launched intensive social mobilisation at the village level to ensure enrolment of the school-aged children in the formal primary schools.
Literacy Programme for Adolescents: It has been specially designed to meet the special needs of the particular age group of 11-17 years. In all Ganokendra (community learning centre), the adolescents are organised into groups to provide literacy. Besides literacy, the participants are provided with skill training and awareness on various socio-economic and other issues including reproductive health, and family life education essential for their life ahead. Graded books and easy-to-read materials are supplied to them. On completion of the course participants are eligible for enrolment in the continuing education programme of DAM. Also DAM is implementing some special programmes addressed to different classes of adolescent children, mostly working children.
A special project focusing on empowering the adolescent girls equipping them to function for social transformation has been initiated during the year. Launched jointly by DAM and NM in two different project locations (Narsingdi and Tangail) with support from UNESCO, the pilot project covers 1000 adolescent girls with educational, social, economic and technological interventions to facilitate their total development as a process to act as change agent.
Non-Formal Secondary Education: DAM’s NFSE programme targets the adolescent girls and boys who have completed primary education but did not enrol in secondary school as well as the girls and boys dropped out from class VI-VIII of primary school. The objective is to facilitate completion of junior secondary education covering grades from VI to VIII. The programme is being implemented through the community learning centres both in urban and rural setting. During the year 150 participants participated in the junior secondary education intervention. The graduates of the programme are enrolled in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) programme of the Bangladesh Open University (BOU) to continue further learning.
Adult Literacy: It has been designed to offer literacy tailored with a package of activities on group management training, human resource development training, skills development training, credit offerings and also intervention in other cross cutting and development issues including environment to make it a sustainable one. The functional aspects incorporated in the reading materials of the programme cover family life, basic economic concepts and income, institutions building and civic consciousness, etc. During the reporting period a total of 25,560 women members of 758 Ganokendras were provided with adult literacy under 8 project implemented in 6 districts.
Continuing Education: This component was originally designed to help retention of already acquired literacy skills by the neo-literates and continuous increase of their knowledge and skills. The component is now being implemented through Community Learning Centres popularly known as ‘Ganokendra’. These centres provide different types of development activities with a view to improve the socio-economic status and quality of life of the CLC members as also to ensure total community development. Through 758 GKs a total of 65,700 adult GK members received continuing education.
Ganokendra
A Ganokendra functions not only as a delivery platform of continuing education and life-long learning but also as a community based institution offering integrated and comprehensive approach towards improvement of quality of life, economic self-reliance, empowerment of the poor and distressed people enabling them to find out exit from the poverty cycle and ensuring community development.
Salient features of Ganokendra:
• A Ganokendra is accessible to all the people in the area such as the out-of-school children, local school students and youths, people with limited reading skills etc.
• Literacy support in the Ganokendra is not time bound, it is open ended having scope for life long learning.
• It works as an information centre where daily news papers/periodicals, newsletters, IEC materials of DAM and other agencies are available.
• It is a comprehensive multi-dimensional approach addressing multiple aspects of rural life.
• It is a launching pad for various programmes of DAM and also available for use by other organizations for launching their activities.
• The overall management of a Ganokendra is the responsibility of its Management Committee, which takes decision on organisational aspects and on activities of Ganokendra, while the community worker/facilitator takes care of the day-to-day functioning.
Major activities and development in the GK based programme during the year were:
• 25,560 women members of CLCs were provided with adult literacy;
• 540 members were provided with skill training on different vocations/trades, like, screen print, sewing, soap making, candle making, livestock rearing especially rearing of cattle and poultry raising, etc. These training courses term range from 5-7 days to 3 months;
• 758 CLCs opened basic and advance literacy courses for the members of the primary target group having minimum literacy skill or none;
• 20 CLCs at Narsingdi district have implemented a new adolescent activities programme called Empowering Adolescent Girls to become the Agents of Social Transformation. Under this programme initiatives undertaken include providing second chance of education to school dropout, life related skill development, reproductive health care along with personnel health and hygiene, development of communication skill, application of scientific concepts in day to day life.
• All the 758 CLCs organised issue-based sessions at the community level on use of safe water and sanitary toilet and other hygienic practices, growth monitoring of U-5 children etc;
• All the 758 CLCs organised discussion sessions on marriage and birth/death registration which has so long been conspicuous by absence;
• Established contacts/linkages with a good number of organizations for exploration for wage employment of the adult and adolescent members who received skill training;
• Tasks and formalities for handing over the management and ownership of a number of CLCs to the community, including their registration, were being processed with the Social Service Department of the Government so as to enable them to function independently;
Impact/Effects of Ganokendra-based Interventions
The Ganokendra based interventions have been giving a new life, new attitude and new inspiration to change the lot of the individuals and the community at large. Effects/results of all the activities and interventions under this programme are outlined bellow[1]:
• Retention capacity of literacy by the new literates has increased significantly and the people have become more interested in enrollment and education of their children.
• The educational and awareness building activities have resulted in increased ability to communicate with others and improved family status of the GK members.
• The members are now conscious about and eager to protect basic human rights, including child and women rights.
• Their readiness to participate in income generating activities and also to act as agents of change in the social transformation in the rural Bangladesh is quite visible now.
• GKs are being used as platform for other NGOs and local level government offices and frequently the GKs serve as meeting and transaction places, especially for micro credit agencies, thus promoting development activities of other agencies.
In the health sector various activities of the GKs have resulted in improving health and sanitation situation, involving tube-wells, arsenic contamination of drinking water, sanitary latrines, primary health care, mother and child health, nutrition and healthy conditions for food preparation, smoke-free oven etc.
The GK-based community has gradually emerged as a self-reliant and self-contained one. Although it could not solve all the problems and concerns of the people, they have started to break the cycle of poverty and provide better health care facilities to the members.
Conflict-solving and peace-making role of the programme is significantly visible now. The overall mission of DAM- peace and developments now seem to be achievable through promoting co-operation between the members. They have now realised the need to live together in peace, promoting human rights, tolerance, mutual co-operation and understanding.
Community Resource Centres
To facilitate and co-ordinate Ganokendra activities at the union level, DAM has been developing Community Resource Centres (CRCs) each of which is designed to provide long term technical, social, economic and human development support to a cluster of average 10 GKs including their co-ordination. These CRCs provide technical assistance to the CLCs for arranging advance literacy courses and also for providing necessary guidance, training of community workers and also the Management Committee Members, advance training for the beneficiaries, and also provides with updated information and lists of national and local service providers at the union level. It also assists in inter-Ganokendra sharing of information, materials and experience, in developing a linkage with union parishad and upazilla level field offices and the various service-providing agencies and at the same time takes initiative in developing materials at local level to meet the needs of the local people. The networking role of CRC includes development of relations of the local people with other service-giving NGOs such as Grameen Bank for micro-credit, and the Government agencies like health care services particularly the Union Health Centres for continuous flow of health information in the community. The ultimate aim is to ensure access of the rural people to the world of information and learning through distance mode.
During 2002-3, 13 CRCs were organised to initiate union focused activities in 13 unions. To enable CRCs access to information technology 5 selected CRCs were equipped with computer facilities.
Formal Education
Over the years since 1992, DAM has established a number of institutions of formal education and training in secondary and tertiary levels, especially in scientific, technical/vocational and technological fields. Knowing full well that establishment of such singular institutions in different fields would not be able to meet by themselves any insignificant part of our total national needs, these pioneer institutions have been set up as standard-setting models or centers of excellence to attain highest standards of academic excellence and to encourage other potential providers in the private sector to come forward and enrich the total national efforts. Thus DAM’s intervention in the formal education, especially in the field of science and technology, as well as in technical and vocational fields has been prompted by its desire to improve quality of education and training in Bangladesh and thus to set-up examples for other providers.
Khanbahadur Ahsanullah Teachers Training College
Significant growth and expansion in the secondary education sector, which needed adequate number of trained and quality teachers and which the existing 10 govt. teachers training colleges were unable to meet, prompted DAM to undertake a pioneering role in setting up a secondary teachers training college, being the first one of its kind in the private sector in the country. DAM established in 1992-93 the Khanbahadur Ahsanullah Teachers Training College. Many other private providers followed the initiative.
This college has been offering Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) and Master of Education (M.Ed) courses. Both the courses are of 10 months duration. The curriculum activities including examination of B.Ed course is conducted under the academic control of the National University while that of M.Ed course under the Faculty of Education of AUST.
Since inception of the college in 1992-93 a total of 2731 students received B.Ed Degree. Results were always excellent: 99.3% in 1992-93, 99.2% in 1993-94, 96.6% in 1994-95, 98.0% in 1995-96, 97.15% in 1996-97, 97.45% in 1997-98, 99.67% in 1998-99, 69.70% in 1999-2000, 70.03% in 2000-2001, 78.26% in 2001-2002 and in 2002-03, 194 students appeared, whose results are awaited.
M. Ed Course
The following table gives a picture of performance of the students of KATTC in the MEd Course.
|Year |Number of examinees |First Class |Second Class |Third Class |% of success |
|1999-2000 |122 |23 |95 |- |99.18% |
|2000-2001 |113 |26 |80 |02 |98.23% |
|2001-2002 |98 |31 |58 |03 |93.88% |
|2002-2003 |142 |43 |95 |01 |97.20% |
Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology
In its development interventions in the formal education sector at tertiary level the first one was the establishment of the Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology (AUST) in 1995, also the first in the field of science and technology in the private sector. Today the University is one of the leading private engineering universities in the country. Efforts are going on for the establishment of more Institutes and Departments under this university so as to function as standard setting models capable to influence others and to meet the national needs.
As of now the University is offering studies in seven departments under four faculties, namely, Faculty of Architecture & Planning, Faculty of Business and Social Science, Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Education. The Departments are: i) Department of Architecture, ii) Department of Business Administration, iii) Department of Civil Engineering, iv) Department of Computer Science and Engineering, v) Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, vi) Department of Textile Technology and vii) Department of Education.
Admission of students during 2002-2003 was 189 including 30 females. Classes of this batch commenced on and from 19 October 2002 in the degree programme in six departments under 3 faculties for the Fall Semester 2002. For the Spring Semester-2003, a total of 361 students including 89 females were admitted in these six departments. Classes for them started on 19 April, 2003. Also students were admitted in both Regular and Executive MBA Classes in both the semesters.
Expansion of Infrastructure facilities
In order to have its own campus, the university already purchased a plot of 5 bighas of land at a cost of Tk. 107 million at Tejgaon, Dhaka. Plan and design for the university building have been prepared by a consulting firm named M/S Riddhi Architects- It received approval from RAJUK already. Construction work is scheduled to start sometime in December next. In the mean time, to meet the increase need of accommodation for the faculty of Business Administration and Social Sciences, a one floor of 8,550 St. in the “Sechh Bhaban” at 22 Manik Mia Avenue has been hired on rental basis and the department of Architecture has been shifted there.
Co-Curricular Activities
During the year under report a number of co-curricular activities were taken of which a few are mentioned below:
-Three teams comprising three members in each participated in ACMICPC-2002-a computer programming contest arranged in BUET on the 27th and 28th November, 2002. One AUST team was awarded Certificate of Achievement.
-The Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) in collaboration with the Alumni Association of AUST-CSE organised the Intra-AUST Programming Contest-2003 on May, 29 at the AUST campus.
-Two-day long Annual Architectural Festival of the Department of Architecture was held on the 13th and 14th October, 2002 in the Department of Architecture.
AUST has been selected as a local networking academy of ‘CISCO’ which is an e-learning model that delivers web-based educational content, online testing, student performance tracking, hands on labs and instructor training and support.
Institute of Technical and Vocational Education and Training
In order to provide the secondary school graduates, who remain unemployed or underemployed, with the opportunities to pursue technical and vocational education an Institute of Technical & Vocational Education and Training (ITVET) was established under the Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology in the year 1995. Unlike other such institutions, it allows students to get admission, irrespective of age or year of passing SSC examination. It offers programmes in five disciplines: Architectural Technology, Civil Technology, Electronic Technology and Computer Technology leading to the award of Diploma-in-Engineering. The programme is conducted in the afternoon and evening, enabling persons engaged in full time jobs to join the programme as regular students.
During 2002-2003 total number of students admitted was 222 of whom 216 are male and 06 female. The classes of this batch of students started from the 14th December 2002.
Stipend and Scholarship programme for the poor students
Since education is at the forefront of DAM’s priority agenda, it is always after lookout for promotion of education, especially of the girls in any possible way. Because of widespread poverty many girls, boys and youths are deprived of opportunities for pursuing post-secondary and higher education. DAM therefore addresses this issue through a number of ways.
Firstly a good percentage of students receiving education in the various educational and training institutions of DAM, such as the Khanbahadur Teachers Training College (KATTC), the Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology (AUST), the Ahsanullah Institute of Information and Communication Technology (AIICT), the Institute of Technical & Vocation Education and Training (ITVET), the Vocational Training Institute for Working Children (VTIWC) and also the newly established Ahsania Mission College of Science & Business Studies (AMCSBS), have been provided with tuition free facilities on consideration of poverty and merit. In some cases, as for example, the VTIWC provides free tuition to majority of the children enrolled.
The second regular way of helping students with financial assistance is through grant of stipends/scholarships to poor but meritorious students out of DAM’s Education Fund. Girls enjoy highest preferential treatment. Because of abject poverty, their parents/guardians are unable to bear educational expenses and in the absence of such financial assistance, they would be compelled to stop their further education. During the year 2002-2003 a total of 55 such meritorious but poor students were enjoying stipends or scholarships provided from DAMs education fund.
The third way of offering financial support and assistance to the poor meritorious students is its Sponsored Scholarship Programme for the Education of Meritorious Girls. Under this programme, efforts are made to enlist financial support from generous people at home and abroad to provide scholarship to meritorious but poor girls. The programme was initiated in 1996 and every year such funds are available for the purpose. Under this programme each benevolent person provides scholarship(s) to one or more students for which he places funds at the disposal of DAM. During the year 2002-2003 a total of 29 students received such scholarships under the programme.
Ahsanullah Institute of Information and Communication Technology
The idea which encouraged DAM to intervene in the IT sector by setting up a modern Institute of Information and Communication Technology was to reduce, in its humble capacity, the ‘Digital Divide’, persistence of which is a great and disgraceful human injustice in the New Millennium. It has been a challenging venture for DAM, but being determined to contribute to the creation of a knowledge society and at the same time to open up opportunities to combat poverty and foster development by the use of powerful tools and networks of ICT and Internet, it can claim at least to have entered into the roads of the modern information and communication technology.
The institute enjoys affiliation of the National University. It has started offering 4-year B.Sc. (Hons.) course in Computer Science. The second batch with 30 students during session 2002-03 has started classes from 7 July 2002. The B.Sc (Hons.) in Computer Science Part-1 exam of National University for the session: 2001-2002 had been held on 21 June 2003. A total number of 21 students from the AIICT attended the examination.
AIICT also offers IT Diploma Courses like, Short Diploma Courses and Professional Courses. The one-year Diploma Courses are Diploma in E-Commerce and Diploma in Database, short courses on Visual Basic, C/C++, Java OOP, Advanced Java, Oracle 8i, Auto CAD (2D & 3D), Hardware Maintenance, Troubleshooting and Networking.
Recently AIICT has started implementing a project titled “Young Digital Creator” funded by UNESCO, Paris. The objective of the project is to make software helpful for the young people in developing the skills in Fine Arts. A web site mango has been developed in the AIICT. It is a GIS (Geographical Information System) supported Web Site which is first ever in Bangladesh. The Asia Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU) has sponsored the development of this MANGO (Map-Based Analysis of Non-formal education Goals and Outcomes).
Ahsania Mission College of Science & Business Studies
In order to contribute to the spread of formal education throughout the country in the Secondary and Higher Secondary level by developing standard setting model institutions DAM has established Ahsania Mission College of Science and Business Studies (AMCSBS) in 2002. It is one of the institutions planned to be set up in the major cities and in different areas of the city of Dhaka. The aim of the AMCSBS is to provide quality education among students and to infuse in them values like, sprit of self-respect, humanism, peace and mutual understanding, tolerance, patriotism and creativity. It is now housed in a multi-storeyed, newly built standard building with a total floor space of 30,000 sft. and situated beside the Dhanmondi lake.
Science and Business Studies sections have been opened at HSC level. An excellent team of teachers with edge-high standard of academic qualification and teaching capabilities has been taken in so as to ensure a high standard of delivery of curriculum activities. The authorities are planning to open degree courses at honours level in the college for which efforts are being made to provide it with additional facilities including classroom, furniture and other essential gadgets. Also the National University has been approached for the grant of affiliations.
In the meantime a secondary school section has been introduced with the aim of providing quality education to prepare the students to pursue good quality higher education. The students of the school section have also been provided with laboratory and library facilities. The excellent quality of teaching and appropriate guidance and supervision will soon make this institution an ideal one and also a centre of excellence.
Ahsania Mission Book Distribution House
On the basis of a study in the country, DAM established the Ahsania Mission Book Distribution House (AMBDH) in 1995 with the primary objective of promotion of readership. It is now the largest book distribution agency in the country. Ever since its establishment, AMBDH has been serving the needs of individual readers, institutions and book traders by making all types of books, magazines and other publications produced in Bangladesh as also importing and distributing essential publications of foreign countries. AMBDH has linkage with all the renowned international publishers and it is offers one stop service for getting books of about 350 publishers.
It’s fully air conditioned Sales Centre located at the posh area of Dhaka City, Dhanmondi, has the unique feature that allows the visitors to move around the whole display centre and look for the books of their choosing. In 2002-03 it has hosted it’s new web-site and one can get any book within 24 hours of placing orders in the Dhaka City out of 25,000 books appearing in it’s web-site . During the year it participated in many events and fairs related to book promotion, distribution and production. It has created a special corner for the children in its ’boibazar’.
Chapter III
Poverty Alleviation
Introduction
Poverty in Bangladesh is a multifaceted phenomenon. The overall poverty situation in the country is not only dismal but has a tendency to perpetuate. More than 45% of the total population of about 140 million live below poverty line, of which 25% are in extreme poverty. Unless the vicious cycle of poverty is broken all our efforts towards national development will be frustrated. That is why poverty alleviation of the poor marginalized people, especially girls and women, is one of the major concerns of DAM. Strategically, DAM believes that poverty alleviation can hardly be achieved without education, training, without awareness building, skills training, excess to credit for income generation, and at the same time marketable skill development. DAM has therefore, undertaken a number of programmes for addressing the issue. The conceptual framework of DAM’s poverty alleviation strategy is presented in the following figure.
Conceptual Framework for Poverty Alleviation
Poverty Alleviation through NFE
DAM’s NFE programmes especially those addressed to the adults and adolescents have been specially designed to offer, besides education, skill training to meet the vocational needs and also to enable entry into various production activities. Micro credit facilities of DAM and other credit giving agencies, institution building for income generation and activities constitute essential components.
Poverty Alleviation through Ganokendra
Ganokendra programme of DAM has been so designed that literacy, post literacy and continuing education interventions planned for the poor, offers continuous updating of knowledge, level of awareness through access to accurate information about the strategic needs for a better life enabling them to transform the information into practice and in making decision(s) to find an exit from the poverty cycle and to become self-reliant. Improvement in quality of life can be achieved through addressing the individual needs as well as the needs of the community as a whole. Without comprehensive community development, the individual’s empowerment would not yield much, particularly for socio-economic, political and cultural changes. Hence, the Ganokendra programme of DAM has been very appropriately designed to be able to offer an innovative comprehensive community development approach thus to provide learning skills, management skills and productivity skills for improvement of quality of life, and also skills relating to organization, attitude and values.
Poverty Alleviation through Training & Skills Development
The training division of DAM Organises different types of training courses on regular bases so as to meet the programme needs for skill development for poverty alleviation through income generation, entrepreneurship development, awareness creation on various issues and concerns like, gender development environment, institution building, continuing education, basic education, vocational development, capacity building etc.
Poverty Alleviation through Micro-Credit support
Micro-credit for income generation is one of the important programmes of DAM aimed at poverty alleviation, entrepreneurship development, ensuring economic self-reliance and socio-economic empowerment of the poor, especially girls and women through training, credit offerings and income generation through self-employment and capacity building. The programme is aimed at economic self-reliance and social empowerment. Activities under this programme include:
• Group formation of the beneficiaries for motivation and awareness creation on different issues about existing situation and possibilities of improvement.
• Savings mobilization through thrift saving in-group accounts on weakly basis in order to generate capital for future emergency needs and investment.
• Capacity Building of the group members through different types of training like professional skill development, entrepreneurship development, group management, leadership development, gender sensitisation, accounts management etc.
• Credit offerings for investment in income generation, improvement of quality of life.
During the period 659 active groups were in operation while there were 14,945 members in these groups, including 140 new groups and 5994 new members.
Credit disbursement during the year is shown below:
|Purpose |Person |Amount (TK) |
|Income generation activities (Micro credit) |10,434 |52,774,500 |
|Income generation activities (Micro enterprise) |317 |3,253,500 |
|Sinking of tube-well |111 |272,000 |
|Construction of sanitary latrine |2,226 |1,400,050 |
|Tree plantation |- |92,000 |
Poverty Alleviation through Use of Information and Communication Materials
Materials Development unit of the Training and Materials Development Division, besides production of literacy primers, are also engaged in the production of awareness materials on different issues, such as skills and production related issues, on social issues, economic issues, health, sanitation, nutrition, use of safe water, environment, human rights, women rights, child rights, gender issues, birth/death/marriage registration, early marriage arsenic contamination etc. It has so far produced and published as many as 280 materials, which include primers for literacy programmes, follow up materials for new literates, training materials, IEC materials. Many of these materials are related to entrepreneurship development and self-employment for income generation and poverty reduction. These materials help the poor girls and women to go for raising small-scale production unit to attain economic self-reliance. They are in wide use in different field programmes of DAM and also in the programmes of other national and local NGOs.
Vocational Training Institute for Working Children
The Vocational Training Institute for Working Children (VTIWC) was set up in 2001 by DAM to provide institutionalised skill training support to the working children. It is an innovative device, twining the formal and non-formal education and training approaches. It provides different vocational training courses for the children, who take up jobs or employment in the informal or formal sectors for survival. Most of such jobs are hazardous and definitely inhibit both their physical and mental growth. Such children- boys and girls, come from extremely poor families. Moreover, there are children coming mostly from slums who are being provided with non-formal basic and junior secondary education under some programmes of DAM. The idea of VTIWC was conceived thus to bring these two streams under a unified programme of providing vocational training in different trade courses on a flexible time schedule and non-formal setting. Further, it caters for the needs for both the unemployed and under employed children.
The Institute offers Basic trade and Para trade courses for duration of 6 months (180 contact hours) on the following subjects: a) Electrical Housewarming, b) Refrigeration and Air-condition, c) Plumbing and Pipe-fitting, d) Dressmaking and Tailoring, e) Embroidery, f) Audio-Video mechanic.
During the year 2 batches received training. 131 Trainees of the July-December-2002 session graduated in 6 (six) Basic Trades of the Bangladesh Technical Education Board. Success rate was 100%. 99 of them have already been placed in jobs. Of the successful candidates, 28 were in Electrical Housewarming, 29 in Refrigeration and Air-conditioning, 4 in Plumbing and Pipe-fitting, 24 in Dressmaking and Tailoring, 16 in Embroidery and 20 in Audio-Video mechanic. Similarly in the January-June 2003 Session, 129 trainees graduated in the same basic trades of BTEB with 100% success and 65 of them have been placed in jobs. In addition to the above, 14 street children were admitted in different para-trade courses in the June-August Session of 2002 and 20 also in plumbing and pipe fitting trade for the February-April session of 2003.
The institute thus helps the street and working children in the development of their vocational skills and also helps poverty alleviation. Moreover, these children are given opportunities to come out of the hazardous jobs they are presently engaged in.
Chapter IV
Human Rights
Human rights have substantial focus in various programmes of DAM. In keeping with its constitutional mandate to promote the principles and programmes of the United Nations, DAM has been addressing the issue in a variety of ways. Human rights interventions of DAM are wide spread and all pervading in many of its field programmes. Such programmes include- human rights education, awareness on the Child Rights Convention, gender sensitisation etc. In all DAM’s programmes the matter of human rights are being addressed as crosscutting issues.
Access to education
Access to education is one of the major fundamental human rights. This has been pronounced in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. DAM has, therefore, given highest priority to education. Various components of DAM’s NFE programme have been designed to address the educational needs of the disadvantaged people of all age groups. Education itself is one of the most significant tools for protection and promotion of human rights.
Educational curricula and materials
Human rights issues have been incorporated in the educational curricula and materials. The textbooks now being used by DAM in the NFE programme are procured from the National Curriculum and Textbooks Board (NCTB). In all these books issues relating to human rights have been addressed. This programme has been elaborately presented in Chapter-2.
Other issues
The other issues like Skills training, Micro-credit, Income Generation and Poverty Alleviation, Materials Development for Awareness Building on matters of human rights, especially child and women rights, Child and Women Trafficking Prevention, Women’s Development, Health Care, Food and Nutrition, as mentioned above, have been promoting human rights.
Gender mainstreaming
Gender mainstreaming in the development efforts of DAM has been gaining importance in its policies and programmes since mid-1990s. This is out of its concern for the gender inequalities that still remain a reality in our country. DAM has been giving priority of girls and women as programme beneficiaries and also as programme implementers at the field level.
Gender policy
Gender policy of DAM addresses two inter-related components:
a. Integration of gender analysis with increased understanding of the links between the participation and status of women and sustainable development.
b. Creation of an enabling environment within DAM for women and men to work in team with equal opportunities and choices.
Gender as a crosscutting issue
With a view to integrate its gender concerns in the recruitment and other policy issues, DAM established the Gender and Development (GAD) cell in 1995, which is composed of one chairperson, one co-ordinator and representatives from all the functional divisions. The main purpose of the GAD cell has been to influence pro-gender policies including in matters of staff recruitment, programme implementation and promotion of gender issues. As a result of the alert attention of the GAD Cell composed of representatives from all the divisions, considerable improvement has been achieved. Gender concern is now reflected in the training programme, materials development programme and recruitment of staff both in the head office and in the field programmes as well. At present more than 80% of the facilitators and 70% of the programme beneficiaries and, in some cases, like the micro-credit programme, more than 90% are women.
During the year 2002-2003 the GAD Cell organised a total of 4 review meetings of the focal point representatives and organised a 3-day training course with 20 participants on the issue of gender in the field of policy making at the organization level. Number of female staff is increasing in recent years, seven being the number of female staff recruited in the head office during the year under report. GAD cell actively participated in the programme organised on the occasion of the ‘National Girls Child Day-2003.’ The programme items consisted of girls’ rally, essay competition, arts competition, staging of drama, etc. At the field level important activities worth mention consisted of providing reproductive health education, family life education and also legal education to adolescent girls and organization of several 4-day long training courses on “enterprise development” for income generation, self-development and poverty reduction. 480 women participated in these training events. Also the National Girls Child Day was observed at the field offices of DAM. All these activities were organised at the initiative of the GAD Cell.
Child and Women Trafficking Prevention Programme
Right to life and living in a decent way is one of the fundamental human rights. This important right of children and women coming from poorer section of the people is being negated in Bangladesh as also in other countries by a section of greedy human traffickers. Once trafficked, the victims are compelled to live sub-human life of sufferings in perpetual servitude and bondage. Some times the greedy traffickers go for trading on different organs of the body of the victim. Prevalence and continued increase of child and women trafficking as revealed in the media of the recent past prompted DAM to launch the Child and Women Trafficking Prevention (CWTP) programme in 1997.
The goal of Child and Women Trafficking Prevention Programme (CWTP) is to empowering the community to promote a safe living environment for the poor women and children and thus so ensure human rights.
Types of activities in this programme include:
• Direct community based interventions for organising awareness raising campaign;
• Development of information and communication materials;
• Training for capacity development of community based organisations;
• Orientation of Union Parishad members and local leaders;
• Situation analysis study and documentation of lessons learnt;
• Operating information hotline services (for quick flow of information);
• Repatriation of rescued/survivors;
• Running shelters home for safe stay, counselling, skill development and micro-credit support to the survivors;
• Reintegration/rehabilitation of the survivors;
• Launching cross-border programmes in collaboration with partner organisations;
• Advocacy with concerned department and agencies;
Activities during 2002-03
• Organised a 3-day workshop jointly with Social Legal Aid Research and Training Centre (SLARTC), held form 28–30 July 2002 at Murshidabad, West-Bengal, India. 36 participants including 24 from West-Bengal attended it the workshop.
• Conducted 4-day refreshers course on prevention of child & women trafficking through building of awareness among the Master Trainers was organised from 25-28 August 2002 at Debhata union, Satkhira.
• Organised a 5-day psychosocial counselling training course form 26-31 October 2002 with 30 participants.
• Organised 3 day training workshop on “Empowering the Community to Promote a Safe Living Environment at Union Level” at Satkhira (21-22 December 2002), Jessore (23-24 December 2002) and Kushtia (6-7 January 2003) respectively.
• organised a workshop on “Cross Border Trafficking and Community Empowerment for Prevention of Trafficking;
• organised 3 advocacy workshops at Jessore, Kushtia and Satkhira with participants drawn from Police Officials; Lawyers, Journalists, NGOs, Union Parishad Chairman and Members, Teachers, Religious Leaders etc.
In addition to these a number of activities were undertaken which include 6 training workshops at union levels. Also 2 training courses for Village Police; 22 meetings with focal point partners were organised. The campaign programme organised under it includes 47 Drama, 39 rallies, 30 folk song programmes, 10 school orientation programmes, 40 cultural function, 5714 courtyard meetings involving 17132 families for awareness building
Shelter-Home for the rescued
Under its CWTP programme DAM established a Shelter-Home in Jessore in December 2000 to offer to the rescued children and women services like basic support including health care, medical treatment, psychological support and counselling, literacy education and skill training, resettlement in respective families and in the society. In the reporting year 2 trafficked girl victims were repatriated from west Bengal, India. One new rescued girl was given shelter to the Home from Jessore Safe Custody. 22 inmates were integrated with their families. One girl was rehabilitated with an interested family. A counselling training manual on psychosocial counselling was developed. As on June 2003 total number inmates in the Home were 17, out of which 5 were women, 4 adolescents, 4 girls and 4 boys. Basic support including motivational activities has been provided to them.
Food and nutrition
Food and nutrition constitutes one of the fundamental human rights. It is essential for living and livelihood. The terms– food, clothing and shelter are not only political jargons; rather they are some of the basic needs of living and livelihood. Therefore with its usual concern for healthy living, DAM extended its intervention to this sector. Like many other interventions DAMs intervention here in food and nutrition aspects is also spread over a number of programmes.
Ganokendra, which is the focal point for all of DAMs field programme, is very much involved in this sector. Awareness creation on need for substantial and nutritious food, essential for living, is a regular practice there. For the purpose of meeting this need along side others, DAMS Ganokendra not only provides some credit support in the name of support for income generation, it also provides training on production of nutritious food items, their preservation and appropriate use. The income generation programme also offers some micro-credit support to promote this aspect. In a number of ways and programmes DAM has been addressing the issues like poultry and livestock raising, fish culture, vegetable cultivation and other farm practices as also the issue of healthy preparation of food. In this sub-sector of food and nutrition the materials development division has significant contribution through development and publication of a large number of books & booklets relevant to the issue.
Housing for Shelter
Housing for shelter is also one of the basic rights that needs to be ensured for every one, including the poor. DAM addresses this issue through its micro-credit and savings/income generation programme and through Ganokendra programme. Under these programmes house building credit is offered for the purpose of building dwelling houses. Moreover at the time of natural calamities like flood, cyclone, tornado, etc. which destroy dwelling houses, along with other infrastructures, compelling many poor people to live under the sky in make shift arrangements, DAM along with its Relief and Rehabilitation programme, undertakes construction works of dwelling houses, latrine, tube-well etc. Thus, it came forward after the devastating flood in 1988 with its relief and rehabilitation programme and constructed 500 damaged houses in Gaibandha district. After the devastating cyclone in 1991, DAM implemented a large 3-year programme of construction of cyclone free brick built houses in Chittagong, especially in Banshkhali Upazilla.
Chapter V
Health Care
Health care programme of DAM includes primary health care, specialised health care and treatment, awareness and consciousness building on health and health related issues etc.
Delivery of health care services through GKs.
Primary health care is addressed normally through the Ganokendra programme. The Ganokendras are enabling the members to access community health infrastructure and facilities provided not only by the government but also by other providers. Thus by establishment of linkages with other agencies promotion of health care practices has been ensured in the GK areas of DAM. GKs also take care of sanitation and use of safe water and sanitary toilets, adoption of family planning devices so as to ensure preventive health care.
The GKs also enable their members and the neighbours to participate in government programmes of preventive health care including inoculation, vaccination and EPI programme. Health professionals of the Health Department of the government are now able to give wider health coverage by using the GKs as health care delivery venue. Even providers like other NGOs, such as BRAC and Mary Stoops Clinic Society offer appropriate health advice and care to the women members in many of the GKs.
Health Awareness Building
DAMs Materials Development Unit has developed many health awareness materials which include, 3 titles on reproductive health, 3 on primary health care, 2 on first aid and some on specific diseases like, 5 on cancer and ways of their prevention etc. Also, 19 materials on water and sanitation practices aimed at changing the behavioural pattern of the users in respect of use of safe water, sanitary toilets and other sanitary practices have been developed and are in use in the water & sanitation programmes. Moreover, 22 titles on Drug & HIV/AIDS have been developed. All these go to help the poor disadvantaged people in the prevention of many diseases, including water borne ones like dysentery, diarrhoea, etc. and also to escape health hazards like HIV/AIDS and Drug Abuse
Ahsania Mission Cancer Hospital
Because of its usual concern on reduction of human suffering DAM has been working to establish a 150 bed Cancer Hospital Complex at the Dhaka City and also Early Cancer Detection Centres at Dhaka city and other important cities including Divisional Head Quarters. Completion of the project is however a giant task, requiring investment of a huge amount of funds which is beyond the capacity of an NGO like DAM. In spite of that, DAM has made some significant progress in respect of materialisation of the project. A plot of 3 acres of land purchased from the government for the Hospital Complex has been developed and Design Alliance of USA, a famous American architectural Firm, is preparing architectural design.
In the meantime, DAM has established one of its Early Cancer Detection Centres along with a 42 bed Cancer Hospital in a 5 storied building of its own at Mirpur, Dhaka. The hospital cum detection centre started functioning in June 2001 and it was formally inaugurated by the then Hon’ble President of the Government of Bangladesh on 23 January 2002. Some benevolent organisations and persons have donated some important medical equipment and supplies. By now its service facilities have attracted attention of the cancer patients.
The comparative patient turnover chart of the AMCH shows that during the year 2002-2003 number of patients treated in the Out-Patient Department (OPD) was 6229, number of indoor patients treated was 1300, number treated in Day Care was 1681, number of surgical patients served was 896. Total number of patients served was 9451 including 4219 female patients.
Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Programme
Drug Abuse is one of the major health concerns of the present day world. The harmful effects of drug abuse does not remain confined amongst the addicts only; rather it creates social, economic, community health problems, social destabilisation including increasing incidence of crime and violence. The problem has assumed a staggering dimension in recent years in Bangladesh
In the context of the above situation DAM developed and launched a comprehensive and composite community based anti drug programme named AMIK to address the issue. This anti-drug AMIK programme was launched in 1990 involving the entire community – youths, students, teachers, social elite and local administration including law-enforcing agencies.
The programme of Reduction of Drug demand is a mullet-dimensional two-tier edifice. It has a high level central committee responsible for formulation of policies, monitoring the activities of the Branch Committees and maintaining close liaison with different government departments like the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC). And also it takes up new plans and programmes of activities in partnership with various national and international organizations, initiatives and the civil society.
The actual intervention of AMIK is offered through its community-based network of Branch Committees, which consist of local level leadership and also youths, students, teachers, local administrative authorities, representatives of law enforcing agencies and other conscious citizens. This programme undertakes:
Preventive activities
In order to implement the preventive activities by the local level committees effectively, DAM supplies them with different awareness building materials for use in their respective localities. DAM also provides the members of the branch committees with appropriate and structured training courses. Such courses are provided firstly by imparting training to Master Trainers and then by repetition of similar courses at the field levels by the Master Trainers.
Treatment and Rehabilitation of Drug Addicts
Curative activities include identification of victims of drug addiction through the local level branch committees, organization of detoxification camps and centres for psycho-physical therapy, referring the addicts to clinics and also imparting skill training, counselling and self-help activities. DAM is presently working for the establishment of a 50-bed hospital and treatment centre at Gazipur. The construction work will be complete by December 2003.
Major activities of the AMIK programme during the year include: Organisation of 60 rallies, 1 seminar, 170 discussion meetings; 8 Essay Competitions, 9 Debates, 4 Art Competitions, 260 school programmes, 127 discussion meetings in religious institutions, 1 human chain, 1 round table meeting, 12 dramas, 8 folk song events, 1 symbolic hunger strike; Creation of 260 smoke free zones; Publication of 2 Souvenirs, 3 leaflets, 2 stickers, 1 poster and 1 pocket calendar.
Anti Tobacco Activity
Harmful affects of smoking and use of tobacco is now widely known and recognised. Recently with the expansion of knowledge about the harmful affects of tobacco, government agencies and also NGOs have started programmes of awareness building and lobbying. Although no exclusive and formal study on the issue has been done in Bangladesh, it may be assumed that the situation has, by now, deteriorated further. DAM therefore undertook an Anti-Tobacco programme along with its AMIK programme. Under this programme DAM plays a significant advocacy role in this respect. DAM has been pursuing the appropriate authorities of the government to pass a tobacco control law. It has also declared a number of places smoke free zone in its programme and working areas.
HIV/AIDS Prevention
The HIV/AIDS pandemic has started to raise its ugly head in Bangladesh. Although there has been little initiative to survey and assess the actual situation, resent estimates claim the number of HIV/AIDS victims to be more than 600. In order to contribute to the nation wide campaign against it, DAM also has started its programme on HIV/AIDS prevention. A special Cell comprised of one co-ordinator and other necessary personnel has been created. The programme aims at facing the menace by awareness creation against it and for that developed and published several awareness materials. It has been designed to address the issue through use of the materials along side its community based Anti-Drug programme and thus to create an informed society and bring forth behavioural changes for an escape from the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Chapter VII
Water and Sanitation
Since DAM's programmes aim at improvement of total life and living especially in the rural areas the issues of health, hygiene, sanitation and use of safe water are widely addressed through different programme interventions. DAM’s programmes on water and sanitation are particularly aimed at:
- creation of awareness among the people about the essential needs and benefits of safe water and the use of sanitary latrine :
- awareness creation on ways and means of the use of safe water and sanitary latrines,
- motivation of the people for their behavioural changes in respect of sanitary practices
- assisting and facilitating sinking of tube-wells and construction of sanitary latrines, etc.
In the basic education programmes of DAM issues concerning awareness of the participants on health and hygiene, water and sanitation etc. have been specially incorporated in the primers and follow-up and supplementary books developed for the different age groups. Also many books and IEC materials on water and sanitation are in use in the Ganokendra programme DAM. And for general awareness creation various posters, stickers etc. are produced by the Materials Development Division of the Mission as and when needed for the field programmes including the Ganokendra programme.
Water and sanitation being one of the major concerns of DAM, it has been engaged in the implementation of a number of specialised projects since 1995. As for instance, a 3-year project entitled ‘Improvement of Water and Sanitation Condition in Barguna’ has been implemented during the period-1998-2000.
DPHE-DANIDA Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Components
In addition to the above mentioned interventions and project activities of DAM in the water and sanitation sector it has also been implementing a big project known as DPHE-Danida Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Components since March 2000 in the 8 coastal districts of the country with a target population of 7.5 million.
Objectives
- Improvement of behavioural pattern of men, women and children with respect to the use of safe water and sanitation facilities,
- Increasing hygiene awareness, targeting women, men and children,
- Increasing coverage with fully accessible and functional water supply facilities,
- Increasing operation and maintenance capability of the population through caretaker training.
Areas of activities
Activities under this programme include,
a) Identification of pockets demanding attention;
a) sinking of deep hand tube-wells for supply of safe water at the household level,
b) household sanitation promotion,
c) school sanitation promotion,
d) school hygiene promotion and
e) hygiene promotion for primary and secondary target groups.
Arsenic Mitigation Component
Arsenic contamination in the ground water has been posing a serious thread to the health and hygiene of the people in most of the districts in the country in recent years and causing an adverse effect on the development activities. The number of arsenic patients has been on the increase day by day. Almost cent percent shallow tube-wells in the affected areas contained arsenic beyond permissible limits. This called for screening of tube-wells for identification of affected ones. DAM therefore, launched a project on arsenic mitigation. The project, known as Arsenic Mitigation Component (AMC), is being implemented since July 2001 in 148 Unions of 11 Sub-Districts in the 8 coastal districts.
Objective
- identification of tube-wells with arsenic contamination;
- providing alternative access to arsenic free drinking water; and
- reducing arsenic induced morbidity and mortality.
Areas of activities
The interventions on arsenic mitigation include
( Tube-well screening for arsenic detection
( Patient identification,
( Awareness raising,
( Sinking of deep hand tube-wells,
( Capacity development of entrepreneurs and
( Promotion of household treatment units.
Integrated activities under the two projects- DPHE-DANIDA Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Components and Arsenic Mitigation Component include the following:
|Arsenic Mitigation |Safe Water Supply |
| | |
|Tube-well screening |Identification of pockets |
|Identification of patient |Demand creation |
|Awareness raising |Site verification and recommendation |
|Capacity development of entrepreneurs |Approval of site by WATSAN Committee |
|Installation of DHTW |Installation of DHTWs |
|Promotion of household treatment options | |
|School Sanitation |Household Sanitary Latrine |
| | |
|Preparation of inventory of school |Demand creation |
|School selection |Private latrine producer’s training |
|Approval of school by WATSAN committee |Operation of Savings Scheme |
|Collection of contribution money | |
|School Management Committee (SMC) orientation | |
|Construction of sanitary latrine | |
Major activities during 2002- 03
Safe Water Supply
• Facilitation was given for installation of 5,605 DHTWs (Rural-3,053 and Arsenic- 2,552),
• Provided access of more than 700,000 people to safe water.
• 8 Ponds Sand Filters (PSF) were provided
• 204 Rain Water Harvesting (RWH) plants were installed at the household level.
64,183 tube-wells, both shallow and deep hand, were screened in 47 unions
• 224 Schools were brought under School Sanitation Program
• Sanitary latrines were installed in 89 schools while work of installation of sanitary latrine was in progress in 135 schools.
Orientation/Training/Refreshers
Capacity development training was provided to the components staff to run the activities smoothly
Basic training was provided to 188 UCs and HPs,
Refreshers was provided to 498 UCs and HPs
Training of Trainers (TOT) was provided to 91 TCs, Trainers and UCs
216 UCs and HPs were provided with refreshers training under AMC
279 field staff were provided with training on tube well screening survey
1,281 component staff participated in workshops on gender issues
852 school teachers were provided with orientation
5020 members of WatSan Committees 859 members of SMC, 428 imams and 475 youths were provided with orientation.
13,512 caretakers under Rural Component and 3,805 caretakers under AMC were trained to ensure the operation and maintenance of hardware facilities
16 private latrine producers were provided with training for capacity development
68,159 households under Rural and 40,457 under AMC were covered as part of interactive hygiene promotion activities.
Promotion of Sanitation and Hygiene
4164 schools were covered under school hygiene promotion activities
80,090 classroom sessions were organised in different schools in the project areas
2722 SSS were formed to follow up the hygiene practices.
52387 latrines were promoted which include 32673 ring-slab and 19714 off-set pit ones, of them 38,869 were promoted under Rural Component and 13,518 under AMC
Other Activities
700,000 people from the user groups were brought under the interactive hygiene promotion activities at household level with a view to make positive behavioural changes in respect of use of safe water and sanitation practices.
375 persons were identified with manifestation of arsenicosis, raising the total to 1642 during the project period.
8880 community meetings, 1092 WatSan Committee meetings, 11858 tea stall sessions, 402 issue-based campaigns, 191 cultural programs, 750 meetings with imams, 628 meetings with the youth and 41 meeting on observation of WatSan week were held.
Chapter VIII
Environment
Protection and Development of Natural Environment
Environmental degradation has been a major concern in Bangladesh as also in other countries. But in Bangladesh the situation is quite appalling. The government machinery is not enough to arrest the situation. The major problems responsible for this are as follows:
High level of population density with a high rate of population growth, and the resultant pressure on resources and poor quality of life;
Floods, drought, inadequate flow of major rivers and their hydraulic silt are regimes affecting agriculture, fisheries, forests, etc;
Continuing depletion of forests for fuel-wood, timber, cropland etc. are affecting soil erosion, ground water, climate, bio-diversity, wildlife habitat;
Discharge of industrial, domestic, agricultural wastes pollutants into environment.
Increased vehicular pollution and noise;
Radio active pollution of environment;
Long term effects of increasing use of chemical fertiliser and pesticides on aquatic life, soil, micro-flora, birds etc;
Coastal and marine pollution oil spills and ship-breaking etc.
Adverse impact of construction of bridges, roads and highways etc;
Dearth of knowledge regarding preservation of balanced environment, lack of mass awareness and public education/sense of responsibility.
Taking all these into account DAM have been implementing a number of programmes on environment of which the following are the major ones.
Community Based Awareness Programme
DAM has been implementing since 1990 a community based programme of awareness creation and also promotional activities on environment. The major strategy of this programme has been advocacy and creation of mass awareness about environmental degradation and the urgent need for appropriate actions for protection, preservation and promotion of the natural environment around us. The specific objectives are:
Mass mobilisation and creation of awareness about degradation of environment,
Advocacy for adoption of appropriate national environment policy,
Encouraging making development efforts environment friendly.
Sharing of experiences among grass roots level organizations and communities through networking.
Motivating people to abstain from actions that cause damage and detract the growth of natural flora and fauna.
The activities undertaken under the programmes normally include:
Distribution of plants to enrich forest resources
Training on fuel-efficient smokeless oven-making
Training of Environment Promoters and community people
Construction and supply of sanitary latrines
Sinking of tube-wells
Development of IEC (Information, Education & Communication) materials on environment issues and their use in all other development programmes of DAM.
Organising Environment Resource Centres
Offering support for nursery raising
Fuel-efficient Oven Making
DAM has been offering training on fuel-efficient oven making through its Ganokendras. The use of such ovens is also hygienic. The people previously had little idea about the importance and utility of fuel-efficient ovens. After DAM’s initiative the situation has changed. Now in the project area about 65% families are using fuel efficient ovens results being less felling of trees (by 65%) by the people which pollute and destroys of natural environment and have lowered the rate of fire incidence. The programme participants are now making ovens on their own initiative which help control environment pollution in the area as well as offer economical means of cooking food.
Nursery raising and Plantation
The total land now under forest is 10% in Bangladesh. The forest area needs to be expanded. There has been little initiative for raising nursery in the project areas from where the people would collect saplings. DAM has been offering financial support through its GK and micro-credit programmes for nursery raising. Presently the people have enthusiastically started raising nurseries and planting trees in the roadside, homestead and on the fallow land
Protection and Development of Social Environment
In conformity with its founding objectives of promotion of peace, tolerance, brotherhood, fellow feeling, universal brotherhood and co-operation, DAM has been addressing the issue of improvement of social environment. For sustainable development not only natural environment but also social environment has to be addressed. This type of activity has gained added importance in view of widespread conflict, violation of rights of individuals and of nations or peoples. Such conflicts are sometime within particular nations - between ethnic, cultural or linguistic groups and sometimes between nations and states.
The above interventions focus on conflict and conflict resolution, peace and justice, democracy and respect for rights and views of others and also a healthy social environment. They aim at establishment of a healthy, peaceful, co-operative and tolerant society both in he community and in the national and international levels through creation of leaders and agents of social and political change.
The programme is being implemented through Ganokendras so as to evolve a standard model for replication by others ultimately getting ingrained the concept, values and principles of justice and fair-play, accommodation and co-operation, mutual understanding & peace, democracy and rights of individuals in the greater society.
Environment Education Materials
In order to give support to its environment programmes DAM has developed and published 44 titles on environment issues including 19 on water and sanitation. In addition to the books and booklets on various environmental issues, other IEC materials like posters, stickers, charts, folder, flipcharts etc. have been developed by the Materials Development Unit of DAM. These materials are used in DAM’s field programmes. Also other NGOs and GOs widely use them in their own relevant programmes.
Training on environmental issues
The Training Division of DAM is engaged in organising training courses for natural and social environment promotion and preservation, like courses offered for the different categories of personnel working in different programmes. Appropriate training manual for environmental programme has also been developed. The contents of the training manual include among others, the concept of environment, environment situation in Bangladesh, objectives of the training courses, subject-matter of the courses including the various factors causing natural and social environment degradation and ways and means to protect and preserve it and also to improve it. The Training Division normally organises on an average 200 training courses annually on environment issues.
Chapter IX
Technical Resource Support Services
Training
DAM always appreciates the need and importance of appropriate training for the programme planners and developers as well as for the implementers of all categories of field programmes including teachers/facilitators. Areas of training now being offered by DAM are varied and many. They include skill development and vocational training, income generation, awareness creation on various issues and concerns like, environment, drug abuse, entrepreneurship development, etc. in addition to professional types of personnel training including training of different types of community volunteers and workers.
For this purpose the training division with its experience and capable faculty offers various training courses for different categories of personnel of DAM as well as of other organizations, both governmental and non-governmental. It also organises training courses, workshops and seminars at international, regional, sub-regional and national levels on behalf of DAM and also others like UN agencies, especially UNESCO.
The Training Unit has designed 18 training courses in the areas of environment, continuing education, staff development, capacity building, gender development, basic education and networking in order to meet the needs of a programme.
Programme beneficiaries, para-professionals and staff members have participated in the training courses organized in the areas of gender, environment, institution building, continuing education, basic education, skill development, capacity building, entrepreneurship development, primary health care, staff development,
During the period of report the training division organised and conducted 2224 training courses on 10 different areas in which a total of 32,488 persons participated. Details are shown below:
|Areas of Training |No. of Batches |No. of Participants |
|Social Environment |94 |1981 |
|Institution Development |83 |1231 |
|Community Management |270 |5148 |
|Basic Education |24 |594 |
|Women Empowerment |1287 |17592 |
|Staff Development |51 |1547 |
|Skills Development |60 |1286 |
|Primary Health Care |8 |144 |
|Continuing Education |126 |810 |
|Stakeholders Orientation |221 |2155 |
| |2224 |32488 |
During the same period the unit also organised a five-day long training course of field workers of “Asroi” project of Rajshahi for protection of child rights. In March 2003 it organised a National Level Training course for the PEER Group Educators on prevention of HIV/AIDS and Drug Abuse.
It also developed 6 Training Manuals on the following areas during the year:
Leadership development training;
PEER Group Educators Training on Drug abuse and HIV/AIDS and Drug Abuse;
Training on fuel efficient oven making;
Group Management Development Training;
Basic Training of Teachers/Facilitators;
Training of Ganokendra Members on Primary Health Care.
Materials Development
Like training, materials development is an essential component for implementation of any socio-economic programmes. Different types of material including teaching, learning and developing IEC materials as also development of curriculum are needed to support the NFE and other development programmes.
DAM always appreciates that there is no alternative to good quality materials of different types and categories for the successful implementation of any socio-economic or literacy and education programmes, including awareness raising, education and advocacy programme on social issues, economic issues, health, sanitation, nutrition, environment, human rights, women rights, child rights, gender issues, working children, arsenic issue, HIV/AIDS and drug abuse.
During the reporting period the Material Development Unit (MDU) of Training and Material Development Division has developed the following booklets and other materials:
12 Books and booklets on: Dress Making, Electric House Wiring, Motor Driving, Cycle Rickshaw Van Repairing, Paper Bag and Envelope Making, Bamboo and cane Handicrafts, Latrine Ring Slab making, Smokeless Oven Making, Bee keeping, Jute and Cloth Handicrafts, Screen Print, Coconut Handicrafts;
5 Reading materials: Supplementary Reading Materials for Class I, Supplementary Reading Materials for Class II, Supplementary Reading Materials for Class III, Booklet on Adolescent Girls, Booklet on Adolescent Boys;
1 Booklet on Hazardous Child Labour;
7 Booklets on the lives of great men/women: Prophet Mohammad (SA), Prophet Jesus Christ, Goutama Buddha, Hazrat Khadiza (RA), Hazrat Ayesha Siddika (RA), Hazrat Fatema (RA), Hazrat Rabeya Basri (RA);
In addition to that MDU has developed
- 11 Posters on 11 development issues;
- 10 Folders on different issues of national/international concerns;
- 1 Diary on Child and Women Trafficking;
- 1 Ludu (game material) on Hazardous Child Labour;
-1 Card Set on Hazardous Child Labour; and
- 1 Sticker on drug abuse.
Bangladesh Literacy Resource Centre
In order to provide resource and information support services and to help capacity building of the relevant organisations, agencies and individuals engaged in literacy and non-formal education, Bangladesh Literacy Resource Centre (BLRC) was established in 1995 by DAM in co-operation with ACCU, Japan. Since its establishment BLRC has been rendering significant services as a data-base on NFE in general and of girls and women in particular, as a documentation centre for literacy activities and as a depository and clearing house of literacy materials. It is engaged in a number of activities like, collection, preservation and dissemination of information relating to literacy. It also organises training courses on capacity building and makes arrangement for exchange or sharing of service and resources. It has established communication networks at different levels. Its major activities during the year 2002-2003 includes:
- Development and completion of the pilot version of the MANGO project undertaken with financial support from ACCU, Japan. It is a model for presenting non-formal education activities of DAM for graphical presentation of data. At present it contains a database on CLC (Ganokendra) activities, database on programme areas of DAM, videos on actual situation of CLCs, digital map of CLC locations.
- Development of a computerised database of NFE materials. The database is being updated regularly. At present about 200 NFE materials, published by different GOs and NGOs in Bangladesh, have been included in the database.
creation of an effective network with development agencies, public libraries, UN and other international organisations, government bodies and non-governmental organisations.
Extensive use of Internet in collection and dissemination of information.
Research and Consultancy
DAM attaches great importance to research and therefore it has been maintaining its Research Division with necessary manpower and logistics as per requirements. The Division has been offering valuable support services by undertaking research and evaluation of the various project activities with a view to providing the planners and implementers with necessary feedback information on the ongoing projects for their improvement. The focus of the Research Division in this respect, is on improving the design, process of implementation and outcome of the programmes and projects. It also undertakes research on issues of strategic importance for the social development sector. It has been offering different types of research works e.g. benchmark study, situation assessment/analysis, feasibility study, impact/evaluation study, action research and operational research, etc. One of the expanded dimensions of research activity has been exploration of feasible approaches to development, best practices and models of social and economic interventions for maximising the well-being of the people and contributing to the national development initiatives. It also undertakes policy advocacy activities as well as consultancy services. A list of selected research, evaluation and consultancy activities undertaken during 2002-03 is given bellow:
Study on Rural Education and Rural Population Transformation
Needs and Resources Assessment Survey on Pilot Interventions for Sustainable Poverty Reduction Activities in Sunamganj
Study on Quality of Education, Local Level Planning and Management of Primary Education
Research and Mobilization on Cost of Primary Education in Bangladesh
An Evaluation of Each One Teach One Project
Study and Strategy Formulation for Social and Economic Rehabilitation of Child Victims of Trafficking/Abuse/ Sexual Exploitation
Study on Income Generating Programme (IGP) for Poverty Alleviation
A Study on the Level of Learning Achievement of Grade IV Students
Bangladesh Case Study on the Role of Education in Rural Population Transformation
Case Study on Best Practice in Human Resource Development for Income Generation Activities towards Poverty Alleviation under NFE Programme in Bangladesh
Final Evaluation of the Family Life Education (FLE) Project of Directorate of Non-Formal Education (DNFE)
Providing Skill Development Training (STD) to the Child labour Engaged in Hazardous Sector
Community Development and mitigation activities in Arsenic Affected Bhandaria Upazilla of Pirojpur District.
Chapter XI
Technical services and Advocacy
DAM's roles and involvement in the programmes and activities of the UN and its Specialised Agencies has been steadily increasing over the years since the middle of 1980s. Such international involvement has encompassed various organisations of the UN family, such as, UNESCO, UNICEF. UNDP, ECOSOC, UNHCR, ESCAP, UNDCP, ILO, etc. This has been mandated in the Charter of the organization. DAM’s policy of development of an effective official relationship with various UN organizations culminated in its gaining an Associate Status with the UNDPI (United Nations Department of Public Information) in 1991 followed by the grant of Consultative Status of UN ECOSOC (Category-II) in 1993 (now being converted into Special Category). After long years of its functional relations with and involvement in the programmes of UNESCO, especially in the Asia Pacific context, DAM has been recognised as one of its significant partners by admission into "Operational Relations with UNESCO" in 2001..
DAM’s international role as a lead organization has been significantly visible in the Asia Pacific region, especially in respect of some major items of agenda and concerns of the international community. It has also been helping different UN organisations in the development, implementation and dissemination of their programmes outside the national boundary of Bangladesh, and during the last two decades, DAM’s Executive Director and other high level executives have journeyed from country to country and. from region to region so as to work as a partner of UNESCO to widen the base as also for cross-fertilisation and sale out of concepts, programmes and policies of these organisations, especially those under UNESCO's fields of competence. In addition to its wide collaboration with the organisation of UN family, DAM has built up an excellent working relationship with many international and regional organizations, networks and coalitions converging its efforts with them on issues of regional and global concerns. DAM has been working as one of the active partners of the Policy Action Group on Education and Learning (PAGEL), a prestigious body of an important global forum known as the Commission on Globalisation-State of the World Forum.
As in previous years, the year under report also witnessed a busy schedule of participation of DAM through its top executives in various national, international and regional events sponsored by UNESCO and other international organizations and agencies. The following is a list of some such important events.
- The Executive Director of DAM participated in the South Asia Consultation on CSO Policy Engagement in EFA: Planning for the Future organised by Asia South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education (ASPBAE) and held in Dhaka from 20th to 22nd December 2002. Made a Presentation on Quality Education: The Imperatives of Policy Reform.
- Also he participated in the ‘NGO Forum on Promoting an Integrated Approach to Rural Development in Developing Countries for Poverty Alleviation and Sustainable Development’ organised by CONGO and held on 27th June, 2003 in Geneva. He presented a Paper on ‘Promotion of Women and Gender Equality in the Rural Areas: Practice of Dhaka Ahsania Mission-Bangladesh through Ganokendra’ at the NGO Forum to the ECOSOC High Level Segment.
Director, Research, Planning & Monitoring participated in the First Meeting of Steering Committee of the Policy Action Group on Education and Learning (PAGEL), Commission on Globalisation of which Dhaka Ahsania Mission is one of the 8 partner organisations. The meeting was held from 6-10 July 2002 in Wasan Island, Muskuka, Ontario, Canada. The meeting gave him the responsibility to act as Co-Convenor of the Thematic Group on Approaches to Life-Long Learning.
He also represented DAM in an International Workshop held in Nanjing, China from 7-9 November 2002. The workshop developed a research outline including methodology and time frame for country case studies on Role of Education in rural Population Transformation. The Research Division of DAM completed the case study under guidance.
The Executive Director participated in the 1st Reach to Recovery International Breast Cancer Support Conference held in Malaysia during 8-11 August, 2002 organised by the International Union Against Cancer (UICC).
He participated in the Global Advocacy Conference held in Thailand during 16-18th August 2002 organised by the ICAE. In this conference a Global Advocacy Guide was developed.
Director Training & Materials Development Division of DAM participated as a resource person in the Training Workshop for Regional Resource Persons on Capacity Building Project for the CLC Personnel held in Thailand form 2-7 September 2002. Also also acted as a resource person in the Training Workshop on Capacity Building for CLC Personnel of the Mekong Region organised by UNESCO in Thailand from 9-15 September 2002.
The Executive Director participated in the ASPBAE Resource Management Meeting held in Manila, Philippines, during 6-8th October 2002 as a Member of the Executive Committee.
He also participated in the Global Dialogue Conference held on 31st Oct. and 1st Nov. 2002 in Hanover, Germany as representative of EXPO Project. The Conference was organised by the Global Partnership (Exp. 2000 Project). The Conference theme was “Globalisation of Culture(s) in the Age of Media”.
The Executive Director made a presentation on various programmes of DAM, in the European Global Education Congress held during 15-17th Nov. 2002 in Maastricht, the Netherlands. He was one of the two participants from the South in a Conference of the Europe. It generated many interests among the participants.
He participated in the Asian Civil Society Forum 2000 held in Bangkok, Thailand from 9th to 13th Dec. 2002. This was a Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations. It was co-sponsored by ESCAP with the support of the Thai Government and technical and other assistance by regional UN agencies and local, national and regional NGOs. The goal of the Conference was to assess the contribution of Asian NGOs to the achievement of the targets set in Millennium Development Goals.
He participated as Resource Person in the South Asia Consultation on CSO Policy Engagement in EFA: Planning for the Future organised by Asia South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education (ASPBAE) and held in Dhaka from 20th to 22nd Dec. 2002. Made a Presentation on Quality Education: The Imperatives of Policy Reform.
The Executive Director participated in the CCNGO meeting held in Porto Alegre, Brazil during 19-27th Jan. 2003. Simultaneously, he also attended the Meetings of the World Social Forum and World Education Forum including the meeting organized by ICAE. It was a very important meeting in formulation of strategies and for reviewing the activities of NGOs towards achieving the target of Education for All in the relevant countries of the world.
Director Training & Materials Development attended a Planning Meeting for Afghan-UNESCO-ACCU project for Promoting Literacy and Non-Formal Education in Afghanistan. The meeting, held from 22 January - 1 February 2003 in UNESCO, PROAP, Bangkok was devoted to the development of a programme fame-work on literacy and non-formal education for Afghanistan.
As one of the Directors of the organization the Executive Director, DAM participated in the ICAA (International Council on Alcohol and Addictions) Board of Directors Meeting held in Lausanne, Switzerland on 1st Feb. 2003.
As a Member of the Executive Council, he participated in the ASPBAE Resource Management and Board Meeting held in Beijing, China during 22-26th February 2003.
He participated as Resource Person in the Consultative Meeting for Establishment of Literacy Resource Centre for Women and Girls in Sri Lanka held during 13-14 March 2003 (Moratuwa, Sri Lanka). Presented a Paper on How to Establish Literacy Resource Centre for Girls and Women and Bangladesh experience in establishing LRC. The Consultation meeting was to result in establishment of an LRC in Sri Lanka which would make its due contribution in improving the literacy rates of women and girls and ultimately towards achievement of EFA goals.
He participated in the 59th Session of the Commission on Human Rights held in Geneva from 9 to 13 April, 2003 as a Representative of the NGO in Consultative Status with UN ECOSOC.
He also participated in the 46th Session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs held in Vienna, Austria from 14 to 18th April, 2003 as Representative of the NGOs in Consultative Status with UN ECOSOC. Simultaneously participated in the NGO Forum at the UN Office of Drugs & Crime, Vienna on 16th April 2003 as Resource Person. Being invited by the NGO Committee on Narcotic Drugs at the Office of Drug & Crime, Vienna, presented a Paper entitled – Drugs and Crime beyond Geographic Boundaries- How can the NGOs Civil Society assist in addressing the situation.
He participated in the Ministerial Level Meeting of South Asia EFA Forum held in Islamabad from 21st to 23rd May 2003 organised by UNESCO-Islamabad, Pakistan. Attended the side meeting on Bridging the Gender Gap in Education in South Asia held on 20th May 2003 on the same occasion and participated in the development of recommendations regarding strategies for reducing the gender gap. During this occasion he also organised a separate meeting focusing on Gender, Finance and Quality of Education on behalf of Asia South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education (ASPBAE).
He participated in the Expert Meeting on Building a Conceptual Framework for Literacy Assessment organised by UNESCO in Paris and held from 10 to12 June, 2003 and made a presentation on Operational Definition (s) of Literacy for Assessment Purposes: Literacy to meet the basic learning needs.
On invitation from UNESCO he participated in the Consultation Meeting on a World Bank Adult Non-formal Education Policy Inquiry organised by the UNESCO Institute for Education and held in Hamburg, Germany, from 18 to 20 June, 2003.
Also he participated in the NGO Forum on Promoting an Integrated Approach to Rural Development in Developing Countries for Poverty Alleviation and Sustainable Development organised by CONGO and held on 27th June 2003 in Geneva. Presented a Paper on Promotion of Women and Gender Equality in the Rural Areas: Practice of Dhaka Ahsania Mission-Bangladesh through Ganokendra, at the NGO Forum to the ECOSOC High Level Segment.
Chapter XI
Finance and Accounts
For the implementation of its rapidly increasing programmes and activities, DAMs funding needs are quite large. This funding needs can not be met with its own internal income. It, therefore, depends mostly on external funding. For clear understanding the funding sources they may broadly divided into four categories, viz. (1) bilateral donor agencies; (2) international organisations like UNESCO and other UN agencies; (3) governmental organisations including Ministries/Divisions and (4) the Missions own income earning initiatives. During the year under report DAMs total income was derived from: Government- 1%; UN agencies- 4%; Individuals- 6%; Internal Sources- 40%; Bilateral Donor Agencies- 49%.
It is worthwhile to mention here that DAM UK Charity, established in 1996 at the initiative of a few British citizens including some Bangladeshi expatriates, has been working to enlist financial support for the implementation of DAM’s programmes and activities. During the year it was able to marshal support from 25 donor organisations/foundations and 21 individuals.
In order to maintain strict accountability and transparency in respect of income and expenditure, there is separate division called finance and accounts division in the Mission headed by a Chartered Accountant. Each year accounts of the Mission are audited by a Registered, which is Accounting Firm. M/S Haque Shah Alam Mansur & Co. Chartered Accountants audited the Accounts of the Mission for the year ending in June 2003. The balance sheet for the year as it appears in their audit report is reproduced below:.
Balance Sheet as at June 30, 2003
AS AT 30-6-2002 PARTICULARS SCH.NO. AS AT 30-6-2003
323,652,527 FIXED ASSETS: 356,991,235
383,640,421 CURRENT ASSETS : 538,062,680
14,751,328 Stock of stores 10,769,707 19,438,041 Revolving Loan 35,778,177
99,782,476 Advance, Deposits & Prepayments 159,332,149
11,371,112 Receivables 10,426,562
3,780,705 CA With CCU -
- CA with DAM 3,802,072
- Loan to Members 570,000
- Accrued Interest on FDR, SP (PF) 2,415,788
234,516,759 Cash and Bank Balances 314,968,225
707,292,948 TOTAL ASSETS 895,053,915
Less: CURRENT LIABILITIES:
101,501,274 Sundry Creditors 191,362,130
605,791,674 NET ASSETS 703,691,785
REPRESENTED BY:
129,137,169 Miscellaneous Fund 373,635,211
476,654,505 330,056,574
48,638,540 Depreciation Reserve Fund 65,307,212
38,366,205 Donors' Fund 38,130,192
389,649,760 Capital Fund 226,619,170
605,791,674 703,691,785
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[1] Strategic evaluation report of DAM’s community based interventions (2003)
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Enabling poor
to overcome poverty
Advocacy for enabling environment to overcome human poverty
Facilitating access to world of work
Increasing access to financial services & market
Strengthening capacity for participation in decision making
Improving access to productive resources & technology
Sustainability
Partnership with GO, NGO & Private sector
Gender equity
Pro-poor policy & Governance
Social mobilisation for quality education & services
Access to Information & information technology
Skill-based literacy and continuing education
Mainstreaming of literacy/NFE graduates
Occupational training & employment guidance
Research
Needs
Assessment
Policy Advocacy
Consultancy
Experiment/
Pilot Project
Impact/Evaluation
Research
Operations
Research
Exploratory
Study
Feasibility/
Baseline Study
Action Research
Levels of
Functions
Local Level
National Level
Regional Level
International
Level
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