The Hunger Project - Bangladesh
Actions and Accomplishments: April - September 2005

Introduction

This report represents the overall achievements of The Hunger Project’s initiatives to achieve the Millennium Development Goals in Bangladesh, from April 2005 to September 2005. The Hunger Project-Bangladesh implements nine large-scale strategies to strengthen local democracy and transform gender relationships.  When these steps are taken the people of Bangladesh can succeed in building lives of self-reliance and dignity. To transform the mindset of people from resignation to self-reliance, The Hunger Project carried out a number of initiatives in Bangladesh during this particular 6-month period, which included Animator trainings, Vision Commitment and Action Workshops, National Girl Child Day, Self-Governing Union Parishad Advocacy Groups and Shujan (Citizens for Good Governance.)

The actions and accomplishments of The Hunger Project-Bangladesh are broken down into three parts in this report: Breakthroughs to Achieve Self Reliance, Strengthening Local Democracy and Women’s Empowerment.

Young girls participating in the 2005 National Girl Child Day event in Dhaka.

Breakthroughs to Achieve Self Reliance

Animators are highly trained grassroots volunteers who mobilize their communities for self-reliant action. Animators meet monthly in their areas, and more than 10,000 gather each December for a national reunion. Here are some accomplishments from the various animator trainings in Bangladesh in the last 6 months:

• Grassroots people have started to realize that they are the key agents to a better future:  After animator trainings, the traditional mindset of dependency among the people starts to change. In this 6 month period, more than 8,500 (4,500 males & 4,000 females) animators in 386 Union Parishads took the trainings.  They have come to the realization that the best route to sustainable development takes place when it is owned and managed by the people themselves.

The Hunger Project is the largest volunteer organization in Bangladesh, having now trained more than 60,000 Bangladeshi women and men representing all 64 districts in the country, as animators.  

Young women who received the "best animator" award.

• Transformation occurred in peoples’ behavioral attitude: Once people realize they are the key change agents for the end of hunger, they are empowered to take action.  Our field reports indicate that several thousand families have been mobilized take actions to end their own poverty.  By creating income generating activities, these women and men are able to earn money that allows them to take better care of their children and families. Several youth have now started their own businesses by establishing computer learning centers, small grocery stores, fish farming, herb and vegetable gardens and centers for skills training.  Due to these initiatives, people are now financially solvent and are better able to meet their basic daily needs.

• Unity among the rural people: The animators’ trainings and follow-up meetings in the villages have made the local people realize the importance of teamwork and being part of an organized group. The people have started to recognize that their work will be strengthened and much more successful through unity and solidarity. Their new organizational skills have led them to form local self-help groups in order to initiate a number of income generating activities.

            Women speaking with investors at one of the UPs.

The following table represents the number of local groups which have been formed over the last 2 years for collective community action by the animators all over the country:

Out of the total number of 1,129 local groups, 522 are organized by women.

Through the actions of these local groups, many problems are being addressed at the local level. Our program evaluation shows that in villages where Hunger Project animators have taken actions:

a.       The average family income has increased

b.      Child marriages have decreased 

c.       Marriages with dowry have decreased

d.      Literacy rate has improved

e.   The female enrollment rate in pre-schools, primary and middle schools and colleges have increased

f.        More households now have sanitary latrines

• A strong partnership established between Government & the grassroots people: Block and district level officers in the departments of fisheries, administration, health, and rural development have taken the animator training, and are forging a new level of partnership with the villagers.  They too see that grassroots people are the key change agents and must be empowered to take self-reliant actions.  They also recognize that when there is collaborative work, it only yields great results for the development of the country.

        Tazima at a school run by animators.

Strengthening Local Government

The Millennium Development Goals are global targets but the solutions to achieve them must be worked out locally. The only way local people can ensure that this happens is through strong, accountable local democracy. The Hunger Project plays a leadership role in strengthening local self-government in Bangladesh. To ensure transparency, accountability and peoples’ participation in local government at the Union Parishad level, the following initiatives have been taken:

• Open budget presentation: Inspired by The Hunger Project’s initiative for transparency and integrity at the Union Parishad (UP) level, the elected Presidents and members of the UP – women and men – now present their annual budgets (including their income and expenditure proposals) in open public meetings. This way they support the process of open, accountable and public budget presentations, and encourage peoples' participation in the decision-making process.  More than 60 Union Parishads have held open budget meetings to date.
• ‘Self-Governing Advocacy Group’: The Chairmen and members of Union Parishads, under the umbrella of The Hunger Project have formed a committee named "Self-Governing Advocacy Group." The objective of this committee is to ensure a strong and effective local government system throughout the country.  To date, this committee has formed advocacy groups in 48 districts of Bangladesh, and it has been successful in creating awareness among the people on the importance of local democracy in Bangladesh. Many of the leading NGOs in Bangladesh who are committed to democracy are part of this advocacy forum. The members of this group have visited the states of Kerala and West Bengal in India to learn about the way the Panchayat system works there.
• Shujan: Shujan is a non-political citizens’ forum for good governance. The Hunger Project is one of the key partners of Shujan, given its commitment to build good governance in Bangladesh. Shujan committees advocate for political reforms, democracy, good governance and free and fair elections, and is active in 42 districts. These committees carry out campaigns throughout the country to advocate for political reforms, to strength the electoral system and to keep elections free from corruption, including bribes for votes.

            Investor delegation from the US at Islampur UP.

Women's Empowerment

THP-Bangladesh focuses on achieving self-reliance and strengthening local democracy in the face of wide-spread corruption, lack of accountability on the part of the government and widespread apathy.   Likewise, we also focus on transforming gender relations because of severe gender discrimination in our country which marginalizes the participation of half our population – our women. Since women are the most disadvantaged and deprived group in our society, one of the most important strategies of The Hunger Project-Bangladesh is the empowerment of women.

Following are some actions and accomplishments achieved towards this commitment:

• Leadership developed among women: Women at the grassroots level are now organizing into self-help groups. In many UPs they are leading a number of campaigns themselves against violence and discrimination against women. Women leaders are organizing other village women through a number of strategic processes such as campaigns, meetings and workshops to step out and raise their voice against injustice. Women UP representatives in Gokorno Union Parishad, Atulia, Chatra, Boalia, Gopalgonj, Sonargaon sadar, Kolkondo, Islampur and Asmita are developing the infrastructure in their own area. For example, they have taken on making of sanitary latrines in their UPs, and making them available at cheaper costs to the villagers.  They are also forming self-help groups where women get together and create beautiful handicrafts which are then sold in the international markets.  

            Women making sanitary latrines.

• ‘Women Samitees: Different village development committees or samitees are being formed to initiate practical improvements in the communities. Women are organizing themselves to fight against different types of social injustices such as early marriage, dowry, domestic violence, and women being denied remuneration when their husbands leave them. Young women animators in Uttarda, Ajgora, Kabirajpur and Nagolghoti UPs of Rajshahi Sadar and Kurigram have formed women samitees to protest traditional dowry marriage,  rape, acid throwing and other forms of violence. As a result of their protests, in 2005 alone, 16 dowry marriages in those UPs were stopped. Similar examples can also be found in other UPs such as Damkura, Sahapara and Kumarkhali.     

            School playing showing child marriage.

• National Girl Child Day: On September 30^th, The Hunger Project-Bangladesh, in partnership with the Government and more than 100 civil society organizations, celebrated National Girl Day in more than 1000 events around the country. Girl children play a key role in the future of our nation. Distinguished women associated with different organizations and development activities participated in the events.

The National Girl Child Day has been celebrated in Bangladesh for the last six years, and more than one million families now recognize the importance of their daughters to their families and society as well as their rights to basic needs. Greater awareness among the public is being generated that when girl children are well educated, healthy, and are well nourished, society benefits. People realize that in order to avoid repeating the cycle of malnutrition, this generation of girl children must be in good health. The society is now more alert to all forms of discrimination against girl children and is motivated to invest for their future.  There is growing recognition that this is an important step towards achieving a hunger free and self-reliant Bangladesh. 

2005 poster for NGCD fight against malnutrition.  

       

           Art contest winner.

Animators in Bangladesh have taken both joint and individual initiatives to achieve self- reliance and income generation for women. Here are a few examples from the 14,000 initiatives that are happening all over the country-side:

• Collection of handful of rice or “musti-raising”: In this program a group of village women get together and form a committee to collect a handful of rice from each family, from one meal, everyday. They collect the rice this way for a week and store it in a big jar in a central location. Once a week, or when the jar is full, they sell the rice in the market. The money they get from the sales is then saved in a bank account in the name of the committee chief. The savings are used for different development purposes for the village – repairing a local culvert, foot bridge, etc. The committee members can also take a loan from the savings with minimum interest. There are about 50 such groups all over the country.

            Collection of handful of rice for income generation.

• Sewing centers: There are currently over 1,000 active sewing projects organized by THP animators. Over 50% of these projects were established by our women animators.
• Tailoring/Boutique shops: There are 1,500 boutique and tailoring shops initiated by our animators. 90% of them are organized and staffed by women.
• Nursery/Vegetables gardening initiatives: There are about 10,000 families involved with vegetables, herbal, nursery and fruit gardening activities. These not only meet nutritional needs of the family, but also bring in extra income for the family.
• Fish Farming Projects: There are more than 2,000 fish farming projects initiated by the animators in all the UPs we work in.
• Education Centers: THP animators have established 1,151 education centers, which play a key role in improving the literacy rate in our country, and increasing female enrolment in schools at all levels, as well as colleges.
• Health-care centers: The 38 health care centers in all 5 regions of Bangladesh established by our animators provide primary health care services like immunization, pre-natal and post-natal care, child births, nutrition information, iron medication, family planning information, and other health related issues.

            Health camp organized by animators.

Conclusion

The strategies of The Hunger Project-Bangladesh are highly appreciated by all segments of the society including Government and NGOs. Our VCAWs and Animator trainings which mobilize people to take self-reliant actions have been accepted by the prestigious Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) Academy. BCS Academy has included The Hunger Project in their curriculum and is conducting ‘Animator’s Trainings’ on various issues that affect Bangladeshi society.

In the last two elections, Shunamganj-3 and Faridpur-1, Shujan created immense pressure through the media for the High Court to ask the election commission to collect information about the criminal backgrounds of the candidates and make them available to the voters. Shujan’s successful propaganda for the transparent elections in Faridpur-1 compelled the party in power to change their candidate.

These great results in Bangladesh demonstrate The Hunger Project’s capacity to strengthen local democracy, transform gender relations and eventually create a country where every man, woman and child can lead lives of self-reliance and dignity.

            Children celebrating investor visit.