| APRIL 2005 - UPDATE TO THE GLOBAL BOARD |
The Hunger Project in Bangladesh is proud to report highlights of the success of our work at the grassroots level, which is affecting the lives of over 3 million women, men and children.
During this period, THP-Bangladesh has trained 12,495 new animators, bringing our total number of Bangladeshi animators to over 50,000, of which 36 percent are women. Over 800 Vision Commitment and Action (VCA) workshops were held, and over 550 issue-based campaigns—with 25,000 participants, more than two-thirds of which were women—were organized. THP-Bangladesh now works in 385 Union Parishads (UPs)—this is a 10 percent increase since last year.
THP-Bangladesh continues its intensive work with 52 of the 385 UPs where we work. These 52 UPs receive a special focus in order to create mass mobilization to bring about significant changes. The following are important aspects of our intensive work in these 52 UPs:
February 28-March 11, 2005 marked the Ten-Year Review and Appraisal of the historic Fourth World Conference on Women which took place in Beijing in 1995. This ten-year review—also known as Beijing +10—had over 6,000 participants and was held at UN headquarters in New York as part of the Commission on the Status of Women’s 49th session. Beijing +10 offered policy makers and experts from governments and civil society around the world an opportunity to take stock of progress made in advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls and to recommend concrete steps for future action.
THP-Bangladesh played an important leadership role in the Beijing +10 meetings. THP-Bangladesh is a member organization of the Bangladeshi NGO Coalition on the Beijing Process (NCBP). THP-Bangladesh—known as a leader on the girl child issue—was invited to draft a chapter on the status of the girl child in Bangladesh to be included in the NCBP’s NGO Alternative Report on the status of women in Bangladesh. Only 20 select NGO’s were invited to participate in the drafting of this report, and THP was fortunate to be included among them. This report was published and presented at the Beijing +10 meeting.
The Hunger Project and the Girl Child Advocacy Forum, in collaboration with the Acid Survivors Foundation, organized a rally for men in Dhaka entitled—“Men’s Commitment Today—no more acid throwing; justice and good governance can stop acid violence.”
Approximately 4,000 men took part in the rally and demanded an end to violence against women, an end of all religious extremism, and an improvement in the quality of democracy.
During this event, several female acid attack victims shared their experiences and called for men to play an active role in ending this horrific practice. Key social leaders, activists, and celebrities publicly expressed their commitment against acid violence by saying “It is high time for everybody, especially the male members of society, to actively take part in the movement against acid violence.”
We also organized, through the Girl Child Advocacy Forum, workshops and seminars on violence against women and girls. As a result of these workshops and seminars, a coalition of organizations committed to work together to fight against violence was formed. This action has spurred THP to work in partnership with the Bangladeshi government and other NGOs on issues like birth registration and HIV/AIDS.
“Let the family be the first step for safeguarding women’s rights” was THP-Bangladesh’s theme for this year’s International Women’s Day. THP animators and volunteers organized celebrations of International Women’s Day in over 450 locations throughout Bangladesh.
Additionally, The Hunger Project and the Girl Child Advocacy Forum jointly organized a meeting and a rally in celebration of International Women’s Day. This rally was attended by 1,000 people—650 of them were women—and represented by activists from over 34 organizations. During the rally, special tribute was paid to two women leaders who received the Rokeya Award in 2004, which is a prestigious national award that honors Bangladeshi women who contribute significantly to women’s socioeconomic improvement, women’s rights, and advocating for women’s education.
At the end of 2002, THP-Bangladesh played a catalytic role in bringing together a group of prominent people from Bangladeshi society to form a campaign to champion good governance at all levels of society. This organization is known as SHUJAN.
On November 28, 2004 and January 9, 2005, SHUJAN arranged two workshops regarding the forging of a grand alliance of all stakeholders—particularly the people at the grassroots level, civil society, NGOs, and academics—to create a favorable environment where good, honest, and responsible people can come forward to create a functional society.
There were about 80 participants, including NGO representatives, journalists, and conscientious citizens. The outcome of these workshops was a political reform agenda which expresses the need for:
· Disclosure of financial and criminal records of the candidates
· Registration of political parties
· A stronger Election Commission
· Filing public interest litigation to demand necessary electoral reforms
SHUJAN is working to ensure that these agenda items come to fruition.
From February 9-14, 2005, seventeen investors and activists from Australia, the Netherlands, the UK and, the US visited Bangladesh to meet with their partners in Bangladesh.
The investor trip was mutually rewarding—the villagers were inspired to observe the commitment of their partners from the developed world, and the investors were thrilled to have the opportunity to see the work of The Hunger Project on the ground.
One of our animators, Rokeya Khanam Chowdury, known as Baby, has endured many personal catastrophes and hardships—family tragedies, unsupportive family and friends, and the betrayal of her employees—yet has never lost her unrelenting spirit to achieve.
Baby embraced her entrepreneurial spirit and started her own business with very little capital and very little support. Her friends and family tried to discourage Baby from becoming an entrepreneur, simply because she was a woman. Baby’s determination, though, kept her focus on the path to achieve. In addition to starting her own business, she also started a Suchana Program—a women’s development organization—which gives poor women training so that they too can be successful and self-reliant.
After a series of other hardships, including the ruin of business, Baby participated in THP’s Animators Training Program training in 2000. After attending the training she said that “I was awakened and my inner-self was inflamed.” She was thrown into action. She found herself contacting different banks, the government and other organizations to get her business and the Suchana off the ground again.
Baby’s determination has reaped great rewards. She was successful in rebuilding her business as evidenced by the large orders she received for her work from the US and the UK. And, being inspired by the ideas of THP animator training, Baby has arranged no-fee training programs for slum dwelling women. Twenty-two of these women have become self-employed. She trains women in block printing, batik, embroidery, wool knitting and how to use computers. Baby is truly a visionary.
Anwar Hossain is a brilliant example of how relentless hard work and perseverance can take a person to the pinnacle of success. In 2003, after Anwar participated in THP Animators Training, he became inspired to play an active role in rural development. He organized farmers, youth, and women. He constructed a one-kilometer rural road, and helped to plant saplings, distribute hygienic latrines, and share information on sanitation and nutrition. Anwar is constantly trying to change the mindset of people and encourages them to receive training. THP’s Animators’ Training Program has truly made Anwar a catalyst for change.
Yearly flooding, river erosion, and seasonal famine were once mainstays of Gobindapur—a village of 5,000 people. In 2003, the fate of these villagers was changed—386 villagers participated in the Animator Training. The training was inspirational for the villagers—their spirit was unleashed and they had a vision for their future and a new determination make that vision a reality.
After this initial training, additional workshops were held for villagers on a variety of critical issues—sanitation, the oppression of women, self-employment, education, family planning, etc. Within a few months there was a revolution in the village and change was noticeable everywhere.
As a result of this success, the village formed the Gobindapur Unnayan Samiti (GUS) which is now a driving force of development in the village. GUS has 101 members, with 50 of these being animators. And, of these 50, 40 are women. The village people who were once landless and homeless are now self-employed and earn a moderate living and no longer starve.
Faisal Rahman Jasim is a HP animator from Agalpasha. Although he has a physical handicap—and has faced many challenges and obstacles—ultimately, he has not allowed it to stand in his way, and has persevered to find success.
In March 2003, Faisal participated in the Animators Training, which gave him inspiration and direction. After completing the training he said that “Now I feel an urge to do something for the poor people around me, teaching them a new meaning of life, a new way to live. I am now more confident though I have limitations.” Faisal is a leader in his community. He is a leader in the anti-dowry movement, and organized others in an effort to put an end to child labor and child marriage.
Shamima Yasmin Tultuli, though small in stature, attracts everybody with her smile and strong determination. She is a successful animator and strong organizer. At a very young age, Tultuli learned to bear, on her small shoulders, the burden of her family.
After being sexually assaulted, Tultuli was devastated—she contemplated suicide. To make matters worse, her village leaders decided that Tultuli should marry the boy who assaulted her. She was infuriated and humiliated.
Although Tultuli’s life seemed to spin out of control, she gathered her courage and decided that she would not yield to the village leaders, and took her case to the courts. Unfortunately she was unsuccessful in her court case, and suffered even more abuse and scorn from the community. Her father, the family’s breadwinner, was forced out of business at the instigation of the village leaders. Tultuli’s family faced severe financial hardship.
To help with the family’s expenses, Tultuli took a job as a teacher. While at her school, she came into contact with the daughter of a well-known woman organizer and animator. As a result, Tultuli participated in the Animators Training Program.
Tultuli’s experience at the training unleashed her courage and determination—Tultuli now had a vision for the future and was optimistic. She gained the strength needed to expose the ugly face of society.
Tultuli realized that women need to be empowered and that this is only possible when women have developed their own potential, received training, find work, and earn an income—thus elevating their position in society. She started her own successful bee-farming enterprise and continues her work to organize poor and distressed women. She has inspired rural women to observe International Women’s Day and National Girl Child Day. In collaboration with government offices and other NGOs, Tultuli has organized 36 women’s organizations, which impact the live of over 600 women. Tultuli is a shining example of a woman who has a vision for the future.
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THP Rally on International Women’s Day |
Baby of Sylhet—Empowering women and her own success |
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SHUJAN Roundtable—championing good governance |
Some of Gobindapur’s Animators
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Investors at a village meeting during Investor Trip (February 9-14)
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An empowered Tultuli—A true visionary
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© 2005 The Hunger Project-Bangladesh. All rights reserved. |