DIRECTOR MESSAGE It is now thirty one years that Uttaran has been working for the development of the people. Since its inception in 1985, in a small village of Jatpur, a remote village in Southwest Bangladesh, Uttaran has been fighting to establish a society with gender, caste and class equality. Today we have successfully expanded our activities to 205 more Unions of 40 Upazilas under 13 different districts. In these three decades. Uttaran, throughout its journey, has fought to ensure that the landless people get the access to the state owned khaslands. Till date, we have successfully facilitated the process of Khasland distribution among 35,350 landless families living in Southwest Bangladesh. In the Southwest region of the country, severe food insecurity persist and at the same time the economy here is completely based on agriculture. Uttaran therefore has always given a special emphasis for the establishment of sustainable agriculture. based on the natural settings. Along wity cyclones, monsoon flood and human induced water logging occurs in almost every year and has increased the suffering of the local people immensely. Uttaran has therefore taken numerous unique initiatives to address these issues which are based on the local people's knowledge. One of the biggest achievements of Uttaran is advocating the implementation of the Tidal River Management (TRM) which is now being adopted by the national policy makers to deal with the issues of water logging and climate change in this region. We are highly motivated to enhance the capacity of our nation and thus our special concern is towards the youth. Therefore to enhance their capacity and enable them to become self dependent, we are supporing two primary schools, one high school, two colleges, three technical schools and youth forum. 2015-2016 was and eventful year and I am privileged tor present this Annual Report to all our stakeholders. I would like to thank our beneficiaries who hae helped Uttaran fo fulfil our dreams to establish an equal and just society. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank each and every staffs of Uttaran whose dedication and commitment for the organization makes it unique. Last but not hte least, I would like to thank all our development partners whose financial and technical supports and motivation inspired Uttaran throughout our journey. Shahidul Islam Director 01 CONTENTS Working Area Map 03 Uttaran at a Glance 04 RIGHTS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE PROGRAMME APARAJEO Project 05 SALE Project 05 SEMPT Project 07 CLASSBd Project 07 Human Rights Project 09 EWG Project 09 CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION AND DISASTER RESPONSE PROGRAMME CRPARP Project 11 Child resilience project 11 ER Project 11 Sustainable River Basin Management (SRBM) 13 Supporting the Government TRM Project 13 ICS Program 15 Immediate Recover Support for the Flood and Waterlogged affected families 15 inclusive resilience Project 15 Early Recovery Project 15 HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND FOOD SECURITY PROGRAMMME WASH Project 17 SAFAL Project 17 Food Bank 19 BDEP Project 19 ASIA Project 21 EDUCATION Sishutirtha Primary School 23 Samokal 23 Shaheed Muktijoddha Mohabiddaloy 23 Skill for Employment Investment Program (SEIP) 25 School Feeding Programme 25 Muktijoddha Abdus Salam Gono Granthagar 25 Active Citizen Youth Leadership Training 27 PRODIGY Project 27 IDRT Project 27 INTEGRATED RURAL EMPOWERMENT AND DEVELOPMENT THROUGH MICROFINANCE Micro Entrepreneurship Development Project 29 FINANCIAL STATEMENT 31 02 RIGHTS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE PROGRAMME APARAJEO Project (APARAJEO-Access to Public Resources by Asserting Rights and Justice for Economic Opportunities) Khas land (State land) that can be allocated to the and now she is self-employed, has her own house poor landless people which could help in poverty and spends most of her time working on her water reduction. bodies and looking after her family. With support of MJF-DFID the project is supporting Jamila got married there, with Rezaul Molla. A directly and indirectly10,650 families, including labourer by profession, Rezaul could bring food 44,000 landless people, while 3,500 families will get to the table when he got work while starving the access to 2,800 acres of both land and water bodies days without work. The couple had a child but in and 50% of the families will get the chance to order to have a daughter, they had two further diversify and increase their income sources. child, all of them sons, and Rezaul worked day A total 1,245 landless families have been rehabilitated and night to feed his 3 sons. by the Government Khasland and water bodies. When they got the news about the khasland Among them, 441 families received 337.48 acres of allocation by government, they tried to enlist their land, out of which are 43 female-lead families, while name under the landless list. However it was so 455 landless fishermen families received 526.65 acres tap and struggling for them. Finally Uttaran stood of water bodies and 349 families received 202.12 beside them, they enlisted as landless, applied acres of khas land. A total 4,474 beneficiaries have for khasland and finally got allocation of 70 received Government social safety net assistance decimals of khasland. (VGD, VGF, Old Age Allowance, Widow Allowance, Disability Allowance, etc), 1,271 beneficiaries have Sustainable Access to Land Equality received 100 days work allowance, 560 women Project have been made self-employed and also received With the help of the European Union, Uttaran has the opportunity for paid work. implementing the "Sustainable Access to Land Equality" Government provided khas land project. SALE partners are taking the main has changed Jamila Khatun's life responsibility of the public awareness of vulnerable land owners, capacity support to make the Jamila, now leading a prosperous and happy life, vulnerable land owners sensitive land administration, lives with her husband and son. A day labourer 12 participatory khasland selection process. In addition, years ago, she is now financially stable and has a SALE will document the good practices, learning and successful household due to her access to khas land. challenges of land reform. Jamila Khatun has achieved all this with Uttaran's help 03 441 families received 337.48 acres of state land. 04 A total 2,496 women, 1270 widow, 3,840 extreme "Uttaran gave me an existence. Without them, poor, 349 religious minority and 39 disabled have acquiring this land was out of the question. I was not gotten legal legitimacy (registration/record) of their aware about my rights to my father's land and I did land as part of the pilot project in three upazilas. not have such courage to stand up to my brother. Partnership with Department of Land Records and SEMPTI Surveys under Ministry of Land, Kadaster, the Netherlands and Cadasta Foundation, USA have With support of UKAID and SDC, Uttaran supported been developed and working. 33,000 ultra poor households of south-western Bangladesh in order to bring out them from extreme Sufiya Begum, 45, is a childless divorcee who poverty through accessing Khasland/khas water bodies earns a low income as a housemaid in and assets. At a glance achievement in the reporting Chokkalipur, Jamalpur. Sufiya received 0.75 year is given below: decimals of land from her brother following their father's death, but their relationship turned sour Classification Women and when she realised she was entitled to more. of Land Number Acres of men ratio in Sl. received by of BHHs Khasland case of access "I have been living with my brother on our the BHHs to khasland parents' land for a long time. My brother gave 1. Permanent 1005 242.12 50 : 50 me a small house, where I reside." 2. Temporary (DCR) 1211 217. 98 35 : 65 "When I came to know about my warish rights to 3. Water bodies 140 174.96 02 : 98 my father's land for the first time, I told my brother to give me my share. My brother got angry and Total: 2356 635.06 annoyed, and he beat me. He was saying 'I In the reporting year, the project was able to transfer already gave you a house, why do you need this assets to 539 households in eight categories mainly in land in your name?' My brother was in no way small business, transport (Rickshaw van) Livestock, ready to share this land but I continued to argue beef fattening and cow rearing, crop based that if my sisters and I were entitled to be the agricultural, fish culture, boat and net. sharers of this land, then he had to give it to us." Community Legal Services in the "I mentioned all this to Uttaran, and asked her Southwest Bangladesh (CLASSBd) Project support. With the assistance of Uttaran, Bondona forwarded our case to the government officer, telling With the financial support of the DFID through him that my brother was depriving us of our father's Maxwell Stamp PLC, British Council and CIDR, Uttaran land by force. My name and those of my sisters is implementing community legal services in the were included in the khatian during the attestation southwest Bangladesh (CLASSBd) project since 2014. phase.After this my brother again shouted at me and A total of 4,320 legal awareness courtyard meetings scolded me; he also tried to omit our names from the have been held, in which 151,798 people were record. But he could not do it." participated. 05 A total 2,496 women, 1270 widow, 3,840 extreme poor, 349 religious minority and 39 disabled have gotten legal legitimacy (registration/record) of their land. 06 A total 103 bimonthly meetings with upazila and union Sustaining Capacity building of the grassroots Legal Aid Committee while 12 meetings were held with District Legal Aid committee.