JOCV, Working at Project Sites MMr.r H. Hiriorkoik Wi Wataatnaanbaebe Program Officer, LMC, BRDB HQ apan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer (JOCV) is one of J "Link Model is a new approach, which has JICA's technical cooperation schemes. Currently about 50 possibilities to change existing rural deve- JOCVs in different specialties are working in various parts lopment. Hope to share this concept and of . At PRDP-2 project sites, five JOCVs in rural make the best efforts together." community development are assigned on union basis and Participatory Rural one Senior JOCV Program Officer is posted at LMC to Development Project coordinate the JOCV activities. They are working in close Ms. Chizu Kadooka collaboration with UDOs/Os for (a) motivating and Community Dev. Salla Union, , Tangail Phase-2 empowering villagers through the formation of Village "I focus most of my activities on woman January 2006 Committees (VCs) and Mohila Boithok (MBs), and (b) empowerment. Woman in villages can organizing NBDs' VC visit and training of villagers to MONTHLY BULLETIN think and do many things by their own Volume IV improve the quality of villagers' life, and (c) monitoring VC initiatives." schemes. JOCVs are sent to Bangladesh after 3-month intensive training of Bengali language. During two years assignment, they can not only polish Bengali but also get Mr. Masaya Fukumoto Community Dev. Jagatpur Union, Titas, Comilla "Implementing VC scheme, para roads, is a good practice for realizing villagers' common interests. I was fascinated by their wisdom and devotion."

Ms. Natsuyo Sawaki Community Dev. Narandia Union, Kalihati, Tangail "I put more importance in women empowerment through Mohila Boithok activities. Wish to contribute to their better quality of life."

Mr. Takanori Sakamoto Community Dev. Shahadebpur Union, Kalihati, Tangail Photo: Four JOCV members attending the brikko mela (tree planting fair) held at "Everyone can learn from this PRDP-2 Narandia union in August 2005. project. Working with UDO/O, we learn to familiar with local culture, society and value system by each other and try to do more for better working always among villagers, sharing food and cha implementation." with people. They are recognized by villagers as friends, members of family and the society. JOCV play an important role as young Ambassadors at the grass-roots Mr. Kei Umezawa Community Dev. Bangra Union, Kalihati, Tangail bridging the two countries and promoting mutual Bangladesh Rural Development Board understanding and trust between Bangladeshi and "Link Model encourages not only villagers Japanese. and concerned NBDs, but also project staff Palli Bhaban (5th Floor) Other than the six JOCVs currently assigned here, Mr. and myself. Wish to realize villagers' 5 Kawran Bazar, Dhaka-1215 Ryohei Segawa, Mr. Takaaki Yano, and Ms. Noriko Numata common interests by my own activities." Tel&Fax : 880-2-8124113 left for home after successfully completing their : 880-2-8131037 assignment at Meherpur Sadar (Kutubpur union), Kalihati E-mail : [email protected] (Shahadebpur union) and Kalihati (Narandia union), Five more JOCV will joined in April 2006. URL : www.prdp2.org respectively. Their devotion has been highly appreciated Published by Project Director (PRDP-2), Advisor : Md. Humayun Kabir not only by the villagers but also by all the project staff. Chief Editor : Md. Tajammul Hossain, Editor : Rakibul Hasan

PRDP Project Offices 1. Kalihati 4. Titash all the households or by direct beneficiaries, and (v) contribution Kalihati site office has moved PRDP has rented an office space nearby the new of the minimum 10% matching fund from the UP. from office to Kalihati compound which is now under development. A UDO/O office is Upazila Palli Bhaban (BRDB). accommodated in an existing union parishad, and another Seven Unions hold First UCCM On top of the one-story Palli continues using a part of the old UDC built by the Model Rural Bhaban, about 300-m 2 1st Development Project (BRDB/JOCV project) back in 1990s. floor was constructed. It has two office rooms, one VC Scheme (3) meeting room and a spac- As of the end of January a total of 23 VC schemes are proposed ious veranda. A 30-member from the existing VCs in the 6 on-going unions for immediate working force including URDO, implementation in the current dry season. Implementing the VC a full-time ARDO, a JICA expert, schemes is a fresh challenge for our newly recruited UDOs/Os. 11 UDOs, 11 Os, 8 JICA employed They are going to help VCs carry out the schemes right after Research Assistant , Research Associate they will have undergone an intensive one-week training in the and Research Officer, and 4 JOCV volunteers share the two early February on the basis of a revised VC Scheme Guideline large office rooms with m inimum partitions following Japanese that has been developed by the project experts. working style. The meeting room accommodates not only PRDP meetings but also some important common meetings in the Upazila. UDO/O offices are also being furnished in the respective UPCs, or tentative spaces offered by union parishad where UPC are yet to UP Chairman delivering a speech in Nagbari 1st UCCM held on 24 January 2006 be built. Seven unions held their first UCCM in January 2006. They 2. WTI are Birbashinda, Elenga, Kokdahara, Nagbari and Paikara unions in Kalihati; Pirojpur union in Meherpur Sadar; and The old WTI (Tangail Women Training Institute) has been Jiarkandi union in Titash upazila. The first few UCCM are renovated for common use by WTI and PRDP's training. It has "quasi-UCCM" among UP, NBDs and a few NGOs. VCs are yet ten well furnished hostel rooms that accommodate 20 trainees. to join them after being formulated one after another. Since an agreement was made for the existing 11 WTI staff to The RS (Research Associate) of Meherpur Sadar site reports be incorporated in PRDP training program, the total working about the first UCCM of Pirojpur union held on January 9, force of about 20 including PRDP as well as WTI staff will be 2006: URDO (Meherpur Sadar) made a briefing about the accommodated in this facility. Most of the furnitures and concept, framework and methods of PRDP-2, while each equipment are being renewed. attending NBD officers introduced their respective job performance and plans. UNO of Meherpur Sadar, who was invited as a guest of honor, encouraged the participants to Photo : VC Scheme mapping conducted by UDO and villagers leap forward by making best use of the link-model The 23 schemes are para road repair (19), ring culvert (1), mechanizm. 42 members attended out of 50 eligible UCCM members. WTI Picture village-wide sanitation (1), walling of school compound (1), and soil-filling of school ground (1). Although PRDP had been Another example: Paikara union in Kalihati upazila held its suggesting more diversified schemes including even "software- first UCCM on January 26, 2006. Following UDO's thorough schemes", constraints of closing scheme account before March briefing about the concept, methods and essential elements (for JICA) and June (for GOB) have forced them to come up with of the PRDP-2, each attending NBD officers and UP secretary regular somewhat "hardware-schemes". introduced their respective duties and activities. In the Q&A As noted repeatedly in the earlier news bulletins, PRDP has session that followed, a training instructor, who is the ex-UDO placed a relatively high hurdle for each VC to clear prior to of PRDP-1, LMC staff and JICA experts who were present scheme implementation. They are (i) a relatively lengthy steps in there helped the UDO interact with the participants. UP 3. Meherpur Sadar scheme proposal to ensure bottom-up process of scheme Chairman, in his concluding speech, expressed his determination and motivated the participants to changing the eherpur Sadar site office has been accommodated in the planning, (ii) UP tax clearance from all the households in the M quality of life of villagers by actively participating in the Link existing Upazila Palli Bhaban. Two UDO/O offices are village, (iii) the scheme ceiling cost of Taka 50,000, Model. accommodated in the respective UPCs. (iv) contribution of the minimum 20% matching fund either from