Human Development Initiative Community Development for Remote Townships Project (MYA/01/002) HDI PROFILE TANAI TOWNSHIP 2003-2012 Table of Content I. Introduction Page 2 II. Project Coverage Page 3 III. Project Achievements Page 4 IV. Annex Annex I Township coverage villages Annex II Self Reliance Groups Annex III Community Based Organization Annex IV Resource Persons Annex V Activity summary by sector Annex VI Capacity Development/Training summary by sector Annex VII Sector wise Project Inputs Annex VIII Social and Infrastructure achievements by village Annex IX Livelihood achievements by village Page | 1 I. Introduction The UNDP Human Development Initiative (HDI) Since 1993, the HDI has been implemented throughout Myanmar to contribute to the reduction of poverty and food insecurity. As UNDP’s primary programme of assistance, it is composed of several projects including Integrated Community Development Project (ICDP), Community Development for Remote Townships Project (CDRT), HIV/AIDS Project, Microfinance Project, Integrated Household Living Conditions Assessment Project targeted towards interventions having grass-roots level impact in a sustainable manner. It has supported over 8,000 villages in over 60 townships nationwide reaching an estimated 6% of the population. Community Development for Remote Townships Project (MYA/01/002) Objective To cultivate and strengthen the capacity of poor communities and CBOs in selected remote border townships to plan and undertake development activities that address their basic social and food security needs in a participatory, sustainable and transparent manner. Project Outcomes 1. Village community institutions are able to prepare and implement more effective village development activities in a participatory and equitable manner. 2. Village communities able to take care of their and their families’ basic social needs (health and education) as a result of increased skills and knowledge and access to social infrastructure and service. 3. Village communities with improved income and food security as a result of increased skills, knowledge and access to sustainable livelihood services and assets. CDRT Sector-wise Implementation 1. Livelihoods support involved mainly direct cash provision for Project Inputs by Sector agricultural inputs, livestock raising, off-farm activities, as from 2003 to 2012 well as agricultural and livestock training, food bank support, vocational training, micro and small enterprise training, as (Ta-nai Township) Projectwell as Coverage investments in inTa agriculture-nai -As ofrelated Dec 2012infrastructure and forestry. Capaci ty 2. Capacity development for communities include a set of Develo capacity building measures and training aiming at various pment sub-village groups (SRGs, livelihood CBOs) and their resource / persons as well as capacity building targeted at individual Trainin beneficiaries or selected resource persons within the g communities related to vocational training (such as Bamboo Social 11% product making, hair dressing, carpentry and mechanic, food and Livelih processing training, MSE training, Agriculture Extension Infrast ood Worker training, Livestock Extension Worker training, ructur 60% Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) related capacity for e Community Volunteers as well as health and environmental 29% education. 3. Social infra structure assistance includes provision for water and sanitation (as gravity flow system, hand dug wells, tube wells), small infrastructure (small bridges, culverts, footpaths and village road renovation) as well as community forestry/ woodlots, soil conservation and promotion of Page | 2 energy efficient stoves. II. Project Coverage in Ta-nai Township (As of December 2012) Under the UNDP Human Development Initiative Programme, CDRT project operates in 26 townships in the poor border states of Kachin, Chin, Kayin/Mon, and Rakhine. Village Expansion By Year Beneficiaries Kachin Total State 2003 2005 2007-1 2007-2 2008 2010 Coverage HH Male Female Total Villages Ta-nai 4 10 - - - 14 1,892 4,559 4,880 9,439 Township HDI Beneficiaries -As of December 2012 From 2003 until end of 2012, UNDP Ta-nai Township total assistance to Ta-nai township for assisting poor rural communities amounted to 462,014,724 Male Female kyat with project interventions 48% 52% benefiting approximately 9,439 (Male: 4,559 and Female: 4,880) from 1,892 households in 14 villages. Please see Annex I for detailed project coverage by village. % of Villages covered % of Non Targeted Villages in the Township 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% Administrative villages: 60 Page | 3 III. Project Achievement: Village community groups strengthened to implement village development priorities UNDP/CDRT supported the strengthening of the institutional capacities of community based groups with a view to turning them into viable and self-reliant structures to continue to sustain village development even after the closing of HDI. Self Reliance Groups Self-Reliance Groups are formed with community members who have a common background, face similar financial constraints and are interested in improving their livelihoods. Groups are usually made up of 15-20 members and consist mainly of women. SRG is a group of poor people bound by mutual trust, respect and affection who support one another and among whom exploitative relationships do not exist. The basic idea behind forming a voluntary and homogeneous group, which is bound by affinity, is to share responsibility and authority between members so as to achieve their objectives and remove obstacles to progress that would be difficult to achieve individually. HDI has supported 29 SRGs in Ta-nai and a total of 5,474 in Myanmar. Maturity Status of Self Reliance Groups About 100% of SRGs in Ta-nai are Ta-nai Township-as of Dec 2012 functioning and managing well their self-owned and managed revolving Very Weak Fair Weak funds providing regular and affordable 0% 7% credit to its members for livelihood 0% and consumption needs. Through involvement in SRGs, women from poor households gained increased financial and livelihood assets, acquired greater decision making roles Good 93% in both family and village affairs, become more aware of health and social concerns thereby enabling them to advance economically and find solutions to their problems. SRG cluster leading groups (composed of 15-20 SRGs) have been formed to serve as an apex body to allow them greater voice while serving as forum for sharing best practices, finding common solutions and in establishing linkages for training and microfinance. The UNDP supports the strengthening of community groups and organization to be a driving force for strengthening development in rural villages. As of December 2012, UNDP supported a total 29 SRGs with a total membership of female 446 in 11 villages covering 7 village tracts. The cumulative total of SRG common funds amounted to 221,609,400 Kyat as of December 2012.Please see Annex II for detailed SRG information by village. Page | 4 Community Based Organization CBOs are a key and distinct feature of the HDI CDRT project. CBOs are formed either as ad hoc, temporary entities to address a specific task (e.g. related to social infrastructure), or as a group that is supported to have a more lasting presence. Based on needs and interest there can be a variety of groups within a village; ranging from CBOs related to livelihood or asset maintenance, to community managed food banks. CBOs are funded in CDRT through a revolving fund modality for sustaining the development activities. That is, the beneficiaries loan out what they need and payback to the CBO with interest. The profit gained from such revolving funds contributes to the increase of the community fund overall, in addition, it is used as contribution for maintenance of the infrastructure outputs and for own development initiatives of the communities. Thus while the project support under the infrastructure may have been used up for creating the asset, the project support under the livelihood sector should be recovered or in other words “revolve” for future investment. The project delivers its funds to the communities and its Livelihood CBO as a grant, while within the group the funds are loaned out to members and are revolving. There are a total member of 1,855 with male 1,605(87%) and female 250 (13%) as at 2012. Out of 14 villages, a total of 14 villages were covered by CBO members, or equivalent to 100%. A CBO is formed by all or potion of the community members themselves to achieve one or more common objectives of benefiting Maturity Status of Other CBOs themselves. CBOs are formed to Ta-nai Township - As of Dec 2012 satisfy a particular set of recurring type of human needs which is Good Very weak shared by a significant number of 0% 0% individuals from within a community. Food banks (paddy/ rice banks) are one of the specific weak 46% and targeted community based Fair mechanisms set up under the HDI 54% project frame work to address periods of food insecurity at the household level as well as to protect poor from getting further in debt. In Ta-nai, HDI through CDRT has supported the establishment and strengthening of 13 CBOs, of which 100% are functioning well and actively supporting activities for the development of the village. Of 13 CBOs, 13 are livelihood CBOs and operating a group-based revolving funds for supporting livelihood activities of its 1,855 members (female: 250 and male 1,605). As of Page | 5 December 2012, revolving funds totaled Maturity Status of Revolving Fund CBOs 131,136,030 Kyat. Total project assistance Ta-nai Township - As of Dec 2012 Very was only at 251,781,240 Kyat and CBOs weak managed it well doubling now the 0% investment of UNDP. weak 31% Good 31% Please see more detail in Annex III. Fair 38% Community Volunteers/ Resource Persons The immediate objective of the UNDP HDI is to cultivate and strengthen the capacity of village institutions and Community Based Organizations and households in project villages to plan and undertake development activities that address their basic and social and food security needs in a participatory, sustainable and transparent manner.