Annual Report 2008 - 2009 Nijera Kori, 7/8, Block - C, Lalmatia, Dhaka - 1207 Phone: 880-2-8111 372, 8122 199, 9144 085 Fax: 880-2-8122 250 Email: [email protected] Table of contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 1. A Brief Overview of Nijera Kori 7 1.1 Background 7 1.2 Mission of Nijera Kori 7 1.3 Objectives of Nijera Kori 8 1.4 Programme participants of Nijera Kori 8 1.5 Management process of Nijera Kori 8 1.6 Planning, monitoring, evaluation and reporting system of Nijera Kori 9 1.7 Working areas and Nijera Kori 9 1.8 Why is Nijera Kori different? 10 2. Landless Organisations and their Activities 13 2.1 Landless group formation and members 13 2.2 Groups meetings, representative and Joint meetings 15 2.3 Group workshop 16 2.4 Formation of landless committee, meeting and group committee 17 2.5 Group savings, bank account 19 2.6 Joint economic activities 20 2.7 Group consciousness 21 3. Training and Cultural Activities of Nijera KorI 23 3.1 Group training 23 3.2 Follow up activities of training 25 3.3 Training and activities for qualitative enhancement of staff 25 3.4 Cultural activities planned and implemented by groups 27 3.5 Cultural long march/drama festival 29 4. Major Empowerment Support Activities 30 4.1 Legal aid activities 30 4.2 Education activities 32 4.3 Livestock vaccination 33 4.4 People’s community watch committees and its activities 33 4.5 Follow up activities 34 5. Networking and Action for Advocacy at Different Levels 34 6. Research and Publication 40 7. Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation 41 7.1 Participation of the groups in planning, monitoring, evaluation 42 7.2 Participation of the staff in planning, monitoring, evaluation 42 7.3 Participation of executive bodies and others in evaluation process 43 8. Administration and Infrastructure Development 44 9. Financial account 44 10. Key Results and Impacts 45 11. ANNEX 59 Peoples action case studies 59 Organogram 80 Planning and monitoring structure 81 Working areas and geographical coverage (table-82 and map-83) 82 Groups and group coordination committee structure 84 Groups consciousness 85 List of executive committee members 86 Receipts and payments statement (extracted from audit report) 87 Statistical programme achievement tables (table No.of 1 to 22) 88 2 List of Abbreviations: ALRD -Association for Land Reform and Development APWLD -Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development ASIA -Asia Solidarity against Industrial Aquaculture BELA -Bangladesh Environments and Lawyers Association BLAST -Bangladesh Legal Aids Services Trust CDS -Center for Sustainable Development CIDA -Canadian International Development Agency CRC -Chancary Research Consultants DCR -Duplicate Carbon Receipt DD -Deputy Director EED -Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst e.v. FPP -Forest Peoples Programme GD -General Diary HDRC -Human Development Research Centre ICCO -Dutch Inter-church Organisation for Development Co-operation IDS -Institute of Development Studies IFI -International Financial Institution LCS -Labour Contract System MPO -Monthly Payment Order NGO -Non Government Organisation PME -Planning Monitoring and Evaluation RTI -Right to Information TIA -The Access Initiative TIB -Transparency International Bangladesh TOT -Training of Trainers UNO -Upazila Nirbahi Officer UP -Union Parishad UPR -Unversal Periodic Review VGD -Vulnerable Group Development VGF -Vulnerable Group Feeding Glossary Adivasi -Indigenous peoples Aman-Aush -paddy crops Anchal -Area structure Char -Land rising up on the river banks or in the middle of rivers Dakop Upazila Nagorik Committee- A local movement against industrial shrimp cultivation Dhan-Mach-poribesh Rakhha committee Paikgacha- A local movement against industrial shrimp cultivation Khasland -Government property-normally agricultural land and water bodies Korunamoyee Smriti Shanrakhan Committee- A local movement against industrial shrimp cultivation Nirbahi -Executive (as in officer, or committee) Parishad -Committee or council SAMATA -A national NGO Shalish -Alternative Dispute Resolution Samity -People’s association Thana -Police station Union Parishad -The lowest tier of local government Unnayan Onneshan -A research organisation Upazila Parishad – Third tier of local government 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Since 1980, Nijera Kori, an activist NGO in Bangladesh, has been working for the disadvantaged, the exploited and the deprived poor communities in Bangladesh through conscientization, capacity development, advocacy and social mobilisation for their empowerment, equity and social justice. The activities that Nijera Kori undertakes are building awareness, helping develop autonomous organisations of the poor, establishing the norms of gender equality through programme implementation at all levels, and building a capacity of the poor to unite, raise public conscience and demand their lawful rights. There are in total 13,970 landless groups with 287,548 group members representing families consisting 935,400 women, men and children. Of the total number of member organised more than half are women, however on the side of the staff of Nijera Kori stood at 133 female and 249 male in March 2009, showing a trend towards gender equality than previous. Social development inheres a certain dynamism which self propells its growth. This led to expansion of activities in 11 villages, besides programmed consolidation in terms of geographical coverage in 21 villages. Nijera Kori is now working in 17 districts, covering 40 upazila, 307 union and 1,375 villages. After two years of emergency rule, the National Parliamentary Elections held in December 2008 and the upazila elections held in January 2009 have geared Bangladesh back to a democratic system. In most of the cases, Nijera Kori achieved 75 percent targets as set out in the annual activity plan. These are in the areas of group formation, organisation of group meetings, committee formation and holding conventions. In the sector of conscientization and advocacy 90 percent of the target was achieved in holding cultural activities. Ground breaking work has been accomplished with the the adivashis (indigenous people) living in its working areas and already 9 groups new and old have been formed. 4 A noteworthy achievement is the social empowerment of women members who graduated into political leadership in local governments having been freely elected as members. Nijera Kori’s consistent mobilisation activities, specially, in terms of increasing awareness about women’s rights is paying off. In the activity year two landless female members got elected to the post of upazila Vice Chairman in upazila election against powerful political contestants. The poor have shown great sense of economic discipline and reaped benefits from joint economic activities by the groups. There was a significant increase of joint economic activities managed by the groups in which they utilised their own savings and invested in economic pursuits. By the end of the year, a total of Tk 38,893,793 was invested out of the group savings and a total of TK 3,151,642 was earned as profit from joint economic activities by the groups. Besides providing economic and social profits joint economic activities create job opportunity. An estimated 17,894 empowerment opportunities were created over a period of 6 months. At present, at the end of the year the group members saving amount to TK.50,734 which is operated through 4,320 bank accounts. Group mobility has been encouraging. During the year, 159 landless groups have graduated from primary level to secondary level, 257, from secondary level to third level 38. Through this capacity building process they are able to plan and manage their activities independently. With increased awareness the group members can now defend their own rights. In cases where their basic rights are challenged by powerful vested interest groups, they are taking initiative to defend themselves and seek legal recourse. The activity year saw, in total 52 cases settled in the court, out of which, in 49 cases verdicts were in their favour and the remaining are under appeal in higher court. Gender sensitivity and health care were stringed together with awareness building programme from this year for group members and staff. Nijera Kori planned and implemented a total of 146 need based training courses participated by 3,575 group members towards building awareness and leadership competence. Through proper need analysis, Nijera Kori also organised 29 training courses for staff development. These included MIS and reporting system which contributed to building staff capacity to address change and set and attain newer objectives on the basis of need. A total of 2,565 Nijera Kori landless group members worked as adjudicating members in various village salishes. (Alternative Dispute resolution) Besides, a total of 909 Nijera Kori’s members were elected in various government bodies (local government such as union council, upazila council, school committee, market committee, etc.) and are actively involved in promoting the cause and interests of the poor on the basis of fairness. Nijera Kori’s social mobilisation processes also include the preservation and promotion of the culture of the common people, based on the mottos of the traditional Bangladeshi society on secularism, tolerance, non-violence to resist all forms of religious bigotry and violence. Nijera Kori’s cultural group, formed 5 with members from landless group organised cultural activities on these themes to preserve the values. They have performed 734 dramas, 486 people song, along