Introduction
Development Project of the GBC CHP
The GBC CHP has been implementing Participatory Community Development Project (PCDP) partnering with World Renew in Kangsa and Nolkura union under the Jhinaigati Upazila of Sharper District since October 2018. It is an Integrated Community Development Project of the GBC CHP.
The goal of the project is to ‘Transforming community where members are discovering true identity and growing together in better relationship. ‘From the beginning PCDP is working on 5 components such as Community Leadership Development, Functional Literacy, Community Economic Development, Community Health Care and Agriculture and Food Security. PCDP is following 3 tiers approaches in order to make community development sustainable and transforming. Primarily, PCDP forms primary group then Union committee and finally Peoples Institution (PI) in upazila level. PCDP aims to capacitate the PIs so that they could continue the group activities after taking over the responsibilities. PCDP also works with the adolescent boys and girls for building the leadership, raising awareness of different social and health issues, values formationetc. In this reporting year, PCDP experienced pandemic Covid-19 that affected seriously the process of implementation of all the activities. This Covid-19 pandemic made a terrible situation in the world and changed the normal life.
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Community Leadership Development:
Community Leadership Development is one of the components of PCDP by which community people get opportunities exploring their potentialities for developing their leadership quality. The major activities of this component are Group Formation (PG, UC, PI & sub teams) leadership development training, ensuring weekly group meeting, organizing seminar, measuring capacity of groups etc. Necessary trainings and orientations were given to group leaders to make them skilled in leading their groups, and for the enhancement of their capacity. This capacity enables them to monitor and assess their group’s capacity, arrange audit and group election and other relevant activities.
In the group meeting various issues such as group management, group leadership, different social issues like dowry, early marriage, peace and justice, land issues, conflict resolutions, human rights, gender development etc are shared with the community people in order to raise their awareness. PCDP encourages the group members to participate in social development, social security and raise their voice against ill social issues like dowry, early marriage, and poly-marriage, violence against women and children, and social injustice.
The adolescent groups were also given lessons on different social and physical issues: health, family laws and child rights so that they can get a greater understanding in the stage of formation of life. These learning will help them to lead and build their bright future as a potential citizen.
| Number of Primary groups | Number of primary group members | Number of Adolescent groups | Number of Adolescent groups Number of Adolescent group members | Number of Union Committee | Number of PI | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | Female | Total | Male | Female | Total | Boys | Girls | Total | Boys | Girls | Total | ||
| 25 | 35 | 60 | 453 | 609 | 1062 | 12 | 12 | 24 | 240 | 240 | 480 | 2 | 1 |
Economic Development:
Through the component of economic development, PCDP assists group members in different ways to make them financially self-reliant. PCDP’s role is to help the community peoples exploring their potentiality and to find out the available local resources. PCDP encourages the group members to make a saving what becomes a fund meeting the need of capital in initiating income generating activities. Every week the groups sit for their meetings and deposit their savings. The group members themselves collect and manage their savings. PCDP provides training on accounts management for the leaders that they acquire knowledge and skill in keeping accounts and auditing. The group’smembersare encouraged to use their fund in running income generating activities to be self-employed.
This year different types of training were organized for the PG members so that they can initiate IGA activities such as: cow rearing, goat rearing, backyard poultry farming, year-round vegetable gardening etc. The income generating activities implemented by the group members are; chicken and duck rearing, cow rearing, goat rearing, fruit tree cultivation, kitchen gardening, small business, sewing, apiculture etc. The groups are always encouraged to open bank account and deposit their savings in the bank for the safety of their fund. But, opening bank accounts with the scheduled bank is difficult because the bankers discourage the PGs to open bank account with them due to transaction of small amount of money
| Amount of savings | Savings Investment | Number of bank account | IGA | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | Female | Total | Male | Female | Total | M | F | Total | M | F | Total |
| 1902150 | 849804 | 2751954 | 2193278 | 1613800 | 3807078 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 125 | 128 | 235 |
Community Health Care:
The whole world is in turmoil with the corona virus. Corona virus has caused extreme disruption of work everywhere. The PCDP worked to create widespread awareness among group members during this epidemic and held extensive discussions at team meetings, including distributing leaflets and festoons to raise awareness about Corona. It distributed soaps and masks among group members to stay safe from the corona virus. Group members were advised to maintain social distance and always wear masks.
Usually, PCDP carries out awareness work through health lessons among group members during their weekly meeting. PG, UC and PI health sub team are given responsibility to carry out this component. There are also selected community health volunteers who have been given some responsibilities to carry out their duties. During this pandemic PCDP has prioritized some health issues to teach the group members such as: Covid-19, self hygiene, Food and nutrition, Mental health, Water & sanitation, Cleanliness, Maternal and child health care, Family planning and Immunization.
PCDP also works with Adolescent Girls and Boys to teach the health lessons for raising their awareness on different health issues. They were advised to adhere to strict health rules during this pandemic situation. This year PCDP provided health lessons on Health and hygiene, Puberty and adolescents risk behavior, Reproductive and sexual health, Food and nutrition, Mental Health etc. It was not possible to have a meeting with them for some time due to the Corona situation. But they were instructed to follow the health rules.
PCDP encouraged the primary groups to create emergency health fund so that they could use this fund in emergency situation. There is a guideline to use this emergency fund which is developed with the collaboration of primary groups. Till now number of 40 primary groups out of 60 started emergency health fund for their emergency security.
Sustainable Agriculture and Food security:
The objective of this component is to ensure environment friendly agriculture and food security for the community.
Many people have lost their jobs because of the corona virus and are living in misery. In this situation, to get out of this predicament they are initiating agro-based income generating activities. Most of the group members have some lands that they can earn income by producing vegetable and planting fruit trees. This is why PCDP emphasizes on agro-based income generating activities that would be doable by the group members.
The major activities of Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security are training on compost making, workshop on soil nutrient management, herbal pesticide, environment and Agriculture, Nutrition, planting fruit trees, demonstration farming on SRI, kitchen gardening (Nutrition gardening), training on hybrid crop production, seed storing and exposure. The purpose of this component is to make farmers aware of the negative impact of the chemical fertilizer and chemical pesticide in terms of environmental degradation and encourage the farmers to use compost, organic manure and herbal pesticide in their cultivation.
PCDP is trying best to convince farmers so that they are motivated to practice environment friendly cultivation. In this reporting year PCDP implemented a good number of activities for the members: