Annual Report June 2015

F O R E W O R D

We have the pleasure to have the opportunity to publish the Annual Activities report of NIHARIKA covering the progress, achievements and limitations for the period from July 2014 to June, 2015. The period was much significant for its growth, development and expanded collaboration with the local & national GO/NGO counterparts. Over the period, NIHARIKA has achieved considerable success in fulfilling its mission towards the beneficiaries, building organizational capacity and establishing best practices in program operations and activities. NIHARIKA is now on the right track for achieving operational, financial and institutional sustainability in spite of its financial & other limitations.

 

Starting through a devoted commitment and sincere effort, NIHARIKA has been able to uplift itself to the present status with its committed staff members & services to direct program beneficiaries. NIHARIKA is committed to launch its mission in the coming years through learning by doing approach. Its main strength is its skilled and dedicated team of staff.

 

For our running endeavors, we express our gratitude to the Government of Bangladesh, to our partners, friendly organizations and the partner group peoples. We also convey our grateful thanks to the members of the executive and general council of NIHARIKA for their kind inspiration & co-operation.

 

I like to thank my beloved colleagues for their sincere contributions towards the publication of this report,

 

November, 2015.

 

Hosne Ara Begum
Executive Director
NIHARIKA

Contents

 

PART – 1 : Program Structure and Achievements

 

• Institution building
• Savings Accumulation
• Micro-credit operations
• Women Development & gender
• Tree Plantation Sustainable Environment
• Health Awareness
• Non-formal Education program
• HRD & training
• Agriculture Development program
• Water & sanitation

 

PART – 2 : NIHARIKA Basic Information

 

• Vision
• Mission
• Objectives
• Program Strategies
• Geographical Coverage
• Present Staff Strength
• Ongoing Programme interventions
• Management Structure

PART – 1:

Program Achievements of NIHARIKA during 2014-2015

 

Institution Building:

Institution building refers to a process that starts at grass root level with group formation and ends up with forming structure. This activity is vital to empower the resource poor grassroots and initiate collective effort to combat the persistent poverty. The groups are provided necessary training to uplift their level of consciousness. Each group has an elected executive body. Before providing credit, group members need to pass a test on their integrity and carrying out group norms. Groups are the base of implementing socioeconomic programs. So far, all groups organized by NIHARIKA are women groups.

Components	Achievements
1. No. of Groups	35
2. No. of Group members	625
3. Savings deposited	5,67,900
4. Savings withdrawn	93,426
5. Savings outstanding	9,45,340
6. No. of branches	3
7. Thana	3
8. District	3

 

Micro-credit Operations:

Micro credit program in NIHARIKA is the most vital component under the socio-economic development sector. Credit money is given to group members for undertaking income-generating activities. The individual group prepares credit proposals for their members and subsequently is checked by NIHARIKA authority before making payment of the credit money. At present loans are to be repaid by weekly installments within 46 weeks with service charge. Savings fund money for the group members is also utilized in the Credit program. Group itself remains as collateral against the group members' loan. Present rate of recovery is above 98%. Although women constitute half of the population, majority of them are illiterate, malnourished and deprived due to prevailing socio-cultural practices. Micro-credit gives the opportunity to assist the women to be established in the society with respect and right.

Overall credit program activities during the year are shown in the following table:

 

Activity-wise Loan Distribution in the Year

Purpose / Activity	Percentage
Agri. farming	18 %
Cattle / goat repairing	10 %
Small business	19 %
Rickshaw/ Van puller	10 %
Fish culture	15 %
Handicrafts	10 %
Vegetable gardening	13 %
Nursery	5 %
Total	100 %

 

Women Development and Gender:

NIHARIKA is an active initiator in the sector of working for the empowerment of women establishing their rights and state in all walks of the society. The Gender Program aims at giving women more access to economic resources and decision making process NIHARIKA gives special emphasis on women involvement in organizational policy making, management and over all decision making process. Major objective of the program includes:

 

• To create awareness about gender role in society.
• To create gender friendly working environment within and outside organization.
• To reduce discrimination faced by the women community in family and in the society.
• To introduce gender sensitive program planning.
• To create logical access to health, education and other vital services.

NIHARIKA has been working to establish gender balanced staff pattern. In the reported year, training courses were conducted for group leaders on gender awareness. NIHARIKA observed international women’s day and other special days jointly collaborating with the local NGOs and respective Govt. department in the locality.

 

Tree Plantation & Sustainable Environment:

According to the environment protection Act 1995, environment includes water, air, land physical properties and the inter relationship between them. Bangladesh has many environment problems, natural or man-made, such as water contamination, industrial pollution, poor health and sanitation, deforestation, salinity etc., which we have to face, solve or compensate for. In order to promote, protect and expand natural resources and to link all development activities with environment for quality life, we must have to work with environment issues in the following way:

 

• Promoting Sustainable environment
• Promoting Community based environment resources management.
• Ensure activators participation in environment protection activities.
• Promote environment friendly activities.
• Create public awareness.
• Create social and homestead plantation.

 

Health & Population Awareness Program:

In order to develop an effective Primary Health Care Delivery System, to avert high birth rate, maternal and child mortality, to prevent communicable diseases and to check STD-HIV/AIDS, NIHARIKA, since its inception is running community health education program with its own effort. The primary objective of the program is:

 

• To create health and nutrition awareness
• To provide preventive health education, motivation & information.
• To promote safe delivery of babies
• To check communicable diseases
• To create opportunity for safe drinking water
• To avert high population growth
• To improve nutritional status
• To aware about HIV/AIDS prevention

Following table shows the activities under this program during the year:

 

Non- formal Education Program:

During the last decade, Bangladesh has achieved significant success in increasing enrolment in primary and secondary education. But still 30% of the children in the 6-10 age groups never enter the primary school while 40% drops out before completion. Adult literacy rate is the lowest in the world at about 62%. Based on the above scenario and considering education as the most powerful weapon to establish peoples freedom, democracy and empowerment, NIHARIKA has been in the non-formal education sector actively during the part 4/5 years.

NIHARIKA has been implementing non-formal child education program with the collaboration of brac. Main objectives of the program include:

• To compliment the Govt.’s literacy target.
• To ensure 100% enrolment of children to primary school at 6.
• To encourage the children to continue in the primary stage till standard 5
• To reduce drop out at all levels of education specially among girls students
• To grow interest among the parents to continue their kids in the primary school
• To utilize existing GO/NGO educational facilities at all levels.
• To create and enhance easy accessibility of women in the higher education sector.
• To initiate life oriented functional education among the adults.

 

Vulnerable Group Development (VGD) programme:

Vulnerable Group Development Programme (VGD) is a National development intervention that exclusively targets ultra-poor households. About 750,000 direct ultra-poor participants across the country received monthly food ration for the household and a development support services (inclusive of live skills and income generating skills training, savings and access to credit) for a cycle. To ensure sustainability of development results and to provide women with opportunities to further improve their livelihoods VGD participants will be mainstreamed into regular NGO development programme after completing the cycle.

Sewing & Tailoring for poor Women

Project Location

District	Upozila	No. of Unions	No. of beneficiary
Shariatpur	palong	2	120

 

Objectives of the Project:

a) To activate the targeted women in collective self employment activities in order to enhance family income and ultimately standard of living.

b) To train up 120 selected women from different conditions on a 45 days sewing and tailoring training.

c) To range for individual entrepreneurship, for each of the trained women at their own family locations through providing sewing machine each of them.

d) To providing technical and manage mental support as and whenever necessary.

e) To collaborate and assistance for market favorable conditions.

f) To promote the lining condition of 120 underprivileged families.

Expected output:

a) 120 selected women will be skilled in sewing and tailoring.

b) After successful completion they will be afforded one sewing machine each of them.

c) They will establish their own service centre for rural women.

d) 120 women will be able to self-employed.

e) Their family income will be increased.

f) As a result, 120 families will be able to improve their living.

g) If will promote overall women empowerment.

HRD & Training:

NIHARIKA considers training to be the most powerful phenomena for building capacity of the organization. It has been continuing training activities for the staff members and the partner beneficiaries’ group people since inception. During the last 12 months it has organized a total of 7 courses on deferent program issues where staff and beneficiaries participated.

 

Agriculture Development Program :

Bangladesh is mostly an agriculture based country and over 75% of its population still directly associated with agricultural activities, considering the matter, NIHARIKA from its beginning running agriculture based areas. It contributed the farmers to enhance skill, help to enhance agricultural products through poultry, livestock, fish culture and agriculture extension works with its own finance.

 

Water &sanitation :

Most of the rural diseases caused by contaminated water and unhygienic sanitation. People are some sort ignorant about the issues and they do not get safe drinking water hygienic sanitation facilities. NIHARIKA has been waking with these issues for the last few years with the assistance of NGO forum. It runs 2 centers for producing sanitary materials namely VSC centre.

 

PART – 2: Basic Information

 

Full name: NIHARIKA

Founding year: 2002

Nature of the Organization: NIHARIKA is a non profit, non- govt., non political voluntary Development

organization aimed at its targeted beneficiaries irrespective of gender, religion,

cast, creed & ethnicity.

Office Address:Head Office:

132, Darus Salam, (1^st floor) Eastern Housing Project-1

Kallayanpur, Mirpur, Dhaka-1216, Bangladesh

Telephone: 880-02-8091632, 9012956

Cell: 01819-227030, 01779-476255

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Web: www.niharikabd.org

 

Contact person with address:

1) Abu Saleh Md.ZiaulHoqueRaihan, President.

2) HosneAra Begum, General Secretary &E.Director.

132, Darus Salam, (1^st floor) Eastern Housing Project-1

Kallayanpur, Mirpur, Dhaka-1216, Bangladesh

Telephone: 880-02-8091632, 9012956,

Cell: 01819-227030, 01779-476255

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Web : www.niharikabd.org

 

Legal Status:

 

Bank Name: Dutch - Bangla Bank Limited, Mirpur Branch, Mirpur -1, Dhaka-1216

 

Vision:

The poor and underprivileged people have consecutively been exploited by the rich. They will work for the betterment of their life. The organization will just play the role of catalyst.

 

Mission:

To establish a sustainable organization devoted to other and ensure quality and responsible service to improve the self esteem and self confidence of members, especially women to establish self employed sustainable livelihood dignified life.

 

PART – 2: General Introduction

Organizational objectives:

To organize the destitute, poor and disadvantaged people in groups and develop collective leadership among them

• § To undertake Institution building, Micro-Finance program, Agriculture & Social Forestry, Poultry & Livestock, Education Programs.
• § To facilitate member to create employment opportunity through skill development generating self financed capital and organization support.
• § To impart training to enhance the capability of the members to select plan and manage a feasible IGA. So that it can enable them to increase the purchasing capacity subsequently the quality of life.
• § To increase access to educational opportunities for children, adolescent and adult members through nonformula education and literacy centers.
• § To produce a wide range of services relating to human rights, family law and legal support to protect vulnerable victims from any sorts of oppression.
• § To undertake various environmental including environmental education, plantation, solid water management etc and ensure safe and hygienic water and sanitation program.

Geographical coverage:

District	Upazila/Thana	No.  of Unions	No. of Villages	No. of Direct beneficiary
Shariatpur	Palong, Zazira	3 2	18 15	1800 1000
Joypurhat	JoypurhatSadar, Akkelpur&Khetlal	6 5 5	25 20 18	1500     1200     1500
Bogra	BograSadar Sherpur	2 4	9 26	1500 2500
Total	07	27	131	11,000

 

Management practices:

The organization has a general body which is the prime authority for formulating policies and Strategies, approved periodical budget and look after program implementation. It has also an Executive council presently consisting of 7 members which is actually the authority to ensure dynamic administration and management of the organization, plan and execute development programs, control finance & accounts and look after personnel and program issues. It has the provision to form management committees at its project offices to run the project activities smoothly.

 

Target population:

NIHARIKA organizes its member on the following criteria:

Poor and under privileged people specially woman, adolescent who are willing to join the organization with a desire to positively change their life and livelihood.

• Poor and extreme poor, which are unable to build any capital from their fragile income and compel to live in the vicious poverty cycle but willing to come out through basing and undertaking income generating activities.
• People who are engaged in any income generating activity and likely to establish small enterprise.

Program Interventions:

Non –formal education

Women development & gender

MCH care & nutrition awareness

Vulnerable Group Development (VGD)

Poultry, livestock & fish culture

Rural Nursery & social forestry

Skill development training

Safe Drinking water & sanitation

HIV/AIDS awareness

Sewing & Tailoring

Existing manpower:

Association & Collaboration:

• NGO Forum
• District NGO Network
• Upazila NGO Network
• SERA

Funding source:

Donation from EC & GC members

Local Donation

Membership subscription

Income through Projects

Foreign Donation

Deptt. of Women affairs (GoB)

Program Strategies:

v Reviewing program activities in objective manner.

v Giving emphasis to hardcore, under privileged and ethnic minorities.

v Raising critical and functional awareness through formal & informal training and education.

v Promoting sustainable human development.

v Expanding quality education facilities.

v Promoting gender relations both at organizational and social perspective.

v Working as a learning organization.

v Forging links with GO/NGO, Donor and related concern to tap resources.

v Building and continuing network to share experience and enhance capacity.

Strengths:

• Fourteen years socio-economic development activity experience
• Good governance
• Dynamic management
• Competent support service activities
• Efficient, skilled, experienced and dedicated staff members
• Adequate training facilities
• Effective co-ordination with Govt., community authorities and other counter parts
• Continuous efforts towards organizational sustainability
• Partnership with Bangladesh Govt. through programs.

The End