Leya

Programme Description

13: Programme description of LEYA:

i. Awareness Buildup/Consciousness Raising & Group Formation: LEYAbelieve in the Social, Economic, Religion and Human Development may be achieved with the

discussion and participation of the local people. It also believes that after motivation individuals will make group. So, the organization has been organizing small groups with people from the deprived, neglected, landless, marginal farmers, divorced widow and

abandoned and destitute women. It has been motivating and conscious raising these people to develop their Socio-economic condition. It believes that greater changes of the Society may be possible through joint actions and efforts.

Objectives of group formation:

F To organize the disadvantaged people of the society, specially the women.

F To develop active & analytical participation and savings tendency among organised members.

F To motivate and educate the people through weekly meetings and discussing different topics

F The following activities were undertaken to attain the objectives

F To form women/men’s small groups

F Motivate the target families for regular Savings.

One of the major activities is to form small groups through organizing the distressed people for their socio-economic upliftment. Federated groups are formed by a number of homogeneous core groups. Average core group size is 30 members. Each core group is sub-divided into sub groups of 05 members. Organized groups have Resolution Book, Saving Book & Cash Book. Each group member posses Pass Book against her/his savings. Group savings money is deposited in the Bank Account in the name of the group.

ii. Training support for skill & human development: Training plays an important role in Socio-economic development area, because the staffs and the beneficiaries should be trained enough to implement different development activities. So, training program is the most essential for an organization. The targeted people are made conscious through the staff. Every human has some hidden qualities and knowledge but due to

some circumstances he could not reveal these knowledge and qualities. So, through training, this hidden knowledge can be revealed. A worker can do that work in organized ways and promptly. We think, training is a learning process in development and this learning is essentials for every one. Considering these, it arranges different training of the beneficiaries and staff members. LEYA mobilized its target beneficiaries to form equity among them by giving some skill development trainings. After the completion of the course, participants were seen very willing about sharing the learning among them.

Training Sessions conducted by LEYA:

i) Social Awareness Rising & Women Development Training.

ii) Leadership Development Training.

iii) Group Accounts & Record Keeping Training.

iv) Mother & Child Health Care Training:

v) Family Management & Cooking Balanced Food Training

vi) Environment A Wariness Raising Training:

vii) Preventive Health Care Training:

viii) Credit Utilization:

ix) Handicrafts Training:

x) BCC

Training Facilities of LEYA: It is one of the most significant initiatives of LEYA that training facilities are available in its all Unit Offices, from which producers, group members, group leaders and LEYAdevelopment workers are trained up regularly. Producers and group members are getting continuous on the job training from the training centers of LEYA. Two Sessions could be arranged at a time including 60 participants with proper accommodation. Relevant training materials are also available here. Training aid available:

· Guidelines/ Curriculum

· White Board and Clip Board

· Picture

· Camera

· Pen (Writing & Marker) Note Book. Bags & File Folders

iii. Health Program: The organization has a health program under which it is providing health support to its beneficiaries. One MBBS doctor is providing health services to its beneficiaries of the working areas. LEYA has started integrated health program

target families based on the following objectives;

- To make the people of operation area aware about health.

- To educate about water and sanitation.

- To educate about sexual transmitted diseases and provide Family Planning knowledge and supply of contraceptives to the family Planning users.

- To provide primary treatment to the poor patients.

- To educate on Nutrition Education.

- To advice the pregnant mothers and to provide the TT;

- Medical Check up for ailments;

- Free prescription &

- Free Oral Saline distribution etc.

iv. Water & Sanitation Project: To ensure use of safe water and sanitary latrine among the rural poor community LEYA has taken Utahan Boithak, School Programme on Water & Sanitation, Training on Sanitation, Slab and rings distribution the following activities with assistance of NGO Forum. LEYA has been implementing an innovative approach to promote people led total sanitation in the development areas with technical and financial support from NGO Forum for drinking water supply and sanitation and Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE), GoB.The Organization believes that many of the health-related problems could be mitigated if get access to safe drinking water and proper sanitation.

At present, although government trying to establish health care facilities in the rural communities but inadequate facilities and lack of awareness on personal hygiene often affect the rural poor specially women, and children to spread out diseases. Personal and environmental cleanliness, hygienic sanitation and safe drinking water help to get a way-out of the situation.

LEYA believes in people’s fullest participation in the planning process of a new intervention, and sensitizes them in implementation and monitoring as it ensures the ownership and provides assurance of success of the intervention. Community led total sanitation is such an intervention where community people take the entire activities to make the program a success. As a part of the action plan LEYAprovides support in hardware and software i.e. tube-wells and sanitary and offset pit latrines install, and creating impetus through courtyard meeting, and workshop /seminar to use safe drinking water and follow hygienic behavior.

The overall objective of the program is to implement people led and demand driven WaTSan and Hygiene promotion approach in the program areas. For the last four years LEYA has been actively involved with the said process to eliminate water born and fecal diseases from the development areas with the assistance of NGO Forum and the active involvement of Community people. It has formed VDC (Village Development Center) in the program areas for making rings and slabs for offset pit and water sealed latrines for easy collation and carry in the community. As arsenic is becoming a national concern and LEYA’s working areas are severely affected by arsenic. LEYA has keenness to work with this problem to ensure safe water for its members.

v. Credit Program (Revolving Loan Fund): Micro-credit is one of important programs for LEYA to enable group members self-reliant. It has micro-credit program since its inception, as it believes that economic development is the precondition of sustainable development of any community. The organization provides skill development and basic accounting training for handling business capital before disbursing loan. Along with other developments initiative, members utilize the borrowed money for income generation & consequently to become self-reliant.

LEYA insisted the general group members to have a savings activity group wise in every week, which amounts Tk.20/- per person and they can utilize this as a revolving loan fund. But it was not enough to start a small business. As per their interest they demanded loan from the organization as credit fund to start their business. So the organization decided to distribute the principal money along with their savings fund as loan, which will be recovered in 45 installments with 12.5% service charge per year. The service charge is the administrative expense of the activity. This revolving loan fund was named as the Rural Micro Credit (RMC) program. This RMC program is financed by own fund and from the members savings fund. Besides, LEYA is operating the Housing Loan Program for the shelter less people funded by the Bangladesh Bank under the Housing Fund. At present the organization is maintaining 100 % recovery rate of its loan.

v: Agricultural Development: The life style and status of poor, landless and marginal families within the working area of LEYAheavily dependent on the agricultural livelihood, because, they all belong to the farmers family. Their food, education, health and living status are subjected to the earning from the agriculture. So, improvement of life status of target families is mostly related to the development of the agriculture. Because the whole cultivation process is ancient and production rate is very low. The areas of agriculture like fisheries, poultry and livestock farming are also in a poor condition.

As a result, the nutrition status and economic condition of this agriculture dependent population is getting worse day by day. For the upliftment of agricultural livelihood, it has categorized the agriculture sector into 04 productive activities. Such as: -

- Fisheries,

- Agro forestry,

- Horticulture and

- Livestock development.

The project also emphasized on quality of services and staff development to enhance the managerial and service delivery capacity has been considered carefully which will lead the program towards sustainable development. Out of project inputs, a process will be generated for mobilizing local resources in favor of the organized group members. Inputs of training, functional literacy and credit support will be used as capital investment for leading the groups towards sustainability. The credit support will act as revolving fund for expansion of similar activities in the area. Out of training, group member’s potentiality will be strengthened to mobilize local resources in favor of it. Thus, the program will lead towards sustainability by the end of the project period. The following activities completed during this year.

Fisheries: In this project the organization maintains a good cooperation with local GoB office and beneficiaries to implement the “Pond Fisheries Development” program for raising the income of the people by pond fisheries.

vi. Housing Program of Bangladesh Bank Grehaiyan Tohabil (Low cost House Loan):

Homeless people are the real rootless and powerless segment in the society, which obstruct them to access any facilities available around them. A livable house is an asset that gave them social prestige and empowers to practice some social benefits. In woman headed families a good house also gives them shelter and social dignity. In this consideration, most of the members, who either have thatched house or no house, constantly requested LEYA to create an opportunity for housing loan in a long-term basis so that they can repay their loan in installment from their income. Everybody dreams to have a good and strong house, which can give them safety from

natural calamities and maintain hygiene. LEYA believes that if they have a strong house, they can participate in the development activities with more confidence. Their social status would be increased and children would have better facility to study at home. With the financial assistance of Grehayan Tohabil (housing loan) of Bangladesh Bank.

vii. Sapling Distribution/Tree Plantation: For maintaining ecological balance and source of supplementary income, group members are provided saplings of timber; fuel and fruit trees for undertaking home based a forestation. Before sapling distribution, short orientation training about plantation, caring and nursing are provided to the group members. Programme staffs are responsible for supervision, follow-up and monitoring.

i. Handicrafts/producers development: Today in the society the poor women-folk are very neglected to the male-folk. Socially the poor women have home-based life where they work only in their house but not outside. But LEYA observed that they have enough scopes to earn if they are involved in various income generating activities inside and outside the house. Employment creation in the rural areas is much difficult. Lakh of unemployed youths are trying their best for employment but there is no employment opportunity. So, it is very difficult to arrange employment in the rural areas for the illiterate and disadvantaged women folk. For these women the organization has undertaken micro-credit program by which they can undertake small income generating activities for their self-employment and family income development. For the women group members it has undertaken micro-credit program by which they can undertake handicrafts activities for their self-employment and family income development. After providing the credit support the following out comes are found among the group members:

- Women members are involved in home-based handicraft production activities & their monthly income has increased app. Tk.1050/- increased out of production activities.

- Women can take leadership and control over resources along with promotion of economic right established.

- Women access to decision-making process with their leadership in the family as well as in the community established.

- Reduced poverty through women employment creation.

The money earned by them along with their husband’s income will help them in maintaining their big families. With this idea the NGO have undertaken handicrafts activities invested to the poor unemployed women. In the project period 450 poor women were trained up and still 150 women are engaged in the activity, the rest have been married. The ongoing activities are as follows:

· Nakshi Katha,

· Spectacles Caps

· Key Rings

· Cushion Cover

· Bed Sheet

· Pillow Cover

· Sharee, Three Piece etc

ix. Education Program to Remove Illiteracy: Education is the backbone of a nation. But in the rural side the condition of women education is below standard. To improve the condition LEYA works with illiterate children of the working area. Education sector is one of the most important and on-going programs of LEYA, because, nothing is alternative of education and education is the backbone of a nation. The education rate of rural areas is much more than the city areas. It works in the remotest areas and most of the guardians are poor and marginal farmers. Due to poverty parents could not provide necessary clothes, proper diet and school fees to their children so children can’t go to schools regularly. For the upliftment of Govt. primary education, eradication of illiteracy and increase the literacy rate within the working area, the organization designed its education sector aiming;

- To eradicate illiteracy among the target families and provide them literal knowledge.

- To make the target illiterate families’ literate by whom they can at least read and write and keep family income and expenditure accounts.

- To facilitate the Govt. Adult education program.

x. Human Rights Preservation: LEYAbelieve that human rights deal with human necessity for “expression”, “creativity” and conviviality for deciding own density. It looks critically into the socio-economic, political and cultural system, which directly or indirectly influence the life of the suffering humility. LEYA’s Human Rights Preservation concept strongly considers that poverty and disadvantages stem from the unequal socio-economic and political power. It is rather an unequal participation in making decisions where determines the direction of the society.

Objectives of human rights preservation:

- To promote participatory democracy at grass level.

- To motivate grass-root people to establish people oriented decision-making system.

- To educate the grass root people as they can realize the strength of people as the power of development.

- Building peoples awareness of their situation and rights.

- Building peoples organization.

- Exercising collective action and activity.

xi. Disabled Development: 10% of the general community of our country is disabled. Mostly the children and women disable-folk are helpless, avoided and neglected by their family members and society. LEYAobserved that this is very dangerous and unfair from the human rights point of view. So, the LEYA always gives priority for the development of the disables.

xii. Public culture & Theatre Programme: LEYA has been working in the remotest and under developed areas of Bangladesh. Majority of the community people are unaware on health, hygiene and basic human rights. As a result, they are victimizing by the local powered structured. So LEYA developed Cultural Team to make awareness buildup in the society. Folk lore, Pathonatok and Jari Gan are organizing regular basis by the team.

xii. Disaster Management: In each year there are several incidences of violence disaster such as flood, cyclone and draught are happening in our working area. Due to lack of precaution knowledge thousands of lives, millions of crops and assets destroyed. So LEYAincluded Disaster Management Sector with its development activities. The goal of this sector is to aware the mass population regarding the precautions what to be taken before or after disaster. The main activities of LEYAdisaster mitigation are to development volunteers and to train the community people to increase their disaster management capacity.

xiii. Various Day Observations: For the mass awareness rising on the development issues and to explore the democratic and human rights we will observe various National & International days with our group members. We have chalked out our plan to celebrate the following days such as;

i. World Health Day.

ii. Environmental Day

iii. Women Day.

iv. Literacy Day

14: Target group selection:

A simple socio-economic survey (baseline identification information) is being conducted among the all families in the project area to undertake each family’s information and will be rated either poor or non-poor. According to key indicators of income, land ownership and food deficit status, poor households the households will be categorized as falling into three district categories: -

i. Hard core poor: - The worst-off group distinctly below the poverty thresholds, with virtually no cultivable land (not even homestead land)and chronic food deficit (one meal per day);

ii. Very Poor: Household around the threshold boundary of poverty with land ownership less the 50 decimals, occasional food deficit (two meals per day) &

iii. Less poor: Currently above the poverty threshold (with three meals per day) but within the boundary of income erosion pressures. Such households pose a hidden but critical problem of what may be called Tomorrow’s poor”

Beneficiaries: Beneficiaries of the organization are mainly ultra poor household, land less, near land less, marginal farmers, small business men and malnourished mother, adolescents and child (men, women and children) of the rural area those who have less than 50 decimal of land and no other regular source of income except selling their physical labors and who are neglected in the society. The following criteria are usually followed in selecting beneficiaries: -

Þ Landless household having an optional land holding up to 0.2 hector (including homestead);

Þ Marginal farmer having an optional land holding between 0.2 to 0.6 hector (including homestead);

Þ Small Farmer having an optional land holding 0.6 to 1.0 hectors (including homestead);

Þ Only one member from each household either male or female will be eligible to become a member of the group;

Þ In case of female group, destitute women, divorced, widow family head women will be given preference;

Þ Members of any other credit giving organization/institution/NGO will not be eligible to become a member of the group;

Þ The age limit of the intending members shall be in between 18-50 years;

Þ Marginal farmers those are owning or cultivating less than 1.5 acres of land on share cropping or lease basis including homestead;

Þ The poor people those who maintain livelihood by selling labor in agriculture sector &

Þ Stakeholders of above categories have permanent residence in project area.

15: Development Approach of LEYA:

The organization always believes on integrated participatory development approach through group. It is a rights-based development organization especially focused on ultra poor women. It believes that people are at the center of concerns for sustainable development. According to LEYA, the rights-based approach is concerned not just with civil and political rights but also with social, economic and cultural rights. The key elements that govern rights-based approach of are:

» Participatory approach and the right to participate;

» Promoting inclusive social and economic development;

» Mutual accountability in respect of rights and responsibilities, and

» A holistic perspective focusing on understanding root causes, removing constraints and creating opportunities and choices for livelihood development.

The three principles that the organization follows and perhaps all the rights-based organizations follow are: -

- Participation of all the stakeholders,

- Inclusion of the needs of all the deprived segments of population and

- Fulfilling their obligations.

16: Principles of the programming activity:

- Utilization of local wisdom and resources;

- Encouragement of creativity and innovation;

- Searching utmost quality;

- Enhancing Cooperation, Coordination;

- Networking &

- Accepting.

17: Core values of the organization:

- Concern and respect for the people;

- Equity, equality and discipline;

- Fairness, transparency and integrity;

- Accountability and openness;

- Professionalism and cost consciousness;

- Creativity and innovation;

- Participatory work;

- Gender sensitization &

- Co-operation, networking and advocacy.