Knitting changes through livelihood development

Beating off bitter poverty

Bangladesh Extension Education Services (BEES) has been experiencing from the date of its emergence – knitting changes for progress and prosperity towards human resource development is the very practical and overarching way for easing vulnerability to chronic hunger and deep-seated impoverishment. The tragic reality is that poverty is a life-threatening fact for most of the people in our country. They dwelling in very distressed condition both in rural and urban areas have not minimal access to opportunity for developing life skill to cope with their poverty. Unlocking this poverty trap is the key for pro-poor economic growth. Bearing at the very heart of the development goals, BEES is arraying staple prosperities widely to expand the scope of development all along. 

With special emphasis on community driven activities for sustainable development in a number of innovative ways, BEES  set off in 1975 as an integrated development initiative entitled Rural Development Program (RDP) in Bogra District.  It has been implementing Poverty Alleviation Program (PAP) since 1997 well-equipped with 3 key pillars of its development approach, such as – enhancing the scope of social mobilization, community empowerment and effecting long-term change. With the passage of time, different development initiatives have been taken by BEES one after another for serving the illiterate, destitute, deprived and indigent people over the years.

BEES’ experiences over the years have shown that poor people and their institutions are assets and potential partners in the search for sustainable solution to development challenges. With enough access to information & knowledge, appropriate capacity and financial support, poor people can effectively organize in order to identify community priorities and address existing problems. Thus, they are geared up to make stride in livelihood development.  Therefore, BEES’ effort is to promote income or employment generation through life skill development for the target beneficiaries. In view of this, counting on collective action it is conducting different programs and projects like micro enterprise lending assistance, micro finance, poultry & livestock, agriculture & social forestry, education and so on. Bringing the disadvantaged people of rural and urban areas under the same umbrella, BEES  works to form homogeneous groups to facilitate a sustainable change within the society through social and economic emancipation. For changing the behavior, attitude and practice as well as improving knowledge and awareness among the target groups, BEES is initiating inclusive promotional activities comprising training, behavior change communication, interpersonal communication, advocacy, networking and comprehensive social mobilization constantly in the basis of need.

The broadest and most encompassing view of BEES’ Poverty Alleviation Program (PAP) includes the social safety net that shapes widespread support towards participatory development. It is building the bridge across many a development activities like health care services, human resource development, income generating activities, livelihood development and so forth. Awareness programs on human rights, legal support, good governance, gender equality, women empowerment etc. have been linked up to the program implementation to make the efforts significant, potential and well-groomed.

Community mobilization is very much important to organize and improve community participation. It is the first building block in bringing about participatory development. BEES motivates all community members that they are provided with the opportunity to utilize a range of skills and abilities, which improves ownership and increases potentials among them. Keeping pace with time and existing problems, it has been ensuring its development services through demand driven approaches for making them take the lead in development process. Thus, BEES gives community the opportunity to analyze and discus their local situation in systematic fashion, identify community needs and implement action plans. Its participatory planning processes help build and strengthen the community social capital. The methods, tools and techniques needed for community participation are not new, and includes participatory rural appraisal (PRA) like village mapping, venn diagramming, focus group discussion (FGD) and the list goes on. This development process generally embodies such steps as diagnosis; identification of priorities; problem and solution analysis; elaboration of action plans; ensuring fuller participation of vulnerable groups; bolstering community organizations; and strengthening community based accountability.  With a vision to win the war on poverty as a whole, its pro-poor programs are designed properly to cater to the beneficiaries covering the wide range of population in light of the Millennium Development Goals. Its target groups are well-defined by the policies and strategies of each individual project committed to self-sustained development. For instance, community people especially women of 15-49 years, children and adolescents are the direct beneficiaries of health, MCH-FP, nutrition and education programs. In addition, men and women of 18-45 years who have no access to get loan from commercial banks or other financial institutions are offered to accept facilities from micro-credit program of BEES.

PROGRAM APPROACH

Building and Strengthening Community Institutions, Centering upon Community Empowerment, Establishing Human Rights for Social Equity, Pro-poor and Gender Sensitive Interventions, Demand Responsive and Decentralized Service Delivery Mechanisms, Promotion of Good Governance and Human Resource Development and Supplementing Sustainable Development are the major approaches of BEES to run all programs smoothly.

TARGET POPULATION

Enhancing the scope of community development as a whole, BEES’ pro-poor programs are designed properly to cater to the beneficiaries covering the wide range of population in light of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Men, women, children, adolescents and disabled people within the program areas are the target beneficiaries of BEES with especial emphasis to destitute women and hard core poor. Presently, BEES is providing services for improvement of livelihoods to a population of more than 45 lac people.

GEOGRAPHICAL AREA

BEES is working in 3,400 villages of 84  upazilas under 31 districts of Bangladesh. BEES likes to expand intervention area gradually covering new areas of the country to address the needs of people who are continuously fighting against poverty. 

We hope that the Report will be of interest to the valued readers to know about the programs and philosophy of BEES and to this report will be a source of some information to the partners of BEES who are constantly supporting its initiatives. For detail information about BEES please visit http://beesngo.blogspot.com.