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BEES
aims at bringing sustainable changes in the lives of the poor, illiterate,
neglected, unskilled and destitute people, especially the women of the
society through empowering and enhancing socio-economic capacities.
With that commitment BEES
started its journey in 1975 by initiating poverty alleviation activities
under Rural Development Program (RDP). Gradually multi-dimensional
programs have been added to eliminate poverty, illiteracy, malnutrition and
improvement of livelihood through employment generation of over 600,000
people from 2300 villages of 64 upazilas under 67 districts of BEES program
areas.
Under RDP, at the end of
the reporting period a total of 129,420 members from 55,399 groups are
having direct benefit of the credit services. In order to ensure access to
the resources, micro finance program is combating formal banking system
through assisting 666 groups from the disadvantaged segment of the
population. A total of Taka 156.34 million has been disbursed against the
target of 194.95 million, which was 80% of the target while the average
recovery rate was 98% but for women 100%. Savings, credits, insurances and
credit plus services once again proved as effective elements of the
Micro-Finance Program to meet the essential requirements of the
beneficiaries including general and reproductive health services, training
and agricultural inputs delivery services. Disbursement of loan to the new
groups has been identified as a constrain during the reporting period
because of not having sufficient fund in the Revolving Loan Fund (RFL).
A total amount of taka 94
million along with appropriate technical assistance have been provided to
2256 entrepreneurs of the urban and semi-urban areas for generating income
and employment of the slum dwellers through Micro-Enterprise Development
Program. Among them a total of 1750 entrepreneurs have been trained
during the reporting period on three different trades.
In order to promote crops
diversification, increasing crop intensity and crop production, the
Agriculture and Social Forestry Program had been provided suitable
services to a total of 22,895 farmers which was 92% of the target for the
year. Out of the total more than 4,000 farmers had been provided with crop
loan amounting taka 27.2. The social forestry component contributed in
distributing more than 84,000 seedlings /saplings among the target
beneficiaries during the reporting period as BEES contribution in
socio-economic as well as environmental aspects.
Including 1,742 during
the reporting period a total of 8,699 members from landless groups, small
and marginal farmers have been provided with taka 29.8 million as loan from
the Agricultural Diversification and Intensification Project (ADIP)
of BEES under the Department of Agricultural Extension. BEES’ assistance in
supplying more than 5000 seedlings/sapling of vegetables, fruits and
medicinal plants to the beneficiaries added extra value to the program.
Small Holder
Agricultural Improvement Project (SAIP)
of BEES has been contributing for improvement of lives of the char
inhabitants with support from International Fund for Agricultural
Development (IFAD). During the reporting period a total of 728 new members
were enrolled which made a total of 4647 members.
For poverty reduction,
generation of self employment and nutritional enhancement among the
beneficiaries, Poultry and Live Stock Program is one of the oldest
programs of BEES. Under this program, training was provided to 11 program
staff and 1,300 beneficiaries during the reporting period. The program
arranged 2,900 high breed poultry, 530 high breed cattle and assisted in
establishing 58 small poultry firms and 28 cattle rearing firms during the
reporting period. In addition, more than 17 million taka had been disbursed
as loan to the beneficiaries and more than 65,000 poultry and 16,000 cattle
had been vaccinated during the reporting period.
BEES started its
Education Program back in 1984 through providing Functional Education to
its group members. In 1996, BEES started imparting Non-Formal Primary
Education (NFPE) by establishing a total of 20 NFPE schools. BEES
established and operated 175 NFPE schools enrolling 30 children in each
school. During the reporting period, a total of 59 NFPE schools were found
operating, while 116 NFPE schools were graduated in diversified period
during the last year. In the reporting year, a total of 1,762 children were
graduated.
Recently, BEES has
started a primary education program called Hard to Reach (HTR) for
working children through 45 HTR schools in the old areas of Dhaka
Metropolitan City. Under the program, a total of 900 students are provided
with non-formal primary education. BEES has been implementing BEES-WFCL
Program for the working children in Hazaribagh under Dhaka Metropolitan
city by establishing 3 centers and enrolling 180 children engaged in
different tanneries. In addition, BEES has recently started implementing
another project named Post Literacy and Continuing Education Program for
Human Development (PLCEHD). The course includes vocational skills
training through 30 PLCEHD centers enrolling 30 learners in each center.
BEES is contributing
significantly for improving health status among the community people giving
the highest priority to the poorer section. In 1984, BEES initiated its
Health, MCH-FP & Nutrition Program through mother & child health care,
nutrition and family planning interventions.
During the reporting
period, more than 15% deliveries were done safely by BEES's qualified
persons, while about 48% deliveries of the total were done by the BEES’s
trained Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs). A total of 1448 pregnant
mothers received ANC services while 788 mothers received PNC services
against the annual targets of 1655 and 1016, which signifies about 88% and
78% achievements respectively.
During the reporting
period, a total of 756 children under 1 year were fully immunized, which
indicates 100% achievement. In addition, vitamin ‘A’ capsules were
distributed among 10,359 children under 5 yrs. Similarly the targeted number
of children under 5 years received treatment of ARI, diarrhoea and other
diseases during the reporting period 2002-2003.
Under family planning
interventions, during the reporting period, more than 72% of the eligible
couples adopted family planning methods. Health services through a total of
660 satellite clinics were rendered to over 4,000 patients. Moreover, 1,514
EPI camps were organized jointly with GoB.
In 1999, BEES started
implementing a three and a half years project entitled Expanded Health
and Education Program (EHEP) which was continued up to December 2002.
During July-December 2002 about 1,800 satellite clinics were held to provide
ANC and PNC services. Apart from these, more than 3,000 target beneficiaries
received primary health services from the satellite clinics. Under the
program, about 63% deliveries were facilitated by the BEES’s trained TBAs,
more than 79% children participated in EPI and more than 57% eligible
couples of the target households adopted family planning methods.
Under Nutrition
Initiative Program, diversified activities on health and nutrition
including kitchen gardening, cooking demonstrations for balanced diet,
screening of malnourished children, growth monitoring of under 2 years
children, BMI measurement of 15-49 years women, supplementary feeding,
poultry & livestock rearing etc. are performed covering almost 50 thousand
community people.
BEES lunched the Urban
Poor Development Program (UPDP) in 11 slums of four upazilas under Dhaka
Municipality area. BEES extended its efforts to empower slum dwellers,
especially the women in slums by providing them with credit, training,
health and basic education. BEES worked with a total of 67 groups consisting
of 288 members during the period under review. An amount of Tk. 1,11,15,000
was disbursed among the group members for income generating activities out
of which 99% was recovered.
Under BEES's programs,
activities related to advocacy, gender awareness, women & legal right,
social mobilization focusing HIV/AIDS, legal aids services etc. remain
in-built. BEES offers support services to establish women’s legal rights for
eliminating all types of discrimination against women and the group members
of BEES are now more aware of their rights. Initiatives have been taken for
raising awareness to prevent and control HIV/AIDS. Services are provided to
vulnerable women especially within the age group 15-49 years including women
working as low-paid workers (garment factories, hotels and tea gardens) and
living in slum areas. In addition, BEES extended support to the tribal
people and disbursed Tk. 1,63,000 among 34 groups comprising of 577 tribal
women so far.
BEES is developing a
paramount of capable and skilled people at the grassroots level through
training at different levels. During the reporting period, a total of 2,390
target beneficiaries and 939 staff received training against the annual
target of 3,000 and 1,250 respectively.
BEES has a well–equipped
Communication Material Development Cell coupled with a team of
skilled personnel. BEES has been continuously developing and using several
communication materials and advocacy material packages on Program issues to
aware and motivate the target population.
With a view to continuous
self-assessment of different programs, the Research, Evaluation and
Monitoring (REM) Cell of BEES is persistently working with sincerity.
The Cell measures the progress of the activities against target and keeps
the management update to take necessary steps as and when necessary to
achieve the expected targets. During the period under reference, the REM
Cell produced Monitoring Reports, Semi Annual Performance Reports and
Project Completion Report of the project EHEP. The REM prepared Annual
Progress Activities Reports of different programs under BEES. Apart from
these, REM conducted and published Case Studies, Annual Report and other
reports.
Over the time, BEES has
developed its human resources. Under the dynamic leadership of BEES’s
management, a total of 1,929 staff members are working together to achieve
the organizational sustainability of BEES. BEES has earned trust of a number
of renowned donors. But still, BEES is trying to gradually move to initiate
a number of self-sustained programs and become self-reliant. | 
