C.1  Urban Poor Development Program (UPDP)

C.2 Advocacy Program

C.3 Gender Awareness and Women’s Right

C.4 Social Mobilization Programs with Vulnerable Groups

C.5 Legal Aid Services

C.6 Financial Services of the Poorest

C.7 Social Assistance for Tribal Population

C.8 Promotional Activities

C.9 Water and Sanitation

Urban Poor Development Program (UPDP)

Because of excessive growth of urban population, the poorer section becomes the worst sufferer. They cannot afford to pay either high fare from distant places nor can reside in central areas with the high rent and as a consequence, they are often deprived from job opportunities. This causes development of numerous slums within the city.

These slums are usually dangerous to live in because of pollution and unsanitary condition that prevail within the slum premises. Still these slums are continually being loaded with rural migrants and also by its natural growth. Along with the expansion of slums in the cities, physical and social ills has crept in. The situation is exacerbated by numerous complex social forces intersecting their lives in the slums. They are the victims of poverty and need to be steered out of their tribulations.

With that aim, BEES started organizing the urban poor residing in slums of Dhaka Metropolitan area in 1996-97. BEES lunched the new program entitled ‘Urban Poor Development Program (UPDP)’ in 11 slums of four upazilas under Dhaka Metropolitan City. BEES extended its efforts to empower slum dwellers, especially the womenfolk by providing them with credit, training, health and basic education. Health care services (both preventive & curative) are also offered to the slum dwellers along with motivational and awareness building activities.

BEES promotes and develops small and medium enterprises to generate employment on self sustainable basis in the slum areas. BEES’s enterprise development activities under UPDP are capitalized on small and medium enterprises’ strategic position. It encourages creating new employment opportunities in the most effective way. The program staff motivate and educate the target people of the program areas through interpersonal communication towards group formation, development of savings attitude and income generation activities in order to increase their income, create employment opportunities and improve their quality of life.

Objectives

To empower the slum dwellers especially the womenfolk, providing them with credit, training, health care facilities and education support to help them contributing to their poverty eradication.

Achievement

During the period under reference, the program worked with the small and medium new and existing enterprises. At the end of the reporting period, a total of 8 new groups were formed against the annual target of 12 groups, which indicated about 67% achievement while a total of 177 new members were enrolled in new groups as well as old groups. BEES worked with a total of 67 groups consisting of 288 members during the period under review.

In credit disbursement portfolio, it has been observed that Tk. 1,11,15,000 was disbursed among the group members for income generating activities and subsequently for employment generation. Regarding savings status of the group members, a total of Tk. 29,70,693 has been deposited as savings fund by the group members. The program staff were able to recover Tk. 1,09,89,342, which implies about 99% achievement. The recovery rate of the disbursed loan was quite satisfactory.  Only Tk. 2,38,549 was found overdue, which was only about 2% of the disbursed loan of the reporting period.

In the area of health services under the program, the beneficiaries received medical advice is not fixed on curative health services from a post graduate doctor appointed by BEES. The physician performed his duties from his office, which is not fixed and based in any suitable area in slums. He provided advice on diseases and gave treatment to the beneficiaries at free of cost. Patients in critical conditions were referred to the hospitals. Besides, the doctor also communicated messages on ‘preventive, promotional and common curative health’, ‘nutrition’, ‘family planning’ and provided advocacy and counseling on HIV/AIDS prevention and control. He used to play an important facilitating role in building linkage with the beneficiaries for services available in the Govt. hospitals.

Under the health services of the program, a total of 952 slum dwellers received medical advice on curative health from the doctor appointed by BEES during the mentioned period.