Others
Programs
The Women's Rights Training and Counseling
Project (WRTCP)
(To be completed in February 2006).
The project commenced in 1994 with financial support
from the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Dhaka. German donor agency
MISEREOR funded the project up to October 2002. Another German
donor agency Katholische Zentralstelle fur Entwicklungshilfe
e.V. (KZE) has been funding the project since November 2002.
The project is currently in implementation in eight districts of Bangladesh, namely - Dhaka, Jessore, Jhenidah, Narail, Magura, Chuadanga, Kushtia and Satkhira. A Field Manager heads each of the field offices in these eight districts. At the same time the project has networking linkages through local partner NGOs in Barisal, Patuakhali, Rajshahi, Meherpur, Rajbari, Khulna and Rangpur districts.
The key components of the project are legal counseling and legal support, campaign against human trafficking and acid throwing, rights education, advocacy and support to commercial sex workers. Activities under rights education includes national and international day observance, issue based rallies, networking seminar, etc. The other major activities of the project were training for project participants, volunteers and staff in the fields of human/women/child rights.
As of 31 October 2005, a total of 9032 persons, mostly women and adolescent girls have received legal counseling through the 12 counseling centres of the Project. 2720 of them got their problem resolved through Salish and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) organized by BDPC while 500 others who received legal assistance got favorable verdict from formal courts.
Vocational Training Program
The Vocational Training Program, which is located at
Jessore, is a self supported initiative undertaken by BDPC with
a view to support young adults in developing job skills for
easy access to the job market with reasonable wages. This initiative
has already been proved to be more effective than micro-credit
support. More than 200 participants have completed courses in
several trades that include Computer Operation, Electrician,
Refrigerator Mechanics, Automobile Mechanics, Tailoring, Cutting
Mastership, Embroidery and Block-boutique trades. Nearly 84%
of the participants who completed the course have found employment
or self employment.
Disable Support Program
It is a new initiative of BDPC. BDPC conducted a survey
on disabled people in the district of Narail. The purpose was
to identify their problems and potentials so that BDPC could
assist them to undertake individual or collective initiatives
for education, rehabilitation, development and empowerment.
In the first stage BDPC has identified 61 disabled people in
the district and has provided them with recreational facilities
at BDPC Office at Narail. Also BDPC has been working with the
group to establish a local leadership group of disabled people
who could operate through a monthly meeting and eventually they
themselves could draw up a strategic plan for their own development
and empowerment.
In addition BDPC provided a small grant to Gram Bikash Shahayak Sangstha (GBSS) for implementation of a nutritional rehabilitation program for the disabled children at the Belabo Project Centre of GBSS in the district of Narshingdi.
Child Survival Project
Child Sponsorship and Education Project is the
continuation of the Urban Adolescent Support Project that was
implemented by BDPC in the Dhaka City and Narail Sadar Upazila
since 1997. the project is mainly an education support and child
survival project. In the Dhaka City the project is implemented
mainly in Ward 42 and Ward 46 under Mohammadpur Police Station
of the Dhaka City Corporation. The project began with 6 pre-primary, 3 primary, 3 non-formal and 8 continuous education centres in the Dhaka City with a total of 544 participants, mostly children, adolescents and women. Simultaneously, the project was expanded to the Narail district. The project faced a serious set back in 1999 when the government evicted a number of slum in the Dhaka City including some of the areas under Mohammadpur Police Station that was under operation of this project. Currently the project has around 200 participants in the Dhaka City and 160 participants in Narail.
Other than literacy, participants of this project receive personal health and hygiene education, rights education and skill training like PRA / PLA. They receive instruments for games and sports. A selected number of participants receive one time small education grant on annual basis. These groups observe national and international days of their interest, particularly they observe the child rights day, girl child day, street child day and the universal human rights day with much enthusiasm.
The project commenced in 1997 with locally raised funds. Afterwards benevolent non-resident Bangladeshi individuals made limited personal contributions towards this project.
Training Program and Training Support
Info
Training is another area that links BDPC with a large
number of NGOs in Bangladesh. BDPC is known for its knowledge
and capacity in development training and the quality that it
maintains in terms of course content and delivery.
Training areas that BDPC has a decade of experience and invaluable expertise include disaster management, environmental management, environmental impact assessment, environmental risk assessment, project planning and management, Logical Frame Analysis, Project Proposal Writing, Partnership Development, Institutional development and capacity building, evaluation research methods, PRA, PLA, participatory action research, non-profit governance and board management, leadership, networking and advocacy campaign, human rights, women’s rights, children’s rights, gender and development, strategic planning, organization management, and primary healthcare and nutrition.
So far training was a major source of BDPC for local income generation. But it appears that the interest in training as well as allocation for human resource development among NGOs is gradually declining.
Clients of BDPC training services include BRAC, Caritas Bangladesh, CARE Bangladesh, UNICEF, Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS), Radda Barnen, Save the Children Sweden Denmark, Save the Children-UK, Service Civil International (SCI) - Bangladesh, Banchte Shekha, Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC), Bangladesh Lutheran Mission-Danish (BLM-D), Inter-life Bangladesh, Norwegian Santal Mission, Community Development Project (CDP), Jaypurhat, SUPOTH-Dinajpur, The Leprosy Mission (TLM), Bangladesh Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church-Development Foundation (BNELC-DF)-Dinajpur, Swashika-Jamalpur, Bangladesh Development Society (BDS)-Barisal, Assistance for Slum Dwellers (ASD), PRODIPAN, ADAB, PACT Inc., Stromme Memorial Foundation (SMF) and many other organizations.
Rights and Legal Aid Program
BDPC follows a very strong rights based approach for
its programs and projects since inception. All the BDPC projects
have strong rights education and campaign components. Beyond
that BDPC has a general human rights program that covers human,
women and child Rights. In addition, BDPC has good governance,
civil rights, consumer rights and democratic rights programs.
Democratic rights program is deeply linked with the governance
program.
Under rights program, BDPC has very strong Salish (arbitration) as well as alternative dispute resolution (ADR) activities. These activities are implemented through district based legal counseling centres.
BDPC provides CRC and CEDAW based training to NGO and social workers. BDPC actively campaigns and lobbies for implementation of UN instruments that ensure rights to man, woman and children.
BDPC has project component for providing legal support to commercial sex workers as a routine activity.
Networking and Advocacy Lobbying
Networking is one of the areas that made BDPC widely
known in the development sector and helped the organization
to establish linkages with various stakeholders locally, regionally
and globally. BDPC believes in multi-sector networking with
actors in human rights and development. To BDPC, networking
is a very strong collective strength that can be asserted in
many positive ways ensuring greater participation. It has been
mentioned earlier that BDPC is affiliated with a number of national
and international networks.
Besides, BDPC has strong linkage with the Geneva based World Organization against Torture (OMCT), the Hong Kong based Asian Centre for the Progress of People (ACPP) and the Delhi-based Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) in terms of sending urgent appeals wherever and whenever required for protection of human rights.
BDPC is an active member of the working group of 12 national level human rights organizations in Bangladesh that works collectively on various human rights issues.
Fact Finding
Fact finding of serious violation of human rights is
another strong area of intervention by BDPC. The organization
has well reputation and goodwill in conducting fact finding
and supporting the legal system to ensure justice. The fact-finding
reports are generally published in press conferences and submitted
to administration and legal authorities for necessary action.
BDPC has conducted 53 fact-finding since 2002. In a number of
cases BDPC fact finding reports were instrumental for bringing
the criminals to justice and ensuring punishment.
Public Interest Litigation
Public Interest Litigation (PIL) is a comparatively
new activity for BDPC. The first public interest case that was
taken up by BDPC was in 2005. So far, BDPC has taken up 12 PIL
cases. Generally BDPC starts PIL case with legal notice and,
if necessary, then goes to courts. The 12 PIL cases undertaken
by BDPC include:
9 cases against 9 tobacco companies for failing to remove advertising billboards that are being displayed in Dhaka City and other parts of Bangladesh in violation of the law.
1 case against a controversial government circular issued by the Land Ministry in relation to implementation of the Land Tenure Act.
1 case seeking withdrawal of cases lodged against the aboriginal people of Madhupur in relation to construction of the Eco Park in the Madhupur Forest range.
1 case against mobile phone companies in relation to high call rate
