APRIL 2004

Update to the Board on Bangladesh

Prof. Badiul Majumdar, VP and Country Director for Bangladesh

I’m pleased to report that - despite a very difficult and deteriorating political situation here in Bangladesh - The Hunger Project continues to make significant progress in empowering people to achieve lives of self-reliance and dignity.

Ours is a “women-centered, Union Parishad (UP)-based” strategy designed to strengthen local democracy as the vehicle through which people can become the principal authors of their own future and meet their basic needs. The UP is the smallest political unit - a constituency of approximately 20,000 to 30,000 people. In each UP, we provide our intensive 4-day animator training to elected officials and to a critical mass of volunteers, in almost equal numbers of women and men.

Dhaka rally organized by THP in protest against the polluted water – women hold up empty pots because the water is so polluted they cannot drink it.

Our achievements since the last Global Board meeting in October include:

UP Strategy: We began focusing all our mobilization energy into specific UPs in 2000 with 95 participating UPs. At the end of 2002, we had expanded that number to 209, and during 2003 we increased that number to 304. A key milestone is when we succeed in having a UP hold an open budget meeting - a rarity in Bangladesh. 26 of our UPs held open budget meetings in 2003. A conscious effort on our part is to increase the number of women UP members, so that the agenda begins to shift to issues on meeting basic needs.

In the first group of 95 UPs we now have two years of detailed analysis of their progress using our 40-point measurement tool.

Income generating activities: A key aspect of the UP strategy is to mobilize people to form groups and organize co-operative efforts to improve incomes. We carried out 1,069 income generating initiatives during 2003, and 1,573 groups were formed. Most of these income generating initiatives are providing women with job opportunities like weaving, making clothes and handicrafts.

After participating in a VCAW, this woman is
successful at generating income for her family.

Animator Training: During 2003 we trained 15,889 animators (nearly double our 2002 result of 8,178) bringing our total at the end of 2003 to 34,930. Women animators trained in 2003 were 5,115. Our target for 2004 is 18,000, and during the first quarter we’ve already trained about 3,000.

The women animators in Bangladesh are at the forefront of addressing the 5,000 year pernicious cycle of malnutrition caused by the severe subjugation of women. They are developing the courage and strength to confront the abuses against women - and are speaking out about social conditions that require change.

Training Elected Officials: Following the most recent local elections, the vast majority of local officials were turned out of office. This included many who had worked with The Hunger Project. This has required us to work quickly to secure the partnership of the newly elected officials, and have as many as possible take the animator training. Training elected officials is more expensive than training village-level volunteers, as it must be done in a residential facility away from the demands of daily work, yet the investment is worth it as the actions of these individuals directly affect thousands. Since the elections, we have trained about 800 UP elected chairs and representatives, along with numerous members of the Dhaka City Corporation, which is the local government body for our capital city.

Training Other Organizations: The transformational power of our animator training is being tapped by more organizations: UNDP and Plan International are paying The Hunger Project to have their people take the animator training. We have also made the animator training available to the Acid Throwing Survival Foundation in order help create a social awareness campaign against the throwing of acid at women.

Animator Reunion: On December 20, more than 10,000 of our animators paid their own way and traveled across the country to attend our sixth annual animator reunion and mark the tenth anniversary of the Vision, Commitment and Action workshop. This was the biggest gathering ever of Hunger Project animators, and included the participation of hundreds of social activists and elected officials, including the Mayor of Dhaka City and the State Minister for Local Government and Rural Development.

More than 10,000 animators traveled to Dhaka at their own expense
for the 10^th annual reunion of animators.

Trip to India: Our most experienced volunteer leaders are our Volunteer Trainers - individuals who have served outstandingly as animators, and who have taken additional rigorous training to be able to lead the animator training. The majority of those we train to be Volunteer Trainers are women. Joan Holmes gave me a challenge last year: “Make a list of young women leaders who, if empowered, could one day be Prime Minister.” She invited us to bring eight of these young women to meet with leading women in India and leading women investors in meetings with Joan in December in Bangalore, India. This was an inspiring opportunity for these young women, and their stories were shared with you in the February newsletter.

Investor Cathy Burke with Rheema, a 14-year-old who was sold to an older man because her parents couldn’t afford her care.

International Women’s Day: Just as our animators have catalyzed hundreds of National Girl Child Day events on September, they now catalyze and participate in hundreds of International Women’s Day events on March 8. This year we were joined in our event in Dhaka by visiting Hunger Project investors from around the world. At the Dhaka event, we honored one of the foremost women activists of our country, Professor Akhtar Imam.

With the slogan, No More Dowry, International Women’s Day was celebrated across Bangladesh, including this rally organized by THP in Ramna Park in Dhaka.

Women in Parliament: The law reserving 30 seats for women in our 300-member parliament expired in 2001. Expanding this reservation, and strengthening the role of women members by electing them directly, was a plank in the election platform of both major parties. The government has now put forward a proposal that would enshrine in the constitution a much weaker measure. Given the critical role of women’s leadership in ending hunger and poverty in our country, Hunger Project animators across the country have protested this move. I have published numerous articles in the newspapers, and organized two round-table meetings of women’s groups and other concerned organizations - one in Dhaka and the other in another major city, Rajshahi, to make our voice heard on this important issue. We have also catalyzed a series of events, including candlelight vigils, mass gatherings and token hunger strike, over a span of three days.

Good Governance: Last year we catalyzed the formation of a network of prominent people in our society - “Citizens for Fair Elections” - to encourage people to elect honest local leaders. The organization has now extended its mission to fight for good governance ongoingly, and has changed its name to SHUJAN (a Bangla acronym for Citizens for Good Governance). SHUJAN is now creating district-level chapters across the country.

Youth Ending Hunger (YEH): Our mobilization of students across the country continues to grow - there are currently more than 100,000 students actively involved. On December 25-26, more than 1,000 of our YEH leaders came together in a National Youth Conference to strengthen their skills, deepen their knowledge, and generate the energy to expand this movement for self-reliance.

Environmental Movement: For the last few years, our animators around Dhaka have been at the forefront of generating a movement to clean up our environment, which is now officially the most polluted in the world, and, through water-borne disease, is the biggest killer of malnourished children. In addition to highly publicized protests, we have also held a round-table discussion with the Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon (Bangladesh Environmental Movement), to demand the implementation of the Dhaka City Master Plan to avert environmental disaster in the future. The Mayor of Dhaka City and the Minister for Housing and Works along with other stakeholders participated in the discussion.

Confronting the current political climate: Every day reports of increasing violence and incivility in the political process in Bangladesh are seen in newspapers. This is indeed depressing and thwarting the progress of the country. The one thing that sustains me is that I have the privilege of seeing proven before my eyes - every day - the power of the poorest women and men of my country rise up and meet the challenges to their daily existence.

I am confident that the power of these people - the power of their human spirit - will eventually triumph over and transform the shortsightedness, greed and corruption of our political elite. It is this experience, as well as our vision and commitment, and the partnership of my wonderful team of staff and volunteers that keeps The Hunger Project and me moving forward.