***A man who once thought of working for the poor. Determination, patience, devotion and honesty gave him a successful organisation which is now helping the poor and at the same time earning on an average Tk 22 lakh a year. He had to cross many hurdles to reach his destination.***
JHENIDAH. Juneft
Harun-Ur-Rashid a young man of Jhenldah who earlier served as a bank employee suddenly decided to serve the distressed people who had been living under poverty and organised an NGO namely SRI-ZONY In 1985. Rashid established a club to provide local young in,vocational sides. After a few years, in 1992 he wished to turn the club into an NGO ■and started works as a Women Development Project (WDP) financed. by Dutch government.
Earlier. Rashid, the Director of SRIZONY placed his appeals to some donor agencies for financial support. A number of projects like Maternity, Child Health and Family, Planning (MCH & FP). Adult Education. Credit Support Program. Water and Sanitation. Ideal Village (Adarsha Gram) Project. Income-Generating. Activities for Women (AGAW) Food for Works (FFW) including Road Plantation and Derelict Ponds Re-excavation Program. Mass Education and Children's Schools attracting programs were approved. All these programs contained Taka two lakh to fifty lakh, he informed. Just after introduct-ing the projects Rashid was highly glad and engaged himself to stand the SRIZONY as a sustainable organisation to help the poor and underprivileged people towards improvement of their overall socio-economic conditions. Department of Social Welfare. Department of Family Planning and NGO Affairs Bureau gave SRIZONY legal status or registration. Rashid informed.
About objectives of SRIZONY the Director informed that the objectives of his organisation was to help raise consciousness and awareness among the target beneficiaries about prevailing social system and the positions, to build-up self-respects, self-image and develop confidence and creativity among them to identify peoples socio-economic problems and develop their capacity of overcoming the same, to provide literacy and technical education to the Illiterate target people, to ensure basic health services for the target people and to respond to the needs of victims of catastrophes. Rashid mentioned.
SRIZONY has recieved memberships of Association for Development Agencies in Bangladesh (ADAB) — Dhaka ICDDR-B - Dhaka ELC1 — Nalroby. Kenya.
Development network of SRIZONY is presently covering a total of 205 villages of 25 Unions under five thanas of Jhenidah district and the whole program has been divided into seven administrative areas, the Director said
Under different projects and programs. 48 male and 490 female groups have been organised with 1.080 male and 11.480 female. These groups were organised with poor and underprivileged people both male and female
To remove illiteracy SRI ZONY had taken four types of programs like Adult Literacy Projects (ALP). Children s School Attracting Programs (CSAP). Mass EducaUon Pro-
grams (MEP) and Adult Education Program (AEP).
ALP Is a two years project started In 1994. presently operating 25 Adult Literacy and Functional Education Literacy and Functional Education Classes. Jt contains 625 illiterate group members.
Children's Schools Attracting Programs is also a two year's project contains various programs like sports, games, cultural functions etc. Its aim is to attract the children at schools and reduce the rate of dropout. 5,100 learners of 17 primary schools are the direct beneficiaries of the project which is a government collaboration program.
Mass Education Program is hl so a two years program started in 1994 and Is comprised of two programs. Oper-
group members. SRIZONY charges only 14.4 per cent service charges on loans which is comparatively lesser than other non government organisations as other NGOs charge service charges at the rate between 15 and 22 per cent per year from the loanees, said Nurul Islam. Consultant of SRIZONY, From the service charge SRIZONY got a sum.of Taka 1.25,000 per month and its net income through loan distribution is not Tess than Taka 22 lakh per year, the consultant Informed.
Food for Works program is comprised of road side tree plantation and derelict pond rehabilitation program. SRIZONY planted 95 thousand trees along 95 -kilometres long roads and caretaking the plants by 190 incentive paid
ating 15 child education centres and educating 450 preschool children and operating education centres for the children age between 6 and 10 group and educating 1.800 children.
Adult education program Is one year pilot project started In August last year operating 30 Adult Literacy Classes educate 750 Illiterate Target women.
Under the Income-generating program to make the organisation self supporting, SRIZONY has been cultivating fish in a big pond on 75 blghas of waterbodies at village Shib-nagar In KaliganJ thana. Last year SRIZONY earned a net profit of Taka 2.90.000 and the authorities are expecting at least Taka five lakh from the same big pond.
On 12 blghas of land SRIZONY has established a nursery at villages PorahaU in Jhenidah sadar thana From the nursery they earned net profit of Taka 2,50.000 and they are expecting a net profit of Taka four lakh this season, authorities informed.
Group members of the various programs are provided with necessary technical and credit support for undertaking and operating Income-generat Ing activities The organisation provided an amount of credit Taka 98.47.500 among 3927.
caretakers. They re-excavated 20 derelict ponds and after re-excavation allowed 765 group members for cultivation of fish in those ponds. Siu pi Development Program is an integrated program of SRIZONY. It covers eight slums of Jhenidah town operating eight child education centres and educating 240 out of school going children. It also provided credit support to 280 women gfoup members for operating Income-generating activities.
The organisation provided primary health, maternity, child health and family planning services to women and children of targeted 5.200 families in 24 villages through a stationary clinic, eight satellite clinics and 24 villagebased intensive door-to-door net work services.
Dr S M Mahmud AU. Chief Medical Officer (CMO). SRI ZONY said that they had estab lished a private hospital titled SRIZONY Hospital on Jhenfdah-Jessore highway recently to serve the common people at an affordable rate. The hospital was Inaugurated by Dr ATM Rahman. Civtl Surgeon. Jhenidah on April 20 this year One Medical Officer (MO), one Diploma nurse, one Birth Attendant (TBA). one night guard and a sweeper are always at the service of the patients against a negligible fig-
ure. The CMO said, they Installed 38 hand tubewells In 38 villages, set up two V S centers through • which 400 sanitary latrines are produced every year.
Adarshagram project is a government collaboration project which is known as cluster village to Improve the socioeconomic conditions of the underprivileged people of an area.
Nutrition program Is a three years project of SRIZONY started recently. 2000 group members families will be provided With necessary technical and small credit support undertaking kitchen gardening activities. It will operate 20 Child Feeding Centres in 20 villages every year and feed 300 acute malnourished children for 55 days towards reclamation of their nutritional status, the Director added.
Kohinoor - Begum. 25 mother of three daughters of village Porahati in Jhenidah sadar thana took Taka three thousand as loan against her small weaving .industry from SRIZONY one year ago. She repaid the loan a few weeks ago. Kohinoor Begum said, taking the loan she was' able to run her family smoothly.
” Manila Kha tun. 21 another woman of the same village took Taka 2000 as loan one year ago and repaid the same. Now she earns Taka sixty to seventy a day with her weaving industry. She produces lungi. saree. towels and mosquito net herself. Marufa said .
Bisakha Rani. 35 of village Porahati said that she took Taka 3500 from SRIZONY to purchase a cow. Now the cow is giving four litres of milk.
Her net profit frpm milk sale Iff Taka 25 per day which helps her family to run smoothly.
Regarding fund sources. Harun Ur Rashid, Director of' SRIZONY said that in 1994 they had mobilised resources both, tn kind and in cash equivalent to Taka 15,80.8726 for its various projects* and programs. Sources-wise resources in mobilisation percentage was foreign donations 68.00. government contributions 28.78 and SRIZONYs own fund contribution 3.22, Rashid informed.
Regarding expansion o’' projects. Rashid said, they have been running their activities in five thanas out of six thanas of the district in Jhenidah sadar. Harinakundu. Sailkupa. Mohespur and Kaligonj. They have plans to expand activities in Magura, Kushtia and surrounding areas as early as possible.
Talking to this correspondent the Director said that at first they had to face a lot of problems from the common people specially the people who lived under poverty. They mainly believed the fundamentalists and village matt bars (leader) were after their money. But things gradually changed with time. SRIZONY may be one of the biggest income generating projects in the region.