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MJF helps marginalised people claim their rights, promote HR

Deu experts tell workshop

Staff Correspondent
Development experts at a workshop yesterday said Manusher Jonno Foundation (MIF) has set a unique example by helping marginalised people claim their rights and advocating policy changes to promote human rights and good governance.
Partner NGOs funded by MJF also got used to be more transparent and efficient in implementing the projects, theyadded.
the experts said this at a workshop on an impact assessment study on first five-years' activities of MJF at Brae Centre Inn in the city where a study was jointly presented by MJF and Department for International Development (DFID).
MJF was created in 2002 with funding from DFID and now funds projects implemented by 123 national and international partner NGOs on good governance and human rights nationwide. Some funding also comes from Norway
"The linkage between individual households and policy level makes MJF uniquely effective." said Dr Timothy J Finan, consultant of the study, which covered 64 projects, interviews of beneficiaries. MJF staff, surveys and review'of documents.
Presenting the study. Finan, also director of the Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology at the University of Arizona, the USA. said MJF programme has effectively targeted many of the invisible' and hard-to-find populations of Bangladesh through its network partners.
Over the first five years, it is estimated that the direct beneficiaries are several million people, while the number of indirect beneficiaries is several times higher, he added.
For example, Dr Timothy said, in Dinajpur and Satkhira, poor families have acquired access an titled to khas land by exercising their rights, while several thousand street children in Dhaka have been enrolled in informal education and hundreds rescued from police stations.
The marginalised groups including workers, Dalits, tribal people were sensitised to raise their voices and claim rights because of actions of the MJF partner NGOs, while they advocated for enacting of Right to Information Act. Labour Law and minimum wages of the workers of readymade garments, the study said.
Timothy, however, said MJF has to strengthen collaborations with the partners, use problem-solving methods and better document the impacts of their activities.
DFID Mission Chief Chris Austin said, "MJF is the perfect development partner for the excluded people and also for the government," adding that it also engages media and civil society in awareness building which is very crucial.
Norwegian Ambassador in Dhaka Ingebjorg Stofring said they are very impressed by MIF because of its critical research before starting programme and accountability.
Speaking as the chief guest, NGO Affairs Bureau Director General Mustak Hassan Md Iftekhar said as NGOs are development partners of the government, they have to design' programmes in' line with the government's goals.
"We hope that NGOs will work to reduce poverty and create employment opportunities, apart from other activities," he said, adding that the impact assessment study did not, however, consider social capital which is very important for socio-economic development.
MJF Executive Director Shaheen Anam said the fund
NGOs get is public money and so spending of this money must be transparent. At the same time, they also should be given freedom of work for better impacts.
Representatives from MJF's partner NGOs also participated in the workshop.