Project Name: People’s Action for Sustainable Development and Good Governance in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (SDGG)

Donor: DANIDA

Total Budget: Tk 68,72,182

Staff: Five

Duration: July 2006 to June 2010

Working Area: 10 villages in two Unions of Khagrachari Sadar Upazilla

Participants : 3134 (1625 male, 1509 female)
SDGG works in villages that previously had little access to government services. The villages face a range of social and economic challenges, including lack of food security, poor health facilities, and limited access to education.

Project Purpose:
‘To build capable and active community institutions, democratically functioning local self-governance systems, and skilled leadership and community organisations, with long-term plans for holistic community development’

Project Summary:
TUS was part of a consortium of five local NGOs, which work throughout Khagrachari Sadar Upazilla. In the ten villages in which we worked, we supported the formation and activities of ‘Para Development Commmitees’ (PDCs), and women’s, youth, and day labourers’ groups.
Together, and with TUS support, the groups met on a monthly basis to lead local development activities in their villages, including income-generation projects, awareness-raising campaigns and cultural programmes.

To support communities in planning their future development and thinking about new initiatives for changing their lives and livelihoods, TUS organised three-day long ‘People’s Participatory Strategic Planning’ workshops in each village. Through the workshops, community groups identified and prioritised the needs of their villages, and planned activities to address these.

TUS worked to build the skills of the groups, so they would be able to implement the community plans, lead development processes in their villages, and take effective action against the challenges they face. TUS provided trainings to on a range of social and economic development, leadership, and group management issues, including ‘Poverty and Development’, ‘Gender Sensitivity’, ‘Family Law’, ‘Financial Management’ and ‘Natural Resource Management’.

In each village, TUS also facilitated the construction of a ‘Community Resource Centre’, providing a space for community gatherings, discussions, and cultural activities. In four villages, youth groups have taken the initiative to run ‘Coaching Centres’ in the spaces, and provide after-school groups, extra support classes, and alternative classes when children cannot go to school, such as during flooding in rainy seasons. The centres provide important support to students in villages with low literacy rates, in which previous generations had limited opportunities to access education

Reference Contact Details:
Mathura Bikash Tripura (Executive Director)
Zabarang Kalyan Samity
Khagrapur
Khagrachari
Telephone: 0371-61708