Programs

 

 

Social Development Program:

To prevent environmental degradation ASIF has been implementing different kind of programs in the operational areas. Social Afforestation program is one of them. ASIF has been implementing social Afforestation in the all project areas intensively and extensively. The main components of this program are: a) Nursery development for production of saplings and supply, b) Homestead based plantation, c) Community based plantation and d) Kitchen gardening. The staff of the organisation motivate and encourage the group members and the community people to produce and plant trees and for developing kitchen gardening at their homestead lands. They also motivate and encourage not cut any trees, about the bad affects of environmental degradation and pollution, how to prevent pollution etc. Others are:

a)     To arrange basic needs for the poor and helpless old aged people.

b)     To arrange basic needs for the helpless orphan children.

c)     To build capacity of the poor organized members, especially the women, disables, children, old women and orphan children,

d)     To promote education rate among the illiterate members,

e)     To build self and group capital through weekly savings,

f)      To create employment and Income earning opportunities,

g)     To build people's Institutions and greater solidarity and unity,

h)     To promote gender relation among male and female,

i)       To promote environment,

j)       To develop future citizen,

k)     To promote agriculture and agricultural products.

l)       To promote livestock production.

m)   To promote fisheries production.

n)     Disability development.

o)     Anti-drug and anti-social activity promotion,

p)     Integration of the poor people in the main stream of national development,

q)     Involvement of women into economic and productive activities,

r)      Conduct disaster preparedness and management activities etc.

s)      Conduct relief and rehabilitation activities.

Women Development:

Half of the population of the country is female. But most of them are illiterate, socially less conscious, malnourished, poor ad deprived by traditional cultural norms. The women enjoy less status compare to men. The discrimination starts at birth and continues up to death. The women are not socially well permitted to go out of the family, participate in education and economic activities. They are the victims of social diseases like divorce, abandoned, husband separation, polygamy, dowry early marriage, and torturing. Moreover being a traditional segregated society, women are often denied to access to many opportunities. The endemic poverty, wide spread malnutrition, illiteracy and deprivation of socio-economic rights are common in the society. ASIF has the strategy to integrate all women issues into its on going activities rather than tackling it as a segregate issue. Following points reflect in the women development. In group formation, human and skill development training, credit and other programs’ women's participation has been raised. It is notable here that about 100 percent groups are of females and about 100 percent participants of other programs are females. About 100 percent credit supports go to females. After all much emphasis is given to females in all programs of ASIF.

 

All adult education learners are women and about 70 % students is female. It has been done to increase the literacy rate of females. Health, Nutrition and Family Welfare education and supplies are given to the females to improve their health, reduce population growth and protect their interest.

Family Welfare:

ASIF emphasises Family Welfare among the group members to reduce population growth rate and to make planned family considering their family economic condition. The staff members motivate, educate and encourage the group members to practice. The staff refers the acceptors to the Upazilla Health Complex for ligation, Vasectomy, Copper-T etc. The organisation collects contraceptives from the Upazilla Health Complex and ensures supplies to the acceptors.

Agriculture Support Program:

To increase food security and food production. ASIF has been implementing different kind of agricultural development activities in the operational areas. Agriculture development program is one of them. ASIF has been implementing homestead vegetable cultivation, kitchen gardening, seasonal vegetable cultivation, rabi crop cultivation, banana cultivation, sugarcane cultivation, medicinal trees cultivation etc. and providing technical and credit supports for rice cultivation, jute cultivation, boro cultivation etc. to the organised group members in the all project areas intensively and extensively. The main components of this program are: a) Seed be development for production of seedlings and supply, b) Homestead based vegetable cultivation, c) Community based rice and jute cultivation and d) Kitchen gardening. The staff of the organisation motivate and encourage the group members. ASIF has been providing seeds, seedlings, plants etc. to beneficiaries and community people.

Fisheries Development Program:

To increase food security and fish production, ASIF has been implementing different kind of fisheries development activities in the operational areas. Fisheries development program is one of them. ASIF has been implementing fisheries activities in the ponds, fallow water lands, ditches, etc. for providing technical and credit supports for fisheries activities. The staffs of the organisation motivate and encourage the group members and the community people to produce and cultivate fishes.

Disable People Development:

Disability development is one of the most important and on going program of ASIF. It has been continuing disability development program successfully and effectively from 2001 with the technical support of Centre for Disability Development. Already ASIF has developed 2 staffs for this program. The main activities are survey and disability identification, education, professional skill training, micro-credits, curative medical services, treatment assistance, aid materials, community awareness raising, observation of different national and international important days, arrange workshop and seminars on disabled people’s services and development etc.

Disaster Preparedness and Management (Relief and Rehabilitation):

The organisation undertakes relief and rehabilitation programs to help the poor affected people at the time of disasters. There are some trained volunteers and staff for this purpose. Last year no remarkable disaster has hit the area.

HIV/AIDS/STD Prevention Program:

ASIF has been working on HIV/AIDS/STD prevention through mass awareness raising in the operational areas, because, these have become very burning issues whole over the world. Still people are quite unaware about the dangerousness of those diseases and sources. So, the organization has been working on mainly awareness raising and increasing community participation. ASIF has been educating and motivating the community people continuously through group meetings, personnel contacts, house step visits, arranging seminars, workshops, discussion meetings etc. The main beneficiaries are the sex workers, floating sex workers, hijaras, youths, transport workers, floating women etc.

Arsenic Awareness Raising:

ASIF has been working on arsenic awareness raising through different meetings, workshops, and seminars to create mass awareness among the people of the operational areas, because, these have become very burning issues in the whole country. Still people are quite unaware about the dangerousness of arsenic and its affects and sources. So, the organization has been working on mainly awareness raising and increasing community participation. ASIF has developed a goon number of staff on arsenic awareness raising and mitigation, who has been educating and motivating the community people continuously through group meetings, personnel contacts, house step visits, arranging seminars, workshops, discussion meetings etc. They are also using different charts, flip charts, posters, booklets etc. to educate and motivate the people.

Water and Sanitation:

In rural and urban areas of Bangladesh, generally the people do not use pure drinking water and water sealed latrines. As a result different water borne diseases spread out and attacks the people and kills lot of valuable lives every year at undue period. Considering the importance ASIF has been implementing pure drinking water supply and sanitation programs. The main activities are to motivate, educate and encourage practices and also to change their present attitudes and habits, install tube wells, install water sealed latrines and to develop Village Sanitation Centres.  ASIF arranges different documentary film shows on water and sanitation and observe different related days to change the people's mind and to create mass awareness among the people on use of pure drinking water and water sealed latrines to prevent water borne diseases for their secured lives. The staffs of ASIF, educates and motivate the people through group meetings, house to house visits, and personal contacts and arranging gatherings.

1.       Innovate befitting latrine technologies and solutions for the poor households and train up the sanitary entrepreneurs, traders and field workers to improve their skill.

2.       Provide loan with flexible terms and with less interest to the sanitary entrepreneurs, traders and users.

3.       Offer soft loan to the poor and low income people for purchasing sanitary latrines.

4.       Transform sanitation business into a social business.

5.       The Sanitation Program is working for increasing expertise through facilitating necessary training, inputs by arranging workshops across the country.

Health Program

To develop a healthy community in the operation area ASIF has been implementing primary health, Nutrition, and Family Welfare motivation and education activities. The staff members of the organisation educate and motivate the group members through group meetings, personnel contact, and house to house visits. During discussion on health topics, they use flip charts, posters, etc. for easy understanding of the group members. Different seminars and workshops are arranged to create mass awareness on health.

Nutrition:

To overcome nutritional deficiency and ensure nutritional food available, ASIF has been educating the people about nutrition. The staff continuously education and motivate the group members for developing kitchen gardens, balance diets, nutrition rich food staff and also their processing.

 

Training, Seminar and Workshop:

Training, seminar and workshop play a very important role in the field of development. So, ASIF emphasises on training very much and it has developed a special Training Cell with experienced, skilled and qualified Training personnel. For increasing the capacity and efficiency of the staff members as well as the beneficiaries the organisation arranges training courses, workshops and seminars for the staff and beneficiaries internally and externally to increase the efficiency, skills and to change the attitudes of them by which they capably and efficiently perform their responsibilities and duties in a proper and effective manner. During the reporting period, the following training, seminar and workshops were arranged:

  

Savings Program :

The Savings Product of ASIF has the specialty to provide quick responses and solutions for money problems of the clients in their crying needs. In most of the cases people of low income group face extreme difficulties and are compelled sell their valuable assets because they don’t have extra money in their hands to meet the emergencies. Borrowing money from the neighbors is not possible for them as the native people living in their villages or localities are also poor and unable to lend. In the given situations ASIF clients can easily overcome as they have opportunities to withdraw their deposited money from ASIF at any time. This opportunity makes the poor borrowers relieved enabling them to withstand any unexpected economic shocks and disasters.

Regular Savings :

* 6% yearly interest.
* Minimum savings: Tk. 10 per week and Tk. 50 per month for primary loan;

* Members may withdraw from their savings any time maintaining a balance of at least 10% of their loan outstanding.

Voluntary Savings :
* 6% yearly interest.
* May deposit any amount above their mandatory weekly savings.
* Members may withdraw from their savings any time maintaining a balance of at least 10% of their loan outstanding.
Long Term Savings :
* 6% yearly interest for a duration up to 60  months up to 10 years.
* Members deposit from Tk. 50 to Tk. 1000.
* Members can withdraw from their savings anytime at an interest rate calculated on monthly basis.