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VISIONThe rural poor and marginalized achieve
meaningful political, social and economic
empowerment, quality of life, justice and
a sustainable environment through their
individual and collective efforts.
MISSIONRDRS works with the rural poor and their
organizations in order to establish and claim
their rights as citizens; to build their capacity
and confidence to advance their empowerment,
and resilience to withstand adversity; and
to promote good governance among local
institutions and improved access by the
marginalised to opportunities, resources and
services necessary to fulfil decent lives.
CORE VALUES• Compassion,loyaltyandcommitmentfor,
by and with the poor
• Equalityandparticipation
• Integrity,dedication,andprofessionalism
• Responsibility,accountabilityand
transparency
ANNUAL REPORT 2013RDRS Bangladesh
TEXT
RDRS staff
EDITING
Marion L Garry
COVER PHOTO
SH Suza
PHOTOs
RDRS Staff
PRODuCTION suPERVIsION
Sabrina Sharmin
DEsIGN & PRINTING
Mahbub/Drik
Drik, Bangladesh ([email protected])
Dhaka, April 2014
CONTENTS
07 Foreword08 Bangla Summary11 Bangladesh 201312 AcknowledgementofRDRSInterventions16 CivilEmpowerment Social Organization
Women’s Rights
AdibashiEmpowerment
Vulnerable Group Development
CommunityPolicing
Strengthening Democratic Local Government
26 Quality of Life CommunityHealth
EducationandTraining
36 NaturalResourcesandEnvironment Agriculture
FoodforProgressforBangladesh
Food Security and Soil Fertility in Hilly Areas
Food Security for Ultra-poor Women
ParticipatoryMarketingSystem
AdaptationandMitigationforClimateChange
CommunityClimateChange
CharsLivelihoods
EnvironmentandDisasterPreparedness
Singra Sal Forest
48 EconomicEmpowerment Microfinance
Enterprise
56 MediaandCommunications58 Advocacy and Networking60 NorthBengalInstitute62 EventsandVisitors65 Auditor’s Report and Financial Statement 89 RDRS Senior Staff90 PartnersandProjects 92 Acronyms
Committed to
CHANGE through
EMPOWERING the
RURAL POOR
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 7
Bangladeshis were shocked by the collapse of the Rana
PlazagarmentfactoryinApril,reinforcingthesector’s
image of exploiting workers and being indifferent
to their welfare. The deaths of over a thousand workers
as well as over two thousands injured put Bangladesh
on television screens across the world. Widespread calls
ensued for justice and immediate improvements. On the
grounds of “serious shortcomings” in safety and labor
standards, the US suspended Bangladesh’s trade preference
status,drivingdownexportsandGDP.
Within RDRS, new projects were introduced to meet present
needs; to strengthen the rural poor in the fight for their civic
rights; and, to prepare for the impact of climate change by
increasingcommunityresilienceandfoodsecurity.Perhaps
responding to the global economic crisis and a perception
Bangladesh is advancing, several core funders altered their
funding strategies and targets which makes our continued
programming uncertain. As Bangladesh continues its social
and economic transformation against the deteriorating
backdrop of climate change, the enlightened facilitating
and empowering role of RDRS especially for disadvantaged,
marginalized and vulnerable groups is required more than
ever. In response, RDRS has been striving to be more
effective with limited resources, and to expand networks,
donors and partners, extending its work to new regions
and launching new programs.
In recognitionof ourwork and achievements,RDRSwas
honored to receive a number of awards in 2013. These
includedtheACTAllianceClimateChangeAward2013for
BestPractice inDisasterManagementandMitigatingthe
EffectsofClimateChangethroughthe“Alleviating Poverty
through Disaster Risk Reduction” project. We also received
aCertificateofExcellence fromthe influentialManusher
Jonno Foundation for “Outstanding Organizations for
Compliance and Financial Management” and the Micro
Entrepreneurship Award from CITI Foundation as “Best
Microfinance Institution”.
RDRS would like to express its sincere thanks for the co-
operation of donors, partners and Government in their
generous support to our work to address and overcome
deep-rooted challenges to empowering the millions of rural
poor in our working area. We also rely on our longstanding
and committed partnership with the organizations of the
disadvantaged, especially Union Federations, and the
individual program participants to continue to make a
positive difference on the ground, and in people’s lives.
Dr salima RahmanExecutiveDirector
Dhaka, April 2014
FOREwORd
2013 was a year of political chaos, strikes, blockades and mob violence across Bangladesh. despite
international support, our political parties could not agree on the General Election process for January
2014 and disruption by supporters of all groupings created sustained deadlock. The war crimes trials of
Jaamat-e-Islami’s leaders and others involved in the 1971 war of Independence were meant to bring
closure to a dark episode, but only fomented more violence as Jamaat supporters took to the streets to
protest death sentences passed.
BANGLAdESH 2013
2013 was a turbulence year for Bangladesh.
In April, the tragedy of ‘Rana Plaza’
(a corporate building) collapse, where
over a thousand people died and thousands more severely
injured, shocked the country and the rest of the world.
Picturesswepttheglobeandvoiceswereraisedaboutthe
labor rights and working environment for garments workers.
As a result, there were protests by the labor movement
and demands by international companies to improve the
workingenvironment.ItalsoexpeditedtheUSAsuspending
of the Generalized Systemof Preferences (GSP). Together
withadownwardsrevisionofourGDP,thisleftthecountry
economically weaker at the end of the year.
In politics, widespread and violent protests occurred
throughout the year as the Government began the national
electionprocesswithoutanimpartialCaretakerGovernment
in place, as agreed, and led to boycott by the main
opposition party. Around the same time, several important
verdicts handed down by the courts, in particular the death
sentences passed on 8 men accused of war crimes 1971,
created further turmoil in the country.
On the positive side, child mortality rates were found to have
fallen by 72% over the last two decades while Bangladesh
was given the South-South Award for its achievements in
poverty reduction and improved food security. For the first
time, a woman was elected Speaker in Parliament while
KeshabRoy,fromNilphamari,wasgiventhe“YouthCourage
Award” by the UN for his relentless struggle to resist child
marriages and school drop-outs in his home district. Finally,
a Guinness Record was made when 27,117 people created
the world’s largest ‘human national flag’ at the National
ParadeGroundonVictoryDay.
On the technological side, the target of the generation
of 10,000MW was achieved by the power sector, raising
hopes for better connections in remote and poor areas. The
genome sequencing of white jute by Dr Maqsudul Alam and
his colleagues, was welcome news as it will allow improved
varieties to be created to cope with future climate changes.
Likewise, the imminent release of zinc-enriched rice by
DrAlamagirHossain’steamatBRRI,willhelpinthefight
against diarrhea, pneumonia and stunting among children.
Fact File on Bangladesh
Area 147,570 sq km
Population 163,654,860
PopulationGrowthRate 1.59%
Fertility Rate 2.5%
Birth Rate 22.7/000
Death Rate 5.7/000
Maternal Mortality Rate 1.9/000
InfantMortalityRate 35/000
LifeExpectancy 70.36years
Literacy Rate 57.7%
GDP 5.7
12 ANNUAL REPORT 2013
ACkNOwLEdGEMENTS OFRDRS inteRventionS
1992PrimeMinister’sNationalAwardforTreePlantation
1995Helen Keller Recognition for Best
PerformancethroughouttheYear
1995PrimeMinister’sNationalAwardforTreePlantation
2000Expo-2000 HANOVER, Germany Award 2000 for
IntegratedHomesteadFarming
1997Best Rural Homestead Demonstration Award
1997 by Rural Development Academy, Bogra
2001Worldaware Business Awards 2001
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 13
2006CITI Group Foundation Award 2006 for the Best
ProgramforUltra-poor
2012Good Practice Award 2012 from UNFPA and
GoB for Stop Violence Against Women
2012Certificate of Excellence Award 2012 (awarded in
2013) on Outstanding Organization for Compliance
and Financial Management, from Manusher Jonno
Foundation
2006European Microfinance Runner-up Award 2006 for
theBestProgramforUltrapoor
20128thCitiMicro-entrepreneurshipAward2012
(Awarded in 2013) as the Best Microfinance
Institution
2013ACT Climate Award 2013 for good practice in
AlleviatingPovertythroughDisasterRiskReduction
in Northwest Bangladesh
16 ANNUAL REPORT 2013
To ensure our development interventions are sustainable and
effective in empowering the rural poor, we have established
community-based organizations, Union Federations, across the
working area. Through these, we assist individuals and communities to
develop an awareness of social issues; to understand how political and
economic systems work for or against them; and, to acquire the skills
and confidence needed to be active agents of change in their villages
and other arenas of civic society. Federations provide leadership and
strength in the fight for the rights of the poor and marginalized to
secure a decent way of life for all. This social organization challenges
discrimination and exploitation in all its forms, in particular against the
landless, women, char dwellers, tribal peoples and other marginalized
communities and individuals. RDRS supports its clients in their efforts
to build sustainable livelihoods, access social services and to be heard
and represented at local, regional and national levels.
CIVIL EMPOwERMENT
Social oRganization
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 17CiviL EmPOwERmENT
At present there are 375 Union Federations with 319,800
members who each represents a family of 5 on average,
giving us a client base of over 1.5 million people. As almost
70% of the membership are female, we ensure women have
the confidence and solidarity needed to challenge negative
gender-based practices in the home or by employers, schools,
government officials and even within the Federation.
We also have 11,100 Adibasi members, from the many
indigenous communities across our working area, making
the Federations one of the most inclusive organizations in
the country.
To ensure Federations are well managed, we provide
leadership courses in such areas as financial management,
record-keeping, project proposal composition, monitoring,
holding and taking part in elections, etc. The leaders, who
are voted for in free and fair elections, find these skills
useful when involved with outside bodies, such as local
government, NGOs, landlords, private enterprises, civil
society, etc. All members are aware of their rights and
responsibilities within the Groups and Federations and also
as citizens, workers, consumers, parents, etc.
This mass mobilization has changed the way the poor think
of themselves, resulting in 111 Federation Chairs being
women, a figure that would have been laughed at 20 years
ago. At the last local elections, 563 Federation members
(222women)wereelectedtotheUnionCouncils(Parishad),
overturning generations of disenfranchisement. Aware they
are challenging the local elite, our members also take part in
committees in their schools, markets, religious bodies, etc.
Once assured of their political and civil rights at the local
level, it can only be a matter of time until they have their
ownMemberofParliament.
Particulars Number
Total Federations 375
Govt. registered Federations 221
Women headed Federations 115
Federation groups 14,444 (Female:10,235
Male:4,209)
Federation members 319, 809 (Female:223,
866 Male:95,945)
Federations Women Forums 364
Federations Youth Forums 362
Federations Farmers Forums 87
Federation grain stores 87
Federations social service centres 235
Federation information centres 50
Federations library 255
Federation members representing inLocal govt. and other social structures 5,521
Federation at a glance (up to 2013)
18 ANNUAL REPORT 2013 CiviL EmPOwERmENT
Federations are a significant movement at the grassroots
and through them the poor are able to hold Government
and NGOs accountable. For example, now involved in the
assessment of people for such schemes as food-for-work
they ensure the right people receive the benefits and reduce
corruption and nepotism. They also mediate on issues such
as land disputes and stalking.
FEDERATiON YOUTh FORUmThe Youth Forum is for young people (11-22) whose
parents are members of the Federation. They are among the
most energetic and productive segment of the country’s
population and the future of their communities - local,
national and regional - will depend on them. For that
reason, we are providing a platform for turning this often
disorganized and unproductive group into a progressive,
productive force. The 364 Youth Forums focus on creating
social awareness and encouraging young people to become
involved in the development process to make a positive
difference to their lives. This year, to encourage youngsters
to look for work, we provided a range of training (tailoring;
computers; electronics; vehicle repair; micro-credit) to 52
unemployed teenagers.
STRENgThENiNg COmmUNiTY-BASED ORgANizATiON FOR PRO-POOR DEmOCRATiC gOvERNANCE (SCOPE)
The aim of this new project is to strengthen the links between Federations and local authorities, creating regular interaction to improve participation by the grassroots and encourage greater accountability by the councils’ officials and representatives. Itwill challengethe root causes of poverty and lead to changes in unprogressive systems. Finally, mass awareness-raising events will widen the discussion and lead to sustainable positive action against poverty.
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 19CiviL EmPOwERmENT
Alema Begum is one of millions of poor women
in Bangladesh who want the best for their
children but discover sometimes that is not
enough.Illiteratewhenshemarried,shevowedherchildrenwouldgoto,anddowellat
school. To fulfill that dream, Alema and her husband, a day laborer, scrimped and saved
out of their tiny wages to put aside money for their children’s education. Rather than
keeping the money at home, in danger of being stolen or spent, Alema put it into a local
savings group, Shapla Bhumihin Samity. Over the years, the money accumulated and when
herdaughterpassedherSecondarySchoolCertificatewithflyingcolorsandwasaccepted
into Higher Secondary in 2013, Alema knew the time had come to put the money to good
use.Intendingtobuyauniform,booksandotheressentialsforherdaughter,shewent
to the Samity to withdraw her savings. To her horror, the officials there said she had
never saved with them and refused to give her any money. Alema didn’t know what to
dososhewenttoarespectedneighbor,HasinaBegum,ChairwomanofPairabondhUnion
Federation. Shocked by Alema’s tale of woe, Hasina went to her Federation’s committee
where it was decided representatives would approach the Samity on Alema’s behalf. When
the Samity still refused to acknowledge Alema’s savings, the Federation threatened to
take the Samity to court. Defeated, the Samity paid up and gave Alema all the money
due to her. Now her daughter is in school, Alema’s dream has come true. And because the
Federation invited her to become a member, she is now on the road to making more money
through an income-generating activity of her choice, this time for the next generation.
BANkiNg ON hERDAUghTER’S FUTURE
Alema Begum (left) with her family
20 ANNUAL REPORT 2013 CiviL EmPOwERmENT
Women’S RightS
while the position of women in Bangladesh is slowly
improving, the poorest women are still discriminated
against in the home and village, by politicians and
professionals, by employers and customers, in schools and
colleges. RDRS is committed to positive action to improve
the lot of the individual and the community, within RDRS
and among its members. We endeavor to promote and protect
women’s rights and to reduce the gaps between women and
men. For us, gender discrimination is an issue which impacts
on everything we do and gender-equity a goal to be reached
at every stage.
wOmEN’S RighTS UNiTAs an organization, RDRS promotes a gender-friendly
working environment, so awareness-raising on gender issues
is mandatory for all staff, and their spouses where possible.
A zero-tolerance regime is in place with regard to sexual
harassment. We insist that women-friendly attitudes and
goals are conspicuous throughout our work. The Women’s
Rights Unit was established to implement our gender policies
across the organization and programs.
STAFF wOmEN’S FORUmSThese are open to all female staff and have been advocates
for many of the positive changes made. We have gender
audits of all projects and events to ensure women are equally
involved in decision-making and resource distribution. We
also support Women’s Forums in our Federations, to ensure
the same standards are being met at the grassroots.
Among the affirmative actions we have implemented for
our women staff and members, are: separate latrines where
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 21
possible; smoke-free campuses; 6-months’ maternity leave;
childcare allowances; and, a harassment-free environment.
At present, only 24% of our staff are women, but we
are increasing this through such actions as prioritizing
women’strainingopportunities,athomeandabroad.Inthe
Federations, there are reserved seats for women in elections
and on committees and they are encouraged to volunteer for
decision-making bodies.
LEgAL SUPPORT FOR POOR wOmEN ANDPROFESSiONAL FORUmWithin our working area women, members or not, can ask
for support from RDRS in legal cases. Our Women’s Rights
Unit supports vulnerable women and girls as they sue
for maintenance, divorce, dowry payments and physical
or mental violence through the system. More women are
now aware that there is a legal aid fund available and in
2013, out of 161 women and girls supported by RDRS, 32
victims received legalaid. In thecourts, thewomenwere
represented by lawyers, sensitive to the issues and working
for low wages. They are members of the growing number of
ProfessionalForumsestablishedandsupportedbyRDRSto
assist in the fight against the restrictions placed on women
in Bangladesh today.
REhABiLiTATiON CENTREThismuch-neededCentre,openedin2009,isabouthelpingwomen and girls who suffer social exclusion, early marriages, domestic violence, acid attacks, rape, sexual exploitation, and cross-bordertrafficking.AttheCentre,dependingontheir
CiviL EmPOwERmENT
Outreach 2009-2013DistrictCovered 18Staff and Spouse Received Gender Training 2,199Federation Leaders and Spouse Orientedon Gender, Mediation and law 6,043Women Leaders Received Training onLeadership Development 3,328YouthMobilizationThroughSchool/CollageStudents Orientation 120,729MassMobilizationThroughPeoplesTheatre,RuralCinemaandPublicHearing 411,188Advocacy Workshop/Network with DifferentStakeholdersonDifferentIssues 19,210WomenElectedtoFederation 2,317WomenLeadersElectedtoLocalGovt. 219MedicalAssistanceProvided 395LegalSupportProvidedtoVulnerableWomen 388CaseSolved 227Victims Supported by Govt. Legal Aid Fund 100EffectiveMediationjointlybyFederationandUnionParishad 7,362RescuedfromSafeCustody 67HillaMarriageProtected 36EarlyMarriageProtected 325Women and girls rehabilitated thoughRDRS rehabilitation centre 317
significant achievements during 2009-2013
22 ANNUAL REPORT 2013 CiviL EmPOwERmENT
needs, women receive counseling and mental health care, medical treatment, access to legal support as well rights-based education, literacy and numeracy, and skills’ training. In 2013, 40women received skills’ training andwere abletoreturnhome;2girlswerereferredtotheRangpurCrisisCentre; 43womenandgirlswere received from the courtsor police; we were able to return 33 of them to their legal guardians but 8 transferred to sheltered accommodation run byotheragencies;and,2orphangirlsremainattheCentre.
POSiTivE RESULTSAs well as supporting women through court, the Women’s
Rights Unit and Professional Forums protected 76 girls
from under-age marriage, 3 from hilla marriage while 6
dowry-free marriages were arranged through Federations.
Inaddition,53womentooktheirdisputesregardingdowry,
maintenance, polygamy, affairs and physical and/or mental
crueltytotheMediationCommittees,formedbyFederations
in partnership with Union Parishads. To facilitatematters,
we have developed links with the relevant District and Union
departments, police and hospitals; we are part of the Legal
AidandPrisonChildren’sCommittees;and,wehaveagood
workingrelationshipwiththeRangpurone-stopCrisisCentre.
iNCREASiNg ACCESS TO JUSTiCE ThROUgh RESTORATivE JUSTiCEWe began this project in October, 2103 in 8 unions of
Rangpur District. It focuses on the needs of the victim,
offender and wider community, instead of satisfying abstract
legal principles or punishing the offender. Victims take an
active role in the process, while offenders are encouraged
to take responsibility for their actions, to apologize, return
stolenitemsandundertakecommunityservice.Inaddition,
it provides an opportunity for the offender to avoid future
misdemeanors. Dialogue between victim and offender
ensures the higher levels of victim satisfaction and offender
accountability.
Hafiza was doing well at school and had reached
Class 7 when her father stopped her education.
Suddenly, she found herself married off to a
stranger, Md Nowshad, from Pirgacha, Rangpur, far from her family home in Sundorganj,
Gaibandha. Hafiza went to Nowshad’s home where she tried to be a good wife. But what
Hafiza didn’t know was that her father, Hanif Uddin, had promised a dowry of 25,000Tk to
Nowshadifthemarriagewentahead.ItwasonlywhenNowshadstartednaggingHafizathat
she learnt only 5,000Tk of the dowry had been paid. When he discovered Hanifuddin was too
poor to pay the outstanding 20,000Tk Nowshad began beating his wife. That was when Hafiza
discovered she was pregnant. She gave birth to a son, and she thought her husband would be
pleased. But no, money was more important and he beat his wife even more. Distraught, Hafiza
went back to her father, begging him to pay the dowry, but he failed and Hafiza returned to
her marital home empty-handed. The beatings started again, and then Hafiza discovered her
husband had been married before and had divorced that wife for the same reason. Afraid for
her son, Hafiza returned to her childhood home with her son. Hanifuddin wasn’t pleased,
but he took his daughter and grandson back, complaining they were a drain on his limited
means. Helpless, Hafiza looked for ways to earn money but no-one wanted to employ a single
mother. Eventually she approached the local Tarapur Federation and the Committee there
managedtofindroomforHafizaattheRDRSRehabilitationCentreforwomenlikeher.Hafiza
was overjoyed to find she could stay there, with her son, and be trained to be self-sufficient.
Eagerly,shethrewherself intothecoursesonoffer–tailoring,block-printing,literacyand
numeracy and social awareness-raising. The last made Hafiza realize that her husband and
father,notherself,weretoblameforherstate.WhenshelefttheCentre,shereturnedtoher
father’shousewithasewingmachineandsoonfoundherselfindemand.Infact,shewasso
successful she was able to open up a stall at the local market and now lives contentedly on the
4,000Tk she earns monthly with her happy little boy.
FROm ChiLD BRiDE TO RESPECTED BUSiNESS wOmAN
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 23CiviL EmPOwERmENT
within our working area a number of indigenous
peoples, such as Santal, Orao and Mahali live in
extreme poverty. Long ignored, exploited and
dispossessed by mainstream society, from 2009-13 we ran
the Adibashi Empowerment Project, providing them with
essential social and economic skills. Despite being landless
and vulnerable, these Adibashi communities made good use
of the support we provided.
ChiLDREN AND YOUNg PEOPLE Pre-school: Because of geographic and social isolation,
Adibashi children rarely went to school in the past but in
the last 5 years, we established 176 pre-schools attended by
almost 4,000 pupils of whom 97% were able to move directly
to mainstream Primary Schools. Parental support for this
educational provision was overwhelmingly positive.
Non-Formal Primary Education (NFPE) School: Among
school-going Adibashi children, we worked towards lowering
theveryhighdrop-outratesbyopening113NFPEschools.
These took in 2,300 children of which 97% then transferred
successfully to mainstream schools where their drop-out
rates fell to under 5%.
Government Primary School Support: We provided training
to ensure teachers and committees in 24 mainstream schools
would accept indigenous children. By 2103, drop-out rates
had fallen from 25% to 5% and the percentage of Adibasi
childrencompletingPrimarySchoolroseto95%.
Courses for Adolescents (Shonglap): These one-year
courses provided life-preparing skills for almost 5,000
adolescents on health, violence against women and other
social issues. Also trained in income-generating activities,
the young people accessed loans when they graduated to
the Youth Forum or Kishoribagan. After 5 years, we found
around 70% of adolescents were involved in the family
decision-making process and 13% controlled their own
incomes of at least 1,200Tk.
aDibaShi empoWeRment
24 ANNUAL REPORT 2013 CiviL EmPOwERmENT
People’s Organizations: Between 2008-13, 8 indigenous
organizations - Adibashi Samaj Unnayan Shongathon were
established to promote and protect their rights. In 2013,
62% were self-managed; 80% had campaigned on social
issues;62%POshadundertakenadvocacyworkatthelocal
level; and, 75% tapped resources from both Government and
non-Government agencies.
Economic DevelopmentAs for other sections of the rural poor, we provided resources
to enable our Adibashi clients to become self-sufficient.
Income-generatingskillsweredeveloped,collectiveworking
was encouraged, and micro-credit suited to their needs was
taken up and used effectively. To date, 1,880 Group Members
have received loans for land-redemption (paying off the
money lenders), house-building, and income-generating
activities, particularly in home gardening and handicrafts.
In2013,almost20mTkhadbeenborrowed,asmallsumfor
changing lives so dramatically.
Minoti Hembrom, 14, the daughter of a farm
labourer,isamemberoftheChandipurShonglap
Group, Dinajpur, set up for young people from the Adibashi community. When she was
only eight, her poverty-struck parents took her out of school to help with household
chores and in the fields at harvest time. Minoti had liked school and the company of
her friends and always wanted to return and finish her education. But it was only when
she came into contact with RDRS that she was given that opportunity in January 2013.
Minotitellsherstory:“IspentabouttenmonthsattheShonglapCenter,andduring
thattimeIchangedalot,andsohavemyfamily.Nowweallknowaboutthingslike
wearing sandals to use the latrine, only drinking water from the tubewell, going to the
doctor when we’re sick, and keeping the house neat and clean”, she laughed. “Things
aredifferentnow,inmyfamily,andmyparentslistentowhatIhavetosay.I’vealso
becomeinvolvedinthevillageaffairs,joininginsocialcampaigns.Evengoingwithmy
friends to theUnionParishadtodiscussdifferentmatters forourGroup.”Although
she’s worked for years in the fields, Minoti has learnt much more through Shonglap and
has established a small vegetable plot at the family homestead. “We eat better,” she
says, “and what we can’t eat, my dad sells at the market”. Minoti is also learning about
sewing, and her hope is “to buy a sewing machine and become a good tailor and earn
lots of money.”
gOiNg BACk TO SChOOL
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 25CiviL EmPOwERmENT
StRengthening DemocRatic local goveRnance
The goal of this project is to improve the quality and
degree of transparency and participatory public
administration in local government. Working in Natore
andPabnadistricts,RajshahiDivision,theexperienceand
information garnered are intended to add to the debate on
legal and policy reform at the national level to promote
andexpanddecentralization.Inparticular,theprojectwill
consider the role and authority of local government; the
capacity of local government associations; the range and
quality of service delivery and resource mobilization of local
government units; and, how to ensure accountability and
transparency of local government in finance and decision-
making. So far, this project has built links with the agencies,
provided relevant training and supported review meetings
for local government departments.
community policing
working with poor and ultra-poor mainly dispossessed
citizens, issues of law-and-order often arise. After
all, in what are sparsely governed areas, there would
be little point to our efforts if women, tribal communities,
tenant farmers or Federation leaders, for example, were still
to live in fear. To improve public safety and strengthen
governance in the north-west, therefore, we supported the
NationalInitiativeandResponsetoAdvancePublicOrderfor
DevelopmentProject.Theintentionwastocreateastronger,
more responsive community-based police network places
in Kurigram and Rangpur through boosting community
policing, raising public awareness, building relationships
and supporting legal reforms. To that end, we ran training
courses on social issues, particularly on the rights of women,
for police personnel and facilitated links with the public and
local government.
vulneRable gRoup Development
The Vulnerable GroupDevelopment (VGD) Program is a
program of the Bangladesh Government. The program
aims to assist exclusively ultra poor households. RDRS
Bangladesh has been implementing this project in Fulbari
upazial of Kurigram district. A total of 2,749 ultra-poor
women are direct participants of the project. Under the VGD
program, participants are receiving monthly food ration and
development support services including life skills and income
generating skills training, savings and access to credit. The VGD cardholders receive 30kg rice, or wheat per month.
In 2013, total 99.93 MT foodstuffs has been distributed
among the cardholders. During the year, life skill training
has been provided to 216 batches at Union level; over 6,000
women have received training on risk management, personal
hygiene, mother and child health, food and nutrition; and
Tk 1,173,076 has been deposited by the vulnerable women
in VGD account as their savings.
26 ANNUAL REPORT 2013
To ensure all potential clients can access our services, we offer
curative health care to specific groups in parts of our working
area and preventive health services to our membership. However,
changing donor priorities is putting this service under threat and we
face problems in attracting qualified staff to rural areas. To improve
health care provision by the Government work closely with other
service providers in local and national projects.
REPRODUCTivE hEALThWe provide a service through ante-natal clinics, maternity centre and
a network of trained Rural Birth Attendants. Our maternal mortality
rate is 0.63/000, compared to the national figure of 1.94/000. We are
involved in various projects and studies in this field to ensure young
children have the best possible start in life.
QUALITyOF LIFE
community health
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 27QUALiTY OF LiFE
hiv AND AiDSOur aim is to prevent spread of these diseases by raising
awareness of the dangers among staff, students, Federations,
rickshaw-pullers and pregnant women. A Drop-in Centre
in the transport hub of Saidpur supports sex workers,
encouraging them to use condoms and offering training in
other income-generating activities.
TUBERCULOSiS AND LEPROSYAt our clinics and rehabilitation centers, we have met the
smear positive TB target of 71/00,000 while our cure rate
of 90% is higher than the target of 85%. Country-wide,
leprosy is disappearing and, thanks to awareness raising and
community-based rehabilitation system, we have achieved
the leprosy elimination target of <1/10,000; this year 3
patients received support.
EYE CAREThis project in Lalmonirhat and Kurigram areas runs clinics,
camps and a surgical theatre. Almost 23,500 people of all
ages received tests and treatment in 2013, and over 500
operations were carried out.
REhABiLiTATiON FOR viSUALLY-imPAiRED ChiLDRENAtthisCentre,weteachlifeskillsandBrailletohelpyoung
people lead independent lives. We also train teachers with
blind pupils in their classes to ensure that the children
receive the best possible education.
SpeciFic health pRoJectS
RURAL wAShWe are supporting a number of water, sanitation and hygiene projects in schools and communities to improve health by reducing water and sanitation risks. With over 90% of members now using latrines, and most having arsenic-free tubewells, there has been a noticeable drop in diarrheal diseases.
FighTiNg TUBERCULOSiSThroughtheGlobalFundtoFightAIDS,TuberculosisandMalaria we are working to reduce the incidence of TB in Lalmonirhat and Kurigram with a population of 3.5 million. Our goal is to detect 70% of new smear positive
Children of Rehabilitation Center
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 29QUALiTY OF LiFE
TB cases and increase the cure rate to 85%. The project
supports TB clubs; trains hospital doctors, village doctors,
DOT providers, and NGO health workers in TB recognition and
response; and, raises awareness and understanding among
ourwomen’sGroups.In2013,justover4,000TBcaseswere
registered, of which 33% were in women. Our smear positive
rate reached 71/00,000, and the all forms case notification
rate was 113/00,000; the cure rate was 90%.
ENhANCiNg RESOURCES AND REDUCiNg RiSkSTo develop community-based human resources and reduce
maternal and child mortality, 18 women members were selected
forCommunity-basedSkilledBirthAttendants’Training.This
six-monthin-housecoursewasorganizedbytheInstituteof
Child andMaternal Health at Dhaka in December 2013. It
covered general maternal and child health; pregnancy and
delivery; post-delivery infant care; clinical midwifery practice
and community midwifery practices. The women had to have
a Secondary School Certificate, aged 20-45 and willing to
work in rural areas. Following training, they will join a Union
HealthCentresupportedbyUnionFederations.
mONiTORiNg AND ADvOCACY FOR SAFE mOThERhOODThis Lalmonirhat-based project finished in September,
2013. Its objective was to improve clinical standards in
maternal health. RDRS Federations, the Union Parishad
HealthCommittees,MinistryofHealthandprivateservice
providers (Trained Birth Attendants, village doctors) were all
involved in training and monitoring while messages about
reproductive health were delivered at schools and other
public arenas. Such has been the success of the project, that
it is now being replicated by other agencies and in other
communities, while we are incorporating the monitoring
tools into our other programs.
imPROviNg mATERNAL AND ChiLD NUTRiTiONIn Bangladesh today, malnutrition amongst mothers and
children is still a major public health issue; we are helping
to change this situation through our ImprovingMaternal
andChild(6months-5years)NutritionPrograminKurigram.
It focuses on themanagement of preventive and curative
health services for inter-generational moderate malnutrition
at 70 fortnightly community-based out-patient clinics.
Children and lactating women identified as malnourished
receive beneficial basic training on how to deal with the
problemandsuppliedwithWFPsuper-cerealfoodrationsto
supplement their diets. Some children require home-based
follow-up, while those who suffer from severe malnutrition
are referred to specialized centers for more intensive care.
Sujat Ali, 45 years old and a day laborer, was extremely
poor and depressed because, no matter how hard he
tried, he couldn’t feed his family. One day his mother gave him a little money so he
could start a small business hawking vegetables around the village. But even that
wasn’t enough and he felt even worse. So when he saw some spots appear on his
handsand feet,he just ignoredthem–until theyturnedulcerous.Hevisitedthe
village doctor, who gave him vitamin tablets but they made no difference and he lost
feeling in his feet. Luckily, he met RDRS field staff and, after listening to his story,
took him to their clinic. There, tests proved he was suffering from leprosy and he was
given medicine. After a year of that, there was still no improvement, so he was sent to
the DBLM in Nilphamari, a reputed hospital for the treatment of leprosy. Sujat stayed
there for a month before being sent back home with a 5,000Tk interest-free loan from
RDRS to restart his business. That was in 1995; in 2001 he was contacted again by
RDRS who wanted to give his name to the Government. He agreed, and as he was ultra-
poor and suffered from deformities, the Government gave him a grant of 12,000Tk for
further rehabilitation. Overjoyed, he began working as a trader in the market and,
with hard work and help from his family, he now runs 6 stalls and 7.5 decimal of
land,helpedbyhischildren.NowheboaststhatheisamodelofaCommunityBased
RehabilitationLeprosyPatient,andtellsotheralwaystobecarefuloftheirfeet.
A mODEL PATiENT
Sujat Ali (left), selling watermelon as per his income generating activities.
30 ANNUAL REPORT 2013 QUALiTY OF LiFE
WateR Sanitation anDpeRSonal hygiene Through three different projects, promotion of water
supply, sanitation and hygiene in hard-to-reach areas
of rural Bangladesh was set up to ensure access to safe
water and latrines and to improve hygiene among the rural
poor.Itisprovingasimplebuteffectivemethodofimproving
health and environmental conditions in homes, schools,
bazaars and hotels. Working in Kishoreganj, Laxmichap and
Dimla in Nilphamari, we target school students, adolescent
girls, our members and the wider community. Across the
project area we reached around 100,000 people; installed or
repaired around 18,000 latrines, including some designed
for the disabled; built up around 2,500 plinths; dug or
renovated 12,000 tubewells and about 50 ringwells; installed
about 30 sanitation blocks in schools; and provided hand-
washing facilities for homesteads. This work was done in
conjunction with training through schools and in mass
campaigns on why and how people should wash their hands
and use latrines. Because adolescent girls are ignorant about
menstruation, we provided training to around 1,000 young
women in how to look after themselves during their periods.
They were then provided with handbooks to use when
passing on this information to friends and family.
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 31QUALiTY OF LiFE
RdRS has long provided educational
opportunities to the adults and children
of its working area and has seen
literacy and numeracy levels rise and more children complete
primaryandsecondaryschool. In the lastdecade,wehave
been committed to meeting the Government’s Millennium
DevelopmentGoalofEducationforAllthroughavarietyof
projects providing non-formal education for children and
capacity-building among adults. A number of projects are aimed at increasing primary school enrolment, improving retention rate and academic results byinterventionattheearlieststages.Evidenceshowsthat,through work with parents, teachers and communities, the children from the poorest families can receive better education are more likely to use libraries and other resources, anddobetterinBangla,EnglishandMaths.Intheprojectarea, parents, teachers and community leaders become more involved in school management. With indicators in the north-west improving each year, we have established a similar project with qwaumi madrasha in the Rajshahi area.
PRimARY EDUCATiONPROTEEvA (Promoting Talent through Early education):
PROTEEVA implemented this program to improve primary
school enrollment, completion and academic performance.
Achieving its goals the project has taken Early Childhood
Developmentprogram(ECD)likepre-primaryschool,parenting
and sisimpur with a joy full learning environment and toys
material.TheseprogramhelpedchildrentoprepareforPrimary
school.PROTEEVAalsoimplementedReceptionandWelcoming
(R&W), Reading Buddy and Mentoring (RBM), community After
SchoolCircleandSchoolHealthNutrition(SHN)forimproving
early grades children reading habit, math and language skill.
After a long time advocacy government approved ECD policy
on November 2013 and Lalmonirhat primary education office
scaling up the R&W program to their all primary school. More
than 31,000 children have got the early learning opportunity
and improve their academic performance.
PROTEEvA CSA (Community school Activity): In 2013
RDRSextendedPROTEEVAactivitytohundredqwaumimadrasha
in Rajshahi, Chapai Nawabganj, Natore and Bogra district
under Rajshahi division to improve the same competencies for
madrasha children.
SChOOL FEEDiNg PROgRAmBetter nutrition and food supplements encourage attendance
and concentration and through their promotion we aim to
improve access to and retention at primary schools. Almost
6.3 million from poor and ultra-poor children in 2,759
primary school at Nilphamari, Kurigram and Gaibandha
district benefited from improved nutrition and attendance
rose to 86%. With use of school latrines and tubewells, the
eDucation
32 ANNUAL REPORT 2013 QUALiTY OF LiFE
incidence of seasonal diseases among this group was greatly
reduced.PartnershipwithGovt.andWFPwe implemented
04 projects in respective district.
ChAR PRimARY EDUCATiONCharareaatKurigramisoneoftheindigenouspartsofrear
education. RDRS is committed to ensure the global pledge
‘Nochildwithouteducation’.10PrimarySchoolsrunswhere
301 disadvantaged children got the gateways into formal
education. We have supported primary education for many
years and in 2013, the community had confirmation of the
hard work undertaken when 100% of char children sitting
the Primary School Certificate passed,with one school in
Sarkerpar with 4 students earning Golden A+ applauded by
their Federation.
gOvERNANCE mONiTORiNg ANDPROmOTiNg LOCAL PARTNERShiP FORQUALiTY EDUCATiON (mANUShER JONNO)Accountability of structures and its functions into local
education system is a rear for ensuring quality primary
education at remote areas. The project is to achieve pro-
poor mainstreaming education by creating demand for
Good Governance, enhancing capacity and creating network
through sensitized all parties including those involved.
ShiShU NiLOYThese primary schools, supported by RDRS staff donations,
work in the remotest areas where children were not able
to access in primary education. RDRS provides support for
continuing07primaryschoolofG-ItoG-V.Inspiredbytheir
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 33QUALiTY OF LiFE
female teachers, more girls from here are able to enroll at
high schools after completion.
NON-FORmAL EDUCATiONShikhON-LEARNiNg ALTERNATivES FORvULNERABLE ChiLDRENSHIKHON is working for achieving development targets
and contributing into National Basic Education Structure
inBangladesh. It is re-enforcing to change the education
system in Bangladesh and to improve the access of school-
excluded children into mainstreaming basic education,
school health and nutrition at chars, howrs, coastal areas,
tea-gardens, hilly and disaster prone areas in Sylhet and
Rangpur region.
In2013,over41,000studentswereenrolledin1,270non-
formalPrimarySchoolsinGrade-IandII.
EmPOwERiNg COmmUNiTY AND LOCAL gOvERNmENT FOR ENSURiNg SUSTAiNABLE NFE (NON-FORmAL EDUCATiON) DELivERY mEChANiSm
Lifelong learning is referred for all citizens in the society
but little opportunity for marginal communities to have the
same. So the project has opened the doors to continue the
learning of the targeted illiterate, incomplete or drop out
from cycle of schooling to help them be enabled to maintain
34 ANNUAL REPORT 2013 QUALiTY OF LiFE
their literacy skills throughout of their life at 6 unions in
Rangpur district.
ADiBAShi EmPOwERmENT PROJECTAdibasiEmpowermentProject(AEP)hasbeenworkingfor
the sustainable development of indigenous community in
the northern districts Rangpur, Panchagarh, Thakurgon
andDinajpur.Pre-primary,NFE,SHONGLAP,QualityPrimary
EducationandPeople’sOrganizationwereorganizedasthe
pillartomeetitsobjectives.In2013,themajorachievement
were; 285 ethnic children graduated by 12 pre-centers; 268
students in 13NFEwere enrolled inGrade-I toGrade-VII;
improvedlife-skillofadolescentsgirlsthrough56SHONGLAP
centers; established 8 people’s organizations to protect the
rights of indigenous community.
NON-FORmAL ADULT EDUCATiONThis Federation-based project provides access to non-formal
adult education, providing literacy and numeracy as well as
social awareness-raising and work skills. Mainly intended for
young people, the project also introduces modern technology
through e-mobile libraries.
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 35
tRaining
Adult education remains an essential tool for RDRS and
our clients and in 2013 we ran 323 residential courses
of varying lengths, at our 10 training centers or in the
field. Of these, 243 were in-house sessions for Federation
leaders, women’s forums, tribal leaders, youth groups,
teachers, health workers, actors and musicians, and others.
The courses on offer supported leadership and organization;
advocacy and networking; accounting and record-keeping;
training of trainers; reproductive health for adolescents; risk
management and climate-change coping strategies; and,
staff responsibilities. As always, we provided awareness-
raising courses and on- and off-farm income-generation
skills training for social and economic enhancement of
our members. The 80 remaining courses were run for other
institutions, such as local government, commercial bodies
and NGOs. About 8,200 people attended our training
sessions, of which just over 6,000 were RDRS members and
staff, and 2,200 from outside. The vast majority (5,200) of
participants were women.
QUALiTY OF LiFE
36 ANNUAL REPORT 2013
Food security is always at the forefront of concerns in Bangladesh
and the country has achieved greater grain production through
introduction of new technologies and crop varieties. RDRS uses
the “Farmer Field School” (FFS) extension model to spread appropriate
improved farming practices among our farmers who are quick to adopt
profitable and sustainable technology. Being in FFS provides our small
and marginal farmers with access to Government services and support
within their own Groups. The FFS are linked into Federation Forums
for Farmers (FFF), an apex body that manages FFS formation and
development.In2013,400FFS(66%women-led)with9,300farmers
were in 40 FFF across the working area experimenting with various
systems.
SUSTAiNABLE CROPPiNg iNTENSiFiCATiONIn this project, the FFS are testing an intensive four-crop sequence
(aman rice-mustard or potato-mungbean-aus rice) against the
traditional cropping pattern (boro rice-aman rice-potato). The new
technique was devised by our staff and local researchers to improve
NATURAL RESOURCES ANd ENVIRONMENT
agRicultuRe
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 37NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENviRONmENT
crop productivity and provide employment during the lean
season. Demonstration results indicate farmers are using
much less underground water for irrigation, lessening
soil desertification. They also have pulse and oil seeds to
sell, increasing incomes and cutting the national need for
imported foodstuffs. By providing bio-mass for composting,
the new method does away with the need for chemical
fertilizers. Finally, as yields have risen by 20% and returns
by 76%, so the number of laborers employed by farmers
using this system in the monga season has risen from almost
zero to over 100 per ha. This successful and sustainable
method for providing food security and jobs is now being
implemented by others across the working area through the
FFS and FFF.
hOmE gARDENiNgThis is an easy, popular and successful means for farmers to
improve household food security. On the one hand, there is
healthy food on the doorstep for feeding the family; on the
other, the sale of some of the fruits and vegetables brings
in much-needed cash. By tending gardens all-year round,
families are able to overcome seasonal availability and be
more self-sufficient. Since the work is done by women, it has
the added benefit of empowering women through control of
their own incomes and working conditions. These factors
then improve health, lower maternal and child mortality
rates and contribute to the community’s well-being. In
2013, 1,250 new gardens were established.
FiSh-RiCE CULTUREItisestimatedthat30%ofrice-growinglandinBangladesh,
including our working area, is ideal for pisciculture due to
water-retention capacities. With growing demand for fish
alongside declining agricultural acreage, this sustainable
environmentally-friendly method affords good income-
earning opportunities for our farmers, with 200 more
establishing this practice in 2013.
vERmi-COmPOSTCompost developed from the excreta of earthworms on
locally-grown bio-waste is very rich in humus and excellent
forcropsaswellascleanandodorless.In2013,140farmers
established vermi-composting for their own fields and
gardens, selling the remainder to their neighbors, increasing
their incomes.
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 39NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENviRONmENT
COmmUNiTY RiCE BANkThese are provided for ultra-poor households who suffer
the most during the agricultural lean seasons or after such
disastersasfloodsordrought.Thericebanksmeanthese
families no longer go to money-lenders or sell their labor
in advance. As members of RDRS groups, the members are
encouraged to save a little bit of rice each day to deposit in
a community store for when disaster strikes. There are now
over 300 rice banks supported by 8,000 households.
CONSERvATiON AgRiCULTUREThis project is introducing farming practices such as zero-
tillage, permanent bed planting and strip farming with the
intention of reducing fuel, labor and water use at the same
time as improving the soil conditions. Begun in 2008, the
experimentsusemainlyrice,maizeandpulses.Conducted
by our FFS these have shown benefits from intensive
cropping patterns, new ways of tilling the soil and improved
productivity with site specific nutrient management.
40 ANNUAL REPORT 2013
FooD FoR pRogReSS FoR banglaDeSh
Bangladesh has a cropping intensity of 191%, but it still
cannot feed all its people. The only way it can improve
its food security is to introduce new technologies, tools
and crops on even its smallest landholdings, like those owned
or leased by most farmers in our working area. One way of
doing so is by liming the soil to increase the crop value by
5% in a year. By promoting this method among our Farmer
Field Schools more than 20,000 families have doubled their
incomes and greatly improved their living standards.
FooD SecuRity anD Soil FeRtility in hilly aReaS
This project took place in the hills of south-east
Bangladesh. It was set up to improve food security
among small and marginal farmers in an area that has
become environmentally-degraded over time through over-
use of a marginal landscape. Among our interventions to
increase yields and thus improve incomes and nutritional
intake among farming families were the diversification of
crops; changes to cropping patterns; addition of improved
seeds, fertilizers and machinery; and, training to improve
skills and raise awareness. As well following modern
cropping patterns, farmers established 45 tree nurseries with
seedlings and saplings; around 300 homestead gardens were
established; power tillers, tubewells and shallow pumps, rice
threshers, and other agro-technologies were introduced;
and, chemical fertilizers were replaced by environmentally-
suited compost. Those taking part attained higher incomes
and were able to eat more often and more healthily.
NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENviRONmENT
Dulal Mia is a small farmer with a large family
of 7 to feed. He knew the traditional method he
used on his 230 decimal plot was inefficient, but it was only when he joined the Modho
Goalgari Farmers Field School (FFS) in Baliadangi that he found a solution to his problem
– limingtheacidicsoilandsomaking itmoreproductive.Heagreedtodemonstrate
the benefits of liming to his neighbors and dug two patches of potatoes, one in the
traditional way and one with limed soil. From the first, he harvested 400kgs; from the
second, he got 560kgs. For Dulal the benefits were outstanding; since then he has always
limedhissoil,whetherforpotatoesorvegetablessuchasbrinjal.Inthefirstyear,the
crops brought in 78,000Tk profit. Dulal and his family had never had so much money
and decided to lease another 66 decimals, which still left enough to send the children to
school. A keen farmer, Dulal, supported by RDRS, still experiments with different crops
for his FFS and all other neighbors are welcome to ask his advice.
ThE BENEFiTS OF LimiNg
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 41
FooD SecuRity FoR ultRa-pooR Women
This project was set up to empower 40,000 ultra-poor
women and their dependents in Gaibandha through
enhanced food security, greater rights-awareness and
income-generation opportunities in their neighborhood
disaster-preparedness ventures. The women organized
themselves into 1,500 Women’s Village groups through
which we provided training, social literacy and awareness-
raising at fortnightly meetings. They were encouraged to
save 5-10Tk out of their pittances and, at the end of 2013,
had accumulated 21mTk while over 2,100 women have since
taken ownership of khas (riverbank government land) to
establish homesteads.
Following training from agriculturalists, all the women were
given livestock (cattle, goats, poultry) to rear or fatten;
the success is seen in the healthy and productive animals
the women still own. Other income came from building
homestead plinths for themselves and their neighbors and
the women have managed to raise their nutritional intakes,
most now being able to afford 3 nutritional meals every day.
Among the women, the use of tubewells and sanitary latrines
is almost universal. With many of the women suffering
some form of disability, the provision of glasses, tricycles,
protective footwear and other prosthetics as well minor
operations on eyes, cleft lips, etc, proved extremely popular.
This was also very productive as it creates confidence,
independence, mobility and security while out working.
Support for community-based organizations in the women’s
villages has been carried out alongside and 60 Federations
have been established, the villagers inspired on visits to
existing Federations. Major hurdles faced when the women
tried to purchase the necessary land were overcome and
theCentersarenowbeingbuilt.Thisyear,300Federation
leaders received training on management, governance,
women’s rights and disabilities to meet the specific needs
of the membership. One experienced at the beginning of the
project was illiteracy, with many women unable to write their
signatures. However, literacy classes have overcome that
barrier and given the women a greater sense of self-worth.
NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENviRONmENT
Aysha Begum always
lived in poverty, as
a child, a wife and a
mother. Disabled, she never earned enough to live on as a
day laborer. Rofiz, her husband is also disabled and often
too weak to work. With their 3 decimal homestead too small
to provide for them, Aysha and Rofiz struggled to survive
and their three children, one son and two daughters, never
went to school. Their misery was compounded when their son
married a girl from another village and left the family home.
When the elder daughter reached an age to wed, the only
husbandtheycouldfindwasanotherpoorman.Itwasnot
long after the marriage that the girl returned home because
the couple had no money at all and needed Aysha and Rofij to
keep them. At this point, in 2010, Aysha was asked to join an
RDRS project providing support to ultra-poor people. With 29
others in the Dawnala Group, Aysha attended the meetings
and, when they reached the stage of setting up an income-
generating activity, opted for goat-rearing. She began with
an “asset package” of 2 goats, a shed and some feed; within
a few months she had 4 kids on her hands. Two were handed
over to the another beneficiary and 2 were sold at the market
for 2,400Tk. With that money, she bought 10 ducks for
2,000Tk, rearing ducklings which she sold for 8,000Tk to buy
4 geese for 2,400Tk. Today, Aysha has 8 goats, 64 geese, 70
pigeons, 16 chickens and 300 ducklings. The total value of
her livestock is about 86,000Tk; her duck eggs alone bring in
1,200Tk a month. Despite their disabilities, Aysha and Rofiz
and their daughters and sons-in-law run a successful business
and manage a very productive homestead garden. Soon, they
hope, they will be able to buy some land and ensure their
grandchildren will have a better start in life.
FROm ExTREmE POvERTY TO A gOOD LiFE
Front left: EUdelegateJoaoAnselmo,TechnicalAdvisorICCOLeonardZijlstraand
HeadofGFSUPWprojectofRDRSNazrulGhanispeakwithprojectparticipants
42 ANNUAL REPORT 2013 NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENviRONmENT
paRticipatoRy maRketing SyStem
The goal of this partnership project is to empower small
and marginal farmers in the marketplace, and thus
reduce rural poverty and enhance food and nutritional
security among the poor. We use a participatory marketing
system to develop their skills and ensure they receive fair
prices for their produce. Working with 500 milk producers,
25 livestock vets, private companies and Government
officials in Nilphamari, we established an alternative
marketsysteminourRuralSalesandServiceCentre.There,
farmers were able to access veterinary and support services
(private and governmental) buy inputs at reasonable
prices, and get a fair price for their milk, thus improving
their entrepreneurial skills. Through commissions from the
MilkvitaCompany,rentingofspacetovets,andprovidinga
safespaceforfarmers,manyofwhomarewomen,theCentre
earned around 700Tk per day.
aDaptation anD mitigation FoR climate change
To assist our clients deal with climate change, we
have introduced a two-pronged strategy. On the one
hand, mitigation efforts reduce emissions; on the
other, adaptation introduces new techniques and tools.
Despite decades of advance, our poverty-afflicted clients
still consider environmental disaster as normal; for them,
learning new ideas and skills for dealing with climate
changeisnodifferentfromcopingwiththehunger,floods,
droughts, heat and cold that have faced Bangladesh’s rural
poor for generations.
DROUghT-TOLERANT RiCE CULTivATiONAlso common across our working area are problems associated
withdrought.NewvarietiesdevelopedatIRRItodealwith
this,thequick-growingBRRIdhan56andBRRIdhan57,as
proved by our demonstrator farmers, can survive 25-30 days
of drought with yields of 4-4.5 tons/ha.
CULTivATiNg SwEET PUmPkiN ON SANDBARSNear the rivers, where many of the poorest and landless
families live, the land is often infertile but sweet pumpkin
cangrowhere.In2013,120charfarmerssuccessfullyplanted
this crop and, since it is easily stored for long periods, relied
on it during the lean season of monga.
ALTERNATE wETTiNg AND DRYiNgThis irrigation method can reduce water use by 30%, saving
energy and fuel. The technology is simple: a plastic tube
or bottle filled with water is inserted into the soil and only
when the surface dries out and the water table falls below
15cmdoesthewaterflowfromthehose.Thissystemensures
water reaches the plants in need and, on our farmers’ 470
demonstration plots, also increases yields.
FLOOD-TOLERANT RiCE CULTivATiONOne of the visible effects of climate change in our working
area has been the increase in number and intensity of
flashfloods that now submerge rice fields for 1-2weeks.
Traditional rice varieties would last 4-6 days under water;
new ones can live 15 days. This year, 1,100 demonstration
plotswereplantedwiththeflood-tolerantBRRIdhan51and
dhan52 varieties that produced yields of 3.5-4.5 ton/ha.
RENEwABLE ENERgYBangladesh is blessed with an abundance of sun, water and
biomass, ideal for renewable energy production would be
of great benefit to the rural poor, many of whom are still
unconnected to mains supplies. Through the Solar Home
Systems Program, individual homes can install solar panels
on their roofs for running lights, small TVs, radios and even
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 43NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENviRONmENT
charge cellular phones, transforming lives. Likewise, panels
installed at marketplaces make evening marketing simpler
andsafer.Easytomaintainandwithnomonthlybills, this
formofenergyisprovingverypopular.In2013,about90char
families made use of this facility, taking our total to 1,300.
hOmESTEAD PLiNTh RAiSiNgFor families living near the rivers, flooding is inevitable,
sometimes 2-3 times a year, sometimes washing away their
homes and belongings. To counter this, we have long encouraged
ground-raising of the homestead to ensure the house, tubewell
and latrine remain above the water-level and to provide a place of
refuge for family and livestock. Sixty plinths were built in 2013.
community climate change
The future existence of Bangladesh and its people hangs
in the balance, depending on how the country deals with
theimpactofclimatechanges.In2009,theGovernment
set out its “Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action
Plan”andopenedamulti-donor “BangladeshClimateChange
ResilienceFund”.This ledtoPalliKarmaSahayakFoundation
(PKSF) providing funds in 2013 to RDRS to implement a
project inChilmariupazilaofKurigramdistricttoreducethe
vulnerability of the poor and disadvantaged populations to the
impact of climate change in 2013. Through it, we are working
to improve community resilience and food security amongst our
membersinflood-proneareas.Througharangeofactivitiesthis
will strengthen community risk reduction factors and improve
people’s adaption capacities. Working with 4,000 households,
we are establishing Climate Change Adaptation Groups and
Tasks Forces, focusing upon food security, social protection,
disaster-management, etc.
44 ANNUAL REPORT 2013 NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENviRONmENT
chaRS livelihooDS
This project aims to improve the livelihoods of one
million poor residents of the Chars, remote, unstable
and infertile sand bars and islands on the large rivers in
KurigramandRangpur.Eachyear,hundredsoffamiliesmove
because their homes and land have been washed away by
floods;mostpeoplewillmovehouse4-5timesintheirlives.
We focus on creating sustainable infrastructure for physical
protection; strengthening livelihood skills for food security;
and, raising living standards through social changes.
This year, our participation system was altered to become
statistically more useful. Just under 2,300 people enrolled
in 99 new groups that received 16,500Tk loans to rear cattle
for income generation. Our Group Members installed over
6,000 latrines and 1,000 tube-wells to greatly improve
their families’ health and living conditions. During the
agricultural lean season, monga, many were employed at
339Tk per day on ground-raising projects for homesteads
and public buildings, such as schools and clinics that provide
refugeduringfloods;877peoplephysicallyunabletowork
were given cash up to 1,000Tk to ensure they did not go
hungry.ThroughourMilkMarketDevelopmentProject,38
Milk Business Groups with 950 members were successfully
set-up with improved breeds of cattle and better access to
the market.
Abia used to earn a little money by going from door-
to-door in her village of Ujan Zograr Char or by
begging inthemarketplace. Itwasamiserable life
forAbiaandherthreeparentlessgrandsons.In2012,thingschangedforthebetter
whenshe joinedourCLP.Afterher introduction toRDRSand itsaims, shewas
given a choice of what kind of income-generating project she wanted to set up;
an old woman with no land or livestock to her name, she opted for renting land,
leasing 12 decimal for 16,000Tk which her grandsons were able to work. The first
season Abia and the boys cultivated rice they earned 3,000Tk profit; the next
season’s crop produced 1,800Tk; she expects her next harvest to bring in 3,500Tk.
As well as making sure her grandsons work hard, Abia goes regularly to the Group’s
meetings and listens hard on the training courses, which cover everything from
composting to seed preservation. Now she has a small vegetable garden, using
seeds,fertilizer,fencing,saplingsandseedpotsofferedbyRDRS.Everyday,Abiais
able to give her grandsons fresh vegetables at mealtimes, selling what she cannot
use to buy things she cannot grow. Watching her grandsons become healthy and
happy makes Abia a very happy woman.
FROm BEggiNg TO gROwiNg
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 45NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENviRONmENT
enviRonment anD DiSaSteR pRepaReDneSS
Natural disasters have always been a fact-of-life in
Bangladesh but increasing human activity in the
form rising population, unplanned urbanization,
environmental degradation and the effects of climate
change (rising sea levels, stronger cyclones) are making a
difficultsituationevenmorechaotic.Inthepast,thelocal
population was unprepared, hard-hit and slow to recover
from catastrophic events; today, they are knowledgeable,
better prepared and have the resources to get back on their
feet quickly. We work with Federations and others to raise
awareness among individuals; to create conditions for risk-
reduction in such areas as food security and ground-raising;
and to develop community-based disaster-preparedness.
DiSASTER-mANAgEmENT COmmiTTEESOurgoalistohaveDisasterManagementCommittees(DMCs)
in all Federations and villages. Volunteers undergo training
and take part in mock drills to ensure they have the skills,
confidence and resources required to defend their homes as
effectively andefficiently aspossible. In2013, 50Village
DMCswereestablished,260volunteersundertooktraining,
and almost 15,000 people attended mass awareness-raising
events across the working area. DMCs are encouraged to
raise funds for use before, during or after catastrophes and
thus mitigate the severity of any event.
PLANS AND PREPAREDNESSThe type and intensity of environmental threats to
our clients vary across the working area depending on
proximity to rivers and the Himalayas and degree of
physical protection (forests, river banks, high ground), etc.
DMCs gain understanding and use resources better when
they develop their own Community RiskAssessments and
disaster-preparedness plans. These are used during mock
drills; for funding purposes; and, to highlight weaknesses
at household and community levels. The plans are also used
to build defenses, such as tree plantations that not only
protect the land but provide much-needed work to the
poorest women in the Federations. In contrast, our radio
stationinChilmarisendsoutdailyearlywarningmessages
char dwellers in Kurigram. About 500,000 people listen in
to these as well as the programmes on other issues, from
women’s rights to vegetable farming.
2013 EmERgENCiESIn response to flooding in Panchagar,we distributed foodpacks (5kg rice; 0.5 molasses; 0.5kg lentils; 0.5l oil; 2 sachets oral rehydration solution) and installed 6 latrines, 3 tubewells and a medical camp. A further 1,000kg aman rice was provided to 200 affected farmers. During the winter cold snap, 7,000 blankets were distributed to the elderly, disabled and homeless. Following the collapse of the Rana Plaza in Savar, and the death and injury of thousands ofgarment workers, RDRS staff contributed one day’s salary to the national Relief and Welfare Fund.
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 47NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENviRONmENT
SingRa Sal FoReSt
Only a few patches remain of the forest of Sal trees that
originally covered Bangladesh, and many of these are
under threat from encroaching villages. To minimize
damage,weareimplementingtheproject ‘Restorationand
ConservationofBio-diversityinSingraSalForest’,tobring
together local villagers and the Forestry Department in the
Singra National Park near Dalagram. A Co-management
Councilwassetupinvolvinglocalpeoplefrom9ForestUser
Groups, CommunityPatrolGroup, Federationandeco-club
of school students. Through the Federation and Groups a
revolving loan fund was established for the forest-dependent
communities. Over 250 members have accessed this, created
their own savings and bought land of 12.5 decimal for their
own use. The Federation was able to lease 150 decimal for 3
years in an open bid. Activities established include paddy,
vegetable gardens, cattle and poultry-rearing, tailoring,
shops and rickshaw-pulling. Within a year, the rate of forest
extraction had halved, mainly due to the introduction of
improved stoves; planting of fuel-wood trees around the
village; and involvement of local people in the forest’s
management which has created a sense of pride in their
local wood.
During the day, Mihir Ali was
a day laborer in Dalagram;
at night, he and his friends,
in cahoots with a local timber merchant, cut down trees
illegally. Today, he is still a day laborer, but at night he
goes out to protect the forest.
“I amMihirAli, a local day laborer likemy fatherhere
in Dalagram.When I was young, I used to go into the
Singra Sal Forest regularly with my father and chop down
sal trees to sell to timber trader. Itwasaneasyway to
earn huge amounts of money, especially when there were
no laboring jobs. As I got older, illegal loggingwasmy
mainsourceofincome.WhenRDRScame,Ididn’tbelieve
anything they said, and me and my friends tried to stop
themtalking.ButslowlyIcametounderstandwhatthey
were saying, about how it is our home and our soul we are
destroying.SonowI’mavolunteerwiththepatrolgroup.
I’vealsobeenabletostartfarmingagain,asRDRSgave
me a loan of 50,000Tk and Imade 120,000Tk frommy
first cucumber harvest. Now my children can go to school
without shame.”
FOREST- FELLER TO FOREST-PROTECTOR
48 ANNUAL REPORT 2013
ThE PROgRAmNumbers:Attheendof2013,ourMicrofinanceProgram’s164branches(1,730 staff) supported around 289,000 families (2m people) with
financial, technical and social inputs. Among our participants, roughly
60,000 were ultra-poor; 196,400 were farm laborers or landless/
marginal farmers; 30,300 were small farmers; and, 2,600 were from the
Adibasi (tribal) communities.
New Initiatives: 2013 saw extension of our services through the pilot
DevelopingInclusiveInsuranceSectorProject(DIISP)forloans,health
and livestock. Two other policies introduced were Loan Write-off and
Scholarships. We also opened eight new branches for clients in remote
or unserviced corners of our working area (Banglabandha, Voulagonj,
Dashmail, Kakina, Rangpur Sador, Dantvanga, Taratia and Satgaon).
Loans and Loan Insurance: In2013,239,027participantsborrowedjustover4,300mTkforinvestmentinincome-generatingactivities.In
the event of death of the borrower or main earner, the loan insurance
taken out provides for exemption of the loan balance, return of any
ECONOMIC EMPOwERMENT
micRoFinance
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 49ECONOmiC EmPOwERmENT
savings and a cash pay-out of 5,000Tk (5,000Tk for death,
and 3,000Tk for serious illness or disability in ultra-poor
families). The borrowers pay a one-off premium of 0.7% of
the loan with 40Tk as funeral cost while a risk fund operates
forultra-poorfamilies.In2013,825familiesbenefitedunder
this plan; RDRS paid out just under 3mTk and exempted just
over 2mTk of loan balances.
Remittance service: This popular venture is using as a form
which allows easy and quick access to the remittance for the
manyruralpoorfamilieswithrelativesworkingabroad.In
2013, 579 clients took delivery of over 12mTk through this
service.
savings Mobilization: Both RDRS and our clients benefit
from this service which helps poor families to save small
amounts, building up their own assets and creating capital
for our revolving funds program. Savings are compulsory
on a weekly basis, but members can also use the Monthly
Savings Deposit Scheme that gives a higher rate of return.
Training: We offer a wide variety of income-generation
training courses for improving the capacities of individuals
andcommunities.In2013,950clientswentonleadership
courses and over 12,200 members undertook skills
development. During 2013, our training unit was re-
organized and 840 staff given training to improve the range
and quality of service to our clients.
PROJECTSsocial Performance Management Project (sPM): This
3-year project, designed to ensure sustainable development,
was piloted from January 2013 among 3,100 members in
Durakuti and Domar. Alongside loan provision, the focus is
on capacity-building, rights and responsibilities awareness,
technological innovation, income-generating skills, primary
health and other services. The objective of this project is to
create a transparent service-delivery system balancing social
and financial factors.
Program Initiative for Monga Eradication (PRIME): This
is for households using traditional farming practices and
suffering monga, the seasonal hunger afflicting marginal
farmers and farm laborers. Access to our technical, financial
and social support enables them to obtain higher yields
and, through supported access to market, fairer prices, thus
50 ANNUAL REPORT 2013 ECONOmiC EmPOwERmENT
avoidingmonga.In2013,some112,000ultra-poorfamilies
in 53 branches in Kurigram, Lalmonirhat and Nilphamari
benefited from this integrated approach that uses results-
based monitoring to ensure effectiveness.
North-West Crop Diversification project (NCDP): 2013
saw over 31,300 small farmers receive credit (473mTk) in
this project to produce high value crop through effective
dissemination of new ideas and methods.
Adibasi Empowerment: This addresses the problems of
the minority tribal peoples by providing loans for land
redemption alongside training in income-generating
activities. Over 2,500 members attained standards-of-living
nearer to those of their mainstream neighbors, with loans of
around 11mTk and savings of 7.5mTk, in 2013.
Micro-enterprise: In 2013, almost 5,500 experiencedparticipants received over 710mTk in loans to expand
their existing, successful enterprises and so create local
employment for others in their neighborhood.
Land Lease Loan for Char Dwellers:Through‘LearningandInnovationFundtotestNewIdeas(LIFT)’projectthisloan
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 51ECONOmiC EmPOwERmENT
product enables char dwellers to rent land and improve their
income-generatingactivities.In2013,thisnow-mainstream
project allowed 3,675 farmers to rent 660 acres using loans
of 61mTk.
Migration as a Labor Market Intervention: This project
providing small loans of 1,000Tk to enable seasonal migration
among agricultural laborers and marginal farmers is proving
very effective from the borrower’s perspective. Alongside it,
RDRS is supporting a study by Sydney University, Australia
on how monga affects migration patterns in a research
project entitled “How does competition among microfinance
institutions(MFIs)affectlendersandborrowers?”
Not so long ago, like many of her
landless neighbors in Kashipur,
Thakurgaon, Fatema Begum
struggled with the daily task of
staying alive. To try and provide for his family, Fatema’s
husbandhadcrossedintoIndiatofindwork,buthecame
back empty-handed and disabled after an accident at the
factory which had employed him on low wages. Desperate,
Fatema searched for ways of earning money. She only had
one skill, which was mat-making, but for that she had to
find the capital to buy the materials. For Fatema, the way
out was through the Kadihat Mohila Dal, Bottoli. Joining
that, and listening carefully to the advice the workers
gave her, she was soon able to borrow 5,000Tk which was
enough to buy 4 kheddi (handlooms). At first, she and
her husband did the work themselves but word of the fine
quality of their work soon spread and they were inundated
with orders. To meet growing demand, Fatema asked for,
and received a loan from RDRS, this time much larger.
This allowed them to set up two factories, with 11 kheddi
and 11 workers in each, supervised by Fatema. Today, she
providesdifferentkindsofmats–forthefloor,forspecial
visitors, for prayer. The couple sells them around the
local district earning 24,000Tk per month after they have
repaid their loan installments and their workers. With a
house, almost an acre of land and a factory worth 3mTk,
Fatema and her husband finally have enough to eat and
to enjoy life with her children.
DESPERATiON TURNS iNTO FiNE QUALiTY
ECONOmiC EmPOwERmENT
Year wise Credit Disbursement
Am
ount
in M
illio
n BD
T
Yr-2
004
Yr-2
005
Yr-2
006
Yr-2
007
Yr-2
008
Yr-2
009
Yr-2
010
Yr-2
011
Yr-2
012
Yr-2
013
509.
38
4500
4000
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
896.
12
1112
.74
1149
.42
1545
.26
1836
.34
2346
.61
2967
.37
3343
.88 43
15.0
9
Year wise Savings Balance
Yr-2
004
Yr-2
005
Yr-2
006
Yr-2
007
Yr-2
008
Yr-2
009
Yr-2
010
Yr-2
011
Yr-2
012
Yr-2
013
1000.00
800.00
600.00
400.00
200.00
0.00
Year wise Loan Outstanding
Am
ount
in M
illio
n BD
T
-200
4
-200
5
-200
6
-200
7
-200
8
-200
9
-201
0
-201
1
-201
2
-201
3
525.
972
705.
092
733.
025
781.
367
1007
.959
1139
.768
1379
.999
1718
.483
1987
.163
2208
.609
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
52 ANNUAL REPORT 2013
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 53ECONOmiC EmPOwERmENT
Year wiseStaff Position
Yr-2
005
Yr-2
006
Yr-2
007
Yr-2
008
Yr-2
009
Yr-2
010
Yr-2
011
Yr-2
012
Yr-2
013
2000
1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
Yr-2
004
Yr-2
005
Yr-2
006
Yr-2
007
Yr-2
008
Yr-2
009
Yr-2
010
Yr-2
011
Yr-2
012
Yr-2
013
Year wiseRecovery Rate
100%
99%
98%
97%
96%
95%
94%
93%
92%
91%
90%
93%
11081177
1243
14501508
14601581 1603
1730
95%96%
97% 97% 97%
99% 99% 99% 99%
Own Fund35%
MembersSavings
39%
Borrowings26%
Revolving Loan FundComposition
Yr-2
004
Yr-2
005
Yr-2
006
Yr-2
007
Yr-2
008
Yr-2
009
Yr-2
010
Yr-2
011
Yr-2
012
Yr-2
013
Year wiseOperational Self
Sufficiency
140%
120%
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
89%101%
108%102%
107% 111%
126% 119%133% 128%
54 ANNUAL REPORT 2013 ECONOmiC EmPOwERmENT
micRoFinance pRogRam
AT A GLANCEOUTREACh wiTh gENDER DimENSiONParticulars Yr-2013 Yr-2012 Yr-2011 Yr-2010
VillageCovered 10,565 10,565 10,565 10,565UnionCovered 472 467 467 467Upazila(SubDistrict)Covered 61 57 57 55DistrictsCovered 12 11 11 11
Total MF Group Members 289,068 303,166 305,188 343,749PercentageofFemaleMFGroupMembers 90% 89% 89% 87%
Total MF Group 17,186 16,729 16,610 18,598PercentageofFemaleMFGroups 87% 87% 87% 85%Total Borrowers 216,249 240,921 240,398 253,692Female Borrower 194,791 213,652 213,954 224,792
Male Borrower 21,458 27,269 26,444 28,900PercentageofFemaleBorrowers 90% 89% 89% 89%BorrowersReceivedCreditthisYear 239,027 199,201 188,468 219,793
Total Branches 164 156 156 155
CREDiT DiSBURSEmENT AND RECOvERY (Amount in million Taka)TotalCreditDisbursement(Cumulative) 22,719.419 18,958.775 15,614.893 12,646.762TotalCreditRealized(P.+S.Charge) 23,237.511 18,839.464 15,638.831 12,715.751TotalOutstanding(Principal) 2,208.609 1,987.163 1,718.483 1,379.925TotalCreditDisbursement(Year) 4,315.088 3,343.882 2,967.371 2,346.653
TotalCreditRecovery(Year) 4,488.047 3,500.528 2,920.156 2,346.653CreditRecoveryPrincipal 3,969.414 3,064.210 2,600.965 2,106.375CreditRecoveryInterest 518.633 436.318 319.191 237.583Rate of Recovery 99% 99% 99% 99%
SAviNgS mOBiLiSATiON (Amount in million Taka) TotalSavings(EndBalance) 924.526 814.641 699.321 577.954
SavingsCollection(Year) 372.324 258.648 260.407 231.334
SOmE imPORTANT RATiO/iNFORmATiON Operational Self Sufficiency 128% 133% 119% 126%YieldonPortfolio 21.10 22.06 20.60 18.98Savings Loan Ratio 42% 41% 41% 42%Average Loan per Borrower (Disbursement Taka) 18,053 18,365 15,736 10,677Average Savings per Borrower (Taka) 4,275 4,090 3,709 2,630Average Loan per Loan Officer (Taka) 2,686,872 2,408,682 2,038,529 1,686,950CostperTakalent 0.09 0.08 0.09 0.07Total MF Staff 1,730 1,603 1,581 1,452
Total MF Female Staff 419 378 196 264
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 55ECONOmiC EmPOwERmENT
RDRS enteRpRiSe
In2013,RDRSEnterprise (PvtLtd)producedagriculturalinputs (seeds, poultry feed and fish hatchery) and
handicraft products. We sold rice, potatoes, vegetable
seeds, poultry feed and fingerlings to 20,000 farmers, 1,000
breeders and 1,000 fish-farmers, earning over 685,000Tk
profit. These items were distributed to market traders as
well as our Group Members in order to spread modern ideas
and improved seeds as widely as possible. On the handicraft
side, 3,300 women were taught mat-making, weaving and
embroidery in 2013. We were able to buy back 30,000 sq. ft
of matting, 8,500 yds of cloth; 2,300 garments; and 8,000
seed bags from 2,100 women who earned 180Tk per day on
average who put in approximately 8,500 days.
56 ANNUAL REPORT 2013
To impart ideas easily and clearly to a semi-literate and technology-
poor society at the same time as communicating with literate and
technology-advanced partners has been a long-standing challenge
for RDRS. In the past, it would take days for information to reach
the furthest corners of our working area and partners abroad; today,
contact on the internet can be immediate. However, though easier to
reach with an improving road system, the vast majority of our clients
still lack money to invest in modern communication.
Working at the grassroots, therefore, we still use such traditional
methods of reaching the rural poor as attending village meetings and
gala days; putting posters in public; holding openair folk-singing,
drama and cinema events. These activities not only break up the
monotony of rural life, allowing people to absorb development issues at
home and among neighbors, they also allow us to listen to our clients
and respond appropriately. We also use national radio, television and
newspaper to spread ideas through documentaries, dramas, adverts and
articles.
MEdIA ANd COMMUNICATIONS
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 57mEDiA AND COmmUNiCATiONS
RADiO ChiLmARiIn2011,westartedacommunityradiostationinChilmari,
Kurigram; it is now a well-known voice for and from the
people of an environmentally-vulnerable, socially-backward
and economically-deprived corner of our working area. It
is sponsored by a variety of local organizations while our
Federations and members, who consider it “their station”,
take great pride in its relevant, quality output. The channel
broadcasts programs dealing with development issues,
notably relaying regular weather and flooding reports
as part of our disaster-preparedness project. We also put
out entertaining music and drama programs enjoyed by
thousands.
Aproject set up in 2013 and supported by theBBC aims
toincreasetheaudienceforEnglish-languageprogramsby
broadcastingaregularBBCprogramonRadioChilmariand
encouragingyoungpeopletojoinEnglishLanguageClubsat
their Federations.
Community people receives different type of development messages including local market price as well as
entertainment through Radio Chilamri
58 ANNUAL REPORT 2013
RDRS takes a rights-based approach in our development programs
by providing skills, knowledge, funds and confidence to empower
individuals and communities to change their society for the better.
We actively support a number of campaigns:
• National Budget: To create equal opportunities through access to
Government funds, we organize pre-Budget discussions between our
membersandtheirMPs(MembersofParliament).
• Women’s Rights: In ruralBangladesh,womenare still second-class
citizens and find it hard to find justice in the courts, so we campaign
on violence against women and support those women who find
themselves looking for justice through the courts.
• Agriculture: Through the introduction of intensive cropping patterns,
farmers are now able to produce more, earning more as well as
improving national food security.
• Health: We are campaigning on the issue of food adulteration through
awareness-raising and rallies and to improve attitudes to, and care for
HIV/AIDSsufferers.
• Education: We believe every child should have a good education in
safe surroundings, so our goals range from creating accountability at
the local level to dealing with mobile phone bullying.
• Microfinance: With interest expressed by our borrowers, we are
assisting them to develop links with other institutions and support a
sustainable national MF policy.
• Networking: Through links with other organizations, we are working
on creating decentralized and autonomous local Government structures
toprovidegreateraccessandinfluencebytheruralpoor.
AdVOCACy ANd NETwORkING
AAMS Arefin Siddique, Vice Chancellor of Dhaka University speaks in an RDRS organised event
RdRS
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60 ANNUAL REPORT 2013
Established in 2002 as an institute for alternative research and
information on development issues and practice in the north-west
area,theNBIalsopromotestheeducationalideasoflocalpioneer,
BegumRokeya.ItisopentoallRDRSstaff,membersandsupportersas
well visiting scholars and researchers.
DATA ARChiviNg iNiTiATivEThis activity is on-going, putting information on RDRS and the rural
development arena into a digital network. A new server was purchased
in 2013 and should be accessible to all users in early 2014.
STUDENT iNTERNShiPSFour students completed the following, very different studies under the tutorship of NBI: • ParticipationofRDRSwomenbeneficiariesinagriculturalactivities
Rangpur District
• Effectonlivelihoodimprovementforshortdurationricecultivation
by RDRS beneficiaries Sadar Upazila, Thakurgaon District
NORTH BENGAL INSTITUTE
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 61NORTh BENgAL iNSTiTUTE
• River bank erosion and its impact on specific
environmental aspects: An exploratory GIS and RS-
basedstudyChilmariUpazila,KurigramDistrict:
• Violence against women: A case study of Sadar and
Kusha Raniganj Union Pirganj Upazila, Thakurgaon
District
PROgRAm STUDiES AND AUDiT• RuralWASH (Water, sanitation and hygiene) Program
Audit
• Youth Forum Activities of RDRS Bangladesh External
ProgramAudit
• Capacity-building in Target Educational Institutes
Sreemongal, Moulvibazar and Sylhet Districts Baseline
Study
BEgUm ROkEYA FORUmThis year, the Begum Rokeya Forum organized competitions
among student in Rangpur’s secondary schools and cultural
organizations to improve understanding of the issues of
girls’ education. With excellent participation, 63 prizes were
awarded. The Rokeya Award 2013, given to outstanding
advocates of women’s rights, was awarded to Sabera Khatun
(a social worker, women’s leader and educationalist) from
Rangpur and Dr Jahanara Begum from Dinajpur.
62 ANNUAL REPORT 2013 EvENTS AND viSiTORS
EVENTS & VISITORS
Dr. Salima Rahman,
ExecutiveDirectorofRDRS
Bangladesh, receives 8th
Citimicroentrepreneurship
award from Dr. Atiur
Rahman, Governor of
Bangladesh Bank
EsmaCaglar(2nd from left)
FinanceOfficerforHealthCare,
CORDAIDvisitsRDRSDhakaoffice
Mohammad Badiuzzaman,
ChairmanofAnti-Corruption
Commission,speaksinanevent
asChiefGuestinRangpur
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 63EvENTS AND viSiTORS
EVENTS & VISITORS
Dr. Salima Rahman,
ExecutiveDirector
of RDRS Bangladesh,
receives Manusher Jonno
Foundation award -
CertificateofExcellence,
fromSyedManzurElahi,
ChairpersonofManusher
Jonno Foundation
Md. Nurun-Nabi Talukder,
Director General of NGO Affairs
Bureau, speaks in a sharing
meeting at Begum Rokeya
Auditorium, RDRS, Rangpur
RepresentativesfromChurch
of Sweden meet with RDRS
staff at Dhaka office
2013 2012
BDT BDT
Tax deduction at source from third parties 3,545,936 6,264,417
VAT collection from customers 12,666,425 13,641,353
Incometaxdeductionatsourcefromstaffsalary 1,761,746 1,482,527
Total 17,974,107 21,388,297
CONTRIBUTION OFRdRS BANGLAdESHTO GOVERNMENT ExCHEQUER
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 65
Independent Auditor’s Report
TheExecutiveDirector
RDRS Bangladesh
House 43, Road 10, Sector 6, Uttara
Dhaka 1230
Bangladesh.
We have audited the accompanying financial statements of the RDRS Bangladesh which comprise the Balance Sheet as of 31 December2013,IncomeandExpenditureStatementandStatementofCashFlowsfortheyearthenendedandasummaryofsignificant accounting policies and other explanatory information.
Management Responsibilities for the Financial statements Management is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of these financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted in Bangladesh and for such internal control as managementdetermines is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
Auditor’s Responsibility and scope of AuditOur responsibility is to express an opinion on the financial statements based on our audit. We conducted our audit in accordancewithInternationalStandardsonAuditingasadoptedinBangladesh.Thosestandardsrequirethatwecomplywithethical requirements and plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free from material misstatement.
An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The procedures selected depend on the auditor’s judgment including the assessment of the risks of material misstatementof thefinancial statements,whetherdue to fraudor error. Inmaking those riskassessments, theauditorconsiders internal control relevant to the entity’s preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity’s internal control. An audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements.
We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion.
OpinionInouropinion,thefinancialstatementsreferredtoabovegiveatrueandfairviewofthefinancialpositionofRDRSBangladeshasof31December2013andoftheresultofitsoperationsanditscashflowsfortheyearthenendedinaccordancewithaccounting policies described in the note # 2 to the financial statements and comply with the applicable laws and regulations.
Dhaka, ACNABIN
20March2014 CharteredAccountants
66 ANNUAL REPORT 2013
RDRs Bangladesh
BALANCE sHEET as at 31 December 2013(In Bangladesh Taka)
Note 2013 2012AssETs Current Assets
Bank Accounts 3.1 972,887,758 868,566,390 Cash 3.2 30,107,645 25,999,459 ProjectBalanceReceivable 3.3 36,744,813 18,977,847 Other Receivable 3.4 106,724,280 95,370,829 CurrentAccount-LWFGeneva 12,889,642 11,810,363
Total Current Assets 1,159,354,138 1,020,724,888
Non-Current AssetsLoans to Group Members 3.6 2,032,948,153 1,768,696,776 Fixed Assets 3.7Land 45,174,253 45,174,253 Building 226,450,119 208,730,769 Furniture & Fixture 22,868,595 19,724,060 OfficeEquipment 26,188,787 24,629,260 Machineries 6,919,776 6,919,776 OtherEquipment 12,767,842 10,355,890 Other Assets 3,744,617 3,718,097 Vehicles 9,634,486 8,861,756
353,748,475 328,113,861 Less: Accumulated Depreciation 113,382,205 97,210,899
240,366,270 230,902,962 Total Non-Current Assets 2,273,314,423 1,999,599,738 TOTAL AssETs 3,432,668,561 3,020,324,626
LIABILITIEs AND REsERVEsCurrent Liabilities
AccountsPayable 3.8 74,119,389 66,505,782 ContributionReceivedinAdvance 3.9 94,386,821 73,690,041 AccruedExpenses 3.10 5,387,224 5,104,657 Short Term Liabilities - Microfinance 3.11 120,541,527 88,196,765
Total Current Liabilities 294,434,961 233,497,245 Long Term Liabilities
Staff Gratuity Fund 3.12 96,682,131 86,299,322 Long Term Borrowings 3.13 628,374,996 543,916,662 Group Members Savings Deposits 3.14 924,526,128 814,641,341
Total Long Term liabilities 1,649,583,255 1,444,857,325 Reserves
Reserves 3.15 502,327,578 484,683,641 Net Worth - Microfinance 3.16 986,322,767 857,286,415
Total Reserves 1,488,650,345 1,341,970,056 TOTAL LIABILITIEs AND REsERVEs 3,432,668,561 3,020,324,626
The annexed appendix and notes form an integral part of the Balance Sheet.
Head of Finance Executive DirectorRDRS Bangladesh RDRS Bangladesh
This is the Balance Sheet referred to in our separate report of even date.
Dhaka, ACNABIN 20 March 2014 CharteredAccountants
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 67
RDRs Bangladesh
INCOME AND EXPENDITuRE sTATEMENT for the year ended 31 December (In Bangladesh Taka)
2013 2012
INCOME
DonorContribution 888,322,941 807,073,733
Non-ProjectIncome 15,352,926 38,995,843
LocalContribution:
ProgrammeParticipants’Contribution 2,514,071 2,811,540
OwnContribution 3,028,620 2,683,839
ServiceChargesonLoantoGroupMembers 443,090,164 436,857,567
InterestEarnedfromBank 34,427,072 34,025,512
CostRecovery/Sales 27,197,715 30,784,000
Office Facilities/Self-Financing Activities/Miscellaneous 75,381,567 55,810,030
Total Income 1,489,315,076 1,409,042,064
EXPENDITuRE
Civil Empowerment - Active Citizens, Civil society and Justice
Social Organization 86,473,734 90,018,015
Women’s Rights and Gender Awareness 9,684,889 17,190,058
NorthBengalInstitute 4,632,729 3,980,099
Quality of Life
CommunityHealth 97,114,573 84,572,471
EducationandAdvocacy 215,446,934 135,117,936
Food, Environment and Disaster Resilience
Agriculture and Food Security 316,250,285 341,074,930
EnvironmentandDisasterResilience 73,773,630 96,609,905
Economic Promotion 507,248,352 414,968,864
staff Capacity Building 2,989,485 4,024,864
supporting services, units and Programme Operations
ProgrammeSupportUnit 19,366,193 23,368,334
Administrative cost 12,445,396 19,733,040
Non-Project Expenditure 1,818,903 4,148,176
Total Expenditure 1,347,245,102 1,234,806,691
Increaseinreservesfortheyear 142,069,974 174,235,373
Less: Surplus of Microfinance operation transferred to:
Disaster Management Fund (4,779,132) (3,553,010)
Reserve and Surplus - Microfinance (119,646,905) (122,280,541)
Add: Reserves - Beginning of the year 484,683,641 436,281,819
Reserves - End of the year 502,327,578 484,683,641
68 ANNUAL REPORT 2013
RDRs Bangladesh
sTATEMENT OF CAsH FLOWs (total of all funds) for the year ended 31 December(In Bangladesh Taka)
2013 2012
Operating activities
Result for the year 142,069,974 174,235,373
Adjustments for:
- Depreciation 16,171,306 15,972,139
- Reserve and Surplus (3,106,172) -
Operating surplus before changes in working capital 155,135,108 190,207,512
Changes in working capital
- Advance accounts, other receivables & prepayments (11,353,451) 6,200,451
-CurrentaccountwithLWFGeneva (1,079,279) (2,080,615)
-Projectbalancesreceivable (17,766,966) 12,729,899
- Loans to group members (264,251,377) (249,036,301)
-Contributionsreceivedinadvance 20,696,780 (73,927,743)
- Accounts payable & accrued expenses 40,240,936 (42,019,733)
- Staff Gratuity Fund 10,382,809 11,440,373
- Asset Replacement Fund (43,405) 217,092
Net change in working capital (223,173,953) (336,476,577)
Net cash used in operating activities (68,038,845) (139,435,343)
Investing activities
Fixed Assets
- Acquisition of fixed assets (25,634,614) (33,063,714)
Net cash used in investing activities (25,634,614) (33,063,714)
Financing activities
- Long Term Borrowings 84,458,334 30,770,827
- Group Members Savings Deposits 109,884,787 115,383,706
- Revolving Loan Fund 350,000 -
- Disaster Management Fund 6,811,699 6,758,686
- Risk Management Fund 584,109 75,035
- Scholarship Fund 14,084 -
Net cash flow from financing activities 202,103,013 152,988,254
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and bank balance 108,429,554 (26,344,524)
Cash&bankbalanceatthebeginningoftheyear 894,565,849 920,910,373
Cash & bank balance at the end of the year* 1,002,995,403 894,565,849
* Cash and bank balance at the end of the year
Cashbalance 30,107,645 25,999,459
Bank balance 972,887,758 868,566,390
1,002,995,403 894,565,849
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 69
RDRs BangladeshNotes to Financial statements
For the year ended 31 December 2013
1. INTRODuCTION
RDRSBangladesh,thesuccessortotheBangladeshFieldProgrammeoftheGeneva-basedLutheranWorldFederation,Department
for World Service (LWF/DWS) was established in 1972. After 26 years of successful operation as an international organization,
LWF / DWS transformed RDRS into an autonomous national NGO (Registration - 003) with the legal entity as a Trust under
the name and title of “RDRS Bangladesh” through a registered Deed of Trust dated 16 June, 1997. By virtue of a Memorandum
ofUnderstanding (MOU) signedon29August2000,RDRSBangladeshalso enjoys the statusof an ‘AssociateProgramme’
ofLWF/DWStomaintainstandardsof integrityandprogrammequalityassociatedwithLWF/DWSFieldProgrammes.RDRS
Bangladeshisfunctioninginnineteendistrictsnamely;Rangpur,Dinajpur,Bogra,ChapaiNawabganj,Chittagong,Gaibandha,
Hobiganj,Jamalpur,Kurigram,Lalmonirhat,Moulavibazar,Naogaon,Natore,Nilphamari,Pabna,Panchagarh,Rajshahi,Sylhet
and Thakurgaon.
Brief Description of the Core Development Programme:
ThevisionofRDRSCoreDevelopmentProgramistheruralpoorandmarginalizedachievemeaningfulpolitical,socialand
economic empowerment, quality of life, justice and a sustainable environment through their individual and collective efforts.
The mission is that RDRS works with the rural poor and their organizations in order: to establish and claim their rights as
citizens; to build their capacity and confidence to advance their empowerment, and resilience to withstand adversity; and to
promote good governance among local institutions and improved access by the marginalized to opportunities, resources and
services necessary to fulfill decent lives.
InordertofulfilltheRDRSMission,RDRShasagreedstrategicaimstoguideitsdevelopmentinterventions.Overall,RDRS
seeks:
To ensure the rights of the rural poor in Bangladesh:o to enjoy the full benefits of citizenship; and thus to challenge exclusion, discrimination, exploitation and injustice
(women, landless, ultra-poor, char dwellers, ethnic minorities, physically challenged)o to organize, to be represented and to have their voices heardo to a sustainable livelihood (including food security)o to a decent quality of life (including access to basic social services and health)o to security from harm (including domestic and social conflict, disaster, environmental degradation and climate change
effects)
The strategic aims have been developed bearing in mind, on the one hand Millennium Development goals and on the other,
the priorities and capabilities of RDRS in responding to the stated views of its constituency.
RDRSwill,overthesixyears(2011–2016)concentrateitsprogrammefocusonfourmainstreamprogrammes.
ActiveCitizen,CivilSocietyandJustice
QualityofLife,HealthandEducation
Food,EnvironmentandDisasterResilience
EconomicEmpowerment
70 ANNUAL REPORT 2013
1. INTRODuCTION (Contd.)
Brief Description of the Core Development Programme (Contd.)
ThemainprioritiesorissuesthatreflectRDRSmissionandstrategicaimsfor2011-2016canbesummarizedasfollows:
• Informed,empoweredactivecitizensandCBO/CSOs• Accountable, representative & responsive local governance• Gender equality and women’s empowerment• Reduceviolence,conflict,trafficking&injusticeagainstwomen&children• Enhancingskillsofprogrammeparticipants,staff&CBOs• Reductionincommunicablediseases(incl.HIV/AIDS),poorreproductivehealth• Ensuringsafewater,sanitation&hygiene• Access to basic health care• Quality education - children and adolescents• Climatechangemitigations,adaptationandresponse• Disaster risk & vulnerability reduction• Enhancedfoodsecurity,sovereignty• Access to livelihoods resources, skills and technologies• Access to financial services • Reduce seasonal unemployment• Enhancedenterpriseactivities,skilldevelopmentandmarketlinkages
OvertheStrategicPlanperiod,RDRSwillcontinuetorelyonarangeofoperationalmodalitiesbutwithcontinuingdeliberateeffort to stress non-direct implementation through local partnering, networking and advocacy. Direct implementation: deploying mainly RDRS’s own staff in the spheres of community health, microfinance. Business co-operation will be followed especially in enterprise, RDRS facilities such as training and guesthouses actions both in terms of direct implementation.
Other Projects
Other projects are generally short-term and add value to the basic core programme of the organization. These cover many sectorsand range fromminorcollaboration tomajor short-termprojects includingEmpowerment,GenderJustice,QualityEducation,BasicHealthServices,FoodSecurity,ClimateChangeMitigationandAdaptation,DisasterRiskReduction,EnterpriseActivities, Skill development and Market Linkage etc. Some are located in specific locality and some throughout the RDRS working areas. Such projects are complementary to the core programme activities and offer enhanced opportunities to RDRS programme participants.
Microfinance Programme
Microfinanceprogrammeisanintegralcomponentinthecomprehensivedevelopment‘package’thatRDRSextendstoultrapoor, landless and marginal farmers and small farmers. Microfinance is considered as an essential financial service to support economicempowermentofthepoor.Inadditiontofinancialservicemicrofinanceprogrammealsoofferskilltraining,qualityinput, lean season employment and technical assistance to group members. Microfinance programme is relatively independent as well as financially self-reliant.
2. sIGNIFICANT ACCOuNTING POLICIEs
2.1 statement of Compliances
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance and compliance with the financial regulations and the accounting principles as adopted in Bangladesh. The accounting policies have been based in part on the general principles of the InternationalFinancialReportingStandardsasadoptedinBangladesh,asdetailedintheInternationalAccountingStandardsBoardFrameworkforthePreparationandPresentationofFinancialStatements.
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 71
2. sIGNIFICANT ACCOuNTING POLICIEs (Contd.)
2.2 Basis of preparation
The financial statements are presented in Bangladesh Taka (BDT).
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. RDRS Bangladesh follows the accrual basis of accounting.
Preparation of thefinancial statements requires the use of estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amountsof assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Although these estimates are based on management’s best knowledge of current events and actions, actual results ultimately may differ from those estimates and the original estimates and assumptions will be modified as appropriate in the year in which the circumstances change.
2.3 Restricted/unrestricted funds
The financial statements distinguish between Restricted and Unrestricted funds according to usage thereof. Restricted use funds are those funds received from third parties who have imposed restrictions on the purposes for which they may be used. Unrestricted use funds are those funds where there are no externally imposed restrictions and include assets freely available or appropriated to reserves for internally designated purposes.
2.4 Foreign currency transactions
Transactions in foreign currencies are converted to Bangladesh Taka at the rates prevailing on the date of transaction.
2.5 Revenue and expenditure recognition
Restricted use funds are normally received as a result of a specific solicitation or with donor imposed restrictions and are recognized as income over the duration of the program/project in proportion to the achievement of the conditions attached to thecontributions.Incomefortheyearisthereforeequaltoexpenditure.Expenditureinexcessoffundsreceivedforprojectsorspecificpurposesarerecordedinassets.Excessofexpenditureiswrittenoffintheeventthatmanagementdeterminesthatsuchoverexpenditureisunlikelytoberecoveredbyadditionalfunding.ContributionsreceivedbutnotyetrecognizedareincludedinCurrentLiabilities. In-kindcontributionsoffixedassetsthatarenotrestrictedbythedonorareaccountedforusingthesameprinciplesasusedfor purchased assets (see Note 2.9), with acquisition costs being determined on the basis of donor values.
BankInterestearnedonprojectfundswiththeyearifany,aretreatedasincomeofRDRSDevelopmentProgrammeasincomeunderProgrammeOperations,exceptincaseofprojectswheresuchincomeisrequiredtobecreditedtothedonoraccountortobeshownin the respective project account as per the agreement.
Service charge on micro credit loans is recognized as income upon realization.
InterestonGroupmember’ssavingsiscalculated@5%onmonthlyproductbasisandcreditedtothegroupmember’saccountatthe end of year.
Unrestricted use funds are received and recognized as income for the year.
72 ANNUAL REPORT 2013
2. sIGNIFICANT ACCOuNTING POLICIEs (Contd.)
2.6 Cash and cash equivalents
RDRS Bangladesh considers cash in hand and amounts due from banks to be cash and cash equivalents.
2.7 Accounts receivable
Receivables are stated at original amount less provision made for impairment of these receivables.
A provision for impairment is made when there is objective evidence that RDRS will not be able to collect all amounts due according to the original terms of the receivables. The amount of the provision is the difference between the carrying amount and the recoverable amount.
2.8 Inventories
Inventoriespurchased fromrestricteduse fundsareexpensed intheyearofpurchase.Rightsover inventorieswouldnotgenerate future economic benefit to RDRS Bangladesh due to the short term nature of program contracts and the terms of contracts where rights over residual program assets are vested with the grantors.
2.9 Fixed assets
Tangible assets
FixedassetspurchasedfromrestricteduseFundsareexpensedintheyearofpurchase.Itisconsideredimprobablethatsuchexpenditures will generate future economic benefit to the programme due to the short-term nature of programme contracts and the terms of contracts where rights over residual programme assets are vested with the grantors.
Assets purchased from unrestricted use funds are capitalized and depreciated over the useful lives of the assets, under the straight-linemethod.SuchfixedassetsaredisclosedinthefinancialstatementsatCostlessAccumulatedDepreciation.
RepairsandmaintenanceexpensesarebookedintheIncomeandExpenditureStatementduringthefinancialperiodinwhichthey are incurred.
Subsequent expenditure is capitalized only when it increases the probable future economic benefits of the asset.
2.10 Fixed assets - depreciation
Depreciation is calculated on the straight-line method to write off assets to their estimated residual values over their estimated useful lives as follows:
Item Annual Depreciation Rate
Building 3%
Furniture & Fixture 15%
OfficeEquipment 20%
Vehicle/MC/BC 25%
Machineries 25%
OtherEquipment 20%
2.11 Impairment
The carrying amount of the RDRS’s assets, other than inventories (see Note 2.8), are reviewed at each balance sheet date to determine whether there is any indication of impairment or, if earlier, whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable.
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 73
2. sIGNIFICANT ACCOuNTING POLICIEs (Contd.)
An impairment loss is recognized whenever the carrying amount of an asset exceeds its recoverable amount. Recoverable amountisthehigheroftheasset’snetsellingpriceoritsvalueinuse.ImpairmentlossesarerecognizedintheIncomeandExpenditureStatement.
An impairment loss is reversed if there is an upward revision of the recoverable amount. An impairment loss is only reversed to the extent that the asset’s carrying amount does not exceed the carrying amount that would have been determined net of depreciation or amortization, if no impairment loss had been recognized.
2.12 Loans to group members
RDRS’s activities include providing micro-finance loans to group members without collateral, on a service charge basis under various programme. Loans inclusive of service charge are stated net of provision for loan losses.
2.13 Provisions
Provision for loan losses (Microfinance)
RDRS regularly assesses the adequacy of the loan loss provision based on the age of the loan portfolio. At the half year end, RDRS calculates the required provision for loan losses based on the loan classification and provisioning methodology which is shown below and any adjustment, if required, are made and accounted for in the financial statements for the year.
Loan Classification Days in Arrears Provision Required
Regular Current(noarrears) 1%
Watch List Outstanding of overdue loan, 01 to 30 days 5%
Below Standard Outstanding of overdue loan, 31 to 180 days 25%
Doubtful Outstanding of overdue loan, 181 to 365 days 75%
Bad Loan Outstanding of matured overdue loan over 365 days 100%
Provision for Liabilities
ProvisionsforliabilitiesarerecognizedwhenRDRSBangladeshhasapresentobligationastheresultofapasteventanditisprobablethatanoutflowofresourcesembodyingeconomicbenefitswillberequiredtosettletheobligation,andareliableestimateoftheamountcanbemade.Provisionsarereviewedateachbalancesheetdateandadjustedtoreflectthecurrentbest estimate. Where the effect of the time value of money is material, the amount of provision is the present value of the expenditure expected to be required to settle the obligation.
2.14 staff Gratuity Fund
RDRS Bangladesh makes provisions for employees Gratuity Fund, on the basis of one month’s basic salary for each completed year of service for each eligible core staff (based on basic salary drawn in last month of the employee’s service). Gratuity of every eligible employee is calculated monthly on the basis of one twelfth of basic salary and necessary provision shall be madeintheaccounts.SeparateBankaccountismaintainedforgratuityfund.Thisfundisheldasaprovisionwithin‘LongTerm Liabilities’ (see note 3.12). Gratuity is to be paid on the resignation, death, retirement and redundancy of employees. An eligible core staff, who has rendered 5 (five) years’ continuous service in RDRS Bangladesh, is entitled to Gratuity benefits.
74 ANNUAL REPORT 2013
2. sIGNIFICANT ACCOuNTING POLICIEs (Contd.)
2.15 Reserves
Reserve comprises the following:
Assets Replacement Fund
Unless stipulated otherwise in Donor agreements sales proceeds from the disposal of vehicles are set aside in an Assets Replacementfundforthepurposeofreplacingtheexistingfleet.
StaffInsuranceFund
This fund was created to provide a self-financing mechanism for the compensation to staff in respect of accidents or medical emergencies.
Loan Guarantee Fund
Upon the localization of RDRS a Loan Guarantee Fund was created against liabilities incurred by LWF / DWS RDRS in respect ofCreditfundsborrowedforon-lendingtoBeneficiariestoensurethattheseliabilitiescanbefinancedfromRDRSresources.
Staff Training Fund
This fund was created to finance future staff training. The accumulated fund to date represents contributions received from staff who contributed 10% to 20% of the gross salary for the period during which they participated an overseas training course financed by RDRS.
Local Fund Raising
ThisfundwascreatedfromRDRSlocalfundraisingeffortandwasprimarilygeneratedfromtheproceedsofraffledrawtickets,commissions from suppliers and other receipts. This fund is set aside for the generation of additional project income in near future.
MotorCycleLeasePurchaseLoanstoStaff
ThisisrelatedtoRDRSVehiclePolicy.PriortoFinancialyear2000,RDRSprepareditaccountsonacashbasisandthefull100%costwaschargedtoProjectexpenditurewhentheMotorcycleswereinitiallypurchasedbyRDRS.Subsequentrepaymentsbystaff credited to projects upon deducted from the monthly salary.
StaffandBeneficiariesContributoryReserveFund
This Fund is generated through staff and beneficiaries contribution for creating financial strength to chase any vulnerable situation in coming future.
CapitalReserveFund
This reserve is created as the result of various income generating activities, sale of property and income from use of office facilities. This fund has been used to purchase land and buildings and development of office facilities.
Fixed Assets Valuation Reserve
This reserve represents the valuation of the fixed assets that were purchased out of own funds and capitalized less the related depreciation on those assets.
2.16 Consolidation of Operations of subsidiaries
RDRSEnterprisePrivateLimited,awhollyRDRSownedsubsidiarycompanywasincorporatedon15June2004asaprivatelimitedcompanyundertheCompaniesAct1994withauthorizedcapitalofTk.200,000,000.
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 75
2. sIGNIFICANT ACCOuNTING POLICIEs (Contd.)
TotalProfit/LossofthesubsidiarycompanyisreflectedintheconsolidatedIncomeandExpenditureStatementwiththeproportionofProfit/Lossaftertaxation.
All assets and liabilities of the organization and of its subsidiary are shown in the balance sheet. The financial statements of the company were audited up to the year ended as on June 30, 2013. The un-audited financial information for the period from July2013to31December2013wereextractedfromthebooksofaccountoftheCompany.
2.17 Financial Risk Management
RDRS Bangladesh has minimal exposure to financial risks as detailed below:
a) InterestRateRisk
There is no significant short-term exposure to changes in interest rates as cash and cash equivalents are held as cash on hand or on term deposits and earns minimal interest.
b) ForeignExchangeRisk
RDRS Bangladesh’s foreign exchange risks comprises transaction risk which arises from donor grants received in currencies other than the local currency. Foreign currency risk arises primarily when the foreign currency falls against the local currency. To minimize this risk, budgets are prepared in both local and foreign currency, expenditure incurred in local currency and funds are immediately converted in to local currency from the foreign currency, when received. To meet up the expenditure in foreign currency RDRS maintains a foreign currency account with a minimum balance.
Foreignexchangeexposuresintransactionalcurrenciesotherthanthelocalcurrencyaremonitoredviaperiodicprojectcashflowand budget forecasts and are kept to an acceptable level.
c) Liquidity Risk
RDRSBangladeshmanagesitsdebtmaturityprofile,operatingcashflowsandtheavailabilityoffundingsoastomeetallrefinancing,repayment and funding needs. As part of its overall liquidity management, RDRS Bangladesh maintains sufficient levels of cash or term deposits to meet its working capital requirements.
d) CreditRisk
ThecreditpolicyofRDRSBangladeshrequiresallcreditexposurestobemeasured,monitoredandmanagedproactively.Exposureto credit risk is monitored on an ongoing basis by the respective management teams.
RDRS Bangladesh does not have any significant exposure to any individual customer or counterparty.
2.18 Taxes
IncomeofRDRSBangladeshisexemptedfromtaxesasperSRO#283IncomeTax/2002exceptincomefromothersources.
2.19 Capital commitments There were no capital expenditure commitments at 31 December 2013.
2.19 General i.Previousyear’sfigureshavebeenre-arranged,wherenecessarytofitinthisyear’spresentation. ii. Rounding up of figures to the nearest integer.
76 ANNUAL REPORT 2013
NOTE 3 : DETAILs RELATING TO THE FINANCIAL sTATEMENTs 2013 BDT
2012 BDT
3.1 Bank Accounts
Core Programme (Restricted)
Sonali Bank LimitedPanchagarh-CA-001033092 1,745 69,364 Thakurgaon - SND - 36000499 26,535 428,110 Nilphamari - SND - 36000746 28,028 123,249 Lalmonirhat - SND - 36000646 3,375 3,510 Kurigram-CA-520833010213 42,965 45,115 KurigramCDP-SND-520836000715 7,430 8,580 Gaibandha - SND - 87 23,004 24,004 AB Bank LimitedDhaka-CA-4020765862000 - 21,619,823 Rangpur - SND - 4205 762491 430 18,642 44,555 Srimangal - SND - 4118 775442 430 262,431 1,203,408 Dinajpur - SND - 4208 294997 430 8,269 455,582 StandardCharteredBankDhaka - SND - 02 1093711 13 16,019,331 -
16,441,755 24,025,300 Other Projects (Restricted)
StandardCharteredBankDhaka-GaibandhaFSUP-SND02109371107 18,129,035 4,399,188 Dhaka-MFCreditSND-02109371109 - - Dhaka-SDLGProject-SND-02109371110 106,265 2,236,748 Dhaka-SHIKHONProject-SND-02109371111 3,216,258 3,283,921 Dhaka-GaibandhaFSUP-CA-01109371105 224,332 246,123 Dhaka-PROTEEVACSA-SND-02109371112 162,302 - Sonali Bank limited - Thakurgaon-TribalPoorProject-SND-36000409 1,212,860 1,714,460 Thakurgaon-ShikhonProject-SND-36000474 59 634 Nilphamari-EEHCO-SND-36000738 78,661 1,701,919 Nilphamari - Manusher Jonno - SND 36000754 - 191,549 Lalmonirhat - Health Monitoring & advocacy on Safe Motherhood-SND 831 831 Lalmonirhat - Global Fund 10th round - SND - 34105463 3,023,353 3,344,983 Kurigram - Shishur Khamatayan project - SND - 5208 36000087 14,044 15,194 Kurigram-VGDUPTraining-SND-520836000764 87,993 89,263 Kurigram-DRRProject-SND-520836000731 7,105 352,614 Kurigram - Manusher Jonno - SND - 5208 36000847 - 142,463 Rangpur - SMF Tribal - SND - 004000921 35,580 530,610 KurigramCDP-CLP-2Infrastructure-SND-240000 730,974 347,870 KurigramCDP-MarketInnv.Unit-SND-240000634 942,056 1,838,290 KurigramCDP-CLP-2Livelihoods-SND-240000655 5,703,905 3,845,188 KurigramCDP-CLP-2SocialDevelopment-SND-240000665 44,703 132,736 KurigramCDP-CLP2PrimaryHealth-SND-240000612 4,417 890,349 KurigramCDP-CLP2IMOManagement-SND-240000623 32,467 333,883 KurigramCDP-CLP2InfrastructureRowmari-SND-521636000582
68,039 68,595
KurigramCDP-CLP2Livelihoods-Rowmari-SND-521636000599 35,307 35,695 KurigramCLP-DirectNutrition-SND-240000686 24,769 - Rangpur-CommunityPolicing-SND-003713100000254 19,209 89,785 Rangpur-CLP-2IMOManagement-SND-00400151 922,398 508,235 Rangpur-CLP-2Infrastructure-SND-00400152 363,161 2,627,291 Rangpur-CLP-2MarketDev-SND-004001534 1,014,387 218,550
-36000695
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 77
NOTE 3 : DETAILs RELATING TO THE FINANCIAL sTATEMENTs 2013 BDT
2012 BDT
Rangpur-CLP-2Livelihoods-SND-004001545 7,345,214 7,529,621 Rangpur-CLP-2SocialDev-SND-004001556 300,099 114,615 Rangpur-CLP-2VillageLoan-SND-00400156 40,551 64,401 Rangpur-CLP-2HealthCare-SND-004001578 75,363 126,834 RDRS/CLP-2DirectNutritionProject-SND-004001818 119,060 28,016 Kurigram-VGDUPCashGrant-SND-520836001325 21,071 22,341 Rangpur-RDRSCCCPProject-SND-004001864 3,456,390 - Rangpur-RDRS/CorpIntensification-SND-004001 106,215 - AB Bank Limited - Rangpur - Singra Sal Forest - SND - 4205 767367 430 613,007 190,328 Rangpur-PROTEEVA-SND-4205770713430 1,335,683 381,903 Rangpur-SHIKHONProject-SND-4205780775430 3,069,574 2,908,433 Srimangal - Soil Fertilities - SND - 4118 773553 430 25,072 152,625 Srimangal-SHIKHONProject-4118780761430 1,763,572 537,280 Rajshahi-PROTEEVACSA-SND-4202786804430 176,607 - SouthEastBankLimitedRangpur-SIGNALProject-SND-00313100000235 - 26,093 Rangpur-RDRS/SCOPEProject-SND13100000283 8,626,619 - Rangpur-RDRS/IFSGProject-SND-003713100000286 2,853,822 - Mercantile Bank LimitedNilphamari-IWPHDProject-SND-017313100000060 485,481 3,962,511 PrimeBankLimitedRangpur - Manusher Jonno - SND - 16131050002198 3,215 1,643,649 Rangpur-FoodforProgress-SND-16131020005853 562,354 1,650,751 Natore-SDLGProject-SND-18031010006113 50,969 478,183 Rangpur-RDRS/AGRONIProject-SND-16131080014208 1,206,615 -
68,441,023 49,004,551 General Fund (unrestricted)
StandardCharteredBankDhaka-CA-01109371101 15,205,610 55,914,422 Dhaka-CA-01109371103 14,110,538 4,384,527 Dhaka - SND - 02 6624731 01 515,919 500,176 Dhaka - SND - 02 1093711 03 324,274 314,509 Dhaka - Staff Gratuity Fund - FDR - 91093711066 95,921,073 85,859,422 Dhaka - General Fund - SND - 02 1093711 08 2,547,466 21,980,674 Dhaka - Asset Replacement Fund - FDR - 91093711072 15,000,000 5,000,000 Dhaka - General Reserve - FDR - 91093711073 25,000,000 - BRACBankDhaka - Reserve Fund - SND - 1510101512544001 52,801 52,181 Dhaka - Reserve Fund FDR 1510301512544001 28,590,810 25,663,560 Dhaka-StaffInsuranceFund-SND-1510101512532001 69,904 68,826 Dhaka - Staff Security Deposit - FDR - 15103004740772 18,782,935 16,859,858 Dhaka-StaffInsuranceFund-FDR1510301512532001 11,957,081 10,732,863 CommercialBankofCeylonPLCDhaka - Local Fund Raising - FDR 380200001961 7,234,468 6,546,631 Sonali Bank LimitedPanchagarh-GeneralFund-CA001018504 4,640,137 4,630,215 Thakurgaon - General Fund - SND - 33003934 795,081 705,401 Dinajpur - General Fund - SND - 33004329 2,809,629 3,997,430 Nilphamari - General Fund - SND - 33000195 6,188,655 6,351,393 Lalmonirhat - General Fund - SND - 33000161 2,507,776 2,976,840 Kurigram-GeneralFundCDP-CA-520833003695 49,880 934,089 Rangpur-GeneralFund-CA-001031385 11,675,296 19,454,855
78 ANNUAL REPORT 2013
NOTE 3 : DETAILs RELATING TO THE FINANCIAL sTATEMENTs 2013 BDT
2012 BDT
Kurigram - General Fund - SND - 5208 36000723 2,776,573 2,988,716 Rangpur-FederationCentreRepair&Maintenance-SND004001124 76,745 74,628 Rangpur-StaffContribution-SND-004000965 1,543,849 851,672 Rangpur - Staff Security Deposit - 004000737 87 394,923 Gaibandha-GeneralFund-CA-511/10 1,227,652 748,101 AB Bank LimitedRangpur - General Reserve Fund - FDR 29,994,337 26,959,320 Rangpur - General Fund - SND - 4205 147333 430 5,716,888 14,355,226 Rangpur-ExpatriateAlumniAssociationContribution-SND-4205770712430 797,650 844,170 Rangpur-ExpatriateAlumniAssociationContribution-FDR3389624 500,000 500,000 Rangpur-FederationCentreRepair&Maintenance-FDR3329987 3,079,513 2,769,000 Janata Bank limitedRangpur - Staff contribution to Reserve Fund - FDR 255534/5996 7,756,000 7,000,000 SouthEastBankLimitedRangpur - RDRS University - SND 7125469 - 30,000,000 Rangpur - RDRS University - SND - 003713100000246 15,372 2,967 Rangpur - RDRS General Fund - SND - 13100000275 8,840,004 - Rangpur - Shelter Home Revolving Fund - SND -13100000276 3,100 -
326,307,103 360,416,595 Microfinance Programme (unrestricted)
Dhaka-CreditBankAccounts 25,724,670 28,765,229 Rangpur-CentralBankAccounts 80,091,975 47,610,373 Unit and Branch Level - Bank Accounts 106,425,831 60,147,707 Dhaka - AB Bank Limited FDR - Group Savings Fund 5,155,566 4,635,117 Dhaka-StandardCharteredBankFDR-GroupSavingsFund 79,566,344 71,300,000 Dhaka-BRACBankLimitedFDR-GroupSavingsFund 39,517,927 33,956,573 Dhaka-BankAsiaLimitedFDR-EmergencyFund 47,280,762 42,504,056 Dhaka-StandardCharteredBankFDR-EmergencyFund 2,577,447 2,307,085 Dhaka-StandardCharteredBankFDR-EquityFund 83,918,500 75,200,000 Rangpur - Southeast Bank Limited - FDR DMF 11,658,162 5,539,000 Rangpur - AB Bank Limited FDR - DMF 8,097,022 7,280,919 Rangpur - AB Bank Limited FDR - Staff Security Deposits 5,015,829 4,509,509 Rangpur - Southeast Bank Limited - FDR - Staff Security Deposits 19,740,214 15,591,426 Rangpur-MutualTrustBankLimited-InsuranceFund 2,223,338 1,998,506 Rangpur-ABBankLimited-InsuranceFund 10,003,806 7,628,319 Rangpur-South-EastBankLimited-InsuranceFund 5,349,821 4,808,828 Rangpur - AB Bank Limited - Staff Gratuity Fund 1,716,639 1,543,945 Rangpur - Standard Bank Limited - Staff Gratuity Fund 8,514,965 7,654,800 Rangpur-SouthEastBankLimited-StaffGratuityFund 12,589,357 8,358,200 Rangpur-RajshahiKrishiUnnayanBankFDR-CreditFund 356,889 329,477 Rangpur - AB Bank Limited FDR - Scholarship Fund 1,400,000 -
556,925,064 431,669,069 RDRs Enterprise (unrestricted)
AB Bank Limited Rangpur-C/A-4205145595000 2,871,174 3,450,875 Sonali BankRangpur-C/A-001068846 1,244,827 - Lalmonirhat - SND - 60 617,216 - Thakurgaon - SND - 98 39,596 -
4,772,813 3,450,875
972,887,758 868,566,390
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 79
NOTE 3 : DETAILs RELATING TO THE FINANCIAL sTATEMENTs 2013 BDT
2012 BDT
3.2 CashMicrofinance Programme (unrestricted)CashinHand 28,452,663 25,938,659 CashinTransit 1,651,000 60,800
30,103,663 25,999,459 RDRs Enterprise (unrestricted)CashinHand 3,982 -
3,982 - 30,107,645 25,999,459
3.3 Project Balance Receivable Project no.
Core Programme (Restricted)Bread for the World 01 4210 3,793,880 -
3,793,880 - Other Projects (Restricted)
BangladeshMinistryofAgriculture/EuropeanUnion 01 4746 5,407,545 1,958,068 ChurchofSweden 01 4754 438,052 438,052 CIAT&IFPRI 01 4772 600 - DanChurchAid/EuropeanUnion 01 4719 4,534,597 1,716,358 DepartmentofWomenAffairs/EuropeanUnion 01 4717 1,591,568 1,591,568 Department of Women’s Affair 01 4769 156,723 - DirectorateofPrimaryEducation 01 4749 8,366,224 4,792,407 InternationalRiceResearchInstitute 01 4724 212,895 134,601 ORBISInternational 01 4689 627,361 627,361 SavetheChildren/USAID 01 4761 - 791,452 SDLG/USAID 01 4752 2,942,767 - SavetheChildren/EuropeanUnion 01 4682 3,994,406 3,994,406 UnitedNationsEducationalScientificandCulturalOrganization 01 4755 11,322 -
WorldFoodProgramme 01 4637 3,415,507 2,362,094 01 4757 1,251,366 571,480
4,666,873 2,933,574 32,950,933 18,977,847
36,744,813 18,977,847 3.4 Other Receivables
Other Projects (Restricted)
Sundry Debtors - 8,429,833 Workshop and training expenses 3,932,798 5,266,709 Exchangevisit-ICCOCooperation-FSUPproject 3,678 442,447 Motorcycle / Bicycle outstanding 8,212 10,058
3,944,688 14,149,047 General Fund (unrestricted)
Sundry Debtors 7,618,552 167,758 ProvidentFundAccount 3,169,877 - Loan to Staff for Bicycle / Raincoat 1,630,797 2,452,102 Motorcycle Outstanding Account 5,773,804 7,328,084 StaffVoluntaryContribution - 777,264 AdvancetoAttaMillConstruction 1,808,516 1,808,516 ReceivablefromMicrofinanceProgramme 10,496,679 5,524,800
30,498,225 18,058,524
80 ANNUAL REPORT 2013
NOTE 3 : DETAILs RELATING TO THE FINANCIAL sTATEMENTs 2013 BDT
2012 BDT
Microfinance Programme (unrestricted)
Other Advances 19,007,192 14,286,851 AccruedInterestonFDR 17,277,071 19,117,399 Other Receivables 16,309,821 9,574,585
52,594,084 42,978,835 RDRs Enterprise (unrestricted)
Accounts Receivable 7,734,048 8,295,515 Stock, Stores and others 11,176,703 11,049,519 AdvancesandPre-payments 256,532 319,389 InvestmentinSecurityBond 520,000 520,000
19,687,283 20,184,423 106,724,280 95,370,829
3.5 Inter-project Transactions
Core Programme (Restricted)
PayabletoGeneralFund (1,133,003) (4,843,955) (1,133,003) (4,843,955)
Other Projects (Restricted)
PayabletoGeneralFund (18,035,978) (9,640,635) (18,035,978) (9,640,635)
General Fund (unrestricted)
ReceivablefromCoreProgramme 1,133,003 4,843,955 ReceivablefromOtherProjects 18,035,978 9,640,635 ReceivablefromRDRSEnterprise-expenditure 2,834,975 2,546,101 LongtermInvestmentinRDRSEnterprise 32,000,000 32,000,000 Staff Gratuity Fund - Microfinance (8,287,196) (12,753,302)PayabletoMicrofinance (4,081,130) (13,358,978)Loan from Microfinance - University - (30,000,000)FundreceivedfromCoS-MicrofinanceSPM (2,762,389) (2,762,389)
38,873,241 (9,843,978)
Microfinance Programme (unrestricted)
Staff Gratuity Fund 8,287,196 12,753,302 Receivable from General Fund 4,081,130 13,358,978 Loan to RDRS University - 30,000,000 FundreceivedfromCoS-MicrofinanceSPM 2,762,389 2,762,389
15,130,715 58,874,669 RDRs Enterprise (unrestricted)
PayabletoRDRSGeneralFund-CapitalFund (32,000,000) (32,000,000)Loan from RDRS General Fund (2,834,975) (2,546,101)
(34,834,975) (34,546,101) - -
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 81
3.6 Loans to Group Members
Microfinance Programme (unrestricted)
Opening Balance 1,987,162,916 1,718,474,783 Add: Disbursement during the year 3,699,821,000 3,343,882,000
5,686,983,916 5,062,356,783
Less: Recovery and Adjustments:Recovery during the year 3,389,040,403 3,064,210,142 Adjustments 89,334,168 10,983,725
3,478,374,571 3,075,193,867 2,208,609,345 1,987,162,916
Less:LoanLossProvision 175,661,192 218,466,140 2,032,948,153 1,768,696,776
3.6.1 Loan Loss Provision
Opening Balance 218,466,140 198,814,308 Add:Provisionmadeduringtheyear 21,201,583 19,894,022
239,667,723 218,708,330 Less: Amount written-off 64,006,531 242,190
175,661,192 218,466,140
3.7 Fixed AssetsFixed assets purchased from unrestricted use funds are recorded in the balance sheet as follows:
Particulars Land Buildings Furniture
&Fixture
Office Equipment
Machineries/ Other
equipment/ Other Assets/
Vehicles
Total
CostBalance as at 01 January 2013 45,174,253 208,730,769 19,724,060 24,629,260 29,855,519 328,113,861 Additions - 17,719,350 3,144,535 1,559,527 3,211,202 25,634,614 Balance as at 31 December 2013 45,174,253 226,450,119 22,868,595 26,188,787 33,066,721 353,748,475
Accumulated DepreciationBalance as at 01 January 2013 - 52,160,962 15,464,296 13,127,156 16,458,485 97,210,899 Depreciation charged for the year - 6,261,924 1,026,226 3,373,883 5,509,273 16,171,306 Balance as at 31 December 2013 - 58,422,886 16,490,522 16,501,039 21,967,758 113,382,205
Writen down value at 31 Dec 2013 45,174,253 168,027,233 6,378,073 9,687,748 11,098,963 240,366,270
Writen down value at 31 Dec 2012 45,174,253 156,569,807 4,259,764 11,502,104 13,397,034 230,902,962
RDRSmaintainsaregisterofallassetsincludingthosethatareforrestricteduse.Thefollowingfiguresreflecttheassetsheldfor restricted purposes at their original cost.
Balance at 01 January
2013
Additions Disposals/ Adjustments
Balance at 31 December
2013CostLand 39,589,650 - - 39,589,650 Building 148,945,742 - - 148,945,742 Furniture & Fixture 27,035,799 1,186,630 - 28,222,429 OfficeEquipment 63,349,605 2,731,072 - 66,080,677 Vehicle/MC/BC 68,148,857 508,450 (1,351,310) 67,305,997 Machineries 18,986,811 442,824 - 19,429,635 OtherEquipment 13,954,805 124,150 - 14,078,955 Other Assets 2,024,684 91,520 - 2,116,204
382,035,953 5,084,646 (1,351,310) 385,769,289
NOTE 3 : DETAILs RELATING TO THE FINANCIAL sTATEMENTs 2013 BDT
2012 BDT
(Note 3.6.1)
82 ANNUAL REPORT 2013
NOTE 3 : DETAILs RELATING TO THE FINANCIAL sTATEMENTs 2013 BDT
2012 BDT
3.8 Accounts Payable
Core Programme (Restricted)Sundry creditors - 942,771
- 942,771
Other Projects (Restricted)Sundry creditors - 7,806,046 Shelter home 3,100 26,092 PayabletoICCOCooperationFairClimateProgramme 5,416,429 6,138,360 StaffCapacityBuilding 751,577 751,577 Evaluationofpartners 1,885,506 - ProgressthroughPartnership 1,645,746 - CapacityBuildingofPartners 293,445 -
9,995,803 14,722,075 General Fund (unrestricted)Sundry creditors 34,147,068 24,221,045 Staff security deposit 21,455,867 17,254,951 Federation center repair & maintenance fund 3,156,258 2,843,628 Earnestmoneyagainsttender 1,698,430 1,161,489 Alumni association - deposits 1,297,649 1,344,170
61,755,272 46,825,283
RDRs Enterprise (unrestricted)Accounts payable 2,368,314 3,854,133 VAT payable - 161,520
2,368,314 4,015,653 74,119,389 66,505,782
3.9 Contribution Received in Advance Project no.
Core Programme (Restricted)Bread for the World 01 4210 6,295,908 -
ICCOCooperation 01 4210 - 17,738,574 01 4208 12,306,724 -
12,306,724 17,738,574 18,602,632 17,738,574
Other Projects (Restricted)Arannayk Foundation 01 4735 615,175 192,497 Bongobondhu Sheikh Mozibur Rahman Agriculture University 01 4764 128,274 - CORDAID(CatholicOrganizationforReliefandDevelopment) 01 4745 - 941,967 CornellUniversity 01 4739 1,501,090 1,650,753 ChurchofSweden 01 4762 3,229,522 - DanChurchAid/EuropeanUnion 01 4771 2,631,564 -
DFID(DepartmentForInternationalDevelopment) 01 4665 251,774 4,965,048 01 4673 3,198 66,555 01 4685 - 20,039 01 4691 - 196,099
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 83
NOTE 3 : DETAILs RELATING TO THE FINANCIAL sTATEMENTs 2013 BDT
2012 BDT
01 4692 - 2,356,349 01 4693 742,987 767,297 01 4695 - 212,509 01 4696 - 654,667 01 4697 14,610,286 8,297,083 01 4706 - 815,153 01 4707 288,312 455,641 01 4767 1,956,442 -
17,852,999 18,806,439
EuropeanUnion 01 4762 5,397,097 -
EvangelicalLutheranChurchinAmerica 01 4221 1,276,026 -
EvangelicalLutheranChurchinJapan 01 4645 1,045,037 743,809
01 4646 966,847 668,577 2,011,884 1,412,386
GermanDevelopmentCooperation/GIZ 01 4732 493,735 493,735 01 4770 419,740 -
913,475 493,735
GlobalFundtoFightforAIDS,Tuberculosis&Malaria 01 4751 2,955,631 3,344,983 ICCOCooperation 01 4729 930,826 930,826 ICCOCooperation/EuropeanUnion 01 4718 18,617,337 4,909,279 InternationalRiceResearchInstitute 01 4728 89,781 122,850 Kik Textilien & Non Food GMBH 01 4753 401,214 4,425,618
Manusher Jonno Foundation 01 4705 - 2,025,721 01 4740 - 4,508 01 4760 - 178,260 01 4768 1,206,615 -
1,206,615 2,208,489
NovaConsultancyBangla/CORDAID 01 4758 102,438 209,239 PalliKarmaSahayakFoundation 01 4759 2,101,865 - PracticalAction,Bangladesh 01 4763 94,237 - SDLG/USAID 01 4752 - 2,147,227 SavetheChildren/EuropeanUnion 01 4684 8,169,882 6,825,785
SavetheChildren/USAID 01 4742 1,335,683 381,904 01 4761 338,909 -
1,674,592 381,904
Stromme Foundation 01 4623 420,483 2,327,059 The Asia Foundation 01 4747 - 89,784 UniversityofManitobaCanada 01 4750 17,981 70,993 Water Aid - Bangladesh 01 4730 77,651 1,697,267
72,417,639 53,189,078 Microfinance Programme (Restricted)ChurchofSweden 3,366,550 2,762,389
3,366,550 2,762,389 94,386,821 73,690,041
84 ANNUAL REPORT 2013
NOTE 3 : DETAILs RELATING TO THE FINANCIAL sTATEMENTs 2013 BDT
2012 BDT
3.10 Accrued Expenses
Core Programme (Restricted)Audit fees 500,000 500,000
500,000 500,000 Other Projects (Restricted)Postclosurebenefits 187,599 407,262 Audit fees 1,093,229 1,663,065 Provisionforexpenses 3,606,396 2,509,330
4,887,224 4,579,657 RDRs Enterprise (unrestricted)
- 25,000 5,387,224 5,104,657
3.11 short Term Liabilities
Microfinance Programme (unrestricted)
MembersInsuranceFund 51,921,756 36,155,354 Staff Security Deposit 20,099,247 17,179,220 InterestPayableonGroupMembersSavings 29,227,680 24,645,715 Provisionforexpenses 6,958,905 6,238,440 MembersContribution 1,744,966 439,660 Other payable 10,588,973 3,538,376
120,541,527 88,196,765
3.12 staff Gratuity Fund
General Programme (unrestricted)
Opening balance 54,601,515 47,045,669 Add:Provisionduringtheyear 1,788,044 1,559,999 Add:Interestearnedduringtheyear 10,061,651 8,542,738
66,451,210 57,148,406 Less: Gratuity paid during the year 3,173,069 2,546,891
63,278,141 54,601,515 Microfinance Programme (unrestricted)
Opening balance 31,697,807 27,813,280 Add:Provisionduringtheyear 3,913,811 5,871,470 Add:Interestearnedfrombankduringtheyear 2,258,478 1,845,163
37,870,096 35,529,913 Less: Gratuity paid during the year 4,466,106 3,832,106
33,403,990 31,697,807 96,682,131 86,299,322
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 85
NOTE 3 : DETAILs RELATING TO THE FINANCIAL sTATEMENTs 2013 BDT
2012 BDT
3.13 Long Term Borrowings
Microfinance Programme (unrestricted)
LoanfromPalliKarmaSahayakFoundation 356,499,996 372,916,662 LoanfromStrommeFoundation-TribalProject 1,875,000 6,000,000 Loan from Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank 270,000,000 165,000,000
628,374,996 543,916,662
3.14 Group Members savings Deposits
Microfinance Programme (unrestricted)
Opening Balance 814,641,341 699,257,635 Add:Collectionduringtheyear 311,479,884 258,648,161 Add:Interestallowedduringtheyear 46,486,228 38,829,912
1,172,607,453 996,735,708 Less: Refund during the year 219,706,171 174,552,211 Adjustment with Loan balance 28,375,154 7,542,156
248,081,325 182,094,367 924,526,128 814,641,341
3.15 Reserves
General Reserves (unrestricted)Opening balance 489,607,353 437,913,429 Addition during the year:Interestearnedduringtheyear 2,152,012 1,956,785 Transferred from non project fund 11,382,011 32,890,882 Transferred from project 3,724,711 16,846,257
506,866,087 489,607,353 Reserve and surplus - RDRs Enterprise (unrestricted)Opening balance (4,923,712) (1,631,610)Addition during the year 385,203 (3,292,102)
(4,538,509) (4,923,712) 502,327,578 484,683,641
3.16 Net Worth - Microfinance (unrestricted)
Revolving Loan Fund 476,586,379 476,236,379 Disaster Management Fund Note :3.16.1 71,986,512 60,395,681 Risk Management Fund Note :3.16.2 3,127,578 2,543,469 Scholarship Fund Note :3.16.3 1,414,084 - Reserve and Surplus Note :3.16.4 432,974,213 317,833,480 Assets Replacement Fund 234,001 277,406
986,322,767 857,286,415
86 ANNUAL REPORT 2013
NOTE 3 : DETAILs RELATING TO THE FINANCIAL sTATEMENTs 2013 BDT
2012 BDT
3.16.1 Disaster Management Fund
Opening balance 60,395,681 50,083,985 Add:TransferredfromIncomeandExpenditureAccount 4,779,132 3,553,010 Addition Made during the year 6,811,699 6,758,686
71,986,512 60,395,681
3.16.2 Risk Management Fund
Opening balance 2,543,469 2,468,434 Addition Made during the year 584,109 75,035
3,127,578 2,543,469
3.16.3 scholarship Fund
Opening balance - - Add: Transferred from Reserve and Surplus 1,400,000 -
Addition Made during the year 14,084
1,414,084 -
3.16.4 Reserve and surplus
Opening Balance 317,833,480 195,552,939
Less: Unclaimed Savings Account 2,936,315 -
Scholarship Fund Account 1,400,000 -
Other Liabilities 169,857 -
4,506,172 -
313,327,308 195,552,939 Add:TransferredfromIncomeandExpenditureAccount 119,646,905 122,280,541
432,974,213 317,833,480
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 873.
18 s
egm
enta
l Fin
anci
al I
nfor
mat
ion
Ba
lanc
e sh
eet
as a
t 31
Dec
embe
r 20
13
(In
Bang
lade
sh T
aka)
REsT
RICT
ED
uNR
EsTR
ICTE
D T
otal
20
13 T
otal
20
12Ap
pend
ixNo
te C
ore
Prog
ram
me
Oth
er
Proj
ects
T
otal
G
ener
al
Fund
M
icro
finan
ce
Prog
ram
me
RDR
s
Ente
rpri
se
Tot
al
AssE
Ts
Curr
ent A
sset
sBa
nk A
ccou
nts
3.1
16,
441,
755
68,
441,
023
84,
882,
778
326
,307
,103
5
56,9
25,0
64
4,7
72,8
13
888
,004
,980
9
72,8
87,7
58
868
,566
,390
Cash
3.2
- -
- -
30,
103,
663
3,9
82
30,
107,
645
30,
107,
645
25,
999,
459
ProjectBalanceReceivable
3.3
3,7
93,8
80
32,
950,
933
36,
744,
813
- -
- -
36,
744,
813
18,
977,
847
Othe
r Rec
eiva
ble
3.4
- 3
,944
,688
3
,944
,688
3
0,49
8,22
5 5
2,59
4,08
4 1
9,68
7,28
3 1
02,7
79,5
92
106
,724
,280
9
5,37
0,82
9 Inter-projectTransactions
3.5
(1,
133,
003)
(18,
035,
978)
(19
,168
,981
) 3
8,87
3,24
1 1
5,13
0,71
5 (
34,8
34,9
75)
19,
168,
981
- -
CurrentAccount-LWFGeneva
1 -
- -
12,
889,
642
- 1
2,88
9,64
2 1
2,88
9,64
2 1
1,81
0,36
3 To
tal C
urre
nt A
sset
s 1
9,10
2,63
2 8
7,30
0,66
6 10
6,40
3,29
8 40
8,56
8,21
1 6
54,7
53,5
26
(10,
370,
897)
1,05
2,95
0,84
0 1,
159,
354,
138
1,02
0,72
4,88
8 No
n-Cu
rren
t Ass
ets
Loan
s to
Gro
up M
embe
rs3.
6 -
- -
- 2
,032
,948
,153
2
,032
,948
,153
2
,032
,948
,153
1
,768
,696
,776
Fi
xed
Asse
ts3.
7La
nd -
- -
44,
543,
523
- 6
30,7
30
45,
174,
253
45,
174,
253
45,
174,
253
Build
ing
- -
- 2
19,7
36,8
92
- 6
,713
,227
2
26,4
50,1
19
226
,450
,119
2
08,7
30,7
69
Furn
iture
& F
ixtu
re -
- -
19,
514,
961
3,2
62,9
14
90,
720
22,
868,
595
22,
868,
595
19,
724,
060
OfficeEquipment
- -
- 1
0,01
7,50
7 1
6,17
1,28
0 -
26,
188,
787
26,
188,
787
24,
629,
260
Mac
hine
ries
- -
- 4
73,2
00
- 6
,446
,576
6
,919
,776
6
,919
,776
6
,919
,776
OtherEquipment
- -
- 1
0,25
6,99
4 1
,310
,463
1
,200
,385
1
2,76
7,84
2 1
2,76
7,84
2 1
0,35
5,89
0 Ot
her A
sset
s -
- -
- 8
82,3
99
2,8
62,2
18
3,7
44,6
17
3,7
44,6
17
3,7
18,0
97
Vehicles/MC
- -
- 7
,290
,000
2
,344
,486
-
9,6
34,4
86
9,6
34,4
86
8,8
61,7
56
- -
- 3
11,8
33,0
77
23,
971,
542
17,
943,
856
353
,748
,475
3
53,7
48,4
75
328
,113
,861
Le
ss: A
ccum
ulat
ed D
epre
ciat
ion
- -
- 8
8,50
1,78
8 1
5,13
7,26
3 9
,743
,154
1
13,3
82,2
05
113
,382
,205
9
7,21
0,89
9 -
- -
223
,331
,289
8
,834
,279
8
,200
,702
2
40,3
66,2
70
240
,366
,270
2
30,9
02,9
62
Tota
l Non
-Cur
rent
Ass
ets
- -
- 22
3,33
1,28
9 2
,041
,782
,432
8
,200
,702
2,
273,
314,
423
2,27
3,31
4,42
3 1,
999,
599,
738
TOTA
L As
sETs
19,
102,
632
87,
300,
666
106,
403,
298
631,
899,
500
2,6
96,5
35,9
58
(2,
170,
195)
3,32
6,26
5,26
3 3,
432,
668,
561
3,02
0,32
4,62
6
LIAB
ILIT
IEs
AND
REsE
RVEs
Curr
ent L
iabi
litie
sAccountsPayable
3.8
- 9
,995
,803
9
,995
,803
6
1,75
5,27
2 -
2,3
68,3
14
64,
123,
586
74,
119,
389
66,
505,
782
ContributionReceivedinAdvance
3.9
18,
602,
632
72,
417,
639
91,
020,
271
- 3
,366
,550
-
3,3
66,5
50
94,
386,
821
73,
690,
041
AccruedExpenses
3.10
500
,000
4
,887
,224
5
,387
,224
-
- -
- 5
,387
,224
5
,104
,657
Sh
ort
Term
Lia
bilit
ies
- Mic
rofin
ance
3.11
- -
- -
120
,541
,527
-
120
,541
,527
1
20,5
41,5
27
88,
196,
765
Tota
l Cur
rent
Lia
bilit
ies
19,
102,
632
87,
300,
666
106,
403,
298
61,
755,
272
123
,908
,077
2
,368
,314
1
88,0
31,6
63
294
,434
,961
2
33,4
97,2
45
Long
Ter
m L
iabi
litie
sSt
aff G
ratu
ity F
und
3.12
- -
- 6
3,27
8,14
1 3
3,40
3,99
0 -
96,
682,
131
96,
682,
131
86,
299,
322
Long
Ter
m B
orro
win
gs3.
13 -
- -
- 6
28,3
74,9
96
- 6
28,3
74,9
96
628
,374
,996
5
43,9
16,6
62
Grou
p M
embe
rs S
avin
gs D
epos
its3.
14 -
- -
- 9
24,5
26,1
28
- 9
24,5
26,1
28
924
,526
,128
8
14,6
41,3
41
Tota
l Lon
g Te
rm li
abili
ties
- -
- 6
3,27
8,14
1 1
,586
,305
,114
-
1,64
9,58
3,25
5 1,
649,
583,
255
1,44
4,85
7,32
5 Re
serv
esRe
serv
es3.
15 -
- -
506
,866
,087
-
(4,
538,
509)
502
,327
,578
5
02,3
27,5
78
484
,683
,641
Ne
t W
orth
- M
icro
finan
ce3.
16 -
- -
- 9
86,3
22,7
67
- 9
86,3
22,7
67
986
,322
,767
8
57,2
86,4
15
Tota
l Res
erve
s -
- -
506,
866,
087
986
,322
,767
(
4,53
8,50
9)1,
488,
650,
345
1,48
8,65
0,34
5 1,
341,
970,
056
TOTA
L LI
ABIL
ITIE
s AN
D RE
sERV
Es 1
9,10
2,63
2 8
7,30
0,66
6 10
6,40
3,29
8 63
1,89
9,50
0 2
,696
,535
,958
(
2,17
0,19
5)3,
326,
265,
263
3,43
2,66
8,56
1 3,
020,
324,
626
88 ANNUAL REPORT 20133.
19 s
egm
enta
l Fin
anci
al I
nfor
mat
ion
In
com
e an
d Ex
pend
itur
e st
atem
ent
for
the
year
end
ed 3
1 De
cem
ber
2013
(I
n Ba
ngla
desh
Tak
a)
Prog
ram
me
Oper
atio
ns
REs
TRIC
TED
uNR
EsTR
ICTE
DTo
tal
2013
Tota
l20
12 C
ore
Prog
ram
me
Oth
erPr
ojec
tsTo
tal
Gene
ral
Fund
Mic
rofin
ance
Pr
ogra
mm
eRD
Rs
Ente
rpri
seTo
tal
INCO
ME
DonorContribution
- 9
0,77
9,07
7 7
38,2
59,7
31
829
,038
,808
-
59,
284,
133
- 5
9,28
4,13
3 8
88,3
22,9
41
807,
073,
733
Non-ProjectIncome
- -
- -
15,
352,
926
- -
15,
352,
926
15,
352,
926
38,
995,
843
LocalContribution:
- ProgrammeParticipants’Contribution
- -
2,5
14,0
71
2,5
14,0
71
- -
- -
2,5
14,0
71
2,8
11,5
40
OwnContribution
- -
3,0
28,6
20
3,0
28,6
20
- -
- -
3,0
28,6
20
2,6
83,8
39
ServiceChargesonLoantoGroupMembers
- -
463
,290
4
63,2
90
- 4
42,6
26,8
74
- 4
42,6
26,8
74
443
,090
,164
4
36,8
57,5
67
InterestearnedfromBank
2,0
87,1
88
- 1
,045
,870
1
,045
,870
-
31,
294,
014
- 3
1,29
4,01
4 3
4,42
7,07
2 3
4,02
5,51
2 Costrecovery/Sales
- -
- -
- 1
,746
,134
2
5,45
1,58
1 2
7,19
7,71
5 2
7,19
7,71
5 3
0,78
4,00
0 Of
fice
Faci
litie
s/Se
lf-Fi
nanc
ing
- -
- -
65,
687,
079
9,6
94,4
88
- 7
5,38
1,56
7 7
5,38
1,56
7 5
5,81
0,03
0
Tota
l Inc
ome
2,0
87,1
88
90,
779,
077
745
,311
,582
83
6,09
0,65
9 8
1,04
0,00
5 5
44,6
45,6
43
25,
451,
581
651
,137
,229
1
,489
,315
,076
1
,409
,042
,064
EXPE
NDIT
uRE
Civi
l Em
pow
erm
ent -
Act
ive
Citi
zens
, Civ
ilSo
cial
Org
aniz
atio
n -
11,
165,
999
75,
307,
735
86,
473,
734
- 8
6,47
3,73
4 9
0,01
8,01
5 W
omen
’s Ri
ghts
and
Gen
der A
ware
ness
-
9,6
84,8
89
- 9
,684
,889
-
- -
- 9
,684
,889
1
7,19
0,05
8 NorthBengalInstitute
- 4
,632
,729
-
4,6
32,7
29
- -
- -
4,6
32,7
29
3,9
80,0
99
Qual
ity
of L
ife
CommunityHealth
- 1
0,71
9,95
5 8
6,39
4,61
8 9
7,11
4,57
3 -
- -
- 9
7,11
4,57
3 8
4,57
2,47
1 EducationandAdvocacy
- 3
,079
,344
2
12,3
67,5
90
215
,446
,934
-
- -
- 2
15,4
46,9
34
135
,117
,936
Fo
od, E
nvir
onm
ent a
nd D
isas
ter
Resi
lienc
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ricul
ture
and
Foo
d Se
curit
y -
10,
933,
495
305
,316
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3
16,2
50,2
85
- -
- -
316
,250
,285
3
41,0
74,9
30
EnvironmentandDisasterResilience
- 7
,848
,780
6
5,92
4,85
0 7
3,77
3,63
0 -
- -
- 7
3,77
3,63
0 9
6,60
9,90
5 Ec
onom
ic P
rom
otio
n -
- -
- 6
1,96
2,36
8 4
20,2
19,6
06
25,
066,
378
507
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,352
5
07,2
48,3
52
414
,968
,864
st
aff
Capa
city
Bui
ldin
g -
2,9
89,4
85
- 2
,989
,485
-
- -
- 2
,989
,485
4
,024
,864
su
ppor
ting
ser
vice
s, u
nits
and
Pro
gram
me
ProgrammeSupportUnit
- 1
9,36
6,19
3 -
19,
366,
193
- -
- -
19,
366,
193
23,
368,
334
Adm
inis
trat
ive
cost
2,0
87,1
88
10,
358,
208
- 1
0,35
8,20
8 -
- -
- 1
2,44
5,39
6 1
9,73
3,04
0 No
n-Pr
ojec
t Exp
endi
ture
- -
- -
1,8
18,9
03
- -
1,8
18,9
03
1,8
18,9
03
4,1
48,1
76
Tota
l Exp
endi
ture
2,0
87,1
88
90,
779,
077
745
,311
,582
83
6,09
0,65
9 63
,781
,271
4
20,2
19,6
06
25,
066,
378
509
,067
,255
1
,347
,245
,102
1
,234
,806
,691
Increase/(decrease)inreservesfortheyear
- -
- -
17,
258,
734
124
,426
,037
3
85,2
03
142
,069
,974
1
42,0
69,9
74
174
,235
,373
Le
ss: S
urpl
us o
f Mic
rofin
ance
ope
ratio
nstr
ansf
erre
d to
:Di
sast
er M
anag
emen
t Fu
nd -
- -
- -
(4,
779,
132)
- (
4,77
9,13
2) (
4,77
9,13
2) (
3,55
3,01
0)Re
serv
e an
d Su
rplu
s - M
icro
finan
ce -
- -
- (
119,
646,
905)
(11
9,64
6,90
5) (
119,
646,
905)
(12
2,28
0,54
1)Ad
d : R
eser
ves
- beg
inni
ng o
f the
yea
r -
- -
489,
607,
353
- (
4,92
3,71
2) 4
84,6
83,6
41
484
,683
,641
4
36,2
81,8
19
Rese
rves
- En
d of
the
year
- -
- -
506,
866,
087
- (4
,538
,509
) 5
02,3
27,5
78
502
,327
,578
4
84,6
83,6
41
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 89
hEADSProgramCoordination : MonjusreeSahaFinance : Joarder Tahmina Afroze Microfinance : Md. Humayun KhaledHuman Resources : Sabrina ShamshadHealth : Dr.MohammadZakiulIslamFaruqueFood Security-Gaibandha : Md. Nazrul Ghani COORDiNATORS/PROgRAm mANAgERSProgramNilphamari : Khandoker Md. Rashedul Arefeen Kurigram : Md.SharifulIslamKhan Panchagarh : ZebaAfroza(upto20October)Thakurgaon : Md. Al-Montazir (upto 25 November) Dinajpur : Tapan Kumar Saha Rangpur : Merina Ahmed Lalmonirhat : Md.ZiaulIslam Gaibandha : PorsiaRahman COORDiNATORSsector Research : NAM Julfiker Ali HanifAdvocacy : Md.IqbalUddin Agriculture&Environment: Md. Mamunur Rashid Education : Md.Nurunnabi(upto14August)Microfinance : Goutam Kumar Halder ArunChandraKirtonia Subrata Kumar Kar Hasinur Rahman support unitProjectDesign&Reporting: MohammadAbdurRahmanCommunications : SabrinaSharminFinance : Begum Arefa Siddiqua M A Saleh Uddin Ahmed IrfanAlHayatChisti GeneralService : Md.TariqulIslam :Md.AshrafulIslamGovernment Relations : Muhammad Atiqur Rahman InternalAudit :PraloyKrishnaSarker InformationTechnology :AzmalHossain LegalAffairs : AdvocateSMParvezMonitoring&Evaluation : Md.MamunurRashid
COORDiNATORS/PROJECT mANAgERSProjects SCOPE : Md.AbdullahAlMamunSDLG : Md. Salim Akther AGRONI : Md.Enayetullah AdibashiEmpowement : Md.RezanulHuque(upto31January) Tamim Ahmed (from 20 March) Maternal & NeonatalHealth : Md. Shohel Khan Tuberculosis&Leprosy : Dr.BipulChandraSarker PROTEEVA : Md.Nuruzzaman PROTEEVA(CSA) : Md.IqbalHussain SHIKHON : AbuNurMd.Khalid : Md. Shah Alam SchoolFeedingProgram : AzizulHoque Md. Aminur Rahman Md. Kabir Alam Md. Delower Hossain CCCP : Md.ShofiulIslam FPBP : Md.SadequlIslam GFSUPW : Md.RaihanulIslamChowdhuryFS-SFC : Md.AbdullahAlMamun CBP : Md.NasirUddin SNEDM : Md.RahmatUllah RuralWaSH : SurahjanChakraborty IWS&PH : AbdusSalam IMCN : Md.MahmudulHasan IECPSDW/S : Md.ShahZahanSiddiqi CharsLivelihoodsProject : KhandakarFarzanAhmed : Md. Shafiqur Rahman Arannyak : Md. Shahadat Hosen ImprovingFoodSecurityGovernance : Mahafuz Alom
TOTAL STAFF vOLUNTEERS 3193 ( female 23%) 744 (female 95%)Female - 748 Female - 705 Male - 2445 Male - 39
AdvisorsStrategic : Dr. Allen M Armstrong Finance : David Neil Ballantyne
RDRS SenioR StaFF
ExECUTivE DiRECTORDr. Salima Rahman
ANNUAL REPORT 2013 91
Bread for the World
Church of sweden
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
ICCO Cooperation
Core(Comprehensive)Program
DanChurchAid/Church of sweden/European unionStrengtheningCommunityBasedOrg.forPro-poorDemocraticGovernance(SCOPE)
stromme FoundationEmpoweringDisadvantagedTribalPoorin North-west Bangladesh
sDLG/usAIDSDLG - Strengthening Democratic Local Governance
The Asia FoundationCommunityBasedPolicing/NationalInitiativeandResponsetoAdvancePublicOrderforDevelopment(NIRAPOD)
Department of Women’s AffairsVulnerable Group Development (VGD) Programme
German Development Cooperation/GIZIncreasingAccesstoJusticethroughRestorative Justice under the rule of Law
CORDAIDCommunityHealthProgrammeHealth Monitoring and Advocacy on Safe Motherhood
Evangelical Lutheran Church in AmericaImprovingEnvironmentalConditionbyPromotingSafeDrinkingWater/Sanitation
WaterAid BangladeshEnhancingEnvironmentalHealthbyCommunityOrganizationRural Wash (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene)
Global Fund to Fight for AIDs Tuberculosis & MalariaTuberculosisControlProgramme(round10)
Nova Consultancy Bangla/CORDAIDStrengthening the Rural Health Service at Grassroots level
Kik Textilien & Non Food GMBHImprovingWATSANandPersonalHygiene
World Food ProgrammeSchoolFeeding/FoodforEducationProgramImprovingMaternalandChildNutrition(IMCN)Program
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Japan/LLT-JapanPrimaryEducationfortheDisadvantageChildrenSecondaryEducationfortheDisadvantagedChildren
save the Children/European unionSHIKHONPhaseII
save the Children/usAIDPROTEEVA-PromotingTalentthroughEarlyEducationPROTEEVA-CommunitySchoolActivityREAD-ReadingEnhancementforAdvance Development
Manusher Jonno FoundationEnsuringChildren’sRightstoQualityEducationinN/WBangladeshScalingupCommunityScoreCardinPrimaryEducationAction for Greater Responsive of Nation-buildingInstitutions
uNEsCOStrengtheningNFEDeliveryforSustainabilityofCECs
university of Manitoba, CanadaPrimaryEducationforCharChildren
Directorate of Primary EducationManagement of School Feeding ProgrammeinPovertyProneAreas
Arannyak FoundationRestoration and conservation ofbio-diversity in Singra Sal Forest, Dinajpur
DanChurchAid/European unionImprovingFoodSecurityGovernanceAlleviatingPovertyThroughDisasterRisk Reduction in N/W Bangladesh
ICCO Cooperation, Light for the World, and The Leprosy Mission (TLM)/European unionGaibandhaFoodSecurityforUltraPoorWomen
Department For International DevelopmentCharsLivelihoodsProgramme
Bangladesh Ministry of Agriculture/European unionPromotionofFoodSecuritythroughSoilFertility Management in Hilly Areas
International Rice Research InstituteSustainableIntensificationofRice/MaizeProductionStressTolerantRiceforPoorFarmersinAfrica and South Asia
Practical Action BangladeshPartnershipinParticipatoryMarketSystem Development
CIAT & IFPRIHarvestPlusChallengeProgram
Cornell universityFoodForProgressforBangladesh
Bongobondhu sheikh Mozibur Rahman Agriculture universityCropIntensificationinNorthernRegionof Bangladesh
Church of swedenSocialPerformanceManagement
RAKuB/ADBNorth-westCropDiversification
Palli Karma sahayak FoundationCreditProgramSupportProgramInitiativeforMongaEradicationLearningandInnovationFundtoTestNewIdeasCommunityClimateChange
92 ANNUAL REPORT 2013
acRonymS
AGRONI ActionforGreaterResponsiveofNation-buildingInstitutions
CBP CommunityBasedPolicing
CCCP CommunityClimateChangeProject
CIAT InternationalCenterforTropicalAgriculture
CLP CharsLivelihoodsProject
FBFP FoodforProgressforBangladeshProject
Fs-sFC Food Security through Soil Fertility Management
FFs Farmer Field School
GFsuPW GaibandhaFoodSecurityforUltraPoorWomen
IWs & PH ImprovingWaterSanitationandPersonalHygiene
IMCN ImprovingMaternalandChildNutrition
IECPsDWs ImprovingEnvironmentalConditionbyPromotingSafeDrinkingWaterandSanitation
IFPRI InternationalFoodPolicyResearchInstitute
MF Microfinace
NFE NonFormalEducation
RAKuB Rajshahi Kirishi Unnayan Bank
sDLG Strengthening Democratic Local Governance
sCOPE StrengtheningCommunityBasedOrganizationforPro-poorDemocraticGovernance
sFP SchoolFeedingProgram
sNEDM SustainableNon-formalEducationDeliveryMechanism
VDMC VillageDisasterManagementCommittee