AKM Shirajul Islam Executive Director, BASA
Bangladesh Association for Social Advancement (BASA) is a non-governmental, non-profitable, non-political development organization established in 1991 with the objective to empower the distressed, underprivileged; especially the deprived and vulnerable people and to improve their quality of life.
During it’s 24 years of working tenure BASA focused on providing basic education, poverty alleviation through skill development and micro credit support, awareness raising, capacity building through training, food security, water- sanitation and hygiene promotion, health services & health education, addressing environment and climate change issues for sustainable development. From the very beginning BASA tries to expand its’ development program all over the country. As a result BASA is now exists in 17 districts. BASA has its’ own training center named BASA Training and Research Center (BTRC) at Pekua, Mirzapur, Tangail.
BASA’s Micro Credit Programme
Bangladesh Association for Social Advancement (BASA) started Micro Finance Programme for poverty alleviation since 1991. BASA’s Micro Finance Programme covers poor and ultra poor. This programme is continuously expanding in different villages of its working area. The component of microfinance program are (1) Jagoron (2) Sufolon (3) Agrasor (4) Buniad
BASA has a part from micro-credit program the following programme
Eid Gift for Life Programme
Coordination with schools is done during Eid-Ul-Fitre wherein boxes are placed in schools for students to put their gift in the boxes which are distributed to the poor children in the working areas of BASA. Gift certificates are sold at different costs depending on gift items. The value of the items is used to provide poultry and livestock in kind to carry out IGA by the disadvantaged and hard core women and their families.
Life-Skill
It is an important programme of BASA for the improvement of BASA staff, beneficiaries and desired stakeholder’s skill & capacity BASA is providing certain training programmes to build up demand based skill. There is a well equipped residential training centre known as BTRC at Pekua, Mirzapur, Tangail besides branch offices are equipped with all possible facilities.
Rural Orphan and Disabled Assistance Programme
A total of 19 orphan children of age between 5 and 12 have been selected and necessary care and support is being provided. BASA provides support to them for ensuring their attendance in schools.
Vulnerable Group Development
To increase the economic status of ultra poor people, some NGO have been engaged in several Upazila of the districts of Bangladesh by Department of Women Affairs (DWA) for making them self-reliant. BASA is under contract to operate the programme at Bandarban and Rangamati district covering Thansi and Naikhansari Upazilas of Bandarban and Barkal and Baghaichari of Rangamati district.
Water and Sanitation Project
BASA is working for developing water and sanitation facilities in small town like Shakhipur Municipality. In time earth the achievement of the government objectives in water and sanitation field BASA is marking for installing appropriate facilities for availability of drinking water, promoting hygiene education and creating facilities for sanitation. The project formed Adolescents group at Community level and strengthened Students Brigade, Boy Scout and Girls Guide to execute advocacy program and mobilize people to move for achieving their WASH rights.
Environment Programme
BASA is working for the conservation of the environment at the local and with the international level. It is actively involved in raising the awareness of the people on the importance of biodiversity and the environmental impact on Bangladesh. It is also active in its campaign against air, water and noise pollution.
Learning and Earning Development Program
“Learning and Earning Development” is a project of ICT Division of Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology. This development Project is designed for local freelancers to provide them with the opportunity of online outsourcing worldwide and to train the freelancers nationwide to strengthen their skills and awareness.. “Learning and Earning” will help to leverage ICT for the country’s next stage of growth (growth in the number of e-government services) and development. This project will serve the purpose of materializing the increase of foreign exchange earning in Bangladesh by outsourcing diversification. BASA completed 12 training at 6 Upazillas.
Skill Enhancement Training program
The main objective of the program is to: create a readily employable workforce to be absorbed in the IT/ITES sector by the Industry, increase self employment opportunities and upgrade skill of employees working in the IT/ITES enabling its growth with better qualified human resources.
IPAS project, BASA
The objective of this project to implement Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) activities in Deulabari Union under Ghatail Upazilla to: increase women’s access to safe Menstrual Regulation (MR), Post abortion care (PAC), and post MR/PAC FP services create a supportive environment for MR/PAC and FP involving multiple segments of people at the community level and enhance the self-esteem and decision-making abilities of community members through positive gender and values trainings; and ultimately develop a SBCC strategy at the community level by the community people.
RERMP -2 Project, BASA
The objective of the project are to graduate women headed households from ultra poverty, support government initiatives to sustainably reduce hunger and poverty, year round maintaince of rural access roads to markets and service centers.
Samridhi Project, BASA
Through this project named SAMRIDHI funded by Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) 35 schools have been set up to bring the drop out students into these schools and help them preparing school lessons inorder to ensure their attendance inn the regular school under this program 20 health nurse, 2 Medical assistant and 1 project coordinator are working in project areas. To provide health care services.
CCBA Project
The specific objectives are to build capacity of small and marginal farmer on production of high value horticulture and poultry products based on market demand, create awareness on post harvest loses and production of safe and environment friendly high value agro-processed food, ensure the supply of safe and high-quality products to the Bangladeshi consumers, develop and disseminate of appropriate technology on high value agro processing , prevent food losses by:-Improving the farm-and village-level post harvest practices and storage structure and Creating facilities for handling and processing of fresh produce in a safe way.
