"And still the questions continued..."

We Pakistani NGO visitors are an inquisitive bunch and can’t seem to stop asking questions. I got the feeling that sometimes our hosts were a bit tired of answering questions—one of them even said, “I’ve never hosted a group like this ever before”! At the same time they liked that we had so many questions because it showed our commitment to thoroughly understand the project and implement it properly. Or, as properly as one can implement an experimental pilot.

Unfortunately, there’s always a risk when trying to replicate successful projects. Its not just project design that guarantees success, its many, many other factors, especially the most important one of all; the human factor. It sounds cliché but that’s the only phrase that adequately describes what guarantees whether a project fails or succeeds. If a group of people cannot adapt themselves or a project to achieve desired results, no matter how much work is put into it or even money, it won’t succeed. That’s why development organizations spend so much time having field staff conduct village meetings, workshops and just general motivation. You can only help those who are willing to be helped.

I digress…Bangladesh adventures continued the next day as we spent an inordinate amount of time travelling through northern parts of Bangladesh. We first went to observe a Village Organization (VO) meeting of graduated members of the TUP programme. Many of these women are now BRAC microfinance clients but many are not. They are not expected to be, not everyone can be an entrepreneur and not everyone is willing to risk their [now] stable livelihood. These women are generally very impressive; I met an 80-year-old woman who had been part of the TUP project. I thought that her age alone would have precluded her but as it turns out she was quite willing and able to participate. She started out with livestock and now also has land that she cultivates and to top it off, she’s a spiritual healer!

After we left the meeting, we headed off to [yet another] BRAC branch office where we learnt about their legal aid project. Rural communities don’t have access to legal advice regarding various issues that they face and BRAC trains staff in basic legal advice that they can help villagers sort out or their problems or at least understand them better. They also provide third party arbitration in the case of disputes. If the legal aid programme officers cannot help out, then a professional team of lawyers is present at BRAC to provide further help.

After the legal aid clinic and our lunch break we saw the final support service that the TUP project offers to its members. And its by far the best one, the Village Poverty Reduction Committee [or as its called in Bangla: Gram Daridron Bimochon Committee—GDBC]. The GDBC is a committee made up of local community members who are activists within their community; the group of people who stand up for their community and its rights and who aid the poorer members of their village. In short, the socially responsible community members. Of course, social responsibility tends to be a lot easier when you have money to spread around without worrying that your family will go hungry without the money that you just gave away and so its not unexpected that most GDBC members are the elite of their community. They tend also to be educated or hold a steady job or have large portions of agricultural land.

The point of the GDBC is to be a direct support to the TUP beneficiaries in whatever way they need it. No matter how well spread out BRAC is, BRAC staff cannot be with every TUP member 24/7 and problems occur anytime, anywhere. The GDBC is the first group that TUP members can turn to since they are already living in the same community. It’s also a way of involving the elite members of a community rather than usurping their positions as caretakers of their community.
GDBC’s have the following objectives:
• Ensuring social security
• Ensuring asset security
• Ensuring a suitable working environment (social acceptance)
GDBC’s also have the following specific responsibilities:
1. Provide tin roof [for shed of livestock/poultry] for all TUP members
2. Ensure safe drinking water
3. Ensure sanitation
4. Ensure health care treatment
5. Ensure plantation—2 plants for each household
6. Ensure admission for all school-age children & ensure admittance
7. Ensure family planning availability/awareness
8. Ensure immunization for all children aged 0-5 years
9. Ensure tetanus toxoid (T.T.) vaccine to all women aged 15-45 years
10. Ensure government & non-government facilities through community mobilization

We got to see a GDBC meeting in action—they meet once a month to discuss the general status of the TUP enterprises in their village, to follow up on problems highlighted at previous meetings and to ask if the TUP members currently have any new problems that they need aid for. It is important to understand that BRAC does not expect GDBC members to pay out of their pocket for all unforeseen circumstances that a TUP beneficiary may face. The GDBC is expected to help by motivating the entire community to come to the aid of one of their own rather than immediately expecting help from BRAC [who will give it if no alternative can be found]. It’s good for BRAC because they end up conserving their resources but, more importantly, it is teaching a community about self-governance and organisation so that they can eventually help not only the ultra-poor in their village but also for other needs (e.g. organising sanitation for everyone rather than waiting for an NGO to come around and help out). In some ways, the GDBC is as important a component of the BRAC TUP programme as the enterprise itself because it has equally far-reaching consequences. I think this new wave of participation and community organizations [in development work] is here to stay rather than simply a fad because it works in reality rather than just theory. It gives a new meaning to grassroots activism in a way that is fresh and yet is also plain common sense. After all a project where you actually get to decide what you need [rather than the ‘perceived’ need] is bound to be way more successful.