Bangladesh project profile

Chitalmari ADP

Education
Although 90 percent of children enrol in primary school, many drop out due to poverty, the need to do domestic chores or distance. Few girls complete secondary school as they often marry when they are 10 - 14 years old.

The ADP provides textbooks and furniture to schools, constructs and repairs classrooms and runs coaching classes for children.

Health
There are insufficient government health facilities in Chitalmari ADP and medicine and trained staff are in short supply. Most babies are born in unhygienic conditions, putting mothers and children at risk of infection and disease. Malnutrition is common.

World Vision trains and equips traditional birth attendants and volunteer health workers and provides health centres with medical supplies. It holds community events to promote nutrition, basic healthcare and HIV/AIDS prevention.

Water
Most households use pond or river water for drinking and cooking. This has many impurities, including naturally occurring arsenic. Regular intake of high levels of arsenic causes various illnesses, especially skin diseases.

The ADP trains water and sanitation committees to clean, manage and maintain water sources. It supplies water filters to reduce arsenic to an acceptable level and educates the community to prevent arsenic poisoning.

Agriculture
Local crops include rice, tomatoes, coconuts, beans and watermelons. As yields are low because of traditional farming methods and poor soil condition, most households experience food shortages for four months a year. Half of the land is adversely affected by sea water from the nearby Bay of Bengal and lowland areas are frequently flooded during the rainy season.

The ADP promotes vegetables to improve nutrition, provides good quality seed to farmers and uses demonstration plots to train farmers in modern farming techniques such as composting. Farmers can apply for low-interest loans from the ADP to purchase agricultural equipment or develop their farms.

Income generation
Although 60 per cent of the working population are involved in agriculture and prawn cultivation occupy, during the rainy season farmers look for alternative methods of income generation, such as casual labouring or bamboo crafts. Some families migrate to other areas in search of employment.

World Vision has established 280 small savings societies called ‘development groups’. Group members, mostly women, regularly contribute small amounts of money regularly to a pooled fund from which they can later borrow to establish small businesses. They receive training in literacy, credit management, bookkeeping and small business activities such as beef-fattening, poultry-raising, fish and prawn farming and sewing.

Leadership development
World Vision trains community leaders in leadership and project management skills so they can continue to run development activities. Disaster management committees have been formed in each village. They are trained to prevent and respond to emergency situations.

Sustainable development
World Vision started the Chitalmari Area Development Programme in October 1991. It is training the community’s leaders to continue managing sustainable development initiatives without World Vision’s direct assistance. We will keep you updated on the community’s progress.