Institute for Development, Education and Action (IDEA)

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2014-07-31T05:17:00.001-07:00

CONDOLENCE MESSAGES FOR THE LATE RABIAL MALLICK

2011-05-07T04:25:00.000-07:00

CONDOLENCE MESSAGES FOR THE LATE RABIAL MALLICK

April 11, 2010

Dear IDEA Team,

On behalf of Habitat International Coalition Board Members, structures and HIC members and friends, I would like to express our most sincere condolences on the recent passing of our HIC Board Member and also sweet friend, Rabial.

No comfort is quite enough to replace the loss and we wish to send our thoughts and prayers to you at this difficult time.

Please pass our deepest sympathies on to his wife and daughter.

Very sincerely,
Habitat International Coalition (HIC)
General Secretariat Team
Ana, Charlotte, Gladys, Marie, Pablo, Shelley

Marie
Membership Contact
Habitat International Coalition (HIC) General Secretariat
Coronel Santiago Bueras 142, Of. 22
8320135 Santiago – Chile
Tel: +56-2-664 1393 +56-2-664 1393
Email: marie@hic-net.org
Skype address: mariehicgs

April 15, 2010

I extend our deepest condolence from Jaintia Shinnomul Songstha (JASHIS). May Allah rest his departed soul with peace.

regards
ATM Badrul Islam Executive DirectorJASHIS, Sylhet, Bangladesh

April 15, 2010

Dear Rabial’s Family and IDEA Team
It is hard to believe that what I heard from Somsook/ACHR is true. It is shocking, simply unbelievable that Rabial is no more.

The fact is that on returning from Vietnam on Monday, I sent him and Sheela Patel a letter asking if we could take joint responsibility to organize a community architects' meeting in India for ACHR.

I did not know that he would never read that letter as he had left for the other world.

It is terrible. I do not know what is wrong. We are losing some very special individuals one after the other. Peter, Ken. Now Rabial.

My association with Rabial is more than two decades old. He first landed up, some time in '80s, in Ahmedabad, unannounced, with plans, ideas and aspirations in his kitty on strengthening PROUD--People's Responsible Organization for United Dharavi--and development of Dharavi slum. I did not know him then. But his enthusiasm, his burning desire to do things for the disadvantaged and the deprived, his commitment and his vision were infectious. I became his admirer. That led to our doing many things together, including CIDHA--Citizens' for Dharavi, for which I prepared a long note. What is remarkable about Rabial is that, over two decades that I knew him, despite disappointments and setbacks, his passion for doing things for the pavement and slum dwellers never wavered. Last time I spoke to him, a few months ago, he was calling from Mumbai and was very low seeing things at Dharavi. I asked him, “What keeps you going, Rabial? His answer was typical of him. He said," What option do I have? What has been started has to be done. People are being cheated ".

This is a rude shock for all of you as it has come prematurely. There is no way you could be prepared. And how does one prepare for such disasters?

We will miss him always. More than us, thousands of poor for whose good and benefit he worked all his life.

He was a very special individual. And that makes his going that much more difficult. We pray for strength to you all. We know the world has collapsed for you. We pray for his peace in the God's heaven

In deep sorrow
Kirtee Shah and all at ASAG and INHAF

April 13, 2010

Dear Mrs. Mallick,

We have just learned of the passing of Rabial. We are in shock along with everyone else. It’s with great sadness that we acknowledge the passing of your beloved husband and my friend. Rabial was as fine a gentleman as any person I’ve ever known. He certainly worked tirelessly on behalf of those who didn’t have a voice or whose voice was not heard.

I know Rabial was devoted to you, your family, friends, and his work. We will remember him as a lion in the fight to help those less fortunate. His community organizing work stands as a testament to the greatness of his conviction and ability to make a difference in the world. He will be missed by all.

As you know, I first met Rabial in 1980 in Mumbai when he was an organizer for PROUD and trained by Herb and Jessica Fernandez White. I was fortunate to reconnect with Rabial in the last several years through the efforts of George Todd and Leon Howell. Rabial hosted an IRD staff assessment in India several years ago and provided contacts and information for registration.

Barely a year ago, Rabial spent a week with IRD and contributed to our own institutional study of community organizing theory and practice. He made a major presentation to a standing-room-only audience of our staff. We all enjoyed meeting him and we formed a good working relationship. He was also able to spend several hours with Leon before Leon’s demise last February.

Just last month, our staff consulted with Rabial about the feasibility of doing a project with Tamil refugees in India. We are confident that the IDEA staff will be successful in assisting vulnerable people in India and in keeping Rabial’s pragmatic vision alive.

Please accept my sincere condolences and those of the worldwide IRD staff. I hope you are able to find some measure of comfort during this difficult time. We will keep you and your family in our thoughts.

Sincerely,
Dr. Arthur B. Keys, Jr.

Tue, April 13, 2010

What a great loss to the world of community organizing! Rabial was a pioneer in field of organizing the urban poor in the major cities, MUMBAI, KOLKATA, BANGALORE and DELHI. He moved with political leaders, ,administrators ,scholars on equal footing and with grace and at the same time, mingled with the uneducated ,poor and down-trodden in the various urban centres with love and affection ,instilling hope and self-respect in them, I have known Rabial as a dear colleague since early 1980s and we have been close to each other ever since. There are so many good qualities in Rabial I can talk of. But one quality out-shines others. HE WAS SO LOYAL, HELPFUL AND HOSPITABLE TO HIS COLLEAGUES BOTH IN CISRS and WCSRC and also to his friends all over India and abroad. Rabial called me two days before his sad demise around 10 pm and we spent about half an hour talking to each other. Two things he was very concerned about: Mr.A N Chatterjee's illness. He wanted me to talk to Mr.Chatterjee's son, secondly, about the future of WCSRC; we decided during this talk that we should go to Delhi during the last week of April to meet a few funding agencies to raise funds for WCSRC. As Director of WCSRC, I pay my homage to Mr.Rabial Mallick, Executive Committee member and Deputy Director of WCSRC. He was a tower of strength and encouragement to the organization when it went through a crisis period and he helped us in various ways. WCSRC WILL EVER BE GRATEFUL TO MR.RABIAL MALLICK FOR HIS CONTRIBUTION. At this moment of grief, on behalf of WCSRC AND ON MY OWN BEHALF, WE AS WCSRC FAMILY, express our heart-felt condolences TO MRS. RABIAL MALLICK AND HIS DAUGHTER.

Brindavan c Moses
Director, WCSRC

April 13, 2010

We are deeply shocked at the untimely demise of our friend and well wisher Dr. Rabial Haq Mallick.
We express deep sorrow and condolence to the members of the bereaved family and Idea and pray to God for peace of his departed soul.

Dr. Mahmudur Rahman
Chief Executive
Initiative for People's Development (IPD)
Chairperson, Dhaka Development Forum (DDF)
Vice President, Dustha Shasthya Kendra (DSK)
210, West Nakhalpara, Tejgaon, Dhaka-1215 Bangladesh.

Apr 12, 2010

Dear Friends,
We are very sad to know about the sudden demise of Mr. Rabial Mallick. Our thoughts are with his family and colleagues during this difficult time.
We express our condolence to his family and friends.

With best regards
IMSE & FIAN West Bengal Team

April 13, 2010

Dear Partners,

Words seem inadequate to express the sadness we feel; we would like to express our deepest sympathies to all the family, the staff and colleagues, during this difficult moment.

Best regards,
Éric Besner, Programme Manager and Louise Leblanc, Programme Assistant

L’ŒUVRE LÉGER
130 de l'Épée Avenue
Montreal, Quebec H2V 3T2
Canada louise.leblanc@leger.org
Telephone: 514 495-2409 Ext. 122
Fax: (514) 495-2059

April 13, 2010

We extend our deepest condolence from WaterAid Bangladesh. May Allah rest his departed soul in peace.

Regards,
Shamim Ahmed
Programme Officer - Programme Development & Advocacy
WaterAid Bangladesh
House # 97/B, Road # 25, Block - A, Banani, Dhaka - 1213
Tel: +88 (02) 8815757, 8818521 Ext 109
Fax: +88 (02) 8818521, Mob: +88 01713426789
www.wateraid.org/bangladesh

April 12, 2010, Seoul

Dear Bandita, Reshmi and IDEA Friends,
Leaders and Organizers of Community Organizations in Asia (LOCOA) friends join you in mourning the sudden passing away of Mallick. As you know, Mallick was one of the founders and leaders of LOCOA. Up to the last days of his life, he was busy with efforts to continue helping and organizing poor communities.

Mallick's unceasing committment to struggle for social change, helping organize communities change their conditions required much discipline, hardwork and sacrifices which he practised. He combined his passion for working with the poor with close family ties and a simple lifestyle.

We deeply thank you; Bandita and Reshmi, for sharing Mallick with countless lives who benefited from his work as well as accompanying him and supporting him till the end. LOCOA friends will certainly miss Mallick.

Our thoughts, prayers and support are with you.

Sincerely,
Fides

LOCOA Secretariat
91-6, Ihwa-dong,Jongno-gu
110-500 Seoul
mobile-82-10-7550-9051
landline-822-766-9251
fax-822-740-9058
homepage:http://www.locoa.net

April 12, 2010

My dear friends
I want to joint the sorrow and pain of Jhunu, Rashmi, and Shikha, the team of Idea and so many community organizers and communities from West Bengal, Mumbai and from so many parts of India who have got so much love care support and guidance from Rabial .
In the 30 years I have been in contact with Rabial, I find him always looking for ways to improve the situation of the poor lacking of water drainage, housing, and suffering from fires, eviction. He is a model not only for me but for all of us.
My best prayers snd wishes for the rest of his soul, and for all his family and friends the entire world

Jorge Anzorena

April 12, 2010

We send our deepest condolences to the Mallick family and our eternal gratitude for his work. He lives on in his work and in our memories.

Anita L. Beaty
National Coalition for the Homeless
Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless

Dear IDEA Staff:

I was able to get through to Mrs. Mallick who confirmed the death of her husband. Unfortunately and understandably, she was not in a condition for a prolonged conversation.

Would you do us a favor then? Kindly send us details surrounding Mallick's death, memorial service, and related information. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Jessica F. & Herbert D. White

April 11, 2010

Dear Reshmi,

On behalf of REHASWISS, I am writing this letter to express our deep sorrow for your loss.

We knew Robial Mallick for a very long time and shall always remember him. He was very kind hearted friend of our organization in West Bengal. I feel that your dad is a great loss to all the people who knew him.
He was our advisor and consultant. REHASWISS is working with two NGOs in West Bengal – Protibondhi Shangha and Protibondhi Sahayak Samithi since more than two years. I used to meet him during all my project visits.

He always stood by us in all project matters.

May God bless his soul and complete all his wishes.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you, and we are sharing the burden of this great grief. May God bless you.

With love and sympathy,
Rao Satapati
(a member of REHASWISS Project Group)

REHASWISS
Postfach 7655
3001 Berne
Switzerland
www.rehaswiss.ch

April 11, 2010

Hearing the news of untimely sad demise of Mr. Rabiul Mullick really shocked us. We hereby express our heartfelt condolence for his untimely death and pray to Allah that his soul may rest in peace and fully bear with his family members.

Thanking you

Yours sincerely
MD.ALAMGIR
(TILJALA SHED, FOCUS & UBDA)
PARK CIRCUS
KOLKATA

April 11, 2010

Dear Reshmi,

We are deeply shocked to hear and see the passing away of your father, our very beloved Rabial. We feel it’s a personal loss as we recollect the many joyous moments we had shared with him and your family. We shall forever remember his smiling face filled with spirit and humour…We shall deeply miss his association in our sphere of work. He was a messiah for the poor, needy and disadvantaged who dedicated his entire life for their uplift. You'll always have fond memories of the wonderful years you spent together.

We pray for the departed soul and express our sincerest condolences to you, Bandita and others in his extended family. We also pray for you and your family to come into terms with the loss in this grey hour of bereavement.

We know no prayer is enough but still…we also know nothing can comfort this heart-wrenching feeling but life has to go on. Hope you will find enough inner strength to sustain this great loss yourself and console others. We are reminded of T.S. Eliot’s famous lines:

People smile and change, but the agony abides.
O time the destroyer is time the preserver.

Yours ever,
Prof. Sankar Basu-Mallik and family
30/3-A, N.S. Dutta Road, Howrah-711101

25 April 2010

Dear Members of IDEA,

We wish to express our deep sentiments of regret and sympathy regarding the death of Mr. Rabial Mallick. It must have happened all of a sudden and unexpectedly. In such cases it is very difficult for the surviving members of the family and friends to accept a beloved person's death in its definitiveness. We pray to God for strength for all who knew him well.

There is a time for teariness and mourning and there will be time for remembering him without pain.

Affectionately yours,

Almuth Schauber
MISEREOR, Germany

Rabial Mallick presents at IRD Office, Washinton DC

2009-03-05T23:46:00.000-08:00

Community Development Expert Rabial Mallick presents at IRD

Washington, DC — February 6, 2009 — Today, Rabial Mallick of the Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society (CISRS) and Director of IDEA, delivered his presentation “Organizing People for Power: Community Organizing Program in India” to IRD staff, based on his experiences with community development in India.

“Our greatest success was giving people self encouragement and self respect," said Mallick. "So they don’t feel guilty about the conditions they are forced to live with." Mallick discussed the principles and goals behind the CISRS-Community Organizing Training program, which began in 1979 in Dharavi, Mumbai, India. After a successful initial workshop, CISRS facilitated programs for over 200 community organizers across the country.

Since then, community organizers have been involved in promoting “People’s Organizations” such as PROUD (People’s Responsible Organization of United Dharavi). The primary goal of these organizations is to fight against the "sub-human conditions of life," enable communities to gain control over their environment and communicate "the spirit of caring."

IRD asked Mr. Mallick to share his experiences as part of an ongoing knowledge sharing initiative on successful community-based development.

IRD has worked to promote strong community participation, as well as the long-term sustainability of its interventions, since its beginnings in 1998. IRD seeks to empower informed citizens to participate in the democratic process in areas ranging from HIV/AIDS awareness to education and road building to business development. These programs are implemented in vastly different contexts — Afghanistan, Indonesia, and post-Katrina Mississippi — each with its own unique set of challenges.

Foundation Day Celebration of IDEA

2009-03-05T23:28:00.000-08:00

The 20th foundation day of IDEA was celebrated from January 23 to 25, 2009 in a grand manner at SNKA High School in Shyampur Block II, Howrah. The inaugural session of the celebrations and the start of the Agricultural & Health Fair witnessed eminent speakers with around 400 participants, mostly women.

In his welcome address, Rabial Mallick, the Director & Secretary of IDEA, delved on the work being done by his organization in sectors like education, health and sanitation, empowerment of women and girls through self-help groups, housing rights and generating environmental awareness and also training of farmers for sustainable and environmentally-friendly agriculture through use of organic fertilizers for retaining soil health and increasing production. He also informed that the block have been declared as a fully Sanitize Block.

Dr. S. K. Majhi, a well known doctor and a social activist, discussed the poor status of health in the country in spite of pledges to ensure health for all. Even after the constitution of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), the progress in the sector has been quite slow. Referring to the health of women and girls, he suggested that the nutritional component of pregnant mothers has to be given special attention. Dr. Majhi also urged the need for devolving greater responsibility in the health sector to NGOs who should generate health awareness and ensure health for all.

Ms. Anamika Maity, the saphapati of Shyampur Block-II, called on mothers to come forward and become conscious about the health of children and contact ICDS workers of and when necessary.

Prof. Hossainur Rahman, an eminent historian who was the chief guest, while comparing the status of Muslim women in the cities of Kerala and Lucknow, said that the situation in the former state is much better because education has spread there effectively. He observed that real and scientific education, which develops one’s personality and also social awareness, is the cornerstone for making women and girls conscious about the need for health. The spread of such education would also empower them to fight physical and mental torture and exploitation by religious leaders or others. Later he inaugurated the Fair.

Mr. Akkel Ali Khan, the MLA of Bagnan, pointed out that NGOs doing good work in the field of development like IDEA will receive all types of support of the state. Referring to women’s and girls, he said that 7.5 lakh women have become members of SHG in Howrah district and are coming forward to play a more constructive role in society. Mr. Khan also said that farmers have to be trained to use new technology and better farm practices in agriculture so that production and productivity increases and with it the earnings and living conditions of the community.

Among others present on the occasion were Mr. Shyamsundar Metia, gram panchayat pradhan, Mr. Dhurjati Mukherjee, Jt. Secretary of State Habitat & Environment Forum (SHEF), Mr. Amit Kumar Tung, Agriculture Development Officer of the Block and Mrs. Bandita Mallick, a school teacher. Mr. Jagannath Ghosh, former Headmaster of SNKA High School presided over the deliberations.

On January 24, a discussion was held on women’s empowerment where the need to impart education and generate social awareness amongst the opposite sex was discussed. Initiating the discussions, Mrs. Mina Ghosh Mukherjee, Savadhipati, Howrah Zila Parishad, urged the need for women and girls to become more aware about their rights and called on mothers to come forward to educate their children and also become conscious about preventive health. She urged voluntary organizations to work with the panchyats to carry forward this task. The role of IDEA in empowering women, setting up self-help groups and helping women in various ways, including imparting skilled education, to enable them to become self-sufficient was also outlined by the members of the organization. Ms. Shyamali Chakraborty and Mr. D. P. Maity of IDEA coordinated the discussions.

Krishi-O-Handicrafts Mela (23-25 January'09)

2009-02-26T00:55:00.001-08:00

Krishi-O-Handicrafts Mela (23-25 January'09)

2009-02-26T00:54:00.001-08:00

Krishi-O-Handicrafts Mela (23-25 January'09)

2009-02-26T00:53:00.002-08:00

Krishi-O-Handicrafts Mela (23-25 January'09)

2009-02-26T00:53:00.001-08:00

Krishi-O-Handicrafts Mela (23-25 January'09)

2009-02-26T00:48:00.000-08:00

Community Organizing Training Prog.-11-19 Nov'08

2009-01-12T02:00:00.000-08:00

Training cum Exposure Programme

The second training cum exposure programme of 40 community leaders and activists was held at Kolkata from November 11 to 19, 2008 which was organized by the Institute for Development Education and Action (IDEA) and Leaders and Organizers of Community Organization in Asia (LOCOA) and sponsored by SELAVIP. Around 21 delegates from over 10 organizations of Bangladesh attended the programme and 19 others from West Bengal and Kolkata representing 6 NGOs and CBOs. The programme evoked lot of interest and there were demands for conducting such trainings in Bangladesh and in India.

On the first two days (November 11 & 12), the delegates visited different tourist spot as well as slums and squatters settlements of the city to see for themselves the problems faced by the people. The visit-helped the trainees to understand the actual situation and see different facets of city life, specially the living conditions of poor people. The in-house training programme started on November 13. At the very outset, Dr. Goutam Niyogi, a historian, delved into the various phases of history of human beings before and after the birth of Christ and the social, political and economic changes brought about from time to time. The presentation tried to show the evolution of human beings and how the process of community started in society.

Another speaker on the first day of the programme was the eminent litterateur, Prof. Hossainur Rahman, who made an impassioned plea for fearlessness and courage and rising above fundamentalism and superstition, referring to Mahatma Gandhi who embraced the virtues of all religions. Man has to rise above petty religious thinking and in this context spoke about Chitanya who tried to synthesize Hinduism and Islam. He warned that the state and religion has been destroying the intrinsic value of man and the need of the hour is to develop the humane aspect of man for effective social transformation. Prof. Rahman also talked about ‘partyless democracy’ as propounded by Jayaprakash Narayan and the eventual withering away of parties which has now become embedded in corruption, malpractices and centralized decision making.

Mr. Rabial Mallick, who conducted the training and was the main speaker from the very first day, elaborated on the political, economic, social and cultural structures and how these have been misused against the interests of the poor and the underprivileged sections of society. The abuse of political power for financial gains, the growing corruption in the political domain and the unholy nexus between politicians and bureaucracy have forced common people to lose faith in the system, he said.

Regarding the economic structure, Mr. Mallick said the process of globalization and liberalization along with the growth in the GDP has benefited only a certain segment of society. According to him, industrial growth has not helped the common man because in this era of mechanization and automation, it has failed to create the necessary employment opportunities. On the other hand, income from agriculture, in which over 60 per cent of the working population are dependent, has steadily declined because of wrong policies of the government as also heavy subsidies in this sector by the Western countries.

Mr. Mallick pointed out that the number of people below the poverty line has increased in the Third World with the pressure in cities growing because of in-migration from the rural areas where there is very little growth. In most of the rural areas, the basic necessities of life specially education and health are lacking and this has forced the rural population to find shelter in the slums of cities. In fact, he said estimates indicate that Asian cities like Tokyo, Mumbai, Delhi and Dhaka would more than double by 2025.

On November 14, the participants were divided into five groups who were asked to give their views on (i) the different structures and its effect, (ii) the reason for having to stay within the orbit of these structures and (iii) the strategy to remove poverty and unemployment in the country. Though there was some confusion among the groups, the usual answers were forthcoming.

Ms. Jesmen Akthar of Shelter for the Poor and the leader of one of the groups enumerated the drawbacks of the political, economic and social systems. The group specifically referred to the districts in the rural areas and the low returns from agriculture with the poor slowly becoming incapable to fight for their justified demands and rights. An important point made by the group was that religious superstitions have come in the way of social progress.
Ms. Jesmen blamed the government for not looking at these problems and suggested the need for evolving an alternative strategy of development. Among the group suggestions were: (i) development of small and cottage industries, (ii) correcting wage disparity, (iii) impetus to small business in various ways, (iv) imparting quality and skilled education, and (v) population control.

Other presentation of the other groups harped more or less on the same points. The question of population control, spread of education, land ownership in the hands of a few, lack of employment opportunities and growing inequality in society were emphasized by the other groups. The need for decentralization of political and economic power and a more important role for women in society were emphasized by the group leaders.

After lunch, Dr. S. S. Bala, Zonal Head of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) pointed to the growing pollution in drinking water, specially in slum areas of various cities, including Kolkata. He discussed the need for waste management, including industrial waste, hospital waste and toxic waste, and setting up of sewage treatment plants for awareness generation and making the poor conscious in this regard. Several participants from Bangladesh talked of pollution in Buri Ganga because of sewage from tanneries, paper mills and dye plants and pitiable conditions of the people living in both sides of this highly polluted river.

On the third day (November 15), Mr. Mallick discussed the ten steps regarding formation of community based peoples’ organizations. Starting with the integration process, he talked of social investigation, understanding the specific problems of the community, starting awareness generation, agitate people during analyzing the issues, discussions and dialogue, motivating people to resist and take up the problems, mobilization, evaluation, deep analysis and drawing up future plan of action and ultimately developing people’s organization.

Mr. Dhurjati Mukherjee, Jt. Secretary of the State Habitat & Environment Forum (SHEF), in his presentation, harped on the environmental factor, which has become quite critical today. Referring to the all-round increase in air, water and soil pollution, he said this has disastrous impact on human health and it is always the poorer sections who suffer the most. Mr. Mukherjee said that arsenic pollution, which has affected most districts in India and Bangladesh, has attracted world-wide attention, affecting lakhs of people. Regarding the impending water crisis and its global impact, he said this may affect food production and productivity in India in the next 10 years or so.

The last speaker of the day was Prof. Imanul Haq, Human Rights Activist who showed how innovative and courageous Bengalis were in the past. He discussed how the Zamindar (landlords) class was created, trade came to be restricted and the British started looting the economic wealth of the Bengalis.

On November 16, Mr. Mallick continued his discussions on ways and means of strengthening the community and ensuring that it remained non political and free from religious influences and truly geared to serve the interests of the community. A point made by him was that the community leader has to educate himself about prevalent rules and regulations so that these could be used in favour of getting the needs and demands of the poor.

Two well presented dramas, one title ‘Rules of the Games’ and the other ‘Jago’ were staged by Chorus Ekashi and Howrah Dalit Forum respectively. With the first showing how the business community has restored to unethical means to grab power and exploit the dalits while the other portrayed discrimination against girls in life and society.

Interaction with NGOs:

On November 17, the group visited a rural area (Deora village) in Howrah district for a field visit and becoming acquainted with problems of rural areas and the work done by IDEA in organizing and empowering the community there.

On the final day November 18, Mr. Rabial Mallick deliberated on the role of community leaders and community organizers, specially in the new millennium and the emerging challenges facing them in working with the community and motivating them to fight against all forms of injustice. In the evening, the participants both from Bangladesh and also from West Bengal gave their impressions about the training and the field visits in Kolkata and Howrah cities and in the rural areas of Howrah district. An important point was made by Mr. Kaizer Alam who said that such trainings should be conducted in Bangladesh (at least twice a year) to equip the various community leaders to tackle the various types of problems faced by them in organizing the people.

The interaction between the Bangladesh delegates and leaders and community organizers of different NGOs working in an around Kolkata. At the very outset, Ms. Jesmin Aktar of Shelter for the Poor who said that the conditions of the poor in Bangladesh were indeed distressing and referred to medium quality rice which was priced at around Rs. 35. Moreover eviction has been increasing since 2001 and rehabilitation has become a major problem. She said that the NGOs with their limited resources have been trying to provide shelter and also unite the poor. Mr. Kazir Alam of Ruli Foundation spoke about corruption in the political life of his country while also talking about eviction of the poor and the street vendors. He also agreed with Ms. Jesmin about the phenomenal price rice of essential commodities like rice, oil etc.

From the India side, Md. Alamgir of Tiljala Society for Human & Educational Development and UBDA, referred to the limited power of the NGOs in fighting for the justified demands of the poor and the shelter less. He pointed out that it is often said at workshops and meetings to adopt a ‘right-based approach’ which is very difficult to implement.

Ms. Shampa Roy of Trinita Society for Social & Health Research observed that networking and unity are vital for NGOs to carry out their work. In this connection, she also said that finance is a big problem as government funds are not available in time and most NGOs are dependent on foreign grants. According to her, the thrust of NGO work should be on empowerment of women through spread of education and skilled training so as to enable them to come out into the mainstream of life and activity.

The leader of Hawker Sangram Committee, Mr. Shaktiman Ghosh, differed with Md. Alamgir. He said there was need for organized movement in a ‘fighting spirit’ to realize the demands of the poor. Mr. Ghosh visualized that, as per plans drawn up by USAID, World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (SDB), there will be no slums in cities and all these people will be evicted. Thus, he emphasized the need of mobilizing people with ‘the spirit of revolt’ and also said training was needed on how to prepare people to put up resistance against eviction.

Mr. Dhurjati Mukherjee of SHEF, in his concluding observations, observed the need for maintaining peace and harmony in society so that the government could concentrate on infrastructure development, specially in the areas of education, health, sanitation as also building roads and bridges for faster rural development. For an alternative strategy of development to become effective, he said, that sacrifice has become necessary not only of politicians but also of the people in general. Referring to Mahatma Gandhi, Mr. Mukherjee said that he believed in self-suffering to organize the masses.

Later certificates were handed over to all the participants by Mr. Mallick, Mr. Mukherjee and Mr. Al. Beeroonee of Shelter for the Poor.

Community Organizing Training Prog.-17-26 May,08

2009-01-12T01:54:00.000-08:00

Community Organizing Training Programme

A training programme on Community Organizing was held at Kolkata from May 17 to May 26, primarily for NGOs from Bangladesh where other social activists also participated. Representatives who took the training came from seven NGOs of Bangladesh which were: Shelter for the Poor, Proshika, IPD (Institute for People’s Development), DSK (Dusthya Sastha Kendra), BAWSE (Bangladesh Association for Women’s Empowerment, RULI Foundation and PROTAY and were led by Abu Rayhan Al-Beeroonee. The training programme was organized by the Institute for Development, Education & Action (IDEA) and LOCOA and sponsored by SELAVIP.

After the field visit on May 17 and 18 to some of the slums of the city (attached) and the nature of upgrading being done by the NGOs with the participation of the community, the interaction started from May 19. Prof. Hossainur Rahman, an eminent writer, set the tone of the programme by delving on the need for women’s empowerment, community organizing and also increasing economic self-reliance in society, as advocated by Mahatma Gandhi.

Rabial Mallick, the Sr. Assistant Director of CISRS and Director of IDEA, who conducted the entire training, presented the broad framework of the conditions existing in Third World from the political, economic, social and cultural perspectives. This was followed by detailed analysis of the effect of the political and economic structures on the poorer and backward sections of society.

The presentation on the economic perspective was obviously highlighted because of the so-called development of many countries while the sufferings of the poor have more or less the same. Widening inequality, the disparity between the rural and urban sectors, increasing unemployment and underemployment due to mechanization of the means of production and imbalanced development, homeless and force eviction in Asian countries, which include both India and Bangladesh, have been a matter of great concern. According to Mallick, the challenge today is how to take the movement forward. Apart from financial constraints, the challenge comes from various forces, which include the following:

(i) the politicians who have become been found to promote the interests of the rich sections of society and propagating ideas of development voiced by international financial institutions;
(ii) the bureaucracy whose class character and background alienates them from the common masses and understanding of their problems,
(iii) the judiciary which has been interpreting law from the legal angle without adherence to questions of social justice;
(iv) the industrialist class which have very little concern for taking social responsibility and welfare needs and are only interested to grab poor people's land at below market rates;
(v) the trade unionists who are only concerned about organized class and have very little concern for the vast majority of unorganized workers; and
(vi) the agents of the international institutions who have been advocating anti-poor strategies geared to serve the interests of the imperialists.

Francia Claveullas of Community Organizers Multiversity (COM), a part of LOCOA, Philippines who made presentations from time to time stressed on community power and the need to strengthen this power so as to start social movements against unjust and anti-poor acts of governments. In this connection, she stressed on interaction and community organizing as also networking with communities within and outside one’s country for building up unity and solidarity to fight the corrupt and autocratic political power structures. Francia said that one should not loose hope but have faith, courage and conviction to strengthen and build the community.

Some of the presentations of community organizers of Bangladesh merit attention. Jesmen Akter of Shelter for the Poor made certain significant points which include the following:
(i) unequal distribution of wealth;
(ii) profit-oriented industrialization and increased mechanization not creating enough employment opportunities;
(iii) industrialists grabbing land and exploiting the farmers;
(iv) corruption in the political set-up with no benefits for the common man;
(v) gender inequality whereby women are getting lower wages than their male counterparts;
(vi) law helping the rich and the powerful;
(vii) perverted culture meant just for entertainment with virtually no educational value; and
(viii) superstition and caste discrimination widely prevalent in Bangladesh and India.

Similarly, Gholam Zakaria of Proshika also spoke on the same lines of rising unemployment, increasing landless labour, rural-urban migration for livelihood, pitiable conditions of the poor with no basic amenities, force eviction and faced with exploitation from all sections.

On 23rd May 25 NGOs representatives from Calcutta NGO Forum were invited for an interaction with the community organizers of Bangkadesh. Mr. Shaktiman Ghosh of Hawkers Sangram Committee (HSC) and the International Federation of Hawkers referred to the similarity in anti eviction movements between Manila and Mumbai and also the extent of poverty between the two countries which were more or less equal. In this connection, he emphasized that though our GDP rate was very high the conditions of the poorer sections of the population had not improved and this is reflected in India’s position being 127th in HDI index. Quoting statistics, he said that 93 per cent of the work force was in the unorganized sector in India while 94 per cent was in Bangladesh.

Others who spoke at the interaction were Shampa Roy of Trinita Society for Social & Health Research who talked about his organization’s role in helping child labour in the leather sector in Kolkata and working towards stopping physical torture of women, Md. Taher of FOCUS who wanted a movement to be spearheaded by NGOs for the cause of the poor and the deprived and Dr Subir Banerjee, a social analyst, who envisaged a greater role for NGOs in bringing about the necessary social change. Mrs. Sanchita Das spoke on women empowerment and legal assistant. Some Bangladesh trainees also spoke at this interaction meeting.

The next day (May 24), the trainees were taken to the rural project site of IDEA in Shyampur Block-II in Howrah district, about 60 kms. away from Kolkata. In the morning, field visits were arranged for about 2-3 hours and discussions with local people and CBO leaders about the work of IDEA in the areas of development of SHGs, women’s empowerment, water and sanitation, self employment, housing rights, eviction etc. Rabial Mallick and D. P. Maity, Coordinator of IDEA’s rural project, explained to them the overall work being done by the organization here in the above areas while Mihir Mondal talked about the sanitation project where the IDEA has been successful in achieving almost 100 per cent sanitization in Shyampur-II block.

The Bangladesh trainees and the IDEA community organizers exchanged views about process of development work in these two countries and the role of community organizers to organize the community and develop grassroot leadership. It appeared that the Bangladesh trainees were quite impressed with the quality of work being done by IDEA, specially the SHG (Self Help Group-Micro Credit) work where interest is not taken by the NGO but kept with the members of the SHG for their welfare. Moreover the role of women in SHG work impressed them greatly.

On the final day (May25), the strategies and tactics to build and develop community organizations was outlined by Rabial Mallick and the role of the leadership in this regard, specially to dealt with eviction issue. He stressed that the plan of action at the short term, medium term and long term have to be kept ready keeping in view the socio-economic and political realities. Francia, who also spoke stressed on three vital aspects which include asserting pressure tactics, building people’s power and generating hope and confidence to strengthen the community.

At the concluding session, all the trainees of Bangladesh and also of Kolkata pointed out that the training has been very fruitful and would help them in their future work. The community organizers from Bangladesh, most of who were women, said that they would try to implement what they have seen and learned in their locality to strengthen the community and make their voice heard. The interaction, no doubt helped develop solidarity and fellow feeling between the community organizers of Bangladesh and India.

Field Visit of Bangladesh Team

The Bangladesh team arrived in Kolkata on May 16. The next two days they visited the city and different slums at Howrah and Kolkata. The Bhagar (dumping ground) slum is situated at the outskirts of Howrah town and around 1500 families have been living at an abandoned housing site for the last 10 to 15 years. These people have been living in a most unhygienic condition with lack of water and sanitation. After this visit, they went to Bellilious Park to see the area where there was a slum with 2000 families living for around 80 to 90 years. But these families were mercilessly evicted without any rehabilitation way back in 2002. The Bangladesh teams were shown a mall and an amusement park that has come up in the evicted area.

Another dalit slum the team visited was at Jogmaya (also in Howrah) where scavengers have been living for years together. The lease of the land, which was taken by the Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC) where the slum is situated, expired sometime in 1996-97 but the land was not returned by the HMC. The families living in the slums are under threat of eviction and as such they have taken the initiative of starting negotiations with the landlord and the HMC for land sharing and in-situ development of this slum. This was greatly appreciated by the Bangladesh team who saw this to be a noble gesture.

In Kolkata, the community visited a 100 year old slum at Kidderpore (under the Kolkata Municipal Corporation) near the Calcutta Port Trust (CPT). The residents were earlier mostly employees of CPT but now other families are also living in this slum. There have been some unauthorized construction in this place and, as there is no threat of eviction, about 200 thousand people continue to live in this slum. To improve the basic necessities, many CBOs specially Busteebasi Samanyya Samity (BSS) have been working for development of this slum.

The Bangladesh team was impressed by the work being done by the CBOs and had interaction with some community organizers.

Community Organizing Training Programme

2008-12-02T21:33:00.000-08:00

Community Oranizing Training Programme

2008-12-02T21:32:00.000-08:00

Community Organizing Training Programme

2008-12-02T21:31:00.000-08:00

CO Training Programme, Phase - II

2008-12-02T21:30:00.000-08:00

CO Training Programme, Phase - II

2008-12-02T21:29:00.000-08:00

CO Training Programme, Phase - II

2008-12-02T21:27:00.000-08:00

CO Training Programme - Phase II

2008-12-02T21:24:00.000-08:00

CO Training Program Phase-2

2008-11-23T22:13:00.000-08:00

Community Organizing-CO Training-cum- Exposure Programme held at Seva Kendra, Kolkata on 13th to 17th November, 2008, organised by IDEA & LOCOA, sponsored by the SELAVIP. About 45 NGO and CBO leaders from Bangadesh and India participated the training programme.

Community Organizing Training, Second Phase

2008-11-18T23:39:00.000-08:00

This week IDEA has completed the Second Phase of the CO Training succesfully.