JICA, as a part of its technical cooperation program, sends JOCV (Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer) to more than 75 developing countries since 1960s. JOCV have been "working with people and community" at grassroots in various fields to help local people improve their social and economic livelihood.
JOCV and PRDP-2
As of May 2007, total nine Community Development JOCVs are working with PRDP-2; five in Kalihati, Tangail; two in Meherpur Sadar, Meherpur; and two in Titas, Comilla. Another JOCV will join in the coming July making total manpower ten. One Senior JOCV Program Officer is assigned at BRDB HQ to make good coordination between JOCV and PRDP-2.
Each JOCV has two-year term of service, and they select one PRDP-Union to work. UDO, Organizer and JOCV work together as one team to serve for the union. During their two-year stay all JOCVs get accustomed to Bengali language to the extent that they can share local culture and even sense of values with local people. They establish firm human relationship and trusteeship with both project staffs and local people whom they work with. Though their working style and behavior are not necessarily identical because of different background and way of life, one thing is sure that they remain in the memory of local people for a long time due not only to their work done but also to sincere attitude and behavior.
UDOs' View on JOCV Colleagues
Khaled Hossain, UDO, Jiarkandi, Titash, Comilla sees the contribution of a woman JOCV is great in forming and motivating Mohila Dal. She is not alone in doing this job, rather UDO/O and JOCV are always working together. While UDO/Os are bound by Project rules and targets, she is free from this binding. This is the difference.
Nilkanto Biswas, UDO, Jagatpur, Titash, Comilla comments: Before the present UDO/O have been assigned here, Mr. Masaya Fukumoto (JOCV) had been almost alone in formulating GCs, arranging and managing monthly GCMs and even UCCM. We now have Mr. Satoshi Mashimo working with us. Both are very friendly. They can communicate with us and the villagers in very polite manner, though they had a great difficulty in catching up with Bangla when they first came here. They had to overcome the language problems before serving local people properly. We know villagers are very pleased to see JOCVs are working closely with us. The big difference between JOCV and us is that while JOCV are volunteers and not bound by various Project assignments and targets, we are!
My Precious Experience in Bangladesh
I was lucky to have worked with PRDP. PRDP has a flexible framework to allow field level staffs including JOCV to freely communicate with officers of LMC and JICA experts. In a few occasions, points of view and suggestions brought up by us could even modify courses of project implementation. Within this 'flexibility' I conducted an ananda education program for my village children and mushroom farming for village women without loosing my own ownership in spite of the fact that they were somewhat out of purview of PRDP.
Living in a village house, talking and sharing ideas with village people, I experienced and learned so many things from the grassroots, which have become my lifetime assets. Back in Japan, I wish to make best use of these assets for the betterment of my country fellow, too.!
"Woman Can Do It!" : Active MDs in
Narandia Union
In my two-year services as a JOCV, the most pleasant thing is that I have witnessed remarkable improvement in Mohila Dal (MD) of some villages. At the first stage, members were hesitant to saying anything at the meeting. How to make self-introduction was the most important agenda at the first time. However, through holding regular monthly meetings and having some trainings, many members were gradually but steadily gaining self-confidence in speaking up in public, in which I actually put the topmost importance in my activities of "empowering women".
For an example, I would like to share one particular event with all of you, which was the most surprising but the most pleasant event. It happened when a sanitation scheme was going on in Jodurpara village. As a part of procedures to implement the sanitation scheme, they had to hold a para-meeting. Those who could hardly introduce themselves in public before, did manage this meeting all by themselves even including such an agenda as how to disseminate the importance of setting sanitary latrine at the entire village level. This made me confident that "women can do it". I believe that we will see many such MD like Jodurpara in near future. I hope that MD activities will surely contribute to the empowerment of village women, which will have huge impact on bringing changes in their way of life.
"Vote of Thanks to Everyone of You"
First of all, I would like to express my appreciation from the bottom of my heart to every single person who is with PRDP. Without your cooperation, we, JOCV, are not able to carry out our activities smoothly and effectively. Back in Japan, I am now admitting this simple fact. During my two-year carrier in Bangladesh, I could do what I wanted to do, just because I could always get support from you
I could learn so many things by working with PRDP. Working daily with my villagers and Union Parishad, a firm idea came up to my mind; community development can not be achieved unless the local governance, which is the function of Union Parishad, will be more strengthened.
I hope that PRDP will soften various problems that villages and villagers face every day by strengthening the function of Union Parishad. I would like to thank all of you again and wish PRDP project a success.
Two New JOCVs join Kalihati
Ms. Akiko Biyajima (right) and Mr. Akimi Fujii (left) joined Kalihati team on 23 April as the replacement of three JOCVs who left Bangladesh on 5 April. The two JOCVs have been placed in Narandia and Paikora union respectively, and begun efforts to getting themselves adapted quickly to the new assignment.
Successful Polio Vaccination through
GC/MD Gathering
Last 8 April 2007 was the Polio Vaccination Day. A Ward Health Assistant Ms. Samsun Nahar of Bangra Union, Kalihati found only two babies waiting her on the day. People of the Ward were neither informed of the event nor conscious about how it was necessary. The next day, 9 April happened to be the day of forming Gram Committee (GC) and Mohila Dal (MD) at Dewtola village, where most of the villagers assemble at the gram general meeting. The Ward Health Assistant was advised by us to come to the gathering and motivate the villagers for taking the vaccine. Following her campaign, instantly, the HA saw 70 mothers making a queue holding children in their arms. The children took the polio vaccine, high-powered vitamin A capsule and an antiparasitic tablet.
New Challenge of Making GCs "Umbrella GCs"
I was attending a JCC-cum-Orientation meeting at Meherpur Sadar on one day in April 2007. I felt like 'wow' when a chairman of GC opined why not trying to organize more versatile GC as we have in our gram not just PRDP-2 but many other NGOs and other organizations carrying out their respective programs. Next morning, I, along with Mr. Mahbubur Rahman, ex-PD and now JICA Consultant, visited his gram, Halsonapara of Kutubpur union. We suggested him to try to organize a meeting with seven more organizations operating in his gram. We encouraged him that PRDP-2 GC can be an 'umbrella GC' of the other seven organizations as the GC is comprised of representatives of para, or somaj, or sometimes gusti-based subunits of a gram, covering all the gram theoretically, while other organizations are normally target-group-based. His response was active.
We have suggested UDOs/Os of Pirojpur, two unions of Titas and 11 unions of Kalihati to follow Halsonapara GC, taking just one well-organized GC in each union, in the first place. We may call this GC an 'umbrella GC', and the new gram committee an 'Integrated GC' (IGC). The outcome is, however, yet to be awaited.
Khaled Hossain, UDO, Jiarkandi, Titash, Comilla sees the contribution of a woman JOCV is great in forming and motivating Mohila Dal. She is not alone in doing this job, rather UDO/O and JOCV are always working together. While UDO/Os are bound by Project rules and targets, she is free from this binding. This is the difference.
I was lucky to have worked with PRDP. PRDP has a flexible framework to allow field level staffs including JOCV to freely communicate with officers of LMC and JICA experts. In a few occasions, points of view and suggestions brought up by us could even modify courses of project implementation. Within this 'flexibility' I conducted an ananda education program for my village children and mushroom farming for village women without loosing my own ownership in spite of the fact that they were somewhat out of purview of PRDP.
In my two-year services as a JOCV, the most pleasant thing is that I have witnessed remarkable improvement in Mohila Dal (MD) of some villages. At the first stage, members were hesitant to saying anything at the meeting. How to make self-introduction was the most important agenda at the first time. However, through holding regular monthly meetings and having some trainings, many members were gradually but steadily gaining self-confidence in speaking up in public, in which I actually put the topmost importance in my activities of "empowering women".
First of all, I would like to express my appreciation from the bottom of my heart to every single person who is with PRDP. Without your cooperation, we, JOCV, are not able to carry out our activities smoothly and effectively. Back in Japan, I am now admitting this simple fact. During my two-year carrier in Bangladesh, I could do what I wanted to do, just because I could always get support from you
Ms. Akiko Biyajima (right) and Mr. Akimi Fujii (left) joined Kalihati team on 23 April as the replacement of three JOCVs who left Bangladesh on 5 April. The two JOCVs have been placed in Narandia and Paikora union respectively, and begun efforts to getting themselves adapted quickly to the new assignment.
