Light in the dark
Md. Zahidul Haque celebrates an endeavour
Spark of Light in Poverty Alleviation
And Rural Development for a Quarter
Century Mohammad Hossain Bhuiyan
Md. Sekender Ali
Dipshikha
Spark of Light In Poverty Alleviation and Rural Development for A Quarter Century is actually a research report composed by two eminent faculty members of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University (SAU), Dhaka, Prof. Mohammad Hossain Bhuiyan and Associate Prof. Dr. Md. Sekender Ali and published on the occasion of 25 years of Dipshikha, an international non-formal education, training, and research society for village development. The book contains data-based information with research findings and interpretations about the development activities rendered by Dipshikha during its 25 years of dedicated service to its client system, donor agencies and development workers. In 1984, Dipshikha took birth as a silent social movement from grassroots level initiated by some self-driven and self-motivated non-elites who ranged from school teachers to local leaders. Since its inception Dipshikha has been working with the least educated downtrodden people in the field of agriculture, education, health and sanitation, human rights and good governance and has succeeded in attaining significant achievement in the sector of socio-economic development in Bangladesh and elsewhere.
Poverty is one of the major problems in Bangladesh. It signifies an inability to afford basic food and non-food items to people. The Bangladesh government has been working hard to alleviate poverty. Dipshikha has also its poverty alleviation programme, which is being implemented through its Group Based Approach (GBA) and Family Development Approach (FDA). According to research findings related in the book, both GBA and FDA have been effective in poverty alleviation, enhancing the numbers of the upper middle class from 16 % to 37.40, which indicates a significant drop in the percentage of extreme poor to poor people. According to the book, Dipshikha has introduced many income generation activities to contain poverty. Agricultural innovations were transferred and training extended to diffuse new technologies into the social system. The book also contains findings on Dipshikha's accomplishment in the fields of education, health and sanitation. During the last quarter century, Dipshikha has established nearly 404 pre-schools in different areas of Dinajpur and Sirajgonj districts and ensured elementary education for 16,620 children. It has made outstanding accomplishments in the health and sanitation sector as well. It has ensured supply of safe arsenic-free drinking water for 98.8% people of its project area and sanitary latrines for 47.9% beneficiaries.
In a nutshell, Dipshikha has made remarkable achievements in making people self-reliant and poverty-free.
The book is divided into eight chapters. The first chapter focuses on the development perspectives in Bangladesh by the government and NGOs in relation to the national and millennium goals (MDGs) set by the United Nations. The rest of the chapters deal with Dipshikha's activities and outcome as also research findings.
The work indeed shows the spark of light generated by the persistent efforts of Dipshikha towards promoting human welfare and rural development. The book can serve as an excellent reference for development workers as also for those planning development projects in rural Bangladesh.
Professor M Zahidul Haque is associated with Sher-e-Bangla University, Dhaka.
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