MISSION STATEMENT

Our Vision:

ISDE Bangladesh aspires to create a poverty and hunger-free, just society of educated, socio-economically developed and environmentally-friendly people.

Our Mission:

To facilitate socio-economic change in the lives of disadvantaged people, particularly women and children, in the southeast of Bangladesh through the promotion of income and employment generation activities, health services, education, peace building, climate change, disaster risk reduction and awareness raising.

Goals:

Establishing an positive environment for the hardcore and disadvantaged people particularly women and children to be able to get organized, enhance capacity & skill for demand and ensure access to their rights and basic services for social, political, disaster management and economic empowerment.

Strategies:

• Building confidence, hope and self-reliance among the disadvantaged and deprived people through organization building.
• Increasing knowledge, raising awareness levels and changing behavioral practices through non-formal education, motivation and training.
• Ensuring sustainable development through mainstreaming gender equity at organization and community levels.
• Developing maternal and child health status through primary health services and nutrition education.
• Creating income earning and self-employment generation opportunities by providing technical assistance and credit.
• Developing environmental equilibrium through social forestation and regenerative agriculture.
• Promoting the universal Child Rights Convention (CRC) through awareness raising, education and rehabilitation.
• Carrying out community managed disaster risk reduction and management activities to reduce the effects of natural disaster, climate change issue and lower the number of deaths caused by natural disaster and improved livelihoods.

Organization Values and Principles

ISDE Bangladesh encourages the following values to be practiced both at individual and organizational level.

Human Dignity:

This is at the core of our mission. We should respect the dignity of every human being regardless of gender, race, nationality, economic or social condition. Respecting human dignity demands from us sensitivity to the points of views and opinions of others, especially those who start from a disadvantaged position.

Human fulfillment:

One’s sense of fulfillment only makes sense if we are part of a wider community. Only within the community we find the opportunities to develop, manifest, and find value and meaning in our potentials (it is the meaning and value that our communities give that encourage our sense of fulfillment and find in our community). Some are given better opportunities to have that sense, others are denied so- particularly when they feel that their work is not appreciated, or denigrated. But A deep sense of fulfillment can be sustained insofar as the community evolves. We should always remember that, whatever we do and whatever our talent, each one of us owes something to the community, particularly to those who start with less opportunity.

Fallibility:

As human beings, we are fallible and can make mistakes. But we should try to learn from them so as to avoid repeating the same mistakes in the future, and seek help if necessary.  We should also strive to pass the lessons learnt to new generations (Recording and transmitting lessons should be made one of the central objectives of the organization.

Openness:

We should be completely open about what we do since there is no reason to hide anything: as members of ISDE Bangladesh, we should account for everything we do in terms of our Mission and Values.

Gender Equity:

Communication:

We should try to promote better communication inside and outside ISDE Bangladesh, since that will help us to identify common problems, learn lessons and improve what we do. And this in turn will help us pursue our Mission.

Mindfulness:

We realize that our Mission demands on us a long-term view- and we should be attentive to the consequences of our acts, whether they are intended or not

Tolerance:

We feel pride for being part of Bangladesh’s culture, but we should respect, learn from and promote open dialogue with other cultures.

Efficiency:

We should strive to ensure that our resources, including our working time, are used efficiently and in a sustainable way, always maintaining a long-term view. Only in this way, we can ensure that more and more resources are passed on to those who need them most- now and in the future.

Congeniality:

As member (Being sensitive to all people should allow we should also be sensitive to the needs of our time, to changing conditions, and try to respond adequately with a long) of ISDE Bangladesh, each of us should strive to promote a congenial atmosphere everywhere we are, even if this means withdrawing from a discussion in a dignified way. We should not forget our mission– the reason why we are here as members of ISDE Bangladesh in the first place (A congenial atmosphere is very important to achieve that Mission Long-term. We Sometimes this might mean making sacrifices in the present for a better future. The needs and interests of the most disadvantaged communities civil society can pay tribute to their human dignity – which they share with all members of society.

Our Philosophy:

By involving the people in the development of basic facilities and encouraging and monitoring them, enhancing and increasing their confidence in their own abilities, their development can be truly sustainable.

Methodology:

By organizing the poor women into groups, they function as instruments for collective action, self-reliance, unity and solidarity. The process of building institutions involves developing knowledgeable and motivated workers who can act as social change agents and conduct village based weekly meetings and gives knowledge, skill sharing and training. At these meetings the participants discuss their problems and share information on their needs, tasks, rights and possible solutions. The meeting and training sessions also act as forum for social education. It also gives emphasis to utilization of local wisdom and resources, encouragement of innovation and creativity, prioritizing quality, enhancing coordination and networking, accepting challenges

Economic Improvement:

If the economic footing of the poor remains weak and infirm they will be unable to face crisis. The basis of building economic foundations is looking for alternatives based on people’s creativeness, economic rights, collective enterprise and the harmonization of participatory production.

Climate CHange & Disaster Risk Reduction:

Disaster preparedness is the cornerstone of any development intervention in coastal Bangladesh. Now global warming becomes more dangerous for human lives. Human lives have to be protected from the changeable furies of nature. Cyclone and the tidal upsurge, droughts disrupts normal life and results in incalculable misery. With a little outside help they are more able to master the challenges they face.

Environment & Climate change:

ISDE Bangladesh focuses on environmental development as a logical sequel to involvement with rural people. Social forestation, preservation of forest resources and environmental education is an important segment of ISDE’s activity package. Specialized programs on environmental regenerative agriculture have been embarked upon and organized according to community needs.

Health & Nutrition:

ISDE Bangladesh is views health services not as charity rendered to people but as a legal right. People are encouraged to get involved in the organization of the services. ISDE Bangladesh’s conviction is family based, combining health and development functions and ensuring peoples’ participation and accountability. Awareness is the basis from where to fire the engine for prevention and treatment.

Gender Equity:

Women make up half of our population. They are the main educators for the children yet make up the majority of the illiterates. Women are usually the last to eat and in times of famine, epidemic or natural disaster, the first to die.

ISDE Bangladesh seeks to uproot gender specific discrimination within the society and equal participation in family and social decision-making process. ISDE’s strategy gives emphasis to organizing women at grass root level to make access to the local resources, mobilization and other normal development streams. It has developed and undertaken various activities for the enhancement of the women and children.

Main Strategies:

The guiding strategies of the organization includes i) Community based and Demand-driven approach in addressing and determining development issues and thrusts; ii) Promote community empowerment by educating the communities in various aspects to attitudinal change in their behavioral patterns; iii) Rapport building with the like-minded organizations and consolidating necessary institutional arrangements to mainstream the disadvantaged communities ensuring total participation; and iv) Maximum utilization of local resources and optimal utilization of natural resources, ensuring ecological sustainability.

Priority empowerment areas through programmatic interventions:

Principal Thematic Areas: