A.  BACKGROUND :

PAPRI (Poverty Alleviation through Participatory Rural Initiatives) is a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), established in July 1999 under NGO Affairs Bureau, Registration No.  1424 established through initiatives of Shapla Neer = Citizens’ Committee in Japan for Overseas Support.

PAPRI becomes an independent organization since July 1999 but some of the programs activities carried over from Shapla Neer = Citizens’ Committee in Japan for Overseas Support executed these program since 1987. Currently PAPRI is executing these programs through two project offices; located in Narayanpur and Amlabo. These two project offices of PAPRI were the CDC (Community Development Center) of Shapla Neer, became independent of PAPRI, Shapla Neer executed its programs through CDC of Narayanpur and Amlabo.

Following the last three years planning, this three years plan period, PAPRI will put its effort to work with community issue based activities with community approach through participatory decision making of problem identification and find out of it relevant solution and some of the initiatives forward as intervention. As PAPRI will work with small and marginal farm family members who are socially depressed people along with in its intervention our targeted population are the poorest of poor people, disable person, adolescent girls, agriculture based household family, working children and the lower cast family in our working area, to empower by providing cooperation in terms of technical support, advocacy for their right and privileges and economical factor will be considered as priority activities.

By keeping this in mind, PAPRI has a plan to work more closely with the socially depressed people in the rural area and those who did not get opportunity to involve with NGOs activities though they are really needy. So, PAPRI is interested to identify them and create an environment to analyze their opportunity, strength and weakness and will provide proper services to them, so that they will get opportunity of easy access to samity and ultimately they will come into the streamline of self-reliant program of PAPRI. In the current three years planning time we are aims our mind to go work in urban area and char area with some specific group targeted people viz. lower cast, working children, and slum dwellers for urban pourashava area and woman and children in char area. The last three years planning period we done a primary survey to identify the group location and some feasibility of works and scope regarding this matter a short socio-economic survey has also been done accordingly a plan of work has been done.

B.   Goal of PAPRI:

     PAPRI believes that all the poor people in Bangladesh have the right to stand one’s own feet i.e. to enjoy self-determination and self-reliance through the achievement of socio-economic development by the mobilizing of local resources. Therefore, PAPRI considers Empowerment of socially depressed people to be the keynote for its development assistance activities through target people’s participation. If target people become empowered, then they will be able to start protecting their life through mobilizing their family resources and all members of target family will be able to improve their socioeconomic condition by their own initiatives and capacity through participatory approaches.

      However, PAPRI’s specific vision and mission are as follows:

     Vision:

    The vision of PAPRI is the target people will have socio-economic development having capacity, empowerment and respect in the society through the mobilization of participatory local resources. They will act as a whole the development partner where reflect the peace and social harmony in the society.

      Mission:

      PAPRI is forwarding to mobilize local resources to alleviate poverty in the society to establish a just, equitable and respectful life of the socially distressed people. To have the just society we are challenging poverty through the mobilizing and utilizing of local resources to develop the capacity of human, social capital of the target people.

C.  Criteria & area of target people:

      Target populations of PAPRI's program activities are economically poor and socially depressed, small and marginal household family. PAPRI regards those households that fulfill following criteria as:

     1.  Who owns minimum cultivable land (less than one acre).

     2. Who is engaged to sale labor for livelihood maintenance (such as- day labor, contract labor, engaged to work household activities per time or full time, rickshaw puller, van puller, cart puller, push cart puller and other transport helper, VGD/VGF card holders, other government charity facility receivers such as old age allowance, widow allowance etc).

     3. Who has no other source of moderate income (such as- service holders having good salary, remittance, big business etc.)

     4. Physically disable/retarded, widow persons are also eligible to be a samity member, if he/she fulfill other criteria of membership.

     5.  Poorest of the poor, Disable person, Adolescent girls and boys, Farmers/cultivators, Working Children, Lower cast, and also community people for social sensitization and awareness development.

      6. The vulnerable people of urban slum dwellers and char dwellers.   

PAPRI will execute its program in its existing area and will simultaneously expand working area as well new area shown below table in Narsingdi district upazila wise:-

D.  Objectives of PAPRI :

   In order to attain empowerment (overall goal); PAPRI believes that target people will be benefited through mobilizing internal & external resources by their own initiatives. The followings are the four main objectives will be pursued:- 

     Target people will be equipped with proper knowledge, awareness and skill to form group and group based services and family based proper motivation. So that they can struggled by themselves for existence and sustainability.

    Target people will get easy access to primary public service by own participation ensuring which will meet their Human Rights (HR). So that they can survive and protect their life with respect in the society.

    Target people will obtain proper opportunity for micro-finance activities by their own initiatives & participation so that they can be economically stable; socially respected and can participate fully as a member of the society.

     Community peoples participation will be ensure to mobilize the local resources to implement the integrated rural development.

     Donor's Information :

     1.    SHAPLA NEER, Citizen committee in Japan for overseas support.

     2.    Better Home - Japan

     3.    Nippon Volunteer Support- Japan

     4.    Embassy of Japan

     5.    Associate organization  -  i)   JICA (Japan International Cooperative Agency)

                                                      ii)  Rikkoyo University - Japan.

     Fund Source: SHAPLA NEER (Citizens’ Committee in Japan for Overseas Support)

      Partner Organization:        1.   CDD (Centre for Disability Development)

                                             2.   NGO Forum  For Drinking Water Supply & Sanitation.