About-OSACA – OSACA

Background:

Organization for Social Advancement and Cultural Activities (OSACA), a non-profit and non-political voluntary development organization formally came into being in 1994. It has obtained registration with the NGO Affairs Bureau, Government of Bangladesh in 1995. It is founded and run by a group of dedicated social workers, committed professionals, multi-disciplinary experts and the representatives of the target groups.

OSACA started its functioning in a remote union (lowest tier of the local government in Bangladesh) of Pabna district named Sahpur situated in the catchment area of the mighty river “Padma”. The area is also characterized by acute poverty, malnutrition, floods, river erosion, loss of habitat and decrease in agricultural land by recurring floods and process of pauperization, unemployment, social discrimination and conflicts, oppression on women and underprivileged, illiteracy, ignorance, inadequate drinking water supply and sanitation. The economy of the area principally depends on agriculture, which is again vulnerable to natural calamities, shortage of agricultural inputs and implements and decreasing cultivable land. In this predicament, OSACA, devoted to emancipate the teeming millions and toiling masses from the curse of social deprivation, has been making its all out efforts for developing the miserable plight of the humanity.

Legal Status of the Organization:

Sl No	Registration Authority	Reg. number	Date of Reg.
01	NGO Affairs Bureau	935	25/05/1995
02	Dept. of Social Service	Pabna- 614/98	03/08/1998
03	Micro Credit Regulatory Authority	02428-03744-00186	25/03/2008

Operational Areas:

At present OSACA has been implementing its programs’ in Pabna, Natore & Sirajganj District through 37 separate Branches.

Goal:

The goal of the organization is to establish a self-reliant sustainable society, where people will exercise equal rights having democratic environment.

Mission:

OSACA aims at improving the living standard of the under-privileged and bringing about a qualitative change ensuring sustainable development in the society by emancipating the destitute, especially women, children and handicapped, from the clutches of multifaceted social deprivation, inequalities and injustices.

Strategies:

The organization seeks to promote development strategies to fulfill its mission through the participation of the poor people in respect of religion, age, gender and ethnicity etc. Among the strategies building relation with public offices and communities, make human rights environment, gender friendly society, democratic and just society important.

Objectives:

To protect the rights and privileges of the deprived women, children, minorities and the under privileged sections of the society.
To ensure arsenic free fresh water and environmental sanitary latrine.
To strengthen the local government institutions through ensuring community participation
To mobilize the people in order to create social movement against anti-social activities, dowry, cruelty to women, injustices, discrimination and other social vices and malady prevailing in the society.
To assist the people in understanding the critical features and forces for deprivation in the society and thereby create the awareness about it among them.
To undertake Income Generating Activities (IGAs), generation of savings from the target groups and promotion of micro entrepreneurship with a view to alleviating the poverty and empowering the distressed and the poor to become self-reliant.
To develop human resources through organizing training, workshops, seminars etc. for the staff and other partners.
To render services and development assistance to the deserving poor and distressed people of the society particularly to the unfortunate widows divorced women, orphans, destitute and handicapped.
To provide housing facilities to the land less, destitute and the poorest of the poor living both at urban and rural areas.
To provide maternity health care services.
To undertake advocacy on establishing the rights of the women, children and farmers.
To plan and execute sustainable development programs including non-formal education, adult literacy, functional education, promotion of health services, water supply and sanitation, social forestation and nursery development.
To reduce gender discrimination in the society and encourage the women to participate in the decision making process.
To ensure arsenic free and fresh water.

The Working Strategy of the Organization is constituted of the Following:

With a view to attaining its vision, mission and objectives, OSACA has adopted the strategies having, interior, the elements of participation, partnership, utilization of local resources, comprehensive family development and capacity building of local government and institutions. The strategies are as follows:

Practice of Coordination between Head Office and Field Offices :

As a small organization, OSACA is committed to maintaining constant communication among its staff members as well as target beneficiaries. With this end in view, staff of head office visit field offices and working areas. In the field office records of different programs are supervised on a regular basis. The daily activities chart prepared by the staff members is followed to supervise their activities. It is to mention that Staff members of the head office always try to assist the field level workers in the field level

Staff of the field offices met once a month in the monthly coordination meeting that is held generally in the head office. OSACA duly realizes that a sound management information System (MIS) is required for smooth Operation of the program interventions. But due to financial constraints OSACA could not materialize it.

Participatory Appraisal, Planning and Local Initiatives

OSACA firmly believes that the people are in the center of all development interventions. The people have the ability and potentials to make their own plans and identify their priorities. They also possess the necessary skills to appraise and evaluate the development activities around them. The community members, sometimes, show enthusiasm and take interest in undertaking local initiatives by their own costs and management. In view of the above perspective, OSACA has taken up the PAPLI as an on-going program and embedded this concept in almost all the projects.

Building Institution for Alternative Power Structure

Existing power structure in our society is mostly hierarchical in social perspective and bureaucratic in practice. The scope for participation of the common people especially the poor, women, children and the disadvantaged, in planning, implementing and evaluating the development programs is almost absent. Even, the local government institutions, such as, Union Parishads have hardly created any such scope for meaningful participation of its clienteles. In such a situation, OSACA tries to build an alternative power structure to claiming rights and realizing people’s legitimate demands from existing institutions, which are entrusted to provide necessary services to the people.

Mobilization of Local Resources and Indigenous Knowledge

Local resources, indigenous techniques and knowledge are among the few of our own potentials for which we can take pride in. OSACA aims at mobilizing the available local resources and utilizing the indigenous techniques and knowledge in designing and implementing any development initiatives. It puts emphasis on utilization of available resources and tries to avoid overlapping with the interventions of other agencies, both government and non-government. Rather, it believes in getting synergies through the convergence of resources.

In the traditional Bangladeshi society, voluntary social structure plays a vital role in socio-economic development. Although its role is gradually diminishing due to the all-pervasive effect of globalization, its importance and values in the society has enormous potentials to play in the society. OSACA tries to reintroduce this voluntary social structure, such as, Samaj in order to tap the indigenous potentials and resources for the development of our society.

Linking Environment, Economics, Ethics and Poverty

A strong relationship exists between environment, economics, ethics and poverty. Although the relationship is complex, it is generally found that the ethical values contribute enormously to the improvement of the environment and poverty situation. There is also a direct nexus between poverty and environment, one aggravates another and vice versa. In dealing with this complex issue, OSACA tries to focus on environment, economics, ethics and poverty integrated.

Local Initiatives and Social Actions

OSACA believes that local initiatives and social actions play a vital role in achieving sustainable development. Without promoting and strengthening the local initiatives, citizen groups and community organizations, it is in fact, difficult to make a breakthrough in development scenario. It thrives hard to promote and strengthen local initiatives and social actions by providing technical support to existing local initiatives by the individuals and organizations in the respective areas.

Alliance Building and Networking for Advocacy

Building alliances and networking with likeminded organizations and institutions remains one of the core strategies that help creating synergies through building alliances, partnership and networking. This is also for building capacity of the groups for policy advocacy. OSACA attaches importance on ensuring democracy at the grassroots and conducting policy advocacy in favor of the poor, distressed women, destitute, children, char Landers and other disadvantaged people in the society.

On-going Programs/Projects:

Organization for Social Advancement & Cultural Activities (OSACA) has been implementing the programs & Project through 33 Branches which are given below:

Title of Project/ Program	Duration/ Years	Area/ Location	Donor/ Funding agency	Status
Enrich Project (Education & Health)	2014 to till now	Ishwardi Upazila of Pabna District	PKSF	On-going
Boutubani Pathshala (prev. OSACA Children Garden	2004 to till now (continuous program)	Ishwardi Upazila of Pabna District	Own Fund	On-going
Keramot Ali Biswas High School	2014 to till now	Pabna Sadar Upazila of Pabna District	Own Fund	On-going
Microfinance Program (Jagoron Loan, Buniad, Agrosor Sufolon, KGF, MDP, SEP Loan)	1998 to till now (continuous program)	Pabna, Natore District	PKSF	On-going
Housing Project	2014 to till now	Ishwardi & Pabna Sadar Upazila	Bangladesh Bank	On-going
Cultural and Sports Pr ogramme	Agust,2017 to till now	Shahapur Union of Ishwardi Upazila	PKSF	On-going
Uplifting the quality of the lives of the elderly people	Agust,2017 to March 2021	Ishwardi Upazila of Pabna District	PKSF	On-going
Sustainable Enterprise Project (SEP)-Mini Garments	30 December 2019 to till now	Pabna Sadar and Ishwardi Upazila of Pabna District	PKSF	On-going
Sustainable Enterprise Project (SEP)-Fruits (Litchi)	March’ 2021 to till now	Ishwardi Upazila of Pabna District	PKSF	On-going
Arsenic Risk Reduction Project (ARRP) and services for Arsenic screening, training, orientation and supervision activities.	January’ 2021 to till Now	Pabna & Sirajganj District	Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE)	on-going

Passed Successfully Implemented Programs/Projects:

Implemented by OSACA which are mentioned below:

Title of Project/ Program	Duration/ Years	Area/ Location	Donor/ Funding agency	Status
Mini Readymade Garments Project	December 2017 to December 2020	Pabna Sadar and Ishwardi Upazila of Pabna District & Baraigram Upazila of Natore District	PKSF	Completed
Vulnerable Group Development (VGD)	September 2019 to December 2020	Faridpur and Sujanagar Upazila of Pabna District	Department of Women Affairs	Completed
Developing Inclusive Insurance Project (DIISP)	2014 to till now	Pabna Sadar Upazila	Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR) through PKSF	Completed
Community Climate Change (CCCP) Project	February’2014 to December’2016	Lalpur Upazila, Nator	PKSF	Completed
Post Literacy & Continuing Education Program PLCEP	July’2013 to December’2005	Bhangura Upazial of Pabna District	Directorate of Non-Formal Education (DNFE)	completed
Decentralized Water and Sanitation Service (DWSS) for the Disadvantaged Poor People	May 2009 to July’’2011	Ishwardi Upazila of Pabna District	European Commission (EC)	Completed
Sanitation, Hygiene & Water Supply (GOB-UNICEF) Project	February’2007 to December’2012	Bera & Chatmohor Upazilla of Pabna District	DPHE , UNICEF	Completed
HYSAWA Project ( Water and Sanitation)	July’2013 to June’2015	Chatmohor & Bhangura Upazila of Pabna District	DANIDA	Completed
Vulnerable Group Development (VGD)	May 2010 to December’2011	Iswardi & SujanagarUpazilla of Pabna District	Department of Women Affairs	Completed
Insurance	February’2008 to February’2009	Pabna District	Bangladesh NGO Foundation	Completed
Deployment of Arsenic Removal Technology (DART) Component. Arsenic Mitigation (BETV-SAM) Project	2009 to 2011	Pabna District.	DPHE (Funded DFID through UNICEF)	Completed
Water Supply and Environmental Sanitation	1998 to 2011	Pabna District	NGO Forum & NGO foundation	Completed
Civil Society and NGO Networking Project	2008 to 2011	Pabna District.	NGO Forum.	Completed

OSACA’s Organogram