Project Introduction:

The overall goal of SHOUHARDO II is to transform the lives of women and men in 370,000 households in 11 of the poorest and most marginalized Districts by reducing their vulnerability to food insecurity. The Program will target the poor and extreme poor (PEP) populations and address availability, access and utilization issues of food insecurity as well as the underlying causes, which include social injustice and discrimination, lack of participation and voice, and heightened vulnerability to natural disasters and climate change. SHOUHARDO II’s design is consistent with CARE’s Unifying Program Framework for Poverty Eradication and Social Justice, and there is complementarily between the CARE Framework and Food for Peace’s “An Expanded Conceptual Framework for Understanding Food Insecurity”. Lessons learned from CARE’s food security work, including its very successful current Title II Program – SHOUHARDO (where “stunting” among children 6 to 24 months was reduced by 30%), have been applied to SHOUHARDO II, thus contributing to the continual evolution of CARE’s food security programming. Over the next five years, the Program will expand its approaches to address food security and sustainability, with support from government service providers, and build greater private sector engagement with the PEP of Bangladesh.

SHOUHARDO II will target 30 Upazilas in 11 Districts, which include northern and mid riverine chars, the northeastern haor areas, and the Cox’s Bazaar coastal belt. Within Upazilas, it will select Union Parishads (UP) with the highest concentration of PEP, high levels of chronic food insecurity, and high risk from natural disasters. This is in line with the USAID Office of Food for Peace (FFP) Bangladesh Food Security Country Framework, FY 2010-2014; and the livelihood assessments of the Government of Bangladesh (GoB), World Bank and the World Food Program (WFP).

Activities will be mainly targeted to the PEP, including improving livelihoods through food production and alternative incomes, and improving health, hygiene and nutrition (HHN) practices. These will empower PEP to participate in decision-making affecting them, helping service providers become more responsive to the needs of the PEP, and ensuring they receive entitlements that are their rights as citizens. In turn communities will be supported to prepare and respond to disasters and adapt to the increasing impact of climate change.

Project Agreement Number: 2011-395-094-508 & 509-08

Overall Objective: Transform the lives of 370,000 poor and Extreme Poor (PEP) households in 11 of the poorest and most marginalized districts in Bangladesh by reducing their vulnerability to food insecurity.

Specific Objectives: Dhaka Ahsania Mission SHOUHARDO II Program proceed with 5(five) strategic objectives. Such as Strategic Objective (SO)are as follows :

SO 1: “Availability of” and “access to” nutritious foods enhanced and protected for 370,000 PEP households

SO 2: Improved health, hygiene and nutrition status of 176,706 children under 2 years of age

SO 3: PEP women and adolescent girls empowered in their families, communities and Union Parishad

SO 4: Local elected bodies and government service provider’s responsiveness and accountability to the PEP increased

SO 5: Targeted community members and government institutions are better prepared for, mitigate, and respond to disasters and adapt to climate change

Outputs: Direct result of process Product of Project activities

Project Components: 1.Agricultural Sector Capacity 2. Civil Participation 3. Basic Education 4. Capacity Building, Preparedness and Planning 5. Maternal & Child Health 6. Nutrition 7. Strengthen Micro Enterprise Productivity 8. Water Supply and Sanitation & Social Assistance 9. Materials and Equipment for Beneficiaries 10. Assistance and Recovery

Major Activities:

• 2 day non residential technical and production training for PEP on Field crop.
• 3 days non residential Technical and production training for PEP on CHD activities at Village Level.
• 2 days non residential training on Technical and production training for PEP on fisheries activities at Union Level
• 2 days residential Training to the positive deviant farmer (PDF) at District Level.
• Demo plot establishment & maintaining & Field day observation.
• Cross Visit of COG participants.
• Organize half day WS to link PEP with NBDs.
• Interactive discussion meeting with various institution and service providers (Legal & medical VAW related issues), including local religious leaders for women empowerment and reduce VAW, at Union level.
• Mobilize communities of Domestic Violence legislation.
• Organize Quarterly coordination of EVAW committee and NNPC at Union level.
• Youth campaign (engage adolescent boys and girls to reduce VAW).
• Cross visit for selected EKATA and ECCD Volunteers (Intra region).
• Participate “People’s Organization convention-2013” 2 days convention at National level.
• Quarterly Half day Facilitate regular DMC meetings in targeted Union.
• Undertake Community Awareness Activities at Union level.
• Half day, Quarterly Union Disaster Volunteers (DV) Meeting at union level.
• Observance of National Disaster Preparedness Day.
• Half yearly Coordination meeting with Union Health and Family Planning staffs to have exercise on service availability and accessibility.
• Capacity building for targeted vocational beneficiaries.
• Half yearly One day Mobilize and Monitor the collectors according to routes identified.
• Facilitate Union Development Coordination Committee (UDCC) meeting.

Project Participants (Direct):

Project Duration: March 2011 to February 2015

Financial partner (Donor): USAID, Bangladesh Government

Project Location/s and number of Field offices: Phulpur & Nandail Upazila and Number of field is also two Phulpur & Nandail

Project Budget: Total BDT. 38,438,283

Number of project staffs and volunteers:

Contact Person : Md. Mukhlesur Rahman, Program Manager

Email & Cell : mokles@ahsaniamission.org.bd, 01715-496782