Service Emergency for Rural People (SERP)

A humanitarian, non-government, non-profitable, non-political and non-sectarian voluntary development organization

Member of the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children

Service Emergency for Rural People (SERP)

A humanitarian, non-government, non-profitable, non-political and non-sectarian voluntary development organization

Member of the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children

Service Emergency for Rural People (SERP)

A humanitarian, non-government, non-profitable, non-political and non-sectarian voluntary development organization

Member of the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children

Service Emergency for Rural People (SERP)

A humanitarian, non-government, non-profitable, non-political and non-sectarian voluntary development organization

Member of the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children

WHO WE ARE

Service Emergency for Rural People (SERP) is an NGO locating in Thakurgaon district in North-west part of Bangladesh. The entity came into being in 1988 having legal status from NGO Affaire Bureau, Bangladesh. The objectives of the NGO are to bring about a sustainable change in all human rights, lives and livelihoods together with ensuring justice, solidarity and peaceful co-existence of extreme poor Bengali, plain land Adibasi and Dalit communities, especially focusing on womenfolk, children, adolescents, disable including early married girls through an integrated approach.

Based on contextual analysis on the human rights, equal justice and promotion of lives and livelihoods of the targeted communities among rights holders, duty bearers are required. Otherwise the granting of services may lead into a dependency situation which may object the necessary empowerment of the relevant communities and receptivity of the mainstream society. In this context, SERP carries out advocacy targeting various audience inter alia local government institution, upazila and district level government bodies, civil society actors and relevant entities to make them better oriented resulting in a sustainable service delivery mechanism.

SERP possess a firm believe that Self-Help Group (SHG) is one the holistic approaches that attaches equal emphasis on the goal of economic, social and political empowerment. Achieving these goals, SERP always delivers a framework and guidance for establishing a People’s Institution enabling the section to achieve economic, social and political goals that they themselves outlined. Hence, based on its mandate SERP works in the North-west part of Bangladesh for bringing about a positive and sustainable change in the lives of the aforementioned sections.

Legal Status

In legal status, SERP is duly registered with NGO-Affairs Bureau, Government of Bangladesh vide Registration Number-497, dated 16 July 1991. It has also been registered with Social Welfare Department, Government of Bangladesh vide Registration Number-Thakur-497/89, dated 26 April 1989.

Vision

SERP envisages a society free from exploitation, malpractice and hunger, where people irrespective of background, race and faith, enjoy dignity, self-sufficiency, freedom and human rights and are able to live in secured livelihoods in a harmonious environment.

Mission

SERP strongly believes bottom-up, integrated and innovative approaches. By working hand-in-hand with vulnerable people SERP will assist them to become conscious about their improved livelihoods, human rights and their values in society. In achieving uplift of the poor SERP will accompany them and thereby improving their overall quality of life.

SERP Core Values

Integrated Human Development
Solidarity
Gender Equality
Dialogue and Cooperation
Participation and Co-Responsibility
Respect and Sensitivity
Equality and Consensus

Strategic Focus Areas

Promotion of rights & livelihoods
Child rights & development
Disability development
Health, sanitation, and nutrition
Gender development
Market development for economic empowerment
Climate change & development

Organizational Structure

SERP has two principal management organs
(i) 25-member General Body (GB) involved in social works from different professional bodies with the responsibilities for approval of organization’s programs and budgets during Annual General Meeting (AGM)
(ii) 7-member Executive Committee (EC) followed is the highest policy decision making body of SERP, who are nominated or elected democratically by General Body members after every 3 years. The Secretary of EC is designated as the Director of SERP.

WHAT WE DO

Promotion of rights & livelihoods

SERP promotes rights and livelihoods of plain land Adibasi, Dalit, and extreme poor Bengali applying the principle of human capital, social capital, natural capital, physical capital, and financial capital. Thus, the process enables the sections to explore and access their contextual context advancing them achieve further process.

Child rights & development

SERP works with plain land Adibasi, Dalit, & extreme poor Bengali community people, especially women caregivers and their children as well adolescents for the attainment of child rights and wellbeing of their offspring. The approach is implemented focusing first on the poorest women caregivers and their children coupled with adolescents and then boarding the focus to the entire families and communities. Therefore, the holistic approach enables the section to attain rights and wellbeing in favor of themselves and their children and adolescents as a whole.

Disability development

In order to ensure rights and entitlement of the disabled section and to eradicate their social barrier, poverty, exclusion, prejudice, and psychosocial stigma usually demonstrated by their family members and border social set up, SERP works with disabled children and adolescents belonging to plain land Adibasi, Dalit and extreme poor Bengali communities following a disable centric development approach.

Health, sanitation, and nutrition

Aiming to ensuring personal and community level health, sanitation, & nutrition practices, we develop awareness among our women Self-Help Groups (SHGs), adolescent and child groups. To place a sustainable service delivery mechanism, we take up advocacy initiatives with local government institution, health department and nutritional governance body as well as relevant entities.

Gender development

Gender based discrimination contributes to the high impact of poverty on individual lives. Women often suffer life-long damage to their physical and psychological health and life threatening situation caused by traditional practices like psycho-social practices, early marriage, resource allocation, decision-making process, straggling with high work load, and limited access to property etc. In this sense, we promote gender equality and exercise gender equality at women Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and adolescent girls’ group level.

Market development for economic empowerment

Skills and capacities are developed to womenfolk, young people and adults to get them engaged in diversified market development activities for their economic empowerment. Besides, SERP also works with Departments of Agriculture & of Livestock, input and outputs market actors and local service providers to ensure accessibility and availability of their services towards the concerned people.

Climate change & development

Climate change is solely responsive for different nature disasters, especially water logging caused by torrential rainfall and severe cold wave in north-west part of Bangladesh. As part of our Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) response, we make our beneficiary members climate resilience, provide humanitarian aid to the damaged families and develop linage between our Disaster Management Committees (DRRCs) and Union and Upazila Disaster Management Committees for disaster response services.

PROJECTS

Improving Livelihoods through Economic Advancement project

“Improving Livelihoods through Economic Advancement” project has been being implemented by SERP from February, 2020 at 6 Unions of Thakurgaon sadar Upazila covering 1054 mainstream extreme poor Bengali, plain land Adibasi and Dalit womenfolk forming 54 Self-Help Groups (SHGs). The aim of the project is to strengthen their Self-Help Group (SHG), economic empowerment by applying business promotion and market development approach, ensuring increased wellbeing, reducing vulnerability, improving food security, developing women leadership, equal distribution and utilization of local resources, eradicating violence against women, generating accessibility and availability of different services and making access to importance at different social & political structure. To improve their livelihoods & economic status, each and every SHG critically analyzes multidimensional nature of their poverty and how to devise a way forward strategy by capitalizing on human, financial, physical, natural and social capital through addressing constraints and exploring opportunities.

Developing Resilient Community through DRR Response

“Developing Resilient Community through DRR Response” project has been being implemented by SERP from 2020 with 1054 mainstream extreme poor Bengali, plain land Adibasi and Dalit womenfolk through 54 Self-Help Groups (SHGs). The focus area of the project is to develop knowledge, skill and capacity of targeted womenfolk to cope with hazards occurred by pre and post natural disasters, build up clear conception of the adverse effect of climate change, & devising a DRR strategy with the coordination of local institutions. In this sense, the project formed Community Disaster Management Committees (CDMCs) exercise different aspects of disaster hazards & devise a mechanism to cope with vulnerability and menace to be a climate resilient community. During the disaster period, SERP provides humanitarian aid to the victim families & re-builds damaged houses.

“Child Rights & Development through Community Empowerment” project

Child Right & Development through Community Empowerment” project has been being implemented by SERP from 2017 covering 998 children (boys 230 & girls 768) who belong to mainstream extreme poor Bengali, plain land Adibasi and Dalit households at 6 Unions of Thakurgaon sadar Upazila. It also covered 740 adolescent girls of the same races. The aim of the project is to ensure child rights & wellbeing, social protection, foster education that lays the foundation for the enjoyment of their rights. Another aim of the project is to promote awareness amongst the adolescent girls about re-productive health, nutrition, adverse effect of early marriage, & combat sexual violence alongside creating awareness among parents and caregivers regarding child rights & and their responsibilities through investing in social capital and human capabilities. Most importantly, another approach of the project is to pursue strong advocacy and foster wider awareness amongst the parents and employers for having access to government resources and social safety net scheme.

“Promoting Gender Equality through Community led Approach’ project

SERP has been implementing “Promoting Gender Equality through Community led Approach” project from 2017 at 6 Unions of Thakurgaon sadar Upazila. A total of 1054 mainstream extreme poor Bengali, plain land Adibasi and Dalit womenfolk came under the preview of the project through 54 Self-Help Groups (SHGs). The aim of the project is to reduce all kinds of violence against women & gender discrimination from family and community level. Another aim of the project is to create a societal change, awareness of prevailing laws, attitude of government service providers & organizing arbitration meeting with counseling for victims, women leadership, increased participation in decision-making at household, community and macro level and to lift them out of subjugation. In this connection, SHGs conduct gender based session focusing on different consequences of gender based violence to reduce gender discrimination at household and society.

Disability Development

SERP works with disabled children and adolescents in its working area to ensure their rights and entitlement. Here, the objectives are to ensure parental support, role and responsibilities of family members, society and local government institutions along with changing psycho-social attitude towards children with disabilities. Most importantly, ensuring nutritional status, health related services for improving the quality of life for disabled children and their needs. In this line, parents of disabled children are made aware of disable related issues at SHG meeting.

Market development for economic empowerment

SERP takes initiatives for a sustainable economic status of its beneficiary members through market development approach. In this connection, the beneficiaries are developed knowledge, skill and capacity of vocational trade, vegetables cultivation and goat as well as beef rearing process involving input and output market actors, local service providers, government line agencies and other relevant actors. Thus, approach sustainably contributes to economic acceleration of the beneficiary members, developing linage and synergic working relation with market actors and other respective entities coupled with getting access to market. On top of that, womenfolk enjoy respect and dignity in family and society coupled with gradual reduction of gender based violence against womenfolk.

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