SAP in Bangladesh

South Asia Partnership (SAP-Bangladesh) is a registered national NGO that has been working in the field of rural development through capacity building of communities and local level small NGOs since 1984. The goal of SAP-Bangladesh is to bring about a sustainable and equitable social, economic and political development of disadvantaged people in Bangladesh by strengthening the efforts of the community at the grass-root level. Its primary intention is to develop and build partnerships between and among the community groups, local NGOs and the International NGOs in the world. The experience of partnership programming with the community and local NGOs scattered all over the country guided SAP-Bangladesh to formulate long term programs in some selective geographical areas, forming clusters with 14 NGOs. SAP-Bangladesh has started the long-term partnership approach with 14,000 CBOs in collaboration with 14 local level NGOs in four clusters under Madaripur, Sirajgonj, Pabna, Dinajpur and Kurigram districts in April 1994 and will continue to the end of this year. The objectives of SAP-Bangladesh are as follows:

• To foster and support networks of community based NGOs that can effectively facilitate sustainable community development in their areas and collectively address development issues.
• To foster and support integrated, self-reliant and long term development program in Bangladesh to benefit the disadvantaged people
• To educate and support the disadvantaged people for achieving their social, economical & political rights etc.

SAP-Bangladesh programs range from credit and income generation to children and adult education to agriculture to environmental conservation and policy advocacy. It started its Remote Island Development Project (RIDP) following the severe cyclone and flood that hit Bangladesh in 1985. It has become a long-term project and has served over 15,000 families in nine unions. SAP-Bangladesh established a full-fledged training centre in 1999 with training room, hostel and all necessary equipment in order to assist and lead capacity building programs with local NGOs. In June 1998 after signing the peace agreement at Chittagong Hill Tracts, SAP-Bangladesh started to work with the community through its Integrated Rural Development Program to help those areas deprived of mainstream development due to political instability.

SAP Bangladesh promotes the empowerment and socio-economic advancement of women by providing support to women’s organizations and through woman-focussed programs. Good governance is also an important area of concern. SAP-Bangladesh is governed by a national council of 18 members who bring many of experience in NGO-led development in the field of Gender and Development, Civil Society, Human Rights and Women in Development.

South Asia Partnership-Bangladesh
House No. 63, Block-‘Ka’
Mohammadpur Housing,
Pisciculture & Farming Cooperative Society Ltd.
Mohammadpur, Dhaka-1207
Phone: +880 2 8112103, +880 2 8114697,
Fax: +880 2 8113033
Email: sapbdesh@citechco.net