Bangladesh Country Programme

Context

 Activities

The overall goal of the HEKS/EPER country programme Bangladesh 2017-2020 is to strive towards the social inclusion of Dalit and Adibashi in Northwest Bangladesh. The focus on the marginalized Dalit and Adibashi communities confirms HEKS/EPER’s commitment to engage with the most vulnerable groups. It is a continuation of the previous phase with the same goal and focus. It strives at consolidating successful practices, reaching out to more communities, bringing about systemic change, and enhancing the sustainability.

In order to achieve social inclusion of Dalit and Adibashi in the Northwest it is fundamental that the (O1) PooC communities are enable to claim their rights and fulfil their obligations, so that they can be active participants of the society; (O2) enjoy equal rights and have access to services, whereby (O3) a secured access to land is particularly important; and are given equal economic opportunities in order to (O4) improve their economic status, to benefit from the country’s economic development and to contribute to a more inclusive growth. Working toward social inclusion requires addressing grievances and conflicts between the minority and majority groups in society. In this regard, HEKS/EPER aims at (O5) an improved relationship with the mainstream society; which is inherently linked to (O6) an improved security of PooC communities. 
Bangladesh is one of the most disaster prone countries in the world and will become even more so as a result of climate change. Therefore, the programme has a strong focus on building up the resilience of communities. Vulnerable groups such as Dalit and plain land Adibashi shall be better prepared for natural disasters and be included in relevant government bodies for disaster preparedness. In case of an emergency, HEKS/EPER responds to the humanitarian needs of the most affected people.