A People's History of Development : 25 Year's in Northern Bangladesh

Contents: 1. How it was: i). Origins of RDRS. ii). The story of Bangladesh. iii). Cooch Behar refugee service: 1971-72. 2. Around and about RDRS: i). RDRS: The place, the people, the programme. ii). The place. iii). The people. iv). The programme. 3. A Sigh of Relief: i). The early years: 1972-73. i). Relief responses. 4. A genuine contribution: i). The humanitarian years: 1973-75 Rehabilitation of Rangpur-Dinajpur. 5. From Co-operation to federation: i). People's organisation: 1976-96. ii). Community development. iii). Group formation in other sectoral programmes: 1976-88. iv). Peoples organisation in the comprehensive project. 6. The whole story: i). Women. ii). Women in Bangladesh. iii). Women in RDRS. iv). Women working for women. v). RDRS women. 7. First class: i). Education and training: 1976-96. i). The learning process. ii). Children's education: 1976-96. iii). Adolescent education. iv). Adult education 1976. v). Resources. 8. Cure and care: i). Health services: 1976-96. ii). The health of Bangladesh. iii). Curative medical services: 1976-1980. iv). Preventive health projects. v). Services. vi). Staff and administration. 9. Introducing money: i) Credit: 1976-96. ii). Credit in Bangladesh. iii). Credit in RDRS. iv). Credit in the comprehensive project (CP): 1988-96. v). The interest in credit. 10. Making money: i). Economic enterprises and income-generation: 1976-96. ii). Employment in Bangladesh after the war. iii). Economic enterprises 1976-96. iv). Employment generation in the comprehensive project (CP) 1988. v). Sericulture. 11. Growing up: i). Agriculture: 1976-96. ii). The life blood of Bangladesh. iii). RDRS and agriculture. 12. Brick-by brick: i). Infrastructure: 1976-96: i). Introduction. ii). Communication network. iii). Community facilities. iv). Building for the beneficiaries. v). Building for RDRS. vi). Building skills. 13. Tomorrow today: i). Environmental improvements and food-for-work: 1976-96: i). The environmental problems. ii). Food for work (FFW): 1976-96. iii). Environmental improvements: 1976-96. iv). Water management schemes. 14. On the edge: i). Partnership projects: 1988-96. ii). Introduction. iii). Char development project (CDP) 1988. iv). Marginal and small farmers crop intensification project (MSFSCIP): 1989. v). Adarsha gram (AG): 1993-96. vi). Once and future partnerships. 15. Emergency: i). Disaster-preparedness and emergencies: 1976-96. ii). Vulnerability. iii). Preparing for emergencies. iv). What emergencies?. v). Caught in the grip of the strong brown God. Postscript. Appendix. Index. Glossary.

"This is a story of how disaster and poverty in Bangladesh have been tackled over the past quarter century from the views of those assisted and those assiting. The book highlights the changing philosophies and practices of one of Bangladesh's leading NGO the Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Service (RDRS). It traces its progress from a simple relief agency to a mature, complex and unique development organisation supporting government efforts in poverty alleviation in greater Rangpur-Dinajpur region.

"The description is pregnant with numerous innovative ideas which should inspire organisations working with poor people in circumstances similar to those in Bangladesh. It also records the failures of RDRS which should help the organisation to move forward with the confidence necessary to face the new millennium and of making a lasting and positive impact on one of Bangladesh's poorest regions." (jacket)