Request For Proposal (RFP)
Lakshmichari Upazila
Technical Project Proposal Form - 1
Company or Organizational
1.1. Company background information (Including experience in CHT):
Parbatya Bouddha Mission (PBM) came into being in 1983 when the politico-military crisis in CHT had developed to its height in all respects. Initially, the organization started with the Orphan children. Amidst the situation of grave concern, the organization housed two hundred orphans including the distressed children and provided with lodging and educational facilities to the children who had lost their parents either at their childhood or in the whirlwind of the turmoil. Due to incessant political unrest associated with counter-insurgent military measures, like many others, PBM could hardly go in for development programs in response the socio-economic and other issues existent by then. However, with the signing of CHT Accord on 2nd December 1997, there crawled in a gradual change in the totality of the situation. With the changes in the political scenario congenial to undertaking the development programs, along side many other organizations, PBM paced forward with various development programs to address the long-drawn socio-economical, educational & health related problems including the other humanitarian issues lying with the community peoples living in different Upazilas under Khagrachari Hill district. So far, all through the post Accord years PBM had the opportunities to work together with several national and local NGOs, apart from having working experience under UNDP – CHTDF programs.
The experience that PBM has gained in various development sectors throughout the years may be briefly stated as follows:
Education:
To begin with PBM became functional embarking upon the project entitled: PBM Orphanage Project, which is a unique combination of humanitarian cause and catering food, lodging and education to the orphan children so that they come out in flying colors and can grow into worthy citizen. Despite hurdles in every step, PBM has made a remarkable advancement in educational sector. Through the Orphanage Project, the organization could upgrade its educational institute to a full pledged High school in 2005, wherein also the day scholars from around the complex area flock in to comprise the role strength in their maximum numbers. Under the project entitled: Rehabilitation of Landless and distressed Peoples of CHT, it could establish a Vocational Training Institute and catered both center-based and Mobile Team training to 284 unemployed rural youths of males and females on 9 different vocational trades. MISEREOR – Germany, KINDR MISSION-Germany, CIDA-Canada and KARUNA Trust, UK were the main donors of the educational programs, apart from the occasional government donations. Yet another project named: ‘Activities of school supplies and healthcare service for students and poor people’ funded by Health & Insight (BODHI) – Australia, had been a source of ensuring contribution towards education and Health.
Women Empowerment:
PBM started working with the issue of indigenous women empowerment through the project entitled: ‘Indigenous Minority Women Empowerment Program in Social Upliftment’ funded by the World Bank-Dhaka (2003-2004). The project includes the activities on awareness arousal, entrepreneurship, Training and IGAs. With the project entitled: Capacity Building Project for Poor women self development in Khagrachari district of Bangladesh, funded by World Bank indigenous, USA (2006), PBM could have an access to the rural indigenous womenfolk residing in 6 Unions of Khagrachari Sadar and Dighinala Upazila. The activities of this project include: institution building, consciousness rising, raising savings fund and activation of group dynamism, business entrepreneurship development thought credit support including the vocational training. Altogether 400 women beneficiaries out of 20 homogenous groups of indigenous origin were the direct beneficiaries in this project.
In the years of 2005-2006, PBM had another contemporary initiative involving the women in the empowerment program through ‘Sustainable Social Development Project for the Indigenous Peoples in CHT’ project funded by JUMMA NET-Japan. The project activities include: Agro-horticulture, Weaving, (Waist loom) Tree plantation, IGAs & Training, etc. in which 400 women received credit support and other benefits through the project.
Community Empowerment:
PBM could put itself in the place when it had the opportunity to become a PNGO of UN Agency with the CHTDP-CHTDF project entitled: Community Empowerment Project (CEP) in May 2008 to work with the community peoples of Lakshmichari Upazila under Khagrachari Hill district. The project is scheduled to meet the completion by 10th January 2010. Through this project, PBM had the wide-scale opportunity to go in for a direct landing amidst the problems lying with the community peoples who are being empowered through participatory processes.
Emergency Relief:
Bangladesh, for being located by the Bay of Bengal, remains vulnerable to the natural hostility. The natural disasters like flood, cyclone and storm are the common features of Bangladesh for which the people living along the coastline fall prey to these disasters during pre-monsoon and post-monsoon periods. CHT is also not of exception to this natural hostility. Apart from facing such disaster, she also has the experience of peculiar type of natural disasters with the wild animals, such as rats, wild hens, bore and monkeys. With the projects categorically designed for the purposes, PBM has had the experience of standing by the side of the disaster victims in the plain districts of the country for several occasions in the recent past years. Apart from this, PBM also had a never-seen-before experience to see the rat-ridden victims of the indigenous communities practicing shifting cultivation in the hill slopes stretching north to south of CHT.
Health Care:
So far, PBM successfully implemented several projects on health related issues. In 2005, the organization worked with the project entitled: ‘Community-based Health Project for the Ethnic Indigenous Minority Community in the Hilly Region of CHT’, funded by ANESVAD-Spain, which continued up to 2008 in phases. With this project, PBM could contribute to the promotion of Health, Hygiene, Sanitation, communicable diseases, malaria, antenatal and postnatal care, TB and HIV/AIDS. The project activities, among others, included the trainings on various related components in the rural areas of Dighinala, Panchari, Mahalchari and Khagrachari Sadar upazilas. The organization also did have another project named: Community-based Integrated Rural health development Project for the Ethnic Indigenous minorities (2005-2008), funded by SIMAVI – Netherlands, through which PBM had the opportunity to work on Primary Health, Water and Sanitation and Hygienic promotion among the under-served indigenous community peoples of Panchari, Dighinala and Khagrachari upazilas. Besides, at present PBM is working yet with another similar kind of project entitled: Pilot Project of Health & Development For The Poor People in Khagrachari Hill District funded by AIFO, Italy.
1.2. Financial Strength:
a. Yearly Turnover:
2008 - 2009: BDT- 8,114,301.60
2007 - 2008: BDT- 28,829,435.00
2006 – 2007: BDT – 17,797,590.00
b. Bank Accounts:
PBM upkeeps the following Bank Accounts:
Particulars | Banks |
1. Mother Account | Standard Chartered Bank, 2 Dilkhusa C/A, Dhaka - 1000 |
2. General Account | Agrani Bank, Khagrachari Branch, Khagrachari |
3. Project Accounts | With various suitable schedule Banks located at Upazila Headquarters. |
c. Financial Management System:
Banking
Official Bank Accounts:
Executive Committee is the sole authority for opening and closure of bank accounts. Executive Committee assigns appropriate signing officers to operate bank accounts. Correspondence with respective bank must be done after getting approval of the Executive Committee in the following cases:
· Opening and closing of bank accounts;
· Alteration to the designation of account signatories;
· Appointment of cheque signing officers; and
· Cancellation of appointments as signing officers.
Operational Procedure of Bank Accounts:
a. Jointly operates bank accounts of Parbatya Bouddha Mission(PBM) as follows:
SL# | Responsible Position | Respective Account |
1 | Chairperson | General Account |
2 | General Secretary | |
3 | Treasurer | |
1 | Chairperson | Project Account |
2 | General Secretary/Treasurer | |
3 | Executive Director/Officer |
b. All the payments over Tk- 10,000 to be made through A/C payee cheque.
c. According to the NGO-AB (NGO Affairs Bureau) rules all grants/donation must be received through one bank account (Mother account) by the Organization but more than one operational bank account may be operated for implementing the project activities. Following is the procedure to operate bank accounts:
i) After receiving all grants in foreign currency or foreign grants originating abroad but received in local currency through only one bank account (mother account), the account number with address of the bank must be furnished to the NGO Affairs Bureau.
ii) The foreign grants received in above manner, may be transferred to separate accounts (project bank account) for smooth and better functioning of program activities.
Receipt of Cheques:
Following steps are to be followed against receipt of any cheque:
i) Official Money Receipt (MR) to be issued against each receipt of cheques.
ii) All the cheque(s) received to be crossed as “Account Payee” after receipt.
iii) Cheque(s) received during the day to be deposited to respective bank within the next working day.
Cheque Register:
When a chequebook is collected from the bank, the Finance Department shall make an entry in the cheque register mentioning the number of cheque leaves. For recording of the cheques issued, the Finance Department shall maintain a “Cheque Register Book” which should contain the following information at least:
· Serial number
· Cheque number
· Date of issue
· Payees’ name
· Amount of cheque
· Initial of authorizing officer
Internal Controls and Cash Management Issues:
Accounting controls assist in the preparation of fair and transparent reports and the safeguarding of assets. Controls can include compliance with generally accepted accounting principles, voucher systems, dual cheques signing, multiple approvals for large expenditures, etc.
The accounting procedures incorporated in this section have been designed to provide adequate internal control for PBM. The essential elements of internal control are as follows:
· The organization plan with particular reference to the allocation of Staff functions
· Authorization, recording and custody procedures including internal verification
Areas for Applications of Internal Controls;
· Receipts
· Payments
· Accounts Payable
· Accounts Receivable
· Procurement
· Sales
· Inventories (Stock of Store)
· Fixed Assets
Budget:
The effective management process of an organizational activity consists of two basic elements: Planning and Control. Planning denotes to Budgeting, which is an important mechanism of organizational internal control. Budget acts as an instrument to provide focus on the future, performance evaluation, coordination, communication as well as a source of motivation.
· Budget is the principal instrument, through which the Executive Committee provides policy guidance to PBM programs and activities. The Operational Management of PBM prepares the Annual Work Plan and corresponding Budget and places to the Executive Committee through the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for approval.
Budget of an organization performs the following functions:
· Expression of broad policy guideline in terms of specific activities;
· Provides guidelines for administrative performance;
· Sets limits of expenditures in specific areas of activities;
· Establishes personnel requirements for the organization;
· Provides the means of monitoring of performance and evaluation of impact.
Budget preparation and program planning:
Budget is prepared and maintained according to fiscal year (July-June). While preparing the budget, due considerations are required on the following factors:
· Strategic orientation of the organization;
· Consistency between program priorities and resource allocation;
· Planned activities of the organization;
· Availability and Source of Fund.
Budget is developed with strategic thrust of program planning. Each Program Unit develops its annual work plan with details of activities with expected income and expenditure, which is submitted to Finance Officer. The senior management then finalizes the draft budget for approval by the EC.
1.3. Experience in related services or projects:
The magnitude of health related problems in CHT is quite healthy and the Khagrachari Hill District is of no exception to this problem. Records indicate that the NGOs working in this region did not have the contemporary health related programs alongside the development activities they began some years back. The problems have been chronic but the remedial measures were inadequate, at least at the government level. However, PBM had the opportunity of gaining knowledge and experience in the related field through implementation of a few numbers of projects related to health, hygiene, sanitation and prevention of communicable diseases in the recent past years. The projects implemented by PBM may be presented as below:
Sl. | Project Title | Objectives | Project area | Beneficiary | Donor |
1. | Community Based Health Project For the Ethnic Indigenous Minority Community In The Hilly Region Of Bangladesh Duration:2005 to 2008 | -To provide health services and spread awareness on health problems affecting the indigenous people most, and to help adopt practices to ensure prevention that will improve health of the vulnerable indigenous population in the project area. | - Khagrachari Upazila - Mahalchari Upazila and - Panchari Upazila | - Landless poor - Day laborers - Marginal farmers - youth - women & - children from 3000 families or approximately 15,000 people | ANESVAD of SPAIN |
2. | Community-based Integrated Rural Health Development Project For the Ethnic Indigenous Minority Community Duration: 2005 to2008 | -To provide healthcare services, water and sanitation, awareness training on health issues | 8 unions of Khagrachari Upazila and Dighinala Upazila | 2000 indigenous minority families including the distressed returnees and internally displaced families | SIMAVI - THE NETHERLANDS |
3. | Pilot Project of Health & Development For the Poor People in khagrachari Hill District Duration: 2008 to 2009 | -To provide treatment to disabled children and rehabilitate them -To ensure Community healthcare & disability prevention -To raise awareness on disability and to promote the rights of the PWD in the society -To arouse awareness on health including the issues of tuberculosis and leprosy -To link up with local schools for health care & health education -To provide training on healthcare | Panchari Sadar Upazila | Disabled children 200 PWDs School children 25 village health volunteers 15 youths received vocational Training | AIFO-ITALY |