Who We Are

Brief History of the Organization:

Khagrapur Mahila Kalyan Samity (KMKS) is a non-profit, non-government women focal organization working with poor and vulnerable people, especially the women and children in Khagrachari Hill District of Bangladesh. KMKS, a leading local development organization and women focal organization (NGO) at Khagrachari Hill District, came into being in 1993 by some local, educated and dynamic women social workers from the indigenous community under the guidance of Ms. Shefalika Tripura, a widely respected social worker and women rights activist in Khagrachari.

Initially, KMKS was not established as NGO. The concept of KMKS was first conceived in the mind of Ms. Shefalika Tripura in 1988. She used to feel to do something for the illiterate and poor women of the ethnic marginalized communities observing their conditions. These poor women used to struggle to help their families financially. Shefalika along with her like-minded associates started organizing the poor illiterate women and requested them to hold meeting and generate savings for their future. They formed the Khagrapur Mahila Kalyan Samity on 12th March 1993 at Khagrapur village of Sadar Upazilla under Khagrachari Hill District. As the poor women could not sign, read and write, Shefalika started adult literacy program at her own finances for educating them. The positive effects of this literacy program made Shefalika more inspired. It led her to give this group of women to a more formal institutional shape with legal and sustainable basis. They applied for registration of the group from the competent authority to work in more effective ways for the socio-economic development of the poor and marginalized women. In 1999 their dream came true, Khagrapur Mahila Kalyan Samity started its work as a non-government organization after obtaining registration from the Directorate of Women Affairs with an aim at propelling the sidelined community people to a level of self-sustenance.

KMKS primarily seeks to alleviate grinding poverty of the neglected local people by way of offering them access to a host of relieving avenues. It is relentlessly striving to find means for its poor beneficiaries to coming out of poverty through activities like, skill training, technology transfer, access to micro-credit, savings, various income generating activities and so forth. KMKS intends to bring about positive changes among people in need irrespective of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status in CHT and other parts of Bangladesh. KMKS believes and feels the need for cooperation and solidarity among all classes of people in the society for achieving its goal and objectives.

KMKS believes in non-directive, bottom up, integrated and participatory development principles and acts as a catalyst with its concerned people.

The goal and objectives of KMKS are:

Goal:

To empower poor and vulnerable people, particularly women and children in society through strengthening their social, economic, cultural and legal rights, and capacity and put them in the center of development programs so that they can realize their rights and potentials to live with dignity and without fear of violence. 

Objectives:

  • To enhance access of vulnerable people, particularly women and children to resources and services;
  • To strengthen capacity of women and children to realize their rights with regard to social, economic, cultural and legal rights; and
  • To put them in the center of development programs so that they can realize their rights and potentials to become self-dependent.

Project Implementation Performance:

Immediately after receiving registration, KMKS was supported by Bangladesh Nari Progati Sangha (BNPS) in 2000 with a project awareness raising and capacity building of the indigenous women. Then KMKM received funding support from DANIDA with a project “Income Generating Activities Trough Home-based Vegetable Cultivation” in 2004 which helped improving income level of 100 Indigenous women through the home-based vegetable cultivation and creation of alternative employment opportunity.

Over about three decades KMKS has successfully implemented 16 different development projects, out of which, 9 community & women empowerment projects including health & sanitation and non-formal education program, 2 gender & violence against women projects, 2 youth and adolescent development projects, and 3 good governance related projects. It was also involved in other short and long-term programs in the areas of research, and community development initiatives.

KMKS is currently running four projects focusing the thematic areas: human rights, good governance promotion, adolescents & young women health, and women empowerment. The running four projects are:

  1. Action Research for Alternative Development and Capacity Enhancement for Good Governance in CHT funded by Bread for the World, Germany having budget of 121.50 Mil with a duration of 4 years and 8 months from January 2019 to August 2023 is operational in six Upazila under three Hill districts namely Bandarban, Khagrachari and Rangamati CHT and Dhaka & Chattagram Metropoliton area; The objectives of the project are:
    1. To build the capacity of a group of women so that they could actively participate in the governance systems and decision making at local level;
    1. To increase the capacity of the social workers and involved them in this process of governance systems.
    1. To replicate and deepen the model at community level and communicate the model to relevant actors at local, national and international level.
    1. To integrate the issues of gender justice into the consolidation and mainstreaming of the model.
    1. To use conflict transformation and LCP to address the obstacles to just peace in the process of mainstreaming the model.
  • Our Life, Our Health, Our Futures: Empowering Adolescent Girls and Youth Women in Chittagong Hill Tracts funded by Simavi (Lead by BNPS) having budget of 25.90 Mil with a duration of four years and five months from August 2019 to December 2023 is being implemented in Mahalchari & Guimara Upazilla under Khagrachari Hill District. The objectives of the project are:
    • To build the capacity of community members on menstrual health and MHM friendly and safe toilets, and women and girls on re-usable sanitary pads;
    • To establish girls’ clubs that support girls in making informed decisions and claiming their sexual and reproductive health and rights;
    • To engage mothers, men and boys in dialogue to re-evaluate norms and practices that are negatively affecting girls’ SRHR and safety.
  • Promoting Rights through Mobilization and Empowerment (PRiME) funded by Bread for the world (lead by BNPS) having budget of 2.74 Mil with 6 years project period from July 2018 to June 2024 is being implemented in Khagrachari hill district.

The objective of the project is to increased activism of grassroots women and youth organization in establishing their due rights and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAW/G) reported.

  • Road to Empowerment of Women and Girls (REWG) in Khagrachari funded by Manusher Jonno Foundation having budget of 14.42 Mil with three years and ten months from March 2020 to December 2023. The objectives of the project are:
    • To increase participation of women and girls in decision making processes at family, society and institution level;
    • To Improve access of ethnic women to resources and services;
    • To Improve social status of Ethnic women and girls for reducing VAW and gender equality;
    • To Increase income of women and girls group members;

VISION, MISSION, VALUES AND THEMATIC PRIORITIES OF KMKS

  1. Vision Statement:

To build an empowered, equal, inclusive and poverty-free society where women, girls and children are able to realize their full social, economic, and civic rights for achieving empowerment and social justice and to live with dignity and respect.

  1. Mission Statement:

To support the poor and vulnerable people, especially the women, girls and children in society, putting them in the mainstream of development in order to improve their socio-economic and cultural status; to promote gender equality; and to secure human rights through partnership and collaboration with supportive stakeholders to live with dignity. 

  1. Core Values:

KMKS has identified the following guiding principles that set standards of acceptable behavior; organizational judgement of what is important and fundamental beliefs of the organization:

  • Accountability & Transparency: KMKS shall be accountable to its stakeholders through transparent processes in the use of resources and operate an efficient system that fosters management excellence in achieving results.
  • Justice and equality: KMKS strongly believes in an equal and just society where people live in peace and dignity and have access to the necessary resources and opportunities for sustainable growth.
  • Diversity and Social Inclusion: KMKS underlines on inclusion to mobilize the most vulnerable and excluded people, especially of the persons with disability, women and children, poor and destitute people to make them accessible in mainstream and to have their voice heard.
  • Loyalty to the Laws of the State and CEDAW: KMKS shall always be loyal to all level stakeholders from beneficiaries to the state including laws and regulations of the country and international treaty CEDAW, and support towards good governance.
  • Community engagement:  KMKS values community engagement and participation in all respects of community development processes and recognizes the needs and interests of all participants including their decisions.
  • Collaboration and Partnership: KMKS believes in diverse collaboration and partnerships with government, non-government organizations, civil societies, human rights organizations, international organizations is key for human rights promotion of the people.
  1. Thematic Areas and Priorities of KMKS

KMKS currently works in the areas of human rights, good governance, reproductive health, sanitation, income generation, women empowerment and leadership development, legal support & rehabilitation of victims of violence, ecological conservation, climate change and bio-diversity. Under this strategic plan, the following thematic areas or priorities of KMKS with some reshuffling of the current priorities are considered:

  • Social Empowerment Sector

Priority: Human Rights and Gender Justice

  • Women and Child Rights Promotion
  • Women Leadership (traditional) Development 
  • Legal Aid and Rehabilitation Support to Violence Victims/ Survivors
  • Gender Based Violence (GBV) case management
  • Policy advocacy and networking
  • Economic Empowerment Sector

Priority: Skills Development and Income Generation

  • Youth and Adolescents Skills Development
  • Women entrepreneurship development
  • Livelihood, employment opportunities creation and marketing
  • Access to financial resources
  • Ecological Conservation and Development
  • Natural resource management
  • Watershed and biodiversity conservation
  • Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation
  • Basic Services Sector

Priority: Primary health care and education

  • Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights of Women and Adolescent girls 
  • Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion
  • Access to basic services (Social Security/ Safetynet Schemes, Essential Health Care)
  • Non-formal and Formal Education
  • Organizational Development
  • Organizational system and policy development
  • Human resource development and management
  • Resource mobilization/ fund raising
  • Partnership, Collaboration and Innovation 

Governance and Management of KMKS:

KMKS is governed by a dedicated team of 9-member Executive Committee (EC) having 100% female members from different professions namely development workers, social workers, activities, and entrepreneurs from indigenous community (Tripura) elected for 5 years period. The EC holds meeting regularly after every three months. On top of this EC, there is a General Committee with minimum 45 members with 100% female as per constitution that elects the executive body. The organizational structure also has a provision of an advisory committee and ad-hoc committee which is formed by the EC. The Executive Committee is overall responsible for organizational performance and compliance issues supported by the Executive Director for quality operation of program and financial management, budgeting, auditing, etc. The GC approves policies, annual budget, audit, and provides feedback and advice to the Executive Committee on strategies for service improvement and innovation.

Even though KMKS is a small organization, it has total 34 staff members out of which 4 staff members are general staff while 30 staff members are project based. Four general staff members in KMKS include executive director, finance and admin coordinator, finance and admin assistant and one volunteer. The project staff members are appointed under three different projects of KMKS. They are: Fifteen staff members including one project director, four coordinators including finance, and eight staff members including program officer, finance officer and other program support staff are under the project “Action Research for Alternative Development and Capacity Enhancement for Good Governance in CHT (ARAD-CHT)”;  eight staff members including one project coordinator, one M&E officer, and other program support staff under the project “Our Life, Our Health, Our Futures: Empowering Adolescent Girls and Youth Women in Chittagong Hill Tracts”; and seven staff members including one project coordinator, one finance and admin officer and three other field and program support staff under the project “Road to Empowerment of Women and Girls (REWG) in Khagrachari.” Of the total staff members 47% are female while 53% are male staff members in KMKS with sufficient qualification, experience and skills. Apparently, there seems general staff in KMKS but they are not permanent rather all are project based. KMKS needs to give special attention on the areas of permanent staff and their capacity strengthening.