Integrated Development Foundation (IDF) Annual Report 2010

of the General Body. The extra meetings were necessary to fulfill the requirments of the newly introduced Micro Regulatory Authority (MRA) conditions. I think all members of the General Body for their cooperation, support and active participation in these meetings in providing policy decisions and guidance.

This annual report presents the status of the details of activities done during the year 2010 along with the growth trends. I congratulate those who had done the hard work of preparing the report. I do believe than the readers will get an insight of IDF activities through this report. However, any suggestions from the readers will enable us to enrich the quality of the report in future.

A. K. Fazlul Bari
Chairperson, IDF

NOTE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

IDF completed 17 years in 2010. IDF has been able to implement the policies and programs as per methodologies set in 2009 and started recovering the shocks due to global financial crisis and high food prices. Hard work of IDF staff members played very important role in recovering from crisis in 2010. The branch to branch visit of higher management and orientation of grassroots staff to understand causes of crisis and their solutions and salary increase were very useful.

Based on the review of cost of living and salaries and benefits of the staff by the Board, IDF increased the salaries of the staff in July 2008 and July 2010 which helped to reduce delinquency and improve the quality of portfolio during this period.

The overall growth in 2010 was satisfactory. The total increase in membership, loan portfolio and members' savings in 2010 were repectively 3,442 (4.4% increase on 2009), Tk. 104.9 million (23.2% increase on 2009) and Tk. 33.29 million (15.5% increase on 2009). The repayment rate increased from 99.16% in 2009 to 99.54% in 2010. The growth of membership was low in 2010 as the consolidation in the organization was still going on. The portfolio quality, savings accumulation and repayment rate improved in 2010.

The improvement in 2010 was possible becase of hard work of IDF staff members and sincere cooperation from our development partners and local social leaders of our working areas particularly in Chittagong Hill Tracts. We are very grateful to Grameen Trust, Sida, Helen Keller International, PKSF, Grameen Foundation USA, Deutsche Bank, CowBank (Australia), BWTP (South Asian Microfinance Forum), Basic Bank, Sonali Bank, BRAC Bank, One Bank, Mercantile Bank, Government of Bangladesh, IDCOL, CHT Regional Council, NGO Affairs Bureau, NGO Foundation, CHT District Councils, Deputy Commissioners, Upazila Nirbahi Officers and law Enforcing Bodies for their supports and cooperation.

We are also grateful to our Board Members for their active support in implementing various programs in 2010. I cordially thank our founder and life members for their active and positive role and guiding us to take appropriate policies and measures in 2010

Continuous support of our friends, partners and well wishers would gear up our strength to fight poverty.

Zahirul Alam
Executive Director, IDF

Microcredit Summit Champaign's Goal

• 175 million of the world’s poorest families, especially the women of those families, are receiving credit for self-employment and other financial and business services by the end of 2015; and

• 100 million of the world’s poorest families move from below US$ 1.00 a day adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP) to above US$ 1.00 a day adjusted for PPP, by the end of 2015.

INTRODUCTION

Integrated Development Foundation (IDF) is a non-profit, non-political and a non-government organization established in December 1992 by Mr. Zahirul Alam, a former ILO staff member and founder member-secretary of the Rural Economics Program of the Department of Economics at the University of Chittagong from where Grameen Bank Microfinance Model was developed by Nobel Laureate Prof. Professor Muhammad Yunus in the 1970s.

IDF started its journey through micro-finance program in a small para (sub-village) of Shoalok Union of Bandarban Hill District in 1993 with a seed capital of US$7,500.00(loan) from Grameen Trust. As it was found very useful, the Demand of IDF’s small loans grew very fast in the area, which was not possible to meet with small seed capital received from Grameen Trust. For meeting this demand, IDF approached various donors for support as advised by Prof. Muhammad Yunus. Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency (Sida) responded immediately and supported IDF for experiment and expansion of Grameen Microfinance Model in the whole of Chittagong Hill Tracts in the framework of a long-term (8 years) sustainable plan. IDF implemented the project successfully, which subsequently attracted other donors and partners including Bangladesh Government, PKSF, ILO, Helen Keller International (HKI), UNICEF, CARE Bangladesh, AusAID, IDCOL, Grameen Foundation USA, Deutsche Bank, CowBank (Australia), Basic Bank, Sonali Bank, Bangladesh Krishi Bank, Bank Asia Ltd., Prime Bank Ltd., One Bank and others.

VISION

Create poverty free Bangladesh.

MISSION

Combating poverty in the impassable hilly regions and other un-served areas of Bangladesh for creating a poverty free Bangladesh.

OBJECTIVE

The main objective of IDF is to assist the poor, the landless, the destitute women and children, small farmers and disabled persons in order to enable them to gain access to resources and undertake various income-generating and other activities for poverty alleviation and to enhance their quality of life in terms of health, nutrition, sanitation, education, safe water, housing and the environment through building effective institutions of their own, which they can understand and operate and can find socio-economic strength in it through mutual support.

GOVERNANCE

The supreme authority of IDF is General Body. It is composed of 18 members from different professions. A Governing Body consisting of 7 members is elected from amongst the General Body of the Foundation. The General Body is the highest policy and decision making body members of IDF. The Governing Body is responsible for the guidance of plan and budget for the programs and projects to be implemented by the organization. The Governing Body evaluates and monitors the implementation of policies, programmes and projects through various monitoring tools and visits to the project areas. A Chairman elected by the General Body who heads both General and Governing Body. The Executive Director works as Member-Secretary of both the Bodies.

The Executive Director is the Chief Executive of the Foundation and responsible for the smooth implementation of all activities of the Foundation. He implements the activities through the appointed professionals and support staff of the Foundation.

THE OPERATIONAL AREA

The present operational area of IDF is Chittagong Hill Tracts, Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Dhaka, Noakhali, Chandpur, Comilla and Feni, Rajshahi, Chapai Nawabganj, Naoga and Natore.

A brief description of the major operational areas is presented below.

Chittagong Hill Tracts

The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) is a beautiful and strange piece of land with rocks, hills, lakes and sea. These are very difficult and remote areas, inhabited by about thirteen very poor tribes with different languages and cultures. The area is wedged between the Bay of Bengal and the hills of Mizoram of India.

The CHT is a 13,295 sq. km. region of hills consisting of Bandarban, Rangamati and Khagrachari districts located in the south-east of Bangladesh. As per the preliminary result of the Population Census 2001, the total population of CHT is 1.325 million; of which 52 percent are tribal people. Historically, Chittagong Hill Tracts enjoyed the status of a self-governing territory and administered by Hill King which continued until the British East India Company annexed Bengal in 1787. The Chakma Raja (King) then signed an agreement after a long armed conflict, under which Chakma territory became a British tributary on the payment of 20 tons of cotton. This was later extended to other parts of CHT. In 1860, the British formally annexed CHT and upgraded its status to a full-fledged district.

The people of Chittagong Hill Tracts are very poor and they live mainly on Jhum cultivation and bamboo and wood collection from forests, which are major causes of deforestation and soil erosion in the area. Most people of this area live in absolute poverty. Despite of all the efforts of the government, the people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts still lack access to various services such as credit, agricultural inputs and extension services, medical facilities, sanitation and safe drinking water. This is mainly because of i) scattered population, ii) poor communication system, iii) remoteness of the area and iv) political problem. The language barrier further aggravates the situation.

The sentiment of the people of CHT was hurt when the construction of 666 meters long and 43 meters high hydroelectric dam at Kaptai started in 1957. The immediate impact of dam was the submergence of a vast area of natural forests and 54,000 acres of arable land (40% of total cultivable lands in CHT) of the area. It also made about 1,800 families homeless. The displaced people were not properly rehabilitated. As a result, their settlement and construction of new houses in the inaccessible regions led to rampant deforestation. It is also said that some families crossed the border and migrated.

Adverse economic impacts created by Kaptai Dam on displaced people gradually resulted in armed insurgency in CHT. The counter-insurgency measures by the then Pakistan Government through military action worsened the situation. The increased military presence in CHT and search for insurgents created unsettled situation among CHT inhabitants. It was a very tense situation when IDF started its micro-finance program in CHT in 1993.

Chittagong

Chittagong district is quite different from other districts in its unique natural beauty characterized by hills, rivers, sea, forests, and valleys. The greater Chittagong district was established in 1666 including the present Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar and the three hill districts. The district of Chittagong Hill Tracts was established in 1,860 with the hilly regions of the district. Later, Chittagong district was further divided into Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar districts. The district consists of one City Corporation, 7 municipalities, 20 upazilas, 197 union parishads and 1,319 villages.

Cox’s Bazar

The area of Cox’s Bazar district is 2,491.86 sq. km. It is bounded by Chittagong district on the north, Bay of Bengal on the south, Bandarban district, Arakan (Myanmar) and the Naf river on the east, and the Bay of Bengal on the west. Cox’s Bazar thana was established in 1854. Cox’s Bazar subdivision was formed comprising of Cox’s Bazar Sadar, Chakoria, Maheshkhali, and Teknaf thanas. Afterwards, three new thanas (Ukhia, Kutubdia, and Ramu) were created under this subdivision. In 1984, the thanas were transformed into upazilas and Cox’s Bazar subdivision was elevated to a district under the decentralization scheme. It consists of 7 upazilas, 2 municipalities, 60 union parishads, 199 mouzas and 966 villages.

Rajshahi

The area of Rajshahi district is 2,407 sq. km. It is bounded by Naogaon district on the north; West Bengal of India, Kushtia district and the Ganges on the south; Natore district on the east and the Nawabgonj district on the west. Rajshahi district was established in 1772. It has one City Corporation with 4 thanas, 7 municipalities, 93 wards, 297 mahallas, 9 upazilas, 70 union parishads, 1,678 mouzas and 1,858 villages. Rajshahi town stands on the bank of the river Padma. It is both district and divisional town.

Dhaka

Dhaka District is geographically located almost at the centre of the country surrounded by Narayanganj in the east, Gazipur in the north, Munshiganj and Faridpur in the south and Manikganj District in the west. The total area of this district is 1463.60 Sq. Km. (565.10 Sq. miles) of which 45.92 Sq. Km is riverine.

Dhaka District or Dhaka Zilla is the oldest district of the country. There are different views about the origin of the zilla name. There are various opinions about the naming of the Dhaka Zilla or Dhaka District. One opinion was that the name Dhaka was derived from the word Dhakka (meaning watch station) which was required to be set to the water-ways near the present city of Dhaka. Dhaka district consists of several Thanas under Dhaka municipal area as well as five (5) upazillas. Dhaka City has seven (7) principal thanas and fourteen (14) auxiliary thanas under its jurisdiction.

Comilla

Comilla is a city in south-eastern Bangladesh, located along the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway. Comilla is located at 23°27 N, 91°12 E, and has a total area of 280 square kilometers. It is bounded by Burchiganj and Tripura on the north, Laksham and Chauddagram on the south, and Barura on the west. The major rivers that pass through Comilla include Gumti and Little Feni.

Chandpur

Chandpur is a district in east-central Bangladesh. It is located at the mouth of the Meghna river. It is a part of the Chittagong Division. The town of Chandpur is terminus of a metre gauge branch of Bangladesh Railways.

Chandpur district has a total area of 1704.06 square kilometers. It is bounded by Munshiganj District and Comilla District on the north, Noakhali District, Lakshmipur District and Barisal District on the south, Comilla District on the east, and Meghna river, Shariatpur District and Munshiganj District on the west.

Chandpur is the confluence of two of the mightiest rivers of Bangladesh.. the Padma river (the main branch of the river Ganges) and the Meghna river, which meet near Chandpur Town. Important tributaries of the Meghna river flowing through Chandpur are Dakatia river, Dhanagoda river, Matlab river and Udhamdi river.

Noakhali

Noakhali is a district in south-eastern Bangladesh. Noakhali District is located in the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh. It has a land area of 3600.99 km², and is bounded by the Comilla district in the north, the Meghna estuary and the Bay of Bengal in the south, Feni and Chittagong districts in the east, Lakshmipur and the Bhola districts in the west.

The Main problem of the Water Sector in Noakhali area is the acute drainage problem since mid seventies. This is due to the reclaimed land with very mild slope. Flat terrain hinders the drainage. Situation becomes complicated by the haphazard road construction by LGED, R&H department and also encroachment of natural creeks and khals by people. The only drainage route i.e. Noakhali khal has no longer been a sufficient means for draining out huge catchment rainfall runoff. That is why the entire Noakhali District has now been suffering from drainage congestion.

Noakhali district, whose earlier name was Bhulua, was established in 1821. It consists of 9 upazillas, 5 municipalities, 45 wards, 90 mahallas, 83 union parishads, 909 mouzas and 978 villages.

THE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

The organizational structure of IDF can be arranged as General Body, Board of Governors, Executive Director and various departments. The programmes are implemented through head office, coordination office, area office and branch offices. The branch offices work directly with the poor people in their respective areas; organize them with a view to building a receiving mechanism among the poor and implementing various socio-economic programs for them. The offices above the branch supervise, monitor and provide guidance to the branch offices.