Hello everybody, my name is S. M. Shafiqur Rahman, District Infrastructure Manager of Pabna District, for the Chars Livelihoods Programme (CLP) Bangladesh. I have many years of experience in infrastructure development and I have been working with CLP since it began, towards the end of 2004. My main role is to work towards the better management & implementation of the Infrastructure Unit activities. This position is based in Pabna, to ensure cost-effective targeted project delivery following CLP policy, guidelines & design. There is the opportunity to work closely with CLP’s implementing organisations (IMOs), Union officials, Upazila officials, District officials, CLP core participants, the wider community and others stakeholders. The Infrastructure Unit is working on island chars of the Jamuna, Padma & Tista Rivers in north-west Bangladesh, to reduce their environmental & economic risk. To achieve this we provide infrastructure & environmental protection by raising homestead plinths, ensuring better access to improved water and providing access to sanitation facilities.

I am one of the pioneers of this Infrastructure Unit as I was there when we started implementing the first interventions in char areas for CLP participants. We developed various implementation guidelines, financial guidelines, a working policy and programme design.

I completed a Diploma in Civil Engineering from the Technical Education Board, Dhaka and have also finished a Bachelors of Social Science from National University, Bangladesh.

I started my professional career in 1985 with Care International in Bangladesh with whom I worked for nineteen & a half years. During my working life, I built significant work experience, holding various managerial positions in a number of programmes including: the Rural Maintenance Programme (RMP), Food for Works (FFW), Integrated Food for Works (IFFW), the UPWARD & Capacity BUILD Project & the Integrated Food Security Programme (IFSP). I was involved in the implementation and construction of a rural bridge; construction of a Union Parishad model building; market development work for women; IGA works; women empowerment & income; disaster management and response; and capacity building of Union Parishad & its standing committee as well as community people, especially for women. I received and facilitated lots of valuable training from Care International Bangladesh and I had the opportunity to visit many countries during exposure visits.

Outside my regular job, I took on additional managerial responsibilities during the big floods of Bangladesh in 1988 and 1998, as well as during the cyclone of 1991 at Hatia Upazila & Cox’s Bazaar. I was also assigned as Camp In-Charge for the refugee camp “Dechuapalong-II” (Rohinga) for Rohinga refugees coming from Myanmar. My role here was to implement a sanitation project; the biggest one at Ukhia Upazila in Cox’s Bazaar District, Bangladesh.

CLP is an exceptional programme, bringing a new approach and essential infrastructure support to the most vulnerable women on the chars to lift them out of extreme-poverty within 18 months. During the monsoon, flooding forces CLP targeted people to either migrate or live on the roof of their houses. CLP turns their households into a safe place to live during floods by: raising plinths 60cm above the highest known flood level in the area; increasing access to an improved water supply; and improving access to sanitary latrines. Improving basic water and sanitation facilities is a key element of CLP’s holistic package. This is complemented by social development work which provides education on topics such as, the importance of hygiene practices and disaster preparedness.

During the severe floods of 2007, community members without CLP plinths took shelter on the nearest CLP raised homesteads. Recently CLP developed a strategy to repair defective, unused tube wells to ensure those without a clean water supply, now had access. Since CLP phase two, a cost-sharing innovation has been developed for the delivery of low-cost latrines that will increase value for money. Participants are responsible for some of the inputs (e.g. digging the pit and providing concrete rings or a bamboo cage) and CLP are providing subsidy money and a concrete slab, fitted plastic pan & water seal. Moreover, household do not have to be CLP core participants to be eligible for the low-cost latrine. This work is being complemented by the Open Defecation Free campaign. All of our infrastructure interventions also have GPS coordinates to allow us to see their position using google earth.

The work of the Infrastructure Unit is very challenging to implement in the char areas as there are threats of erosion, participants do not own their own land and char dwellers are usually not familiar with using sanitary latrines and taking clean water for drinking. Therefore, we need to ensure enough time is spent on attitude and behaviour change to increase the sustainability of the interventions. Being District Infrastructure Manager, my experience, knowledge & skills are very important to manage and implement the Infrastructure Unit’s work, to improve lives of the char-dwellers.

In the future I wish to continue the work I am doing with poorest people on the island chars. I strongly believe that if we work very closely with the community people then their development is possible. If we can guide them, following CLP’s objectives then they too can be pioneers and play an effective role in changing the livelihoods of others in their society.

I have heard about different blogs but I have never been involved in one before. This is interesting to me as it is an opportunity for people to get to know each other and share their views and ideas on different topics, especially about CLP-related work. I think this blog, initiated by CLP, will be a great platform for development practitioners, especially those working with climate change, food security and livelihoods.

CLP’s hope for the extreme-poor people living on island chars is that they will continue to be encouraged to build their own livelihoods in the future. The opportunity to work with poor people on the chars has allowed me to have good employment development in my life. I like to see that the char people’s livelihoods have changed through knowledge, skills and the effective implementation and use of infrastructure interventions.

As an energetic and experienced member of the CLP family, I strongly believe that if we all continue to work together then we will be able to overcome any challenges and will achieve the overall goal and objectives of CLP.
Thank you all.

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