Voluntary Association for Rural Development (VARD) is a national Non-Government Organization (NGO), established in January 20, 1988 with the initiative of founder and Executive Director and former UN volunteer Mr. Amranul Hoque Kamal. VARD runs major part of its integrated development activities in Sylhet division, northeast part of the country. VARD also implements development activities in Dhaka and Chittagong divisions. VARD regulates its project activities and maintain communication and liaison with donor agencies, concerned govt. departments and other related organizations from Head Office, Dhaka in the capital city of Bangladesh.

Background

Voluntary Association for Rural Development (VARD) runs its major parts of development activities in Sylhet division, which still belongs to relatively untouched area, sufficient local development institutions did not emerge, government initiatives have been as else where rudimentary, the gap between poor and rich rise social imbalance, high degree of conservatism and significant influence of fundamental have hindered the process of development in the Sylhet division.

Child and adult education is low, high dropouts are normal phenomena, health facilities and health centers are inadequate, family planning services are poorly available, hygienic sanitation practice is alarming form, access to safe drinking water is scare and credit for the poor is not accessible. Natural water flow is disrupted. Natural calamities like flash flood and earthquake are frequent phenomena, siltation of rivers and canals results in water logging and flash floods, risk reduction activities are not effective in terms of mass awareness on disaster risk reduction & management, relief & rehabilitation, social terrorism region over laws, people are vulnerable to easy drug availability, local cottage industry is diminishing due to missing market linkage, lack of capital and lack of modern production technology, people are not aware about sustainable livestock. Tea garden workers are traditionally living as quasi slaves. Government's khasland policy is influenced by the encroachers and influential people. The infrastructure facilities in the area are underdeveloped, social and religious leaders do not actively participate in the development activities.

Vision of VARD:

The vision of VARD is "an enlightened humanistic society with a sustainable basis for livelihood."

Mission of VARD:

VARD is committed to develop a self-reliant and socially competitive community of poor, women and children. We strive to accomplish this through poverty alleviation, health care, institution building, livelihood development and networking. Our actions are driven by the principles of equity, sustainability and environmental protection.

Values of VARD

The people of VARD have agreed on a set of values as guiding principles to establish a favorable internal environment and thus contribute to the defined mission.

• - The staff member will practice mutual respect at work place
• - VARD will evaluate its employees based on their performance
• - Free sharing of experiences, view and information will create a sound basis for organization decisions
• - Participatory practices and mutual cooperation will govern interpersonal behaviour
• - Organizational rules and regulations will apply equally for all
• - VARD will encourage self-initiative and sense of responsibility
• - Self-criticism and honesty will be the cornerstones of staff behaviour
• - Employees will use resources economically and prudently towards making a sustainable institution
• - The staff member will consider the organizational issues a strictly internal. They will remain conscious of gender sensitive behaviour both at work place and out side.
• - Beneficiary orientation (peoples demand, local resource mobilization, cooperation with stakeholders) will always apply in program planning, implementation and evaluation

Objectives

• - To organize economically and socially vulnerable people especially women towards self-reliance and empowerment.
• - To strengthen capacity of the community people in institution building & group savings, to take collective initiative to alleviate poverty of community people through income & employment generation.
• - To establish gender equity in the society and ensure the empowerment of women.
• - To drive away the illiteracy from the community through implementing education programs for the adult, adolescent and children.
• - To provide community and clinic based reproductive health care, child health care and nutrition services as well as raises awareness on primary health care, nutrition, sanitation and safe drinking water. To manage and prevent/control of STIs, RTIs, HIV/AIDs and communicable diseases.
• - To provide comprehensive eye care services and community based rehabilitation with a sustainable basis.
• - To promote ecologically sound and sustainable agriculture, social-forestation, fisheries and livestock.
• - Establishment of own resources to increase income for the sustainability of the organization.
• - To organize and development network under the leading of VARD by uniting the local NGOs/CBOs those work at grass-root level in the development aspect in view of organizational capacity building as well as maximum utilization of available local resources.