Sundarban Adibasi Munda Sangastha (SAMS).

Village: Munshigonj, Post Office: Kadamtola-9455,

Upazila: Shyamnagar, District: Satkhira, Bangladesh.

Cell phone Number: +88 01788-373705, 01914274279

E-mail: sams.shyamnagar@gmail.com

Website: www.samsbd.org

Developing men and women socially and financially, establish gender equality, eradicate poverty and develop the ethnic/indigenous community socially and financially, create a clean environment and also institutionalize the organization through combined programs. 

Reforming lives of people who are poor, don’t own land, dependent and lack of self confidence, living a distressed life socially and financially; developing the ethnic/indigenous community socially and financially helping to earn a steady income by using the local resources, establishing gender equality by increasing income and employment, helping practicing democracy, creating a clean environment and making the terminal population self-dependent through developing practice of culture in general. 

Organizational Goal:

To free the human dignity of all Adibashi/Indigenous/Tribal and marginalized people to awaken them to a world of their justice, peace and dignity.

Overall Objective:

To rebuild the spiritual world of cultural and religious values of the indigenous and marginalized people in order to do away with untouchability, caste discrimination, and poverty.

Specific Objectives:

1. To ensure the rights for indigenous and marginalized communites in the Sundarban coastal area.
2. To ensure the ownership of land rights for indigenous and marginalized people.
3. To strengthen the capacity of climate change and adaptations systems.
4. To increase the women and youth empowerment.
5. To promote language and cultures including their traditional customary laws of indigenous communities in the Sundarban coastal area.

ECTOR: 1: Community Education Support

Munda community is a small part of Indigenous groups whose has their own mother language named SADRI. All the Munda people communicate among them by this SADRI language. The little children could not speak Bengali language fluently. As a result SAMS has started Community Tutition Support Program (CTSP) with the help of Fr. Luigi Paggi S.X. from 2003.

Under the Shyamnagar and Tala Upazila there are about 28 Mundapara and we have 14 Community Tuition School Program (CSP). Primary level students are come to school twice a day and they also go to Govt. Primary School. The little children or Munda students could not understand Bengali language so they prepare their lesson under this CSP School by their own language. Our community teachers are Munda because, they adjustment with Bengali language and SADRI language.

Under this project SAMS provided education materials for the Primary Munda students. 

SECTOR 2: Water and Sanitation Activities

Water and sanitation issues are very important for the indigenous and Dalit people of South-West part of Bangladesh. Actually the indigenous and Dalit people have no strong hygenie systems because they are economically weak. The indigenous and Dalit people are disadvantaged and they follow their community process which is not healthy. So, SAMS is working about this issue for the indigenous and Dalit people of Sundarban areas.

Pure drinking water crisis is increasing day by day in Sundarban coastal areas. Cyclone Aila hit the coastal area in May 25, 2009. Aftern cyclone Aila most of the drinking water sources destroyed. The people of coastal areas are dependable on Pond and PSF (Pond Sand Filter). Anyway, government and non-government organizations (NGOs) are trying to improve about pure driniing water.

SAMS is also working about the water and sanitation for long time. SAMS also provide the water Dram to reserve the rain water during the monsoon period. The water Drams are 2000 liters capacity and a small family get pure drinking water for one year. This system save their time and get healthy.

At present salinity increasing day by day and shrimp farming also increasing in our areas. Most of land owners are interested about Shrimp farming. The poor family and marginalized people are faced the lack of working opportunity at our areas.

SECTOR 3: Climate Change and Adaptation

The south west area of Bangladesh is very risk for climate change. Some environmental hazards are directly spreading the food security and livelihoods of the people in this area day by day. At present the main threats of sustainable livelihood and food security has been created by the climate change. Not only are these, the problems in this area controlled by increasing the hazards of climate change.

In 2009 cyclone Aila affected this area and destroyed huge amount of live stocks, houses, human lives etc. After Aila saline water are available everywhere. As a result agriculture activities are not seen in this area. We want to start paddy cultivation, live stocks -agricultural product in their yard or their small field. They cannot get pure drinking water. After cyclone Aila SAMS has done something for the Aila affected Munda people. SAMS has bought some lands and built their houses. We settled 100 families in our new five villages from Koyra (Khulna) and Gabura (Shyamnagar). We think if we support them, then they cultivate various vegetables, trees and they prepared a nursery in their small field.

SECTOR 4: Human Rights & Protection

Human rights and protection is the important part of SAMS at present time. SAMS is working about this issue at 4 Unions (Burigoalini, Munshigonj, Ishwaripur and Shyamnagar Sadar) under Shyamnagar Upazila. A project named Promoting Human Right of Ethnic and Dalit Women (PHRED) project is implemented funded by UKaid and supported by Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) . Under this project we have total 2010 beneficiaries and 67 Ethnic People Organization (EPOs) and Dalit People Organization (DPOs) groups. The mail goal of this project is Strengthening Dalit & Ethnic human rights action for elimination of Caste Base Discrimination. Major Activities: A) About 67 EPOs/DPOs group formation. B) Organize 2010 Court Yard meeting C) Organize 4 batches training on violence against women and girls D) Organize 24 Coordination meeting with 4 LGs E) Organize 6 Linkage meeting with Upazila Administration F) Organize 6 linkage meeting with Forest & Coast Gourd G) Organize 12 linkage meeting with legal aid service providers H) Provide legal support for 67 women I) Preparing women database for 120 women J) Organize 4 linkage building with public service providers. K) Organize total 9 day observation on wider population aware on the Rights of Dalit and Ethnic people.

SECTOR 5: Cultural Activities

Every Indigenous group has their own language and cultural structure. The Munda community has also their own language and culture. The Munda community of the South-Western area has own language named SADRI. SAMS has also provides a cultural team to carry on Cultural activities Language what present own songs and dances named Nagri and Jhumur. Every festival, occasions and ceremony we try to show our own cultural activities by songs and dances. 

A. Development plan for the community

The Munda communities in Bangladesh are mostly resident in the South-West of the Country, in Khulna District and Satkhira District, at the limits of the Sundarban costal forest. They are considered tribal people; most of them are considered of Hindu religion, however they maintain a specific ancient and rich cultural heritage, with their own language and traditions.

Munda people originate probably from the Indian States of Jharkhando and West Bengal, India. They owned a special skill in forest clearing and earth movement works, such as pond digging and embankment construction, together with the capacity to live in extreme environmental conditions. For these reasons, during the British period, the landlords of the south-western regions brought them to today’s Bangladesh to cut the Sundarban to obtain agricultural land, to dig ponds to collect rainwater and make embankment to hamper the saline water from entering into the cultivable lands. They received the property of some land in the areas where they lived and worked, with the condition that people not belonging to the Munda communities were not allowed to buy Munda land. This law, aimed to protect their properties, was not observed and, with the time, almost all the Munda communities were deprived of their lands and become landless.

B. Empowering the Women and Youth

According to the gender development activity SAMS try to develop the Munda girl. The girl takes computer training from SAMS training centre always try to facilitated provide other kinds of training with another organization. SAMS always believe that these kinds of activies aim will be able to stop early marriage, school dropout protect from Sexual exploitation and abuse in the community.

 SAMS try to provide different kinds training (Leadership, IGA humanrights gender base violence,   family building & awareness conception) for a few number women to help for their economic and social empowerment. They have also get cash support for IGA.

C. Adolescent motivation network

SAMS has a good adolescent team who are working some social activity. This team is formed with school, college student and youth group of different village. They arrange a monthly meeting and discuses about their situation. They find out the problem of the other adolescent group in different of rural indigenous peoples and try to give solution by the help of SAMS. Early marriage, health conscious awareness in young girl, School drops out children empowerment, handicraft exacta is the main activity of the Team.