Bangladesh Mahila Parishad - Norad

344.4.3 Training in management and financeA number of short training courses on management and finance have been held.They include training in computer skills, financial management, and English. Themain constraint on implementation of training programmes appears to be the heavywork schedule of the potential participants. Every month training needs are reviewedby the administration. Skills that have been given priority in 2012 are report writing,computer skills, office management, and English language skills. The sub-committeesecretaries decide on who should receive training each year and training needs arediscussed in evaluations at the end of each year.District branch staff is given financial training in Dhaka once a year, at the divisionallevel, and through visits by head office staff to the branch offices. On top of theregular training programmes, training is also provided on a needs basis. Computertraining has been given to branch staff in the form of a three day trainingprogramme. Training has been outsourced and tailored to staff needs.4.5 Recruitment of organizers, volunteers and workersResponsibility for recruitment rests with the organizational sub-committee.Recruitment is done by organizers at the district level who often work with theirhome communities. When recruiting new members, BMP explains that membershipinvolves learning about rights and becoming aware of rights, and that BMP iscommitted to support members in the long term. When 25 women have beenrecruited, they form a primary committee, a para-committee. Primary committees whenset up receive training on organizational issues from the district committee. Theprimary activity of the para-committees is to organize discussions on issues ofrelevance to human rights and gender. This may include discussions onempowerment of women, resistance to dowry and child marriage, and what it meansto be a BMP member.In Belabo, one district committee member relayed how she targeted two familieswhom she knew would need assistance from BMP due to their specific problems,and she devised a strategy to persuade them to join. Mobilizers said barriers torecruitment were time constraint faced by women, as well as the lack of direct,material benefits on offer.In their self-assessment members/staff found that BMP had higher mobilizationcapacity than before. Measures had also been taken to include young people; forexample by giving special emphasis to this aspect in training programs and also byway of their inclusion in study circles.