Vision

Shimantik’s vision is to bring a social movement to empower disadvantage people especially women and children of Bangladesh.

Mission

Shimantik’s mission is to create an enabling environment for integrated development initiative aim at betterment of underserved populace to ensure quality service and technical assistance in health, education, environment, research, human resource development, livelihood and other multi-dimensional approaches.

Core Values

Shimantik’s actions are driven by the principles of equity, transparency, openness, sustainability and environmental protection. Shimantik as a development change maker preaches and practices have certain organizational values. These include:

» Actively encourages its people reach to their highest potential
» Practice high degree of self-discipline
» Neutrality and non-political
» Cost consciousness
» Indiscrimination in respect to religion, class, cast, and gender
» Transparency and accountability for all staff

General Council (GC)

General Council (GC) is the highest level body of the organization, which is consists of more than 70 members from different professionals. GC meets once yearly in the Annual General Meeting (AGM). The role of GC is to elect Central Executive Committee (CEC) member for 2 years duration, review the ongoing organizational activities and approve the yearly organizational activity plan, formulate and approve policies and annul budget.

Regional Executive Committee (REC)

There are four REC which represents the CEC to implements Shimantik’s different projects and program for different places and locations. Each REC has 7 members elected by CEC for two years duration like CEC. These RECs provide support to different projects as and when required on behalf of CEC.

Senior management team (SMT)

Shimantik has its senior management team (SMT) constituted by ED, DEDs, Directors and project heads/chiefs of different project. The SMT lead by the Executive Director where some key professionals of Shimantik volunteers (member of CEC/REC) involved. The main objective of formation the SMT is to review the progress of different project wise activities of Shimantik regularly and suggest corrective measures, if necessary. It also discus, share its opportunity, challenges, problems and take initiatives to resolve the problem (if any) during implementing the project activities. It helps the organization to reach its set goals, objectives properly and accelerates the momentum of delivering the services with the highest level of quality.

Shimantik implements the projects by following approaches:

⇒ Project to program, research to program
⇒ Capacity Building of Community and local institute
⇒ Community participation in developing project proposal and implementation process
⇒ Experience sharing, research findings dissemination and scaling up
⇒ Community contribution
⇒ Cost sharing
⇒ Make resources available for the benefit of stakeholders and beneficiaries

Managing large donor funds and experience in program management

Shimantik’s strong management experience is evident from its large donor based projects including USAID/ NHSDP, DFID, UNICEF, ADB/UPHCP, Johns Hopkins University (JHU),UNFPA, WFP, GFATM, WHO, National Institute of Health (NIH), Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Save the Children International etc. The organization has twelve senior Public Health Specialists in its core staff. The full time Executive Director and other professionals of Shimantik have enough experiences to implement and manage different programs. Since its inception, it has been managing large number of donors funded projects like urban primary health care service delivery project (UPHCSDP), Smiling Sun Franchise Project (SSFP), NGO Health Service Delivery Project (NHSDP), Integrated Safe motherhood, new-born care and family planning project, Marketing innovation for health (MIH) project etc. Since in 2001, Shimantik has been implementing several research project in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University-USA, icddr,b and MoHFW. Many of the study findings have published in Lancet journal and many developing country including Bangladesh have incorporated those recommendation in their national health strategy. Shimantik’s strong institutional capacity is evident from its large donor base those mentioned above. So, it has capacity to manage large donor funds and also has project management experience for long time.

Serving Low Performing Areas

Sylhet division and Chittagong division are the low performing area according to several BDHS data compare to national data of health, family planning, nutrition, education etc sectors. Shimantik NGO health service program, urban primary health cares service delivery program, pilot project of family planning, Tobacco Free Sylhet and Mamoni project have been providing health and population services in the low performing urban and rural hilly areas of northeastern Bangladesh. Shimantik has been working 32 upazilas of Sylhet division out of 39 upazilas. It has also been implementing some projects in Chittagong division. Under its urban primary health care projects in Sylhet and Dhaka, it has been working with slums people where the areas are also low performing. So, Shimantik has been providing services in low performing areas of Bangladesh.

Experience in Safe Delivery Service

Shimantik initiated delivery services from Zakigonj, Kanaighat, Beanibazar, Golapganj, Balagonj, Fenchugonj, Companigonj, Biswnath, South Surma and Jaintapur clinics since 2006. Initially 7 Skilled Birth Attendants (SBA) was providing these services. Through UPHCP, Shimantik has been providing safe delivery (both normal and cesarean section) services in Dhaka and Sylhet city corporation area since 2001 and 2007 respectively. It has also been providing primary health care services, safe delivery services through its own funded clinics.

Experience in Clinical FP Services

The organization has been providing ESP services, Norplant, F- IMCI, and C-IMCI in the vast of community of ten upazilas of Sylhet district through NHSDP, in Dhaka city corporation and Sylhet city corporation through UPHCP.

Maintain Quality Assurance

Shimantik provides highest attentions to quality and uses “Quality Comes First” as a key massage for its activities. It has experience of using client oriented provider efficient (COPE), Appreciative Inquiry (AI) and roving facilitation for ensuring the quality of services in addition to the use of routine monitoring and supervision tools used in similar programs. Shimantik has also used “data for decision making” as a computerized tool in developing local level capabilities in the identification of problems and solutions. Team building, strategic planning and community involvement activities with the participation of local government institutions and agencies also play a key role in its capacity building and quality assurance efforts.

Staff

Shimantik has developed a core group of highly trained professionals each with a specific niche in capacity building, local governance, networking, program management, training, documentation and dissemination and write-ups.

Right based and Gender sensitive approaches

Shimantik strongly believes and practices rights based approach to sexual and reproductive health. Such an approach is concerned with gender equity and equality, sexual and reproductive rights and client – centered sexual and reproductive health care. Over the years, a human rights-based approach to reproductive health has evolved which emphasizes the rights to health, to have children by choice, and to have a safe and satisfying sex life. WHO defines the rights-based approach as a conceptual framework for the process of human development that is normatively based on international human rights standards, and operationally directed to promoting and protecting human rights. It integrates the norms, standards and principles of the international human rights system into the plans, policies and processes of development. A rights based approach includes reproductive health services that protect a woman’s general health and well-being, that allow for well-informed decisions, and are respectful of individual choices.

Training and Capacity Building

Shimantik is maintaining a training center in the Upashahar area of Sylhet City. The training center is fully equipped with hostel facilities for participants. Shimantik is conducting training in different areas e.g. women development, women empowerment, health and family planning, training of trainers, motivation, advocacy, monitoring and evaluation, etc.

In addition to the training centre, Shimantik is also running a Teachers Training College approved by the National University. The TT College on B.Ed course has earned a very good reputation in the area and has helped the organization to establish wide ranging linkages with the professional groups in Sylhet Division.

Shimantik has been functioning four separate human resource centre/skill development training centre at Sylhet. It has been implementing its Develop Midwifery Program for three years duration. Each batch has thirty female students. The students continue their study at free of cost. DFID provide the financial support through BRAC university. It has also been running two years Community Paramedic Course under the guidance from Bangladesh nursing council. Medical Assistant Training School is another skill development area of Shimantik. Recently it has obtained approval for continuing three years nursing diploma course. All these four institutes are the government affiliated.

Social development programs

The key strategy of NHSDP, Marketing Innovation for Sustainable Health Development (MISHD) and Mamoni projects in implementing its BCC/M activities was to create awareness and demand for services within and from the community. The main thrust of the initial activities was to empower field functionaries to plan and undertake BCC/M activities according to their local needs and considering the local socio-cultural norms. Shimantik involves communities and local government institutions in all its activities and functions. The education program of Shimantik is based on community support and mobilization of mothers. Shimantik School for Primary Education is based on the concept of community support and women are playing a key role for its success.

Financial Management

Shimantik has the experienced financial personnel to maintain the books of accounts for its different projects. Shimantik has been maintaining the books of accounts properly. It has an approved financial manual and personnel policy. Shimantik strictly follows the manual to implement any project for sound accounting practice.
Shimantik has been implementing projects of over US$ 2,900,000 per year for last ten years. The following table presents a picture of the Shimantik implemented projects and their annual value, which ranges between US$ 2,760,000 and US$ 3,076,000 during last five years: (It is noted that this figure is excluding Shimantik’s own funded projects. The table is given below:

Shimantik conducts annual consolidated financial audit regularly by Chartered Accountant Firm. Besides this, it conducts project wise annual audit for different donor funded projects which also be submitted to NGO Affairs Bureau.

Targeting poor and Vulnerable

Shimantik mission and vision clearly states its commitment to target poor and vulnerable population. In conducting all its activities, Shimantik gives a very high priority to poor and vulnerable population. Shimantik always gives special attention to assess the ability of the people to pay for the services and the poverty situation among the target population.