NJP keeps footstep in Khulna & Satkhira
Khulna, Sunday, 11 December 2022:
USAID’s Nobo Jatra Project (NJP) ‘New Beginning’ has finished its 7-year-year long intervention with a fresh two-year extension in 740 villages under 40 unions in 4 upazilas in Khulna and Satkhira districts.
NJP provided integrated services to people in Bangladesh’s southwest coastal region from 2015 to 2022. NJP-II will continue providing integrated services in the area until 2024. The information was disclosed at the NJP closing workshop organized by World Vision Bangladesh (WVB) on Sunday at CSS AVA Center in Khulna.
Md. Shahidul Islam, Additional Divisional Commissioner (Revenue) and Director – Local Government (Addl. Responsibility), Khulna Division was present as the Chief Guest at the workshop which was presided over by Ranak C. Mohanta, Acting Chief of Party (CoP) and Senior Manager of M&E, NJP.
WVB in close partnership with the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MoDMR), Winrock International and World Food Programme implemented NJP-I.
The NJP closing workshop was attended by special guests Dr Ferdousi Akter, Deputy Director, Health Directorate, Khulna Division; Md. Iqbal Hossain, Director, Department of Environment (DOE), Khulna Divisional Office; senior officials of different government departments in Khulna division, Dacope and Koyra’s Upazila Chairman, journalists among others. Nirmal Sarker, Good Governance and Social Accountability Advisor, NJP, WVB moderated the workshop.
Chief Guest Md. Shahidul Islam in his speech said, “NJP has covered all sides of people’s lives under six components and the project has successfully engaged people, government institutions, public representatives.”
“NJP has capacitated people first and made those entrepreneurs and still monitoring the activities for sustainable development,” he said adding that, “NJP has ensured highest utilization of monetary supports provided.”
Md. Shahidul Islam also remarked, “We don’t want to be dependent for all our lives. We want to be self-reliant. NJP has worked in sustainable development.” “Local Government will continue helping NJP not for the sake of NJP alone but for the sake of people,” he added.
Dr Ferdousi Akter, Deputy Director, Health Directorate, Khulna Division, said “I had the opportunity to visit NJP activities. I saw how the Multipurpose Health Volunteers (MHVs) are capacitated and working in NJP area. We are very happy with NJP because it facilitated MHVs.”
She urged World Vision Bangladesh to expand NJP activities in other upazilas in the area.
Md. Iqbal Hossain, Director, Department of Environment (DOE), Khulna Divisional Office, said “Bangladesh is at 13th place regarding Climate Change risk in the world. NJP has selected 4 disaster-prone upazilas for climate vulnerable people.”
“I urge the Union Parishad Chairmen give more allocations for climate change related funds in union level. It’s important to capacitate people besides providing monetary funds,” he said adding that “NJP has contributed a lot in human resource development.”
Md. Iqbal Hossain emphasized on more training in agriculture sector as people can learn new technologies and apply it in the field to boost up production. “I believe, it is better to provide training and develop skills of a person than giving some money to achieve the SDGs,” he added. 
Ashish Kumar Halder, Senior Operations Manager, presented the brief information about the seven-year-long activities of Nobo Jatra Project (NJP).
NJP’s Senior Technical Advisor Dr. Mushtaque Ahmed, shared information about the NJP-II which is the continuation of the NJP-I in the same project area.
Aiming to improve gender equitable food security, nutrition and resilience of vulnerable communities, NJP reached 859,704 people with multi-sectoral interventions in Water Sanitation and Hygiene, Maternal Child Health and Nutrition, gender, agriculture and alternative livelihoods, disaster risk reduction and good governance and social accountability.
