Beginning of WJCC
While on a trip to Bangladesh in 1989, a young dedicated Japanese social worker, Ms. Midori, met Ms. Ashrafun Nahar Asha, a female social worker in Satkhira. She arranged for her to talk to some Women and children’s there. On the last day of her visit, Ms. Midori suggested Ms. Asha about the whole situation where women were facing tremendous dependence pressure from husband, father and even the society and were not at all independent to be called a bread earner for the family, and on the other hand Men living there enjoy there liberty to remarry and to forget about the previous wife and to care about the new bride, and if the women try to raise their voice for alimony or her rights she was scolded, beaten and thrown out of her family. This entire situation in Satkhira gave motive to form the only women based organization in Tala, Satkhira. Ms. Midori wanted to help these precious souls, so she gave Ms Asha all the support to form the organization. Ms Asha started this organization with a motive to give the women the independence to work, and to be the bread winner for the family, by this way women will become independent and will live out of pressure from father, husband or other relative and even the society will honor them.
This encounter marked the turning point in Asha’s life. In 1990, she founded WJCC, with the aim of helping poverty-stricken Women and children in south-west Bangladesh. That advice by the Japanese social worker Ms. Midori set the prototype of making WJCC program. The first WJCC program began a few months later in response to the needs of hundreds of thousands of women and children’s of satkhira at the end of 1990. Later the programs were extended to other South-western regions, and places such as Khulna, and Jesshore. Today, with the support of all the National and International donors it enable WJCC to provide support to Distressed Women, impoverished children and their communities with access to clean water, nutritious food, healthcare, education, and also with special focus on economic opportunities, enabling them to become self-reliant.
WJCC satkhira head office in southwestern coastal district of Bangladesh began working with a small number of destitute women of Tala Upazila in 1990. It started with a mini nursery over an acre of land. Women, organized into group by WJCC, used to produce saplings and sale those in the local market. In 1992, the nursery sold a total of near about 4500 saplings in a year. Interested group member could buy the saplings at reduced price and could make their own nurseries at their homesteads. This was the first example that ignited a sense of entrepreneurship among the women.
Based on the initial success of nursery, WJCC went for diversification and initiated an expansion of activities and devised an integrated strategy involving formation of group, mobilization of savings, formal and informal skill training on Nakshikatha (Traditional hand stitched cloth designing work of Bangladesh), provision of credit for income generating activities and marketing of products.
WJCC aims to create a harmonious society where Women are aware of their basic human rights by increasing their access to justice and basic social services. WJCC also puts emphasis on reducing gender discrimination by regarding both males and females as equals. WJCC also determines to achieve its dream by providing continuous learning and education through capacity building and access to basic social and support services which WJCC facilitates from the government and partner organizations to the people.
An equitable society for all, where Women and children’s are self-sufficient and capacitated to mitigate vulnerability and adapt to climate change
We have identified five core values at the centre of WJCC’s work. These are the fundamental principles of our commitment to each other and to the poor.
- We value people and we are commited to women commuinity
- We give priority to people before money, structure and systems
- We are committed to our developmental partners
- We work with donor Partnership that transcends legal, structural and cultural boundaries
- We are committed to the poor
- We alleviate poor suffering and we try our best to promote the transformation of their condition of life