General Secretary’s Message

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Baidya Nath PaulThe year 2014 – 2015 has been a fruitful experience for all of us at Spade. The seeds of development sowed in the last 21 years have continued to yield  good results, and we have carried on with our efforts to engage in affirmative action interventions.  In its relentless endeavour to serve the community, SPADE has always received benevolent support from all its  partners including funding organizations , Govt. Departments from local or national levels, NGOs or CSOs. On behalf of SPADE, I convey my heartiest gratitude to all of them.

The entire Spade family, spread out across different districts in West Bengal, Bihar, Assam and Tripura, has come together to strengthen capacity and self- reliance of our beneficiaries  at the grass root level, especially of women, with the conviction  that these are prerequisites for social and economic development. Considerable progress has been made in  improving water and sanitation amenities, initiating trainings on disaster risk reduction, facilitating capacity building to enhance employability and generate livelihood for persons from disadvantaged sections of society.

Despite considerable efforts by the various levels of government and communities at improving coverage, water and sanitation have remained a long lasting concern in the rural areas. A number of innovative approaches to improve water supply and sanitation are being tested in India.  With its demand-driven approach, SPADE has continued to implement the project ensuring sustainable safe drinking water, sanitation and other hygienic  needs of the community, particularly including school children, in a number of villages under the Kandi Block of Murshidabad district.   In association with active women self-help groups (SHG), Spade has made effective use of the ‘community based development’ (CBD)  and participatory approach. About  ? SHG members have constructed toilets by availing loan from Kandi Mahila Unnayan Samity.

SPADE has successfully conducted effective training programs on Search and Rescue Operations (SAR) in select disaster affected/prone districts of West Bengal.  Our experience and practical insight have made us develop training programs that not only take care of natural calamities like flood but also emergency situations like fire, building collapse etc.

Capacity Building is a vital  area in any community development program. In SPADE, we reach out to different organizations in eastern  India  either by providing faculty support and /or organizing Capacity Building events, training sessions,  exposure visits, leadership development programme for SHGs     or their higher level institutions.

We strongly feel that by forming institutions at the grass root level and making them self-reliant and dynamic, we prepare the scene  for livelihood interventions, carefully cultivated member-specific Income Enhancement Plan. This step by step approach has been uniquely designed by SPADE.
Livelihood Promotion has always been our strength. And when the State Urban Development Agency assigned the task of strengthening savings-credit groups, urban women SHGs or Household-level Income Enhancement Plan (HLIEP) for its members,  SPADE put in its best efforts.

The  Statement of Accounts of the last financial year  has been audited by Anupam & Co. I am placing it before the General Body Members for their review, feedback and acceptance. I heartily thank each and every member of our  staff for his/her  involvement and dedicated participation in making  SPADE what it is today.

I sincerely thank our respected President, the Managing Committee Members, General Body Members, HR Committee and Advisory Committee Members of our organization for their invaluable contribution.  I look forward  to their constant guidance and appeal to  them to  always remain with us and help SPADE to help the poor and vulnerable community.

~ B. N. Paul, General Secretary.

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