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Don Richardson

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 2 Jan 1996 17:25:07 -0500
From: devmedia@uoguelph.ca
To: kdemoor@igc.apc.org

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRESS RELEASE



For immediate release	contact:  Karen deMoor

January 2, 1996		Tel: (617) 728-2406

				e-mail:  kdemoor@igc.apc.org



Oxfam America releases educational documentary

highlighting the economic and social success of village women in
Bangladesh



BOSTON -- Oxfam America, the international development and
disaster relief organization, has released a video entitled
Community.  Community is a 24-minute documentary filmed in the
Satkhira district of rural southwestern Bangladesh.  It portrays
the dramatic social and economic transformation of a community
through local development initiatives, which includes
micro-credit and gender training.



The change of traditional attitudes against women and the
successful economic development projects in Community are
documented in part through the story of Habibur and Bahanur,
husband and wife.  Before their community underwent its historic
change, Bahanur and the other village women had no economic or
social rights.  Beatings by their husbands were commonplace.
Women did not eat until all members of the family had had their
meal.  Women could not go out publicly unless accompanied by a
male.  Women did not own any possessions.  Essentially, women
were viewed as non-entities.



Uttaran, a Bangladesh non-governmental development organization
funded by Oxfam America, began working with the women of the
Satkhira district by providing them credit for starting
small-scale businesses and offering training in women's issues.
Uttaran expanded the opportunities it offered to also include
men, emphasizing that social and economic growth depends on the
participation of all members of the community.  Over time, many
of the oppressive traditional attitudes against women began to
fade, replaced by the realities and successes of the community's
income-generating work.



Bangladesh, termed as "the world's basketcase" by Henry
Kissinger 25 years ago is now home to some of the world's most
pioneering and innovative grassroots and non-governmental
organizations.  Uttaran, which was founded in 1976, was one of
the first organizations to introduce the concept of micro-credit
for women.  Uttaran, which means "upliftment," uses micro-credit
as a tool to provide opportunity for women to organize and
affect change in their community and in their families.
Uttaran's work has been so successful because it includes men in
its programs and places the redefinition of gender roles as
central  to community development.  Currently, Uttaran works
with 440 groups in the Satkhira district of Bangladesh.



Community is the second of a two-part video series, following
Shelter.  Shelter depicts how loss of life and livelihood from
cyclones in Bangladesh has dramatically decreased after a
project to build cyclone shelters, plant trees and conduct
disaster training was initiated.   This project has been
spearheaded by the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee
(BRAC).  BRAC's work has been extremely successful;  because of
the disaster preparedness program, less than 200 people died in
a devastating cyclone in 1994, whereas a similar cyclone killed
three million people in 1970.



Footage for Community and Shelter was filmed by Oxfam America
video director, Michael Sheridan in collaboration with
Bangladeshi cameraman Lavlu Salahuddin.



Copies of Community, Shelter or any of Oxfam America's other
educational videos can be ordered by calling (617) 482-1211.



Oxfam America is an international development agency which was
founded 25 years ago as a response to the refugee crisis caused
by Bangladesh's struggle for independence.   Currently, Oxfam
America funds self-help development projects in 31 countries in
the world in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, including the
United States.





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