A day-long workshop on "Sanjeevan Project" was held on June 8 (Monday) at the Ansar and VDP Academy in Safipur, Gazipur, at the initiative of Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defense Force. The workshop, organized on various aspects of project implementation strategy, member inclusion, financial management, entrepreneurship development and self-employment creation, was attended as the chief guest by Major General Abdul Motaleb Sajjad Mahmud, Director General of Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defense Force.
In the inaugural speech of the workshop, the Director General gave a guiding speech about the goals, objectives and implementation strategy of the Sanjeevan Project. He said, "Through the Sanjeevan Project, members will be able to achieve financial independence as well as play an important role in the overall socio-economic development of the country."
He called for self-establishment as an entrepreneur by getting out of the job-dependent mentality. At the same time, he mentioned that one of the most effective ways to achieve sustainable economic development and employment generation in the present era is entrepreneurship development. Through the Sanjeevan project, the members of the force will be able to create self-employment opportunities by taking potential initiatives in their respective areas and will be able to create employment opportunities for others as well.
He emphasized the sincerity, coordinated efforts and mutual cooperation of all levels of officers and members for the successful implementation of the project.
In the workshop, Deputy Director General (Training) Md. Rafiqul Islam discussed various aspects of the project implementation in detail. He provided detailed explanations about the initiation of project activities, implementation methods, area-based potential initiative selection, evaluation of member participation and labor, distribution of dividends, payment of loan installments, the process to be followed in case of resignation of membership or death of a member, and the policy for inclusion of new members.
Enamul Khan, Director of Ansar and VDP Welfare Trust, gave a detailed presentation on the membership of the Sanjeevan project, the process of member inclusion, the project management structure, the loan acceptance and repayment system, and the integrated activities of Ansar and VDP Welfare Trust and Ansar-VDP Development Bank.
Md. Rezaul Karim, Director of TMSS, delivered a speech as a special guest in the workshop. Through his presentation, he highlighted various successful examples of entrepreneurship creation at the marginal level. He also shed light on the ongoing activities of TMSS with Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defense Force and future collaborative initiatives.
In addition, an official of Ansar-VDP Development Bank presented the bank's involvement in the Sanjeevan project, loan distribution among members, installment collection and other banking support related issues. His presentation gave the participants a proper idea about the financial management and activities of the project.
In the concluding session, the Deputy Director General (Training) conducted a question and answer session and open discussion with the participants through the Zoom app and directly. At this time, the opinions, experiences and suggestions of the participants were taken, which were hoped to help make the future activities of the project implementation more effective and realistic.
The participants in the workshop termed the Sanjeevan project as a timely and promising initiative to increase the financial capacity of the members, develop entrepreneurship and create sustainable self-employment. They expressed the view that if the project is successfully implemented, it will not only improve the quality of life of the members of the force, but also contribute significantly to increasing the dynamics of the local economy, creating new employment opportunities and economic empowerment of the marginalized communities. At the same time, the determination to establish the project as a sustainable and public welfare-oriented model was also reiterated.
