PROFILE OF AN IDEAL
ORGANIZATION OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
Contain | Description |
Full Name | Bangladesh Protibandhi Kallyan Somity (BPKS) (In English meaning: Welfare Society of Persons with Disabilities of Bangladesh) |
Physical address | Peoples’ Republic of Bangladesh of Asia & Pacific region. BPKS Complex, Dhakkhinkhan, House#1, Word#48, Dhaka North City Corporation, Dhaka -1230, Bangladesh. |
Telephone | +880 01709390902, +880 01713196020 (please communicate by these 2 numbers). The land phone line is not active due to government development work in the area. |
info@bpksbd.org and asdulal@bpksbd.org | |
Website | www.bpksbd.org |
Contact Persons | Abdus Sattar Dulal, Executive Director, BPKS Phone: +8801711595049 (please send the message first) Email: asdulal@bpksbd.org |
BPKS Legal Status and Authority | BPKS was registered as a non-profit charitable organization of Persons with Disabilities with the Department of Social Services in 1988 (registration number: GA 0128) and it also registered to receive aid from and work with foreign resources in 1990 (registration number: DSS/FDO/R-362) with the same department. But now NGO Affairs Bureau (NGOAB) is the government authority to manage foreign aid and resource recipients’ not-for-profit organizations and they are the legal authority to regulate any foreign contribution. The registration is required for renewal every 10 (ten) years and BPKS has renewed up to March 2030.
BPKS is registered with NGOAB under the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s Office which provides the legal qualification to receive any foreign contribution including funds. This means BPKS is obligated to maintain accountability with NGOAB. They are the legal authority to regulate foreign contributions. – NGOs Specifically Accountable to NGOAB for the following: |
Governance | BPKS is governed democratically by boards called ‘National Council (NC)’ and ‘National Executive Council (NEC)’. The NEC is composed of 7 members’ representatives with disabilities and the National Council is a minimum of 21 and a maximum of 31 members’ representatives with disabilities.
BPKS conducts elections regularly to form NEC every 3 years’ tenure. An election is conducted by a 5-member election commission. |
Headquarter | BPKS is managed from the Complex (headquarters) of 60 decimals of land with 8 storied buildings protected by a boundary with full-time security which is eco-friendly with accessible facilities of essential office, conference, meetings, dining, training, and accommodation for events participants. It is located 3.5 kilometers east direction of the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Dhaka. |
BPKS Definitions | BPKS is a fundamental national Organization of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs), fully governed and led by their representatives with disabilities, that ensures the safeguard of their ownership, effective representation, non-influenced decisions with non-discrimination, democratic practice, and recognition of OPDs. |
Background |
BPKS came into being in 1985 as an initiative of Mr. Abdus Sattar Dulal, the current chief executive officer (Executive Director) of BPKS. It is registered with Bangladesh Government as a voluntary not-for-profit making organization of persons with disabilities (OPD) of all type of PwDs. BPKS is a pioneer national fundamental organization of persons with disabilities (PwDs), fully governed and led by themselves, which ensures safeguard of their ownership, effective representation, non-influenced decision, democratic principle, and ensure recognition of OPDs. BPKS is working to fulfill the aspirations of PwDs including their equal rights, and opportunities and actualize the development process to all. So, they can play a responsible role and contribute to nation-building activities as equal citizens. BPKS is well-reputed OPDs internationally and is known by most international actors including United Nations. BPKS appreciates to all its supporters including BPKS members, governments, donors, UN agencies, development partners and national and international human rights networking organizations for their continues cooperation to the BPKS mission. |
BPKS Staffs | BPKS total staff is 26, most of them are persons with disabilities as BPKS constitution ensure provision 51% staff should be the with disabilities among all. |
Vision | BPKS envisions that all persons with disabilities live with happiness, freedom and dignity in a barrier-free family and society and can contribute equally to their own and universal development. |
Mission | BPKS is a non-governmental and disabled people’s organization, committed to promote disabled people’s capacities and rights, their organizations and policies and practices. Initiative of disabled people enables them to be effective and equal citizens and contribute to the development of a non-discriminatory society for all. |
Goal | To promote safeguard of the human rights and development of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) through increasing of their livelihoods and access to opportunities, and participation of their effective OPDs, promote non-discriminatory systems/policies and understanding on related issues, provide exemplary and technical supports including resources and transfer the knowledge to different stakeholders on PwDs. |
Belief | BPKS asserts that the rights of the PwDs of all ages including women & children with disabilities are to be established at any cost and that they get nothing less than equal opportunities compared to non-disabled persons. |
Gender Equality | The BPKS is a national OPD for all types of disabled people including women with disabilities (WwDs). BPKS believes that without the participation of WwDs and overall understanding and realization of gender equity, status and human rights of WwDs as well as of the men with disabilities could never be achieved. With this belief and practices, BPKS policy and constitution ensured women with disabilities’ needs and their participation in every level of the programs and organization. |
BPKS Management | The Chief Executive Officer (Executive Director) is the top management of the organization. The role of Executive Director includes: –
|
BPKS Approach | Persons with Disabilities Self-Initiative to Development (PSID) is a disabled person-driven, rights-based, holistic development approach that empowers persons with all types of disabilities and lifting the person with any type of disabilities as the center of the development with the responsibility of their initiation, participation and ownership that ensure the society is for all at any situation and development. It affirms that persons with disabilities can effectively contribute to this process when able to enjoy the same opportunities as other citizens of a nation. PSID recognizes that disability issues are prevention and health affairs, whereas persons with disabilities (PwDs) issues are rights, accessibility, equalities, understanding, obligations, respect, acceptance, participation, leadership, sustainability, ownership, development and contributory issues. Their organization has a fundamental role is important to promote their rights, development and access and representing persons with disabilities with knowledge and legal status that ensure their rights safeguard, voice and participation and recognition of Organization of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs). The success of persons with disabilities accelerates the peace and overall development of a nation. Through a democratic process, persons with disabilities are directly responsible for the planning, decision-making, implementation and management of their programs and organizations from the grassroots to the national level.
PSID Conceptual Frame: PSID offers a practical approach to the development of PwDs with proven results. The nexus and synergy of its three main concepts lead to the implementation of three strategies to obtain the three desired results. Because of its guiding principles, it is systematic in nature and replicated to produce similar outcomes in different locations. Details of the conceptual frame are available on request. |
Activities | BPKS as not-for-profit acts as a national resource organization and undertakes the following interventions using the PSID approach. The major activities of it include as following:
|
BPKS Members | BPKS has a proven track record as such, BPKS is member of the National Alliance of Persons with disabilities Organization – NADPO, a network of OPDs in Bangladesh.
BPKS also holds membership with eight international networking and human rights organizations including Disabled Peoples’ International – DPI, International Abilympic Federation (IAF), Workability Asia and International Federation for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus (IF-SBH). |
BPKS works with and Beneficiaries. | BPKS works with those who are physically or mentally impaired, those by birth or by diseases, accidents, medical malpractices, disasters, conflicts, war or any other reasons or whose behavior patterns/scales appear to be significantly different from those expected, for all such people. Those who are termed as persons with disability depending on their physical and mental conditions, specific types of disability i.e. are physical, hearing, vision, intellectual, speech, hearing-visual, multiple disability, or any other approved type of disability. The following are the major beneficiaries of BPKS: –
Primary Beneficiaries: Women and men with all types of disabilities. Secondary Beneficiaries: Parents and family members of PwDs, professionals, different institutions including Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs). Tertiary Beneficiaries: As PwDs become empowered to make a change in their own lives and the lives of general people change and somewhat benefited. |
BPKS Major Achievements | Prior to and since the introduction of BPKS, it implemented the programs in 43 districts of Bangladesh, resulting in a demonstrable improvement in the lives of persons with disabilities in Bangladesh and the world too. The following are the major achievements: –
|
BPKS Impacts | 1. BPKS existence and its performance contribute to eliminating the unacceptable and unethical concepts, discrimination, inhuman work, barriers and lack of fundamental rights of PwDs. 2. BPKS grows attention among all people in terms of prioritizing the democratic values in the country’s governance systems and political practices by observing its democratic practices. 3. BPKS’s existence and intervention process increasingly make people accustomed to accepting, respecting and acknowledging PwDs as equal citizens. 4. The BPKS system automatically accustoms everyone in the society to recognize persons with disabilities as dignified citizens, even after BPKS withdrew its operations from areas the same attitude continued. 5. The performance of grassroots organizations of PwDs and their successful leaders with disabilities is increasingly visible in the development and human rights-focused actions that empower other stakeholders to be more committed, dedicated and effective towards citizens. 6. BPKS development outcomes including PwDs incomes are making them respectable increasingly in their family, and society as well as giving them the capacity and confidence to build their own family life and have children. 7. BPKS improved the understanding and transfer the knowledge to PwDs, giving them confidence, leadership, capacity to manage organizations, representation skills, knowledge on a gender perspective, country context and increased voice and participation in different socio-economic activities and actions, etc. 8. BPKS intervention and engagement increases establishment of OPDs and Non OPDs in country. |
BPKS Future Plan |
|
BPKS Need | BPKS searching for technical and generous funding partners to promote the safeguard of the human rights principles for PwDs, increase their access to opportunities and humanitarian service, participations in their strengthened OPDs, promote non-discriminatory systems and understanding of various issues, promote a center of excellence of persons with disabilities, provide exemplary and technical support including resources and transfer knowledge to different stakeholders.
We welcome all supporters, donors to visit us, consult with us and prepare plan with us to contribute the achievement of goal of United Nation Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Sustainable Development. |