History of Rural Social Services (RSS)
The RSS project was launched as a pilot project in 1974 in 19 selected Thanas of 19 Districts. In 1977, the program was expanded to 21 more thanas. Later, the extended rural social services program had been implemented 2nd Phase (1980-87) in 103 Upazilas , 3rd phase (1987-92) in 120 upazilas, 4th phase (1992-95) in 81 upazilas, 5th phase (1995-2002) in 119 upazilas, 6th phase (2004-07) in 470 upazilas and the continuation of this is being implemented in all upazilas of the country. Through this program, the landless people living in rural areas, are socially organized amongst the people living below the poverty line and are organized in different departments and their interest in all types of economic development programs in the country is ensured by involving them in the production and income-generating programs through providing free-of-cost small capital.
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The RSS Programme is particularly designed for the vast majority of by-passed groups to organise them and to build their capacity to fight against poverty, illiteracy, ill-health, unemployment and the population explosion. The direct target groups of the RSS are the children, the youths, the women, the landless families and other disadvantaged groups who do not directly get benefit from other development activities in the rural areas.
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Objectives of RSS
1. Identifying the target people (the disadvantaged and bypassed community groups) through a socio-economic survey with a view to bringing them within the orbit of development activities of the Programme.
2. Organizing the identified target people through the survey into functional groups, Creating awareness and helping promote leadership and providing opportunities for their active participation in development activities.
3. Creating self-employment and increasing income by giving interest-free micro-credit, motivation savings and income-generating and economically profitable activities
4. Providing informal education on health, nutrition, mother and child care, sanitation, use of safe drinking water, motivation on family planning, social afforestation, literacy etc. for the improvement of the living standard of the people
5. Establishing democratically functioning Village Based Institutions (VBI) of different target populations and form Project Village Committee (PVC) and Village Executive Committees to identify the problems, needs and resources of the village and plan and implement development activities to improve their socio-economic conditions
6. Providing skill training for increasing the income capabilities and productivity of unemployed and underemployed persons
7. Motivating the target people, particularly the fertile couples to keep the size of their families small with a view to raising the standard of their life and remain the same by adopting family planning practices.
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Activities of RSS
1. Identify the target Villages
2. Operating socio-economic survey
3. Organizing targeted poor people and building group
4. Creating awareness among the targeted/poor population about literacy and health
5. Training Programmes
6. Micro-credit Programme
7. Sanitation
8. Safe-drinking water programme
9. Family Planning Programme
10. Nutritional Programme
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Contribution of RSS on Socio-economic Development in BD
1. Making People self-reliant
2. Target group from by social survey
3. Mother & Child Health Care
4. Education
5. Sanitation, Safe-drinking water
6. Social and Economic indicators
Services of RSS
1. Organize poor people and bring them to the mainstream of development;
2. Improve poverty and improve living standards;
3. Awareness building and skill development;
4. Micro-credit up to a minimum of Tk 5,000 to a maximum of 30,000 rupees per family;
5. The creation of sustainable organizations (Palli Samajesba Village Samity) of the targeted people and their own capital formation of the Village Samity by the payment of the service charge.