About – SKUS – SAMAJ KALYAN O UNNAYAN SHANGSTHA

About Us

Welcome to the SKUS

Samaj Kalyan O Unnayan Shangstha (SKUS) is a non-profit, non-government and non-political voluntary women-headed development organization duly registered with the NGO Affairs Bureau of Bangladesh. SKUS has been working since 1995 to improve the socio-economic condition of the poor, marginalized and unprivileged people, and to remove discrimination and all kinds of exploitations.

SKUS has a good record of accomplishment working with the government, national and international development agencies and multilateral/bilateral donors as a development partner and service provider since 1996. It has started its journey as a volunteer organization and now turned into a potential rights and advocacy platform for the poor, marginal, ethnic and socially excluded people. SKUS is always trying to perceive development from a child rights point of view and continues working with the light of ethnicity, diversity, and culture; the practice and values of Bangladesh follow that approach.

Doing development work over a period of 29 years, SKUS has achieved special consultative status from the ECOSOC, and UN. SKUS also has a networking relationship with national and international arenas. SKUS has been a partner NGO of UNDP for Early Recovery Facilitate (ERF) since 2012 and a partner of IOM for working for undocumented Rohingya in Cox’s Bazar since 2015.

Vision : A happy, prosperous and poverty-free society where everyone’s basic needs and rights are ensured.

Mission : To empower the poor and vulnerable people and create self-financed, self-employed and self-empowered communities with increased capabilities by providing need-based services and support like; Education, health, sanitation, HIV/AIDS prevention, protection, gender, humanitarian support, social security etc..

Goal : To improve quality of life of the poor and the community people as a whole.

Aims and objectives of the organization:

To enhance the socio-economic conditions of disadvantaged and underprivileged people through undertaking and implementing strategic programs and projects.
To ensure food security of the underprivileged poor people by improving their income and access to food.
To assist the disadvantaged and underprivileged people in capacity building and ensuring provisions of basic needs of life like employment, income, health, education, etc.
Conservation of the environment through social forestry and awareness and ensuring emergency relief and rehabilitation program response when needed
To help in building the institution of the target groups for establishing their basic rights in the family, community and society.
To eliminate negative belief systems in society that hamper sustainable development
To ensure social and economic empowerment of women so that there will be gender equity in society.

Strategy:

Bottom up approach
Group approach in service delivery
Community involvement and participation
First serve for the marginalize and
Both rights and need based approaches are followed in programme development.

Principle of Organization :

Mutual Respect and Trust
Gender Equity
Transparency & Accountability
Equal Opportunity for all
Quality work

Value of organization:

Gender and impartiality
Humanitarian Dignity
Honesty and Social Justice
Commitment

Legal Status:

SKUS is legally registered with different registration authorities of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. Detail of registration-related information is given below:

VAT: 005717908-0208, Customs, Excise and VAT commissionerate, Dhaka South,

TIN: 511166466835, Taxes Circle-101(Company), Taxes Zone-05, Dhaka

Target Beneficiaries: The target beneficiaries of SKUS are the poor and the disadvantaged in society constituting the bulk of the population i.e. the destitute women and children, persons with disability, the landless, drug peddler & addicted person, small and marginal farmers and other occupational groups who are victims of hunger, malnutrition and social injustice, ethnic communities, transport workers, slum dweller, gender diversify people. The existing beneficiaries of SKUS are 64,405, which is also the strength of the organization.

Working Team: SKUS with its skilled and efficient working team under the execution of its Chairperson has successfully and professionally been running its different programs and projects both at head office and field office level. SKUS working team consists of professional and competent staff most of them have come with profound knowledge and expertise in respective sectors and disciplines.

Staff Strength: SKUS has a good number of skilled and efficient staff (full-time and part time) and volunteers to carry out its activities both in the field and office. The field staff are responsible for the proper implementation of all activities in the field. The core staff are responsible for the management, coordination, supervision, reporting and monitoring of activities. The following numbers of staff are currently working with SKUS to implement different projects and interventions-

Financial Management

To ensure transparent management of finance, SKUS have skilled personnel in the finance section. The accounts department of SKUS manages finance and accounting. It follows the standard accounting system using software (tally) double-entry cash and ledger books.
SKUS maintains a separate bank account for each project funded by donors and usesthree signatoriesfor each account. It has a regular practice of preparing monthly and quarterly financial reports to the donor’s needs.
SKUS audit its finance and account every year. It hired an audit firm from outside for an annual audit. On the other hand for internal control, it has a system of internal audit. SKUS usually carry out its internal audit of each and every project, intervention and activity at the six-month interval. Considering the importance of finance, SKUS has appointed a number of qualified and experienced accounts staff.

Management Structure:

SKUS has 21 members of the Governing Body and 7 members of the Executive Committee who are elected for 5 years. The Chairperson of the executive body is responsible for preparing and documenting all activities. S/he is reported to the general body.

General Committee:

The General Committee is the highest body of SKUS. It holds the supreme authority in the organization. Presently, the General Committee has a total number of 21 members. The General Committee elects an Executive Committee for a period of five years. The General Committee meets once a year. But if necessary, it can summon an emergency meeting.

Executive Committee:

The organization has a 7-member Executive Committee. The members of the general committee elect members of this executive committee for a period of five years. It performs all responsibilities on behalf of the General Committee. The EC sits once a quarter to look after the activities of the organization and takes necessary decisions.

Advisory Committee:

There is a provision in the constitution of SKUS for an advisory committee. The advisory committee consists of 7 members. The executive committee appoints the members of such committees. Its function is to advise the Executive Committee.