who we are?

Vision: Build advanced and prosperous society.

Mission : Uplift living standard of poor and excluded through their social-economic empowerment.

Goal: Build self-reliant communities and improve the quality of life of the poor and excluded.

Objectives

• Identify the economic potentials of rural poor and help them plan for their sustainable use.
• Form and empower CBOs so as to enable them identify and utilize resources for their development.
• Operate women’s temporary shelter home and deliver awareness campaigns to minimize gender and domestic violence against women.
• Provide the poor and excluded with the required support to promote their health and educational condition.
• Support communities on prevention, preparedness, response and recovery from climate change and natural disasters.
• Provide communities with rural infrastructure initiatives such as suspension bridge, trails, schools, water supply, irrigation and micro-hydro projects.
• Carry out researches on the economic and technological development potentials.

Major projects accomplished

Major completed community-based programs by SODEC:

• Supported Oxygen concentrators, PPE and medicines to Health facilities of Sankhuwasabha as the COVID-19 Response Program in June and July 2021.
• Organized and facilitated user committees in 9 Palikas areas to complete construction of 57 short-span suspension bridges over the past 6 years funded by TBSU (Helevatas) and Government of Nepal.
• Supported to rehabilitate and construct 75 small water supply and water source protection projects under Rural Develop Program, and Livelihood and Forestry Program (2001 to 2010).
• Organized and facilitated user committees in 7 village areas to bring electricity to 14,000 households through construction of 14 micro-hydroelectricity units in 5 years, funded by REDP/DFID and Government of Nepal.
• Worked school management committees to construct 3 school buildings as part of post-earthquake reconstruction, funded by a small Canadian INGO (Another Brick in Nepal) and Government of Nepal.
• Mobilized 500+ farmers in 5 districts to plant high value cash crops such as tea, cardamom, coffee, almond, macadamia and fresh vegetables.
• Supported farmers to establish 3 improved breeds of pig breeding units in Sankhuwasava District in partnership with NARK.
• Supported to initiate 15 cottage and small industries for tea processing, cardamom drying, allo and Dhaka weaving, Nepali paper processing and animal husbandry from 2001 to 2012 under Rural Development Program and Livelihood and Forestry Program.
• Current organization Budget

SODEC’s program budget for 2021/2022:

• COVID-19 Response Program: Rs. 618,000
• Community Based Sectoral Suspension Bridge Program: Rs: 1,700,000
• Safe Abortion Program: Rs: 2,100,000
• Sustainable Agriculture Development Program: Rs: 2,100,000
• Temporary Women’s Shelter Home: Rs. 2,300,000
• Deaf and Hard of Hearing Hostel/Classroom Building: Rs. 11,200,000
• Overhead is roughly 7.5%, drawn from the above totals

Guiding Principles of SODEC

SODEC is guided by the following principles:

• Neutrality: we are neutral to any political, social, caste/ethnic and religious parties. We ensure our activities on the principle of “do no harm” or hurt to sovereignty any of these sectors.
• Transparency and Impartiality: We are committed to maintain transparency and impartiality at all levels of our programme and budget.
• Equity and Inclusion: We ensure equity and inclusion to receive benefit from SODEC. It is reflective in the composition of our Executive Boards, general members, staff and target people.
• Coordination and Collaboration: We work with mutual coordination and collaboration with diverse partners, governments and non-governments, having identical goal and objectives.
• Quality and Perfection: Our activities are focused to achieve quality and perfection at the highest possible level.
• Innovation and Creativity: We encourage innovation and creativity in pursuit of exploring possible best models to reduce poverty.

Internal Governance

SODEC follows democratic, transparent and inclusive governance system as follows:  

Governing rules and regulations

SODEC has formulated following rules and regulations for its governance. They are formulated in the participation of all the general members, executive board members, and staff, and all members and personnel are aware of these rules and regulations.

1. Constitution, 2000 (with its amendment, 2008)
2. Finance Policy, 2006
3. Human Resource Policy, 2006
4. Conflict of Interest Policy, 2020
5. Safeguarding Policy, 2020
6. Code of Conduct for Executive Members, General Members and Staff, 2001
7. Working Procedure Manual, 2001
8. Commitment against Corruption, 2002
9. Organizational Strategic Plan, 2005

Inclusiveness

SODEC has proportionate representation of women, dalit, and janajatis in Board, and general members and staff. Geographical inclusion is also reflected since staff and members are involving from diverse remote communities. The composition of existing executive committee is as follows:

Total Members:      9

Male: 6

Female: 3

Janajati: 4

Dalit: 1

The composition of general members is:

Male: 14

Female: 9

Janajatis: 14

Dalit: 3

The Composition Staff is:

Total Paid Staff:    8

Male: 6

Female: 2

Janajati: 5

Decision making process

SODEC holds Executive Board meetings every month in the participation of two third of its members and decisions are made with broad discussion on the consensus of its majority of members. All the issues of the organization and the programs are discussed in the meetings and decisions are made accordingly.

Joint meetings, Board members and staff, are held on quarterly basis. All the issues of field and programme are discussed. Best learning and experiences of the programme are shared in the meetings among the members and staff.

Transparency

SODEC has maintained transparency in policies, decision making, programme implementation, staff recruitment, budget, and every other activity. All the financial activities are audited, and the reports are published in the bulletin of NGO Federation, District Chapter, Sankhuwasava. Public audit is held for infrastructure and income generating activities.

Periodic joint monitoring events are organized in order to maintain transparency in the programme, give knowledge of the programme to the political parties and government agencies and receive constructive feedback, and make government line agencies more accountable towards the programme and people.

SODEC has formulated staff recruitment policy. Staffs are hired through open competition. Special consideration is granted to women, dalit, ethnic minority and other excluded people.

Human Resource

SODEC has formed a Human Resource Development Section in its organizational structure. The section develops human resource development plan based on need assessment, and conduct trainings to capacitate members and staff. Incentives and rewards are provided to the staffs based on their performance evaluation.

Financial Management

Income Sources

SODEC has been striving to make internal fund strong raising fund from Board Members, General Members and Staffs’ contribution. Voluntary service from Board and general members has also contributed to create internal fund. Besides this, SODEC has been working with following partners right now:

• Ipas Nepal
• Changing Lives Nepal
• Another Brick in Nepal, Canada.
• TBSU/Helvetas/Palikas.

Auditing Taxes

SODEC has internal and external auditing systems. Finance and Administration Section prepares internal audit report, and the Treasurer presents the report in joint meeting of Board Members, General Members and staff as well as in General Assembly. All the staff, members and concerned stakeholders have right to know its financial reports. All the income-expenditures are audited externally hiring a registered auditor at the end of every fiscal year, and the audit report is publicized through newsletter. The report is submitted to the Inland Revenue Office, District Administration Office, and District Development Committee and other concerning stakeholders. It pays taxes off all taxable transactions.

SODEC’s Office Property

Currently SODEC possesses the following office property:

Monitoring

SODEC has issued a transparent and participatory monitoring system. Programme monitoring and supervision is conducted in the full participation of target people and concerned stakeholders. It organizes frequent joint monitoring mission that includes members such as Chief District Officer, Local Development Officer, heads of government line agencies and political parties. Progress and proposed programs are presented in the workshops among representatives of government line agencies and political parties. Generally the monitoring and supervision include following activities:

• Visiting the grass root level users and operative activities.
• Systematic and critical review of operation.
• Systematic documentation of the overall performance.
• Analysis and decision-making.
• Adaptation of new operative strategies to circumstances.
• Tallying staff’s report with the field level performance and output

Suggestions and feedback from monitoring are considered seriously and they are used as important guidelines for future programme planning.