Voluntarism and Rural Development in Bangladesh

This article studies the impact and extent of voluntarism in rural development in Bangladesh. It considers voluntarism at the individual, community, and institutional levels as well as in its structural form - voluntary organizations. The development efforts undertaken and the services provided through voluntarism satisfy some of the demands of the people and curtail pressure on the constrained budgets of the local government bodies. However, there are some available resources which are yet to be mobilized for developmental purposes. Furthermore, the rural development programmes undertaken by different voluntary organizations are scattered and uncoordinated. If arranged methodically, voluntarism can make significant differences to the lives of the rural poor in a country like Bangladesh, where governmental resources are scarce but where the people are basically altruistic