Abstract
The cultural values in a society affects aspiration window and aspiration adaptation of people belong to that society. The socially transmitted behavioural pattern, the culture, plays important role towards socio-economic changes in the households and country. The changes in culture may be autonomous of exogenously affected. The social organisations like NGOs may act as external agents of changes in culture of a society to initiate aspiration adaptation among the poor. This paper evaluates ability of NGOs to change traditional values to employment, education, healthcare, and women empowerment. Analysing data from a household field survey in rural area of Bangladesh it has been observed that NGOs have ability to change traditional cultural values slowly and partially. The NGOs are successful to reduce poverty and to change approach to healthcare of traditional society. They could not show enough success in raising educational level. NGOs achieved some successes in women empowerment by motivating educated women to work more in earned activities, and by reducing deprivation of women in healthcare. In general, the paper observed that NGOs are able to change culture of a society that may enhance capability of people and may ensure socio-economic development of households in rural areas of Bangladesh to some extent. Hence, NGOs are agents of cultural change in society to create new aspiration windows and aspiration adaptation.
Highlights
Aspiration is the cognitive world of an individual that determines that shapes level of achievements of an individual
The ability of Non Government Organisations (NGO) or social organisations is analysed on the basis of household income and expenditure levels, health, education and status of women
Average income of non-members is higher and it is expected because solvent families often are not interested to become members of NGOs in rural areas
Summary
Aspiration is the cognitive world of an individual that determines that shapes level of achievements of an individual. The poor in the society lack aspirational resources to contest and to change their state of poverty (Ray, 2006). Poor people of rural area in Bangladesh accepted their present state as their fate and often lack appropriate aspiration to change this fate. To reduce poverty and bring them out of destitution, many Non Government Organisations (NGO) are working in rural areas of Bangladesh. They are encouraging aspiration adaptation through changes in culture in rural society. The objective of this paper is to evaluate success of some NGOs in rural Bangladesh in aspiration adaptation for improving standard of living of the poor
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