RAJSHAHI, Oct 17, 2019 (BSS)- Around 27,000 poor and marginalized
households entered into the mainstream of development through an anti-poverty
intervention in the district.
The poor and extreme-poor families have gotten the path of eradicating
their long-lasting poverty through the best uses of their existing natural
resources.
They have started contributing a lot towards infusing dynamism into the
economy of their respective communities after getting some privileges
including enterprise training, asset transfer and interest-free loan.
Minara Khtun, 46, daughter of late Ayub Ali of Jhuskai village under Paba
Upazila in the district, is now happy after overcoming her vulnerable
condition along with poverty. She lost her husband when she was the mother of
a daughter baby.
In 2013, she was given two heifers through the Brac Ultra-poor Graduation
Programme for freeing her from the vicious cycle of poverty. She was also
provided an eighteen-month financial support worth Taka 30 per day for
meeting up the daily expenditures for fodder and drugs.
Minara is now the owner of Taka 70,000 as FDR, four cattle, one goat and
15 chickens that boosts her level of confidence and social dignity. He only
daughter is a schoolgirl at present.
Roopjan, 48, sold pointed gourd of Taka 35,000 from his farming field on
20 decimal of land and purchased two goats with the sale-proceeds this
season. Now she doesn’t depend on the works of housemaid by dint of her
income-generating activities
. “We have earned some successes like safe drinking water, sanitation,
education, health, reduction of violence against women and reduction of early
marriage,” said Sabitry Barman, another widow of Mohanpur village and
beneficiary of the project.
Brac district representative AKM Jahedul Islam told BSS the ultra-poor
graduation programme is being implemented in eight upazilas in the district
since 2010 benefiting 26,941 hardcore poor families.
He said the beneficiary families have three types of productive resources
like earning money through cattle and poultry birds rearing and homestead
gardening.
Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Shariful Haque accompanied by
Upazila Nirbahi Officer Sanwar Hossain and the brac officials concerned
visited the beneficiary households at Soipara village under Mohanpur Upazila
on Monday last and expressed his satisfaction over the income-generating
activities.
In practice, the village women are very much laborious in homestead
farming and cattle and poultry birds rearing to uplift their fortune. They
become happy when get any financial support to promote the home-based money-
making activities, Shariful Islam said.
Bagmara Upazila Chairman Anil Kumar said the beneficiary families have
changed their lot through multifarious income-generating activities and
attained knowledge on how to cut poverty and hunger and to contribute the
society to some extent.
He said some of the need-based issues like in-taking of nutritious food,
using of sanitary latrines, sending children to schools and safe drinking of
safe water has become visible in the rural areas.