Hundreds of the river-eroded homeless women have achieved self-reliance to lead better life with family members after their successful rehabilitation under the government’s ‘Asrayan Prokalpo’ in the district.Earlier, these women turned extremely poor and led floating life after losing everything they had following repeated river erosions and they have now changed fortune with continuous assistance under the ‘Asrayan Prokalpo’ in recent years.Under the programme, some 1,830 river-eroded women-led families, living 230 tin-shed barrack houses, built under the 21 projects in all eight upazilas in the district, have got houses, address, ensured livelihoods and dream of brighter future for children.The concerned upazila level local government departments have been implementing comprehensive activities for mainstreaming the rehabilitated women to make them self-reliant through providing necessary support, training and assistance.Under the project, the adult male and females of the rehabilitated families have been provided necessary training for increasing awareness on various issues, expertise and human resource development to engage them with income-generation works.Gangachara Upazila Cooperatives Officer Hosne Ara Begum said 750 floating families have been rehabilitated in 12 barrack houses in the upazila alone and Taka 65.87 lakh easy-term revolving microcredit have been distributed among them so far.The beneficiary women-led families have already achieved socioeconomic success following proper use of the training, government assistances and credit management under official supervision and the process continues successfully, she said.Like other project beneficiaries, 90 rehabilitated families at Purbo Kochua-1 Asrayan Prokalpo in Nohali union have set up a dazzling example in cooperative microcredit loan payments after achieving self-reliance through income generations.
Talking to BSS, rehabilitated Tobiya Khatun and Bulbuli Begum there said they got back life anew and brighter future for children after getting easy-term microcredit under the government’s comprehensive social safety-net programmes.“We have been making good profits to raise our capital through small- scale business, animal husbandry, poultry, tree plantation, vegetables and fruit farming at homesteads,” said Feroza Khatun and her husband Alef Uddin.They are now leading better life with their children despite they became homeless some fourteen years back when the Teesta devoured everything they had in nearby village Purbo Kochua Fakirpara in the same upazila.Rehabilitated couple Shahana Begum and Nurul Amin said they have raised their own capital through small-scale business, animal husbandry, poultry, homestead gardening through properly utilising the microcredit and training under the programme.Couple Anichha Begum and Moshiur Rahman said they got Taka 6,000 cooperative microcredit for the first time, again got Taka 9,000, Taka 12,000 and later Taka 15,000 microcredit after completing payments of their successive loans.
“We have now assets of Taka 2.75 lakh and are earning better through cultivating crops, crushing paddy and irrigating crop fields using shallow machine and our children Minal, Tazul and Tanzina are going to the local schools,” they said.Similarly, rehabilitated women at Purbo Kochua- 2 Asrayan Prokalpo,Neelchondi Asrayan Prokalpo, Chengmari Asrayan Prokalpo-1, Bagpur Asrayan Prokalpo, Balatari Asrayan Prokalpo and Chengmari 1 and 2 Asrayan Prokalpo narrated success stories.Rehabilitated Bijlee Begum, Feroza Khatun, Beauty Begum, Shahzadi, Mariyam Nesa and Bulbuli Begum also narrated long stories of sufferings, getting back life anew with hopes and aspirations and successes in changing fortune.The women became emotional while narrating sufferings when they led
floating life on the embankments, high lands or other places for 10 to 12 years or even more after losing houses, property, arable lands and everything due to river erosion.After rehabilitation, they have got houses, address, livelihoods and brighter future for children following the comprehensive social safety-net programmes being implemented by the present government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.Chairman of Nohali union Abul Kalam Azad Titul in Gangachara upazila said the rehabilitated women have changed fortune after getting necessary training, proper utilisation of cooperative microcredit and other government assistance.
The rehabilitated women have been earning good profits continuously to increase their capitals consistently through small-scale businesses, animal husbandry, poultry, tree plantation, agri-activities, vegetables and fruit farming at homesteads, he added. -BSS, Rangpur
