Successful implementation of the Chars Livelihoods Programme (CLP) has improved livelihoods of the extremely poor and landless people living in the hardly reachable char areas on the Brahmaputra basin.Under the comprehensive livelihoods development programme, 1.27 lakh extremely poor char households, out of targeted 1.33 lakh households, of ten northwestern riverine districts have become self-reliant so far since 2004.At the same time, the women-led CLP beneficiary households have easy access now to hygienic sanitation, pure drinking water and family planning and their children are going to the schools with dream of brighter future. The CLP has been working with the extremely poor char households to improve their livelihoods through providing package supports, assets and raising plinths for promoting income generation activities since 2004 under adverse climatic situations. Talking to BSS, Livelihoods Coordinator of CLP Dr. Mahbub Alam said the multi-dimensional and comprehensive CLP activities are being implemented by different NGOs in the hardly reachable char villages. He said 55,000 poorest households were benefited under CLP phase-I during 2004-2010 and 72,000 out of 78,000 households so far under phase-II (2010-2016) to ultimately improve livelihoods of 1.9 million extremely poor char people by 2016. The UKaid through the Department for International Development (DFID) and Australian Government through Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) have been supporting for implementation of the CLP activities. The Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives of Bangladesh Government has been sponsoring implementation of the comprehensive programme with the management of Maxwell Stamp Plc, he said. Under the programme, plinths of the beneficiary households have been raised, grants, assets, training and other assistances provided to make them self-reliant through income generation activities to boost the char economy for improving livelihoods. Chilmari upazila chairman Shawkat Ali Sarker, Bir Bikram, said CLP has become one of the most effective projects to assist the have-nots group char people in changing their socioeconomic condition through winning over extreme poverty. “Due to their economic uplift through income generation activities, ‘monga’ has been eradicated, standard of life improved and number of maternal and neonatal deaths and extent of malnutrition reduced substantially in char areas,” he added.
Agriculture and Environment Coordinator Mamunur Rashid of RDRS Bangladesh said the plinth-raising programme of CLP has become very effective to assist the char people in escaping floods side by side improving livelihoods to change fortune. “The CLP has become a milestone in improving livelihoods, ensuring sanitation and pure drinking water, reducing repression, child marriage, dowry, superstitions and popularising family planning to reduce high population growth in char areas,” he said. CLP beneficiaries Aklima, Kohinoor, Saleha, Momena, Rahela and Mahmuda said they have achieved success through sewing handloom garments, animal husbandry, poultry, dairy, homestead gardening, farming vegetables and agricultural activities. Beneficiaries Ayesha, Delwara, Aklima, Rasheda, Shakila and Nahar of different char villages narrated success stories through cultivation of various crops on their homesteads as well as alluvial char lands, animal husbandry and other ventures. The successful women narrated success stories of improving life standard, driving away water borne diseases, social curses and changing fortunes through proper utilisation of the assistance they received from the CLP under supervision of different NGOs. Terming CLP as a blessing for them, the charwomen said they have won over abject poverty, hunger and illiteracy and their children are now going to schools and living well though their days were miserable without hopes even a decade in the pasts. Executive Director of Northbengal Institute of Development Studies Dr Syed Samsuzzaman said the CLP has successfully improved livelihoods to change fortune of the extremely poor char households under adverse situations. -BSS, Rangpur
