City Desk :
More than 45,000 poor women-led households of 1,454 backward rural communities in four northern districts have overcome extreme poverty through social, economic, political and women empowerment. Earlier, these women remained trapped in the vicious cycle of generational poverty even a decade ago.
However, they have become self-reliant through various income-generating activities (IGAs) through collective efforts and utilising local resources making a transformational change in their lives.
This transformational change prompted since 2009 with multidimensional interventions of the seven-year term (2009-2016) Social and Economic Transformation of the Ultra-Poor (SETU) project of CARE Bangladesh. Among these successful rural women, 25 have been elected as Members of local union parishads and are playing vital role in community affairs accelerating rural development and women empowerment even after expiry of the project.
The SETU project was implemented in 1,454 communities of 25 unions of seven upazilas in Rangpur, Nilphamari, Gaibandha and Lalmonirhat where the poor were affected earlier by seasonal food insecurity during seasonal lean periods.
Talking to media, project beneficiary women of different villages discussed their journey that began with community action plans based on participatory analysis of extreme poverty in 2009.
Former President Sufia Begum of the ‘Para Unnayan Committee (PUC) of village Sarkerpara in Ramnagar union of Sadar upazila in Nilphamari said the 116 poor families living there identified problems for collectively addressing those.
“After identification of open defecation practice as major reason for water-borne diseases, we collectively resolved the predicament collectively,” Sufia said.
“Within only one month, the villagers brought all 116 households under sanitation coverage under leadership of natural leader of the village Anufa Begum,” she added.
Through forming 25-member women’s ‘Unity’ group, its volunteers freed the village from child marriage, eve-teasing, malnutrition, illiteracy and repression and provided all able couples, pregnant women and adolescent with knowledge on health and hygiene.
To cope with lean seasons during the months of ‘Aswin’ and ‘Kartik’, the villagers formed local community based ‘Women Savings Group (WSG)’ with 32 members with Anufa as its General Secretary.
The Sarkerpara WSG deposited Taka 18,000 and SETU project added Taka 20,000 to raise its capital to Taka 38,000 when it started providing loans up to Taka 8,000 among its members for starting IGAs. Beneficiaries Aklima Khatun, Momena, Anufa Begum, Tahuza Begum and Sufia Begum said they took Taka 7,500 to 8,000 each as interest free loans from WSG and invested in businesses and IGAs with assistance of their husbands. Chairman of Ramnagar union Mizanur Rahman said, for her contribution to bringing socio-economic change in Sarkerpara village, local people elected Anufa as a female Member from reserved wards of the union parishad in 2016. Similarly, 62 poor households of Gangadas Baraipara village of Haridebpur union in Sadar upazila of Rangpur have won extreme poverty through becoming self-reliant and women empowerment making a transformational change in their lives+
More than 45,000 poor women-led households of 1,454 backward rural communities in four northern districts have overcome extreme poverty through social, economic, political and women empowerment. Earlier, these women remained trapped in the vicious cycle of generational poverty even a decade ago.
However, they have become self-reliant through various income-generating activities (IGAs) through collective efforts and utilising local resources making a transformational change in their lives.
This transformational change prompted since 2009 with multidimensional interventions of the seven-year term (2009-2016) Social and Economic Transformation of the Ultra-Poor (SETU) project of CARE Bangladesh. Among these successful rural women, 25 have been elected as Members of local union parishads and are playing vital role in community affairs accelerating rural development and women empowerment even after expiry of the project.
The SETU project was implemented in 1,454 communities of 25 unions of seven upazilas in Rangpur, Nilphamari, Gaibandha and Lalmonirhat where the poor were affected earlier by seasonal food insecurity during seasonal lean periods.
Talking to media, project beneficiary women of different villages discussed their journey that began with community action plans based on participatory analysis of extreme poverty in 2009.
Former President Sufia Begum of the ‘Para Unnayan Committee (PUC) of village Sarkerpara in Ramnagar union of Sadar upazila in Nilphamari said the 116 poor families living there identified problems for collectively addressing those.
“After identification of open defecation practice as major reason for water-borne diseases, we collectively resolved the predicament collectively,” Sufia said.
“Within only one month, the villagers brought all 116 households under sanitation coverage under leadership of natural leader of the village Anufa Begum,” she added.
Through forming 25-member women’s ‘Unity’ group, its volunteers freed the village from child marriage, eve-teasing, malnutrition, illiteracy and repression and provided all able couples, pregnant women and adolescent with knowledge on health and hygiene.
To cope with lean seasons during the months of ‘Aswin’ and ‘Kartik’, the villagers formed local community based ‘Women Savings Group (WSG)’ with 32 members with Anufa as its General Secretary.
The Sarkerpara WSG deposited Taka 18,000 and SETU project added Taka 20,000 to raise its capital to Taka 38,000 when it started providing loans up to Taka 8,000 among its members for starting IGAs. Beneficiaries Aklima Khatun, Momena, Anufa Begum, Tahuza Begum and Sufia Begum said they took Taka 7,500 to 8,000 each as interest free loans from WSG and invested in businesses and IGAs with assistance of their husbands. Chairman of Ramnagar union Mizanur Rahman said, for her contribution to bringing socio-economic change in Sarkerpara village, local people elected Anufa as a female Member from reserved wards of the union parishad in 2016. Similarly, 62 poor households of Gangadas Baraipara village of Haridebpur union in Sadar upazila of Rangpur have won extreme poverty through becoming self-reliant and women empowerment making a transformational change in their lives+
