Dr Aynal Haque, BSS, Rajshahi :
More than 300 poor women have come together from the underprivileged Jelepara (fishermen) community for eradicating their long-lasting poverty and financial uncertainty at Rajarhat Jelepara area in the city.
Currently, all of them have become money-makers through various micro-business including paper-bag making and they attained some knowledge on how to become self-reliant and to contribute the society to some extent.
“Now a day, our work pressure has been enhanced to a greater extent as there is no shop and service-delivery center where the paper-bags aren’t being used at present,” said Radha Rani Halder, a housewife of the fishermen community.
Like Radha Rani Halder, many of her neighborhood women are now passing their busiest days as their works were enhanced remarkably.
Taking advantage of the situation, most of the housewives of the community are making paper-bags along with their family members for some extra income to rotate their family wheels.
According to demand of the owners, they make bags of all sizes with much sincerity and eagerness but their earning is very scanty. “We got Taka 15/20 after making every 100 bags and we hardly make 300 bags per day,” said Basanti Rani Halder.
“First of all, I got a grant of Taka 4,500 from a development project of Rajshahi City Corporation around two years back and since then I have been doing the work with assistance”, she added.
In addition to uplifting her skills, she has learnt the means of eradicating poverty and hunger in the days ahead.
Rajshahi City Corporation has been implementing the ‘Urban Partnership for Poverty Reduction Project (UPPRP)’ aimed at improving the living and livelihood condition of around three lakh poor and extreme poor people, especially women and girls, in the metropolis by 2014.
Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) and UNDP jointly initiated the project in association with UK aid and financial and technical support from UN Habitat.
Razen Mardee, UPPRP Community Organizer, said various measures of extending supports were adopted to free the disadvantaged community from the vicious circle of poverty under the project.
“We have formed Jelepara Community Development Committee (CDC) with 985 people of the community including 353 women and 210 children under 168 families in a bid to mainstreaming them,” he stated.
They, so far, saved around Taka 47,000 from their daily incomes, disbursed Taka 63,000 as loan among 13 small business women and recovered Taka 23,000 against the disbursed money.
Grants of Taka 1.12 lakh were disbursed among 25 women for operating small- business while another grant of Taka 67,500 were disbursed among 15 students to facilitate their academic activities under the socio economic fund.
Urban food production inputs and some other necessary supports were extended to 25 families to ensure their food security.
