Rehana Akter, a dweller of Dharmapur Ashrayan Prakalpa in Feni district, led floating life after the death of her husband in 1997 but she has been able to change her fortune by taking assistance from the ‘Asrayan Prakalpa’.
“I had to face a very hard time . . . I had no house for living and managing meal once a day for my three children was difficult for me but I have been able to overcome the poverty with the help of the government’s rehabilitation and credit facility project,” said Rehana Akter who lost her husband in a road accident when she was 32.
Rahena was rehabilitated in Dharmapur Asrayan project in 2000. After rehabilitation, the Social Welfare Department gave her Taka 10,000 as loan for joining at the income generating activities.
“I tried to do any type of works to survive. But, that was not enough to maintain my three children. Under such a situation, I came to know about the government’s project-Ashrayan Prakalpa. I went to the Union Parishad and applied for a house,” said Rahena who is now at her 55.
“God blessed me . . . I got a house. Later, the Social Welfare Department gave me Taka 10,000 as credit,” said Rahena, who was the dweller of Moiurpur village under Chauddagram upazila in Cumilla district.
The credit facility programme gave her a new hope to lead better life with her children. As her elder son became 18 years old, she bought a rickshaw for him.
Rehana said that she also took training on animal husbandry, poultry, vegetable and fruit farming to lead better life.
Now, Rahena is leading a happy-life as her two sons are earning a handsome amount of money and she gave marriage her daughter.
Not only Rahena, Roshna, Hazera and many other women in Dharmapur Asrayan Prakalpa changed their life by joining in the income generating activities.
Talking to BSS, Secretary of the Dharmapur Asrayan Project Mohammad Abdul Kayum Patowary said 210 families have so far been rehabilitated under the ‘Asrayan Prakalpa’.
“Most members of the rehabilitated families have become self-reliance by participating in income generating activities and ensuring proper utilisation of micro-credit,” he added.
In 2004, he said, each family was given Taka 10,000 for participating in the income generating activities and they have already repaid all of their loans.
Director of the Ashrayan-2 Project Md Mahbub Hossain said the government has undertaken the scheme to give the homeless people a meaningful life through providing shelter and assistance as well as alleviating poverty through involving them in income-generating activities.
A total of 2,97,886 families have been rehabilitated under the project, launched in 1997, in three phases across the country, he said, adding that the first two phases of the scheme were successfully completed in 2010.
“The rehabilitated family members are getting skill-building training on various issues with the support from the Local Government Department, while Upazila Cooperative Offices are also providing revolving interest-free microcredit to them only at 7 percent service charge,” he added.
He said they are making profits through small-scale business, animal husbandry, poultry raising, tree plantation, vegetables and fruit farming at homesteads.
Mahbub said that the government has been providing professional-based training to two members of each rehabilitated family.
He said the government undertook the Ashrayan-2 Project in 2010 aimed at providing shelter to around 2.50 lakh families at a cost of Taka 4,840.28 crore by the year 2019.
Under the Taka 4,840.28 crore scheme, he said, the government rehabilitated a total of 1,91,953 families from July 2010 till now.
Mahbub said during the period, a total of 864 villages got electricity connection and over 4.62 lakh trees were planted in the project areas, where the rehabilitated people are living happily with income-generating activities.
“Apart from this, their children are going to schools to become worthy citizens of the country,” he said.
