BSS, Rajshahi :
Speakers at a training session said effective and time-fitting leadership training has become an urgent need for freeing the poor and extreme poor communities and other slum dwellers in the country from poverty and hunger.
They said the existing problems and prospects of the underprivileged community should be brought under vocational and other income-generation trainings so that desired results are achieved in this regard.
The observation came at the opening day’s session of a two- day training workshop styled “Strengthening Federation on Urban Partnership for Poverty Reduction Project (UPPRP) Towns” being held at Ashrai Research and Training Center in Rajshahi on Monday.
UPPRP organized the training aimed at strengthening the federations of Community Development Committee (CDC) for economic elevation of the poor and extreme poor communities and their quick empowerment in 23 towns of the country.
Some 44 federation leaders and others concerned from Rajshahi, Habigonj, Kushtia, Mymensingh, Dinajpur, Comilla, Naogaon, Chittagong, Barishal, Sirajgonj and Taingail towns attended the workshop.
Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) has been implementing the UPPRP in 23 towns in association with UNDP and UKAid in order to improving livelihood condition of around 30 lakh poor and extreme poor people, especially women and girls.
Rajshahi City Mayor Mosaddeque Hossain Bulbul addressed the programme as the chief guest while UPPRP Director Ajahar Ali, Training Coordinator Shantonu Kumar Shaha and SIF Team Representative Ruhul Amin spoke as special guests.
Mayor Bulbul urged the policy planners and others concerned to think up ways and means on how to formulate a joint action plan to free the poor and extreme poor communities from the vicious cycle of poverty and hunger.
Under the project, the beneficiary communities identify and prioritize the environmental, social and economic challenges they face as well as the required actions to address them, said UPPRP Director Ajahar Ali.
In Rajshahi city, more than 33,000 households from slum and underprivileged areas across the city have come together in an anti-poverty savings scheme to raise more than Taka 9.5 crore.
Through the savings and credit programmes, the communities now can operate their own savings schemes and create a revolving fund from which credit operations are being managed by themselves.
Under socio-economic fund, more than 9,200 households receive block grants worth Taka five crore while Taka 4.2 crore were disbursed among 10,400 dropout school children for restarting their institutional education.
The programme promotes household and community level urban food production technology demonstrations and provides small input supports especially high yielding variety vegetable and fruits seeds, saplings, ducklings, chick and poultry vaccination.
