BSS, Dhaka :
Over 2.73 crore poor and extreme-poor people across the country will be benefitted from the government’s “Ektee Bari, Ektee Khamar (EBEK)” project, one of the 10 priority initiatives of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The government has a plan to form over 91.92 thousand Village Development Associations (VDAs) by June 2020 and a total of 54.60 lakh families will get benefits from the VDAs under the project, one of the successful microfinance programmes of the government.
“The government has undertaken the project to alleviate poverty as part of its plan to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through fund mobilization and farming. In line with the key objectives of the project, it has been playing a vital role to make the poor people self-reliant,” EBEK Project Director Akber Hossain told BSS.
He said a total of 79,579 VDAs have already been formed across the country from which about 38.10 lakh families are getting benefits. The beneficiaries have deposited over Taka 1450.14 crore till September 2018 and the government has provided Taka 1,227.75 crore as EBEK project, he added.
Through the project, Hossain said the government is assisting capital formation of the poor families, sharpening their skills through training and motivation, allowing them to sit together at courtyard meetings, enabling them to take decisions independently and develop the need based small family farms along with ensuring marketing facilities for their products. He said, by now, members of the VDAs have become self-reliant and capable of running their businesses independently.
The EBEK project director said the government is giving special focus on women in the EBEK project as a VDA is formed with 60 members and of them 40 members are women. Under the project, he said, each member of VDA saves Taka 200 per month and the government gives the equal amount to them as bonus. All the money has been deposited to the bank account of VDA.
After getting fund from the respective VDA, he informed, a member of each poor family develops small farms like fishery, livestock, poultry, nursery and vegetable gardening.
Thus every inch of land of the low income person is used efficiently for agro production, he said. After making an income from their farms, the members of each VDA make repayment of their loans in installment to the account of the VDA. Thus the fund is being revolved and utilized for poverty alleviation by these poor permanently.
That is how, Hossein said, it stands out as a sustainable poverty alleviation cycle to stave off poverty eventually.
Like many other rural women, Rupali Begum of Kishorganj in Nilphamari district has changed her lifestyle by setting up a duck farm. She opened the firm one and a half years ago taking a loan of Taka 15,000 from the VDA in her village under the EBEK project.
“My husband is a cattle trader. He could not properly manage all of the family expenses. So, I came to business for supporting my husband,” said Rupali Begum, a mother of three children.
“Within this short span of time, I have become self-reliant and am making financial contributions to my family from the sale of eggs and ducks raised in my farm. Now we can afford all necessary expenses for our children’s education,” she added.
Rupali Begum informed that her elder son is a SSC candidate and the younger son is in class eight. She also said her daughter is studying in class six.
Over 2.73 crore poor and extreme-poor people across the country will be benefitted from the government’s “Ektee Bari, Ektee Khamar (EBEK)” project, one of the 10 priority initiatives of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The government has a plan to form over 91.92 thousand Village Development Associations (VDAs) by June 2020 and a total of 54.60 lakh families will get benefits from the VDAs under the project, one of the successful microfinance programmes of the government.
“The government has undertaken the project to alleviate poverty as part of its plan to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through fund mobilization and farming. In line with the key objectives of the project, it has been playing a vital role to make the poor people self-reliant,” EBEK Project Director Akber Hossain told BSS.
He said a total of 79,579 VDAs have already been formed across the country from which about 38.10 lakh families are getting benefits. The beneficiaries have deposited over Taka 1450.14 crore till September 2018 and the government has provided Taka 1,227.75 crore as EBEK project, he added.
Through the project, Hossain said the government is assisting capital formation of the poor families, sharpening their skills through training and motivation, allowing them to sit together at courtyard meetings, enabling them to take decisions independently and develop the need based small family farms along with ensuring marketing facilities for their products. He said, by now, members of the VDAs have become self-reliant and capable of running their businesses independently.
The EBEK project director said the government is giving special focus on women in the EBEK project as a VDA is formed with 60 members and of them 40 members are women. Under the project, he said, each member of VDA saves Taka 200 per month and the government gives the equal amount to them as bonus. All the money has been deposited to the bank account of VDA.
After getting fund from the respective VDA, he informed, a member of each poor family develops small farms like fishery, livestock, poultry, nursery and vegetable gardening.
Thus every inch of land of the low income person is used efficiently for agro production, he said. After making an income from their farms, the members of each VDA make repayment of their loans in installment to the account of the VDA. Thus the fund is being revolved and utilized for poverty alleviation by these poor permanently.
That is how, Hossein said, it stands out as a sustainable poverty alleviation cycle to stave off poverty eventually.
Like many other rural women, Rupali Begum of Kishorganj in Nilphamari district has changed her lifestyle by setting up a duck farm. She opened the firm one and a half years ago taking a loan of Taka 15,000 from the VDA in her village under the EBEK project.
“My husband is a cattle trader. He could not properly manage all of the family expenses. So, I came to business for supporting my husband,” said Rupali Begum, a mother of three children.
“Within this short span of time, I have become self-reliant and am making financial contributions to my family from the sale of eggs and ducks raised in my farm. Now we can afford all necessary expenses for our children’s education,” she added.
Rupali Begum informed that her elder son is a SSC candidate and the younger son is in class eight. She also said her daughter is studying in class six.
