The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Rangpur

Bangladesh Rural Improvement Foundation (BRIF), an NGO being run with technical assistances of the Souhardo programme of CARE-Bangladesh, has been continuing massive poverty alleviation activities in 12 remote poverty-prone char villages of Kawnia upazila, BRIF officials said.

Under the ongoing programme that will continue till 2009 next, a total of 3,376 hardcore poor families of the natural disaster-prone char villages will achieve their complete socio-economic self-reliance through various income-generating activities, they told BSS today.

The remote char villages are: Pollimari, Thakurdas, Char Nazirdaho, Dhumgara and Chhit Nazirdaho under Haragach UP, Biswanath, Gonai and Hoyebot Khan under Tepamadhupur UP, Dhushmara, Panjorbhanga, Araji Hariswar and Gopiodanga under Balapara UP.

Officials said 3,376 families were divided into a number of groups and then engaged in different trades and professions to free them from poverty.

Under the programme that began last fiscal year, they said each of the 317 beneficiary families have been provided with two cows, two goats, each of the 49 families with one rickshaw van and 77 more families were given necessary capital and inputs for running small-scale businesses.

Each of the 151 fishermen families have been provided with necessary trainings on fish farming using the latest technologies, fish fries and fish-feeds and each of the other 125 farmer families were provided with training on the latest technologies for farming maize in char lands and necessary inputs including seeds and cash money.

Officials said 452 families have been provided with necessary trainings on farming of high-valued vegetables round the year using the latest agro-technologies and each of the families were given necessary quality seeds and other inputs.

They said each of the 421 more families have been provided with necessary trainings on vegetable farming, rearing of poultry and goats and fruit farming as well as planting of 'Mollika' variety of mango saplings and saplings of guava, litchi and lemon for converting their houses into ideal ones.

Levels of 20 houses were elevated where over 60 families took shelter along with their belongings and catle during the recent floods and passed the flood period safely.

Each of the 667 hardcore poor families are being provided by BRIF with 12 kg wheat, 1.5 kg edible oils and 0.5 kg pulse per month under the ongoing nutrition programme for the children and mothers in the char villages.

Besides, one trained health worker is working in each of the 12 villages under the programme for creating mass public awareness on health and sanitation related maters among the poor char dwellers.

Each of the other 50 families have been provided with five pieces of rings and one slab that helped the beneficiary families to set up hygienic latrines in their homes.

Discussion sessions with groups of mothers are being conducted in every village in five-day intervals on health care and nutrition issues for mothers and children and pregnant women and new mothers. Two trained nurses were provided with necessary trainings for safe delivery of pregnant women.

Activities of Seven Shishu Bikash Kendras and five Ekota Dals are working in these villages under the education programme of the 3-year term project to educate all people of the char villages and these Ekota Dals have so far stopped four child marriages and prevented one case of repression on women.

The Ekota Dals also organised a dowry-free marriage recently in the char areas that created huge enthusiasm among the char people for arranging dowry-free marriages for their sons and daughters in future, the officials said.

Members of the School Managing Commitees and teachers of five Primary Schools in the project area were provided with necessary trainings for improving the standard of education and running the schools by ensuring atendance of all school-going children and at the same time stopping dropouts.

Besides, some other poverty alleviation activities by self-employments are also being conducted in the 12 char villages to relieve the hardcore poor people from the clutches of abject poverty by 2009, officials said.

Programme Manager of BRIF Souhardo Project of Kawnia Upazila M Abdur Razzaque told BSS that all the char villagers have started geting benefits of the ongoing programme by now and the overall socio-economic situation will be changed there by the year 2009 after completion of the programme.