CLP helping 'char' people come out of poverty trap
Tuesday, 23 December 2008
FE Report
Officials of Chars Livelihoods Programme that aims to help people of the char areas come of poverty trap with employment and protect themselves from climate change hope to reach the targeted goals well before the deadline.
They revealed this at a press conference at the National Press Club in Dhaka Monday. It was called by Maxwell Stamp PLC, one of the world's leading development consultancies, which was awarded the Major Consultancy Project of the Year 2008/09 prize last month by the British Expertise Group for its Chars Livelihoods Programme (CLP) in Bangladesh.
The Chars project was competing against several of the world's best consultancy assignments including the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, the Kaosiung Metro Project in Taiwan, the Diyar Al Muharraq housing development in Bahrain, the Russia Tower in Moscow, Nepal's Rural Access Project and an Economic Development Support Programme in South Africa.
Funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the CLP, which is being implemented by London-based Maxwell Stamp Limited aims to assist extreme poor households living on chars in five north-western districts of Bangladesh namely Kurigram, Gaibandha, Jamalpur, Bogra and Sirajganj.
The CLP, the largest multi-sectoral development programme, is focusing on assisting 50,000 poorest and most vulnerable households to graduate from poverty by securing their physical environment, generating and protecting their assets, developing income-generating opportunities and increasing access to health and educational services.
The programme is sponsored by the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives.
Approximately 3.5 million people inhabit chars in the CLP's intervention areas; with around 1.0 million actually living on island chars that are surrounded by water for the majority of the year. It is the poorest households living on these island chars, who are the main target group of the CLP.
In his speech Md. Azizul Haque Bhuiyan, deputy team leader of CLP and former secretary of Ministry of Liberation War Affairs, disclosed details about the programmes and their progress and achievements at the press conference.
He said 46,000 out of 55,000 initially focused households have already got out of poverty.
Since its inception in 2004, the programme has provided shelter to 500,000 char-dwellers by raising 60,000 homesteads and distributing 40,000 cattle to the ultra poor, he informed.
Azizul Haque Bhuiyan said families have gained economic independence, have more to eat and better nutritional status, and their self-esteem is enormously increased. In three years, almost 250,000 people have benefited from a 50-100 percent increase in household incomes and a doubling in value of household assets, while another 750,000 have increased their food security and nutritional status during the lean "Monga" or hunger season.
During 2007-08 alone, the programme provided 2.6 million person-days of emergency employment during the annual Monga season, the former secretary mentioned.
CLP officials said with a view to promoting good governance, 61 chairmen, 787 members and 68 secretaries were provided training to increase their efficiency in CLP's intervention areas last year under the £50 million grant funding. This year they have a plan to train 80 chairmen, 960 members and 80 secretaries.
The CLP has already signed a memorandum of understanding with Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers (BGMEA) and Exporters Association and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA) to provide training to unemployed youth and give them job in garments industries, they informed.
On education, the CLP opened 150 pilot child education centers at the beginning of 2008 where 30 children are receiving education on average. Some 5,000 children have already completed play-group stage and promoted to class one. The number of those centres now stands at 168.
The current CLP runs up to December 2009 and the officials hope they will be able to complete their task well before that deadline. They said over 70 percent works have already been finished.
The CLP implemented programmes of Tk1.41 billion in fiscal 2007-08 and achieved 97 percent of their goals. They have taken up programmes worth about Tk2.04 billion for the current fiscal year, and officials hope to achieve their 90 percent of the goal at the end of the year.
On being awarded the Major Consultancy Project, Syed Nuruddin Ahmed, managing director of Maxwell Stamp Ltd said the people of Bangladesh are part of this achievement.
For its achievements, Maxwell Stamp received the highest DFID programme review rating and a second phase of funding of £70 million is underway to scale up the CLP's food security activities, which might start from 2010, officials said.
Ebrahim Akanda, livelihoods unit manager, and Md. Abdul Momin, contract and procurement manager of CLP, among others, were present on the occasion.
Officials of Chars Livelihoods Programme that aims to help people of the char areas come of poverty trap with employment and protect themselves from climate change hope to reach the targeted goals well before the deadline.
They revealed this at a press conference at the National Press Club in Dhaka Monday. It was called by Maxwell Stamp PLC, one of the world's leading development consultancies, which was awarded the Major Consultancy Project of the Year 2008/09 prize last month by the British Expertise Group for its Chars Livelihoods Programme (CLP) in Bangladesh.
The Chars project was competing against several of the world's best consultancy assignments including the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, the Kaosiung Metro Project in Taiwan, the Diyar Al Muharraq housing development in Bahrain, the Russia Tower in Moscow, Nepal's Rural Access Project and an Economic Development Support Programme in South Africa.
Funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the CLP, which is being implemented by London-based Maxwell Stamp Limited aims to assist extreme poor households living on chars in five north-western districts of Bangladesh namely Kurigram, Gaibandha, Jamalpur, Bogra and Sirajganj.
The CLP, the largest multi-sectoral development programme, is focusing on assisting 50,000 poorest and most vulnerable households to graduate from poverty by securing their physical environment, generating and protecting their assets, developing income-generating opportunities and increasing access to health and educational services.
The programme is sponsored by the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives.
Approximately 3.5 million people inhabit chars in the CLP's intervention areas; with around 1.0 million actually living on island chars that are surrounded by water for the majority of the year. It is the poorest households living on these island chars, who are the main target group of the CLP.
In his speech Md. Azizul Haque Bhuiyan, deputy team leader of CLP and former secretary of Ministry of Liberation War Affairs, disclosed details about the programmes and their progress and achievements at the press conference.
He said 46,000 out of 55,000 initially focused households have already got out of poverty.
Since its inception in 2004, the programme has provided shelter to 500,000 char-dwellers by raising 60,000 homesteads and distributing 40,000 cattle to the ultra poor, he informed.
Azizul Haque Bhuiyan said families have gained economic independence, have more to eat and better nutritional status, and their self-esteem is enormously increased. In three years, almost 250,000 people have benefited from a 50-100 percent increase in household incomes and a doubling in value of household assets, while another 750,000 have increased their food security and nutritional status during the lean "Monga" or hunger season.
During 2007-08 alone, the programme provided 2.6 million person-days of emergency employment during the annual Monga season, the former secretary mentioned.
CLP officials said with a view to promoting good governance, 61 chairmen, 787 members and 68 secretaries were provided training to increase their efficiency in CLP's intervention areas last year under the £50 million grant funding. This year they have a plan to train 80 chairmen, 960 members and 80 secretaries.
The CLP has already signed a memorandum of understanding with Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers (BGMEA) and Exporters Association and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA) to provide training to unemployed youth and give them job in garments industries, they informed.
On education, the CLP opened 150 pilot child education centers at the beginning of 2008 where 30 children are receiving education on average. Some 5,000 children have already completed play-group stage and promoted to class one. The number of those centres now stands at 168.
The current CLP runs up to December 2009 and the officials hope they will be able to complete their task well before that deadline. They said over 70 percent works have already been finished.
The CLP implemented programmes of Tk1.41 billion in fiscal 2007-08 and achieved 97 percent of their goals. They have taken up programmes worth about Tk2.04 billion for the current fiscal year, and officials hope to achieve their 90 percent of the goal at the end of the year.
On being awarded the Major Consultancy Project, Syed Nuruddin Ahmed, managing director of Maxwell Stamp Ltd said the people of Bangladesh are part of this achievement.
For its achievements, Maxwell Stamp received the highest DFID programme review rating and a second phase of funding of £70 million is underway to scale up the CLP's food security activities, which might start from 2010, officials said.
Ebrahim Akanda, livelihoods unit manager, and Md. Abdul Momin, contract and procurement manager of CLP, among others, were present on the occasion.