Govt project making destitute women self-reliant
Sunday, 30 May 2010
A new feather has been added in the crown of country's women empowerment as rural women proved that they could be self-reliant on their own initiative without taking any formal or informal credits.
It is seen almost a long debate on the floor of country's development strategy formulation whether micro-financing with high interest is effective or not in poverty reduction as creditors are often exposed to many risk factors that munch their income benefits.
The ground breaking model of poverty reduction without involving credit scheme rather than providing cash for work ensuring mandatory savings along with income generating training had introduced by a local government division project three years back, reports BSS.
The project styled Local Government Division's Rural Employment Opportunity for Public Assets (REOPA) has infused confidence in destitute rural women by giving them employment opportunity of repairing rural roads on a two-year contract.
Under the REOPA 24,444 poor women have been employed, 30 women from each of the unions in the first phase and 33 women in the second phase for maintenance of 30-kilometers of rural road annually in each union.
Of the total, 11,640 women have completed the first cycle last February while 12,804 women in second phase are being employed. Akmal Hossain, project director of the REOPA told the news agency that as per UNDP's mid term evaluation of the project, it could be said that the REOPA was successfully going ahead to achieve its objective.
"We have witnessed that most of the women after graduating from two-year of REOPA Project have started their own business and are able to upgrade themselves from ultra the poor level.
He said such kind of programme needs to be replicated across the country targeting the destitute women to empower them through creating public assets under employment contacts.
The project, started in 2008, is being implemented in 388 unions of 41 upazilas of six districts of Narsingdi, Feni, Sirajganj, Satkhira, Barguna and Habiganj in six divisions in two phases under two-year cycle at a cost of Tk 1.25 billion with the financial support of Government, UNDP and European Union (EU).
It is seen almost a long debate on the floor of country's development strategy formulation whether micro-financing with high interest is effective or not in poverty reduction as creditors are often exposed to many risk factors that munch their income benefits.
The ground breaking model of poverty reduction without involving credit scheme rather than providing cash for work ensuring mandatory savings along with income generating training had introduced by a local government division project three years back, reports BSS.
The project styled Local Government Division's Rural Employment Opportunity for Public Assets (REOPA) has infused confidence in destitute rural women by giving them employment opportunity of repairing rural roads on a two-year contract.
Under the REOPA 24,444 poor women have been employed, 30 women from each of the unions in the first phase and 33 women in the second phase for maintenance of 30-kilometers of rural road annually in each union.
Of the total, 11,640 women have completed the first cycle last February while 12,804 women in second phase are being employed. Akmal Hossain, project director of the REOPA told the news agency that as per UNDP's mid term evaluation of the project, it could be said that the REOPA was successfully going ahead to achieve its objective.
"We have witnessed that most of the women after graduating from two-year of REOPA Project have started their own business and are able to upgrade themselves from ultra the poor level.
He said such kind of programme needs to be replicated across the country targeting the destitute women to empower them through creating public assets under employment contacts.
The project, started in 2008, is being implemented in 388 unions of 41 upazilas of six districts of Narsingdi, Feni, Sirajganj, Satkhira, Barguna and Habiganj in six divisions in two phases under two-year cycle at a cost of Tk 1.25 billion with the financial support of Government, UNDP and European Union (EU).