Villagers attain self-reliance through collective efforts
Saturday, 4 August 2007
RANGPUR, Aug 3 (BSS): The ongoing poverty alleviation movement could be accelerated through following the footsteps of the rural people who achieved successes in alleviating their poverty by self-initiatives within a shorter period in several districts, experts said today.
Beginning from September 2004, over 35,000 people of 7,000 families of 225 villages of 12 unions under 11 upazilas of Rangpur, Dinajpur, Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat, Gaibandha and Chittagong districts have made a unique revolution in changing their lot by their collective efforts.
The successful villagers, mostly distressed females, who earlier lived under utter miseries and poverty, have totally changed their fates with their own initiatives and properly utilising resources under the technical assistances of the experts of CARE-Bangladesh.
Along with achieving complete economical self-reliance and saying good-bye to their poverty, a unique example of women empowerment has been set by them and the women community is now playing the most vital role in taking most of the decisions in their family and social affairs.
Landless people and distressed women including divorcees and widows, housewives, and female students of these villages are now found more confident about their future and with smiling faces as a result of the successes they achieved.
People of these villages sorted out their common problems and found out the ways to resolve those through collective efforts that has also helped ensuring empowerment of the women community in all these villages without any help from the government.
The people of 18 villages in Rajendrapur union under Sadar Upazila in Rangpur, who have suffered from dire poverty just two years back exchanged views and shared their happier experiences with BSS recently.
They narrated how they were inspired and organized themselves in resolving their own problems through collective efforts and own initiatives and properly utilizing own resources with the only theme of 'Nizeder Jonnya Nizera'.
Similarly, over 1,000 families of many villages in Saintara union in Chirirbandar Upazila of Dinajpur, Mahodipur union under Polashbari Upazila in Gaibandha, Botlagari union under Syedpur Upazila in Nilphamari, who were living in utter miseries due to abject poverty only a couple of years ago, have now achieved their self-reliance at their own collective efforts.
Recently, widows Nirmola Rani and Indu Rani of Rangpur, UP, Saidur Rahman and members Harun-ur-Rashid, Roksana and Rafiqul Islam of Nilphamari, Chairmen of Mahodipur UP, Mohammad Ali Mandal and Dhiraj Kumar of nearby Shujalpur UP, villagers Majnu Mia, Motiar Rahman, Anisur Rahman, Altaf Hossain, Zoha, Rashida Begum, Shyamoli Rani, Saroari Begum in Gaibandha narrated the success stories to news agency.
While talking to news agency, they said, first of all, they identified their problems and then collectively took decisions in resolving those. There were differences in opinions in the beginning on some issues but those were resolved mutually.
Within a period of only few months, they brought their villages under 100 per cent sanitation coverage and now people of the households of those villages are free from diarrhoeal and other water-borne diseases.
With their own efforts the villagers built several roads, bridges, culverts, canals and many other necessary infrastructures for their own comforts without depending on the government initiatives, they said.
Then, they started forestations, cultivating ginger, turmeric, vegetables, potatoes, high-valued fruits and crops in the fallow lands, fish farming in the water bodies, rearing cows, poultry birds, farming of honey bees, creating group savings etc with a view to achieve economic well-being.
The rich people of these villages ultimately came out with their assistances through allowing their uncultivated lands, water bodies for proper use by the fellow villagers and soon poverty and seasonal 'Monga' were alleviated and self- reliance was achieved.
After getting trainings from the Youth Development Department, the adolescent, youths, housewives, divorcee and widows are now engaged in cottage industries and garments.
"It has become possible through collective efforts of all though many people and even local public representatives criticised us in the beginning. Now, they honour our unity and share their views in development activities. Our children are now going to schools and we hope for a better future," they said.
Observing these development activities, officials and experts of Rangpur Regional Office of CARE Bangladesh have been extending technical assistances to the enthusiastic villagers of these districts since the beginning.
"We are highly impressed with the successes achieved by the villagers and specially the same in empowerment of the women community. Such successes at the grassroots level always become sustainable. It may be a model for the developing countries in achieving self-reliance," a senior CARE official told news agency today.
Beginning from September 2004, over 35,000 people of 7,000 families of 225 villages of 12 unions under 11 upazilas of Rangpur, Dinajpur, Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat, Gaibandha and Chittagong districts have made a unique revolution in changing their lot by their collective efforts.
The successful villagers, mostly distressed females, who earlier lived under utter miseries and poverty, have totally changed their fates with their own initiatives and properly utilising resources under the technical assistances of the experts of CARE-Bangladesh.
Along with achieving complete economical self-reliance and saying good-bye to their poverty, a unique example of women empowerment has been set by them and the women community is now playing the most vital role in taking most of the decisions in their family and social affairs.
Landless people and distressed women including divorcees and widows, housewives, and female students of these villages are now found more confident about their future and with smiling faces as a result of the successes they achieved.
People of these villages sorted out their common problems and found out the ways to resolve those through collective efforts that has also helped ensuring empowerment of the women community in all these villages without any help from the government.
The people of 18 villages in Rajendrapur union under Sadar Upazila in Rangpur, who have suffered from dire poverty just two years back exchanged views and shared their happier experiences with BSS recently.
They narrated how they were inspired and organized themselves in resolving their own problems through collective efforts and own initiatives and properly utilizing own resources with the only theme of 'Nizeder Jonnya Nizera'.
Similarly, over 1,000 families of many villages in Saintara union in Chirirbandar Upazila of Dinajpur, Mahodipur union under Polashbari Upazila in Gaibandha, Botlagari union under Syedpur Upazila in Nilphamari, who were living in utter miseries due to abject poverty only a couple of years ago, have now achieved their self-reliance at their own collective efforts.
Recently, widows Nirmola Rani and Indu Rani of Rangpur, UP, Saidur Rahman and members Harun-ur-Rashid, Roksana and Rafiqul Islam of Nilphamari, Chairmen of Mahodipur UP, Mohammad Ali Mandal and Dhiraj Kumar of nearby Shujalpur UP, villagers Majnu Mia, Motiar Rahman, Anisur Rahman, Altaf Hossain, Zoha, Rashida Begum, Shyamoli Rani, Saroari Begum in Gaibandha narrated the success stories to news agency.
While talking to news agency, they said, first of all, they identified their problems and then collectively took decisions in resolving those. There were differences in opinions in the beginning on some issues but those were resolved mutually.
Within a period of only few months, they brought their villages under 100 per cent sanitation coverage and now people of the households of those villages are free from diarrhoeal and other water-borne diseases.
With their own efforts the villagers built several roads, bridges, culverts, canals and many other necessary infrastructures for their own comforts without depending on the government initiatives, they said.
Then, they started forestations, cultivating ginger, turmeric, vegetables, potatoes, high-valued fruits and crops in the fallow lands, fish farming in the water bodies, rearing cows, poultry birds, farming of honey bees, creating group savings etc with a view to achieve economic well-being.
The rich people of these villages ultimately came out with their assistances through allowing their uncultivated lands, water bodies for proper use by the fellow villagers and soon poverty and seasonal 'Monga' were alleviated and self- reliance was achieved.
After getting trainings from the Youth Development Department, the adolescent, youths, housewives, divorcee and widows are now engaged in cottage industries and garments.
"It has become possible through collective efforts of all though many people and even local public representatives criticised us in the beginning. Now, they honour our unity and share their views in development activities. Our children are now going to schools and we hope for a better future," they said.
Observing these development activities, officials and experts of Rangpur Regional Office of CARE Bangladesh have been extending technical assistances to the enthusiastic villagers of these districts since the beginning.
"We are highly impressed with the successes achieved by the villagers and specially the same in empowerment of the women community. Such successes at the grassroots level always become sustainable. It may be a model for the developing countries in achieving self-reliance," a senior CARE official told news agency today.