Facing Monga effectively

Afroza, right, producing thread from garments waste at Charisli village in Gangachhara upazila in Gaibandga. PHOTO: STAR

The authorities are now thinking to replicate the programme, official sources said.

The pilot project to fight Monga was introduced in one upazila each in Rangpur, Nilphamari, Gaibandha, Kurigram and Lalmonirhat districts, covering about 7500 poor families.

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Several lakh Monga affected families pass hard days during the pre-harvest period of September-October due to lack of work.

Five well reputed local non-government organizations- ASOD at Gangachhara in Rangpur, RDRS at Chilmari in Kurigram, SSS at Hatibandha in Lalmonirhat, POPIE at Jaldhaka in Nilphamari and GKS at Fulchhari in Gaibandha districts are implementing the pilot project since October last year.

These NGOs work as partners of Palli Karmo Sahayok Foundation (PKSF) and Social Development Foundation, two wings of the ministry of finance.

In Gangachhara, 15000 poor women have been selected from 15 villages in Kolkond, Lakhitari, and Gajghanta unions.

They have been trained on income generating activities to make them self- reliant.

Each beneficiary was given a grant of Tk 2500 after training to run micro enterprises at their houses.

Seraful Islam, Programme Coordinator of ASOD, told this correspondent that all the beneficiaries under the programme are now busy with their income generating activities like goat rearing, poultry, homestead vegetable cultivation, weaving and producing yarn from old clothe.

These women will sell the resources during monga when their husbands and they will have no work in fields, he said. They will not be affected by monga in the next season, he said.

Afroza of Charisli village in Kolkond union in Gangachhara said she makes yarn from old clothe and sells those. "My family will not remain without food and work in the next monga season", she hoped.

Amina Begum of Char Motukpur said she is rearing about 200 poultry birds. Of these, 150 hens are laying eggs.

"I sell the eggs and deposit the money with ASOD so that I can spend from it in Aswin and Kartik (Bangla months when Monga prevails)."

Momena Begum of Joyram Ojha village said she is no more worried as she has 10 goats she bought with the grant.

But Seuli of Char Ichli wants more. "The amount of money they give is too small to run any trade successfully", she commented.

Khalilur Rahman, chairman of Gajghanta Union Parishad, said though the grant is small, he wants the programme to continue in Gangachara.

Asked how the poor families covered by the pilot project will survive once they sell their goats and poultry, Seraful said they will be brought under mainstream programmes of NGOs and given micro-credit.

Executive Director of ASOD Tashkinur Rahman claimed that the pilot project will play an effective role in alleviating monga in northern districts.