A blessing for ultra-poor women in Patuakhali

Ultra-poor women working in a road development project in Patuakhali. PHOTO: STAR

The women, organised under groups, are engaged in work like rural road maintenance, re-excavation of canals and tree plantation.

The ten-year project launched in 1994 ended last year. The duration was extended by one year and the project is scheduled to expire in June 30 this year.

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Seeing its success, different quarters have demanded further extension of the project.

The Tk-67 crore Danida (Danish International Development Agency) Rural Development Project-16 (RDP-16) is being implemented jointly by Local Government and Engineering Department (LGED) and Danida.

A women working in the project earns Tk 100 to 120 a day. As a mandatory provision, they have to deposit 25 per cent of their income with their bank accounts, which they will get at a time for doing income generating activities. They are being trained in fish and vegetable cultivation, poultry farming, rearing cow and goat and nursery.

They are also being made aware about sanitation, adult education and the curse of dowry and other social vices.

The success of the project is evident.. So far, 170 kilometre rural roads, 380 concrete bridges, 54 box culverts, 211 pipe culverts and 40 village markets have been built, 28 km canals re-excavated and 2 km river embankments renovated, most of them by engaging poor women, according to Danida official Anisur Rahman.

Over 60,000 saplings of timber trees have been planted along 85 km rural roads.

"This project has changed our life", said Sokina Begum, 35 of Kakrabunoa village in Patuakhali Sadar upazila while talking to this correspondent.

"I was virtually starving with my four children and my day-labour husband. Now I am earning for the family and also saving for future. I will raise a poultry firm with the savings," she said.

Hazera Begum of same village said, "My three sons are going to school since I joined the project two years back.

"My husband is a rickshawpuller. We are better off now with my income," she added.

LGED engineer Abul Kalam who supervises implementation of the project in Sadar upazila said, "All ongoing work under the project will be completed by June this year. We have built roads linking remote villages with upazila or district headquarters, he said.

The projects have covered only 50 per cent areas of the district. It should be extended to cover the while district, the LGED engineer said.