<i>Ashrayon makes them self-reliant </i>
Implementation of Ashrayon project, for the families of leprosy-affected people in Gazipur, has changed their lives from begging on the streets of Dhaka.
Visiting the site of “Protyasa Ashrayon Project” in Bandabari of Gazipur on Saturday, the news agency found leprosy patients and their family members, who used to beg, now self-reliant through different income generating activities like cow fattening, poultry farming and cultivating vegetables on land allocated by the government.
Habibur Rahman, who lost his six fingers and a leg due to leprosy, is running a cow-fattening project on a six-katha plot.
"I sold out three cows out of five recently and earned a handsome amount of money. I am planning to reinvest the money to expand my cow fattening project," he said adding many Asrayon dwellers, involved in farming and other trades, have a capital of Tk 4 to 5 lakh.
Protyasha Ashrayon, the first leper house was built on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's instruction in 2000 on 7.2 acres of land in Bandabari of Gazipur. The Ashrayon with a mosque, school, deep tube well, community centre, and pond has a population of 400, of them, 60 are leprosy patients.
The government and non-government organisations provided micro-credit and employment for the inhabitants.
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