FE Report

Hundreds of rural destitute women are seeing light of hope for attaining self-reliance as they were provided with regular employment and assistance in saving money for future.

A total of 24,444 women, mostly widowed, divorced and abandoned, are employed under a two-year contract for rural road maintenance.

They are getting Taka 100 each per day, of which Tk 30 is saved compulsorily at the bank accounts run in their own names so that they could use the savings in various income generation activities in future for sustaining their present self-reliant condition.

The move is going on under a Local Government Division project titled 'Rural Employment Opportunities for Public Assets (REOPA),' being implemented with the financial support of European Commission (EC) and UNDP at a cost of over 285 million euros.

Of the amount, the EC donated 95.7 per cent, UNDP 2.6 per cent and Bangladesh provided 1.7 per cent of the total amount.

The five-year long scheme starting from 2007 is being implemented in 388 unions of six districts -- Sirajganj, Satkhira, Barguna, Narshingdi, Feni and Habiganj.

This was revealed Monday at a media dialogue, organised by the Local Government Division at the National Press Club in the city to exchange views with media personalities about different aspects of the project.

Akmol Hossain, REOPA project director, said the objective of the project is to contribute to poverty alleviation in rural areas and mainstreaming destitute women into development programmes in line with the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) and the country's commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

"The savings amounting to Tk 22,000 will be given to them after the two-year cycle so that they could be self-reliant by involving themselves in various income generation activities using the trainings to be provided by the authorities," he said.

Some destitute women, who came from various districts where the REOPA project was being implemented, also narrated their experience about how they managed to improve their living condition through the scheme.

Bureau Chief of Associate Press (AP) Farid Hossain moderated the programme where Dr Klaus-Dieter, counsellor of delegation of the EC, and Goran Jonhon, international team leader of REOPA project, were present at the discussion.