Tanu Kabiraj was spending days in extreme poverty with her day labourer husband and three daughters. The days were so hard to go by that she once wanted to marry off her 13-year-old daughter. She was looking for suitors for her daughter as well. But things changed drastically through a development project. She took some seeds and crab-catching equipment from the project. Her husband took the seeds and sold them in the market. She started collecting different seeds from Khulna and selling them locally. Within two years, she took a piece of land on lease and started farming there.
Now she earns Tk15,000 to Tk20,000 per month. Recently, she refused a marriage proposal for her daughter.
Not only Tonu, over 52,000 people in Bagerhat, 33,000 in Khulna and 28,000 in Pirojpur share similar stories. They all took assistance from BRAC’s Ultra Poor-Graduation (UPG) Program and changed their fortune. The project has so far offered services to over 2.3 million people across the country.
All these people now can say no to child marriage and are included in various social programs. Earlier, they used to work as labourers and now they are self-reliant. Many have become entrepreneurs and are hiring skilled people to do sewing and farming.
Aarti Roy from Katamati area lives with her brothers and sisters on the ancestral land. They were passing days without food. Then the BRAC program gave them three goats and ten ducks two years ago. Since then, she did not have to look back. She sold the goats but kept the ducks. She has now 25 ducks in total at her home. She collects and sells the eggs in the nearest market. She has also taken a piece of land on lease with the money she got from the goat trade. She is now cultivating vegetables and farming fish.
Her brother, Bhavesh Roy, said: “We only had the house. Our fate changed after Aarti got support from the project. We can easily raise the ducks in the nearby canal and eat vegetables cultivated around the house. Also, we sell some of the vegetables to the market.”
Tanu Kabiraj's elder daughter, Parma Kabiraj, said she was upset when her mother was thinking about marrying her off to somebody two years ago. But now the situation has changed. Her mother does not talk about marriage anymore.
Sabitri Halder of the Ghazikhali area said that her husband was bedridden due to gangrene. As a result, there was tension in his family. Sabitri said she got married at the age of 12. She has taken care of her husband for ten years. Their sons are now married and live in separate houses.
She was given a cow and some chickens from the project, which changed her fate. But she lost her husband recently.
Md Tamjidul Islam, zonal manager of BRAC's UPG Program, said that the program started in Bagerhat, Khulna, and Pirojpur in 2008. So far, 52,147 people have benefitted from the program in Bagerhat, 33,276 in Khulna, and 28,054 people in Pirojpur. Another 3,364 people from Bagerhat, 2,054 from Khulna, and 2,745 from Pirojpur are currently enjoying the benefits of the project.
He said that the income and assets of the families are considered while giving the facilities under the project. After selection, these families are given training. The support extends up to Tk32,000 from Tk15,000. Nobody is given cash under the scheme. Rather, they are taught how to earn from multiple sources. There are 13 steps under the project, and each candidate must complete those steps to be a graduate.
According to BRAC sources, the non-governmental organisation developed a poverty alleviation model called the Graduation Approach in 2002 to help extremely poor women and their families. The implementation of the model in Bangladesh started with the UPG Program.
At present, in nearly 50 countries around the world, governments, private organizations, and various partners are implementing this model, which has been proven in research, to ensure economic self-reliance and social empowerment of the poorest people in the context of their country.
The UPG Program for the past 20 years has served as a government partner in poverty alleviation in Bangladesh. Each year, the UPG Program helps nearly 70,000 families. The program has so far lifted more than 230,000 families out of the cycle of extreme poverty and integrated them into mainstream development programs. Research conducted by the London School of Economics has shown that even after 7 years of participating in the program, graduate families are moving out of poverty at a steady pace. After four years, female graduate members are engaged in productive work at a steadier pace.
The program has been able to design and successfully implement graduation interventions for ultra-poor communities living in diverse geographic and socio-economic contexts. The UPG program has also intervened in Cox's Bazar following the Rohingya influx in the district.
The total allocation per member in the program is about Tk50,000 and 70% of the fund is directly used for asset transfers and other purposes of members, and the remaining 30% is spent on administrative work. Currently, the program is being implemented in 39 districts.