Thousands of the distressed women living in remote char areas on the Brahmaputra basin have achieved laudable success in the health, hygiene, sanitation and safe drinking water sectors.
The exceptional success achieved by char women with assistance of Chars Livelihoods Programme (CLP) has reduced extent of water-borne diseases and related deaths almost to the zero level in the riverine char islands of ten northwestern districts.
Under the comprehensive livelihoods development programme, 5.17lakh people of 1.33lakh women- led have-nots group landless char families have achieved the success to march forward on their way to win over extreme poverty since 2004, reports BSS.
The success has inspired the neighbouring char dwellers to achieve similar progress in these sectors for raising quality of their own living as the nation set to become a middle income nation by 2021.
Livelihoods Coordinator of CLP Dr. Mahbub Alam said the success has been achieved through effective implementation of the multi-dimensional CLP activities through the partner local NGOs in the riverine char islands.
The UKaid through the Department for International Development, Australian Government through Australian Agency for International Development and Government of Bangladesh have been funding the CLP implementation.
The comprehensive CLP activities are aimed at eradicating extreme poverty to improve livelihoods, life standard and change socioeconomic conditions of the 1.33 lakh have-nots group char households in two phases by 2016.
The programme is being implemented successfully in collaboration with GO-NGOs on the chars in Kurigram, Bogra, Gaibandha, Sirajganj, Jamalpur, Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari, Rangpur, Pabna and Tangail districts, he said.
Like in other project areas, the women have made a social revolution in remote char villages of Kawniar Char under Roumari upazila in Kurigram and Dhushmara Char in Kawnia upazila of Rangpur by improving their health, hygiene, sanitation statuses.
Most of the distressed families have set up sanitary latrines and tube wells at their homes in Kawniar Char with their saved money from their incomes being earned from various income generation activities as the CLP beneficiaries.
According to the beneficiaries, the exceptional success has been achieved following the hectic efforts conducted in motivating the char people for a better life with the help of the CLP’s field level workers, local community leaders and public representatives.
The beneficiary families have also achieved self-reliance through animal husbandry, milk production, rearing poultry, homestead gardening and farming, handicrafts and other income generation works under the CLP assistance.
CLP beneficiaries Rita Khatun, Anju Ara, Farida Begum, Rohiton Nesa and Jholmoli Begum said recurrence of the waterborne diseases has been reduced since they started using sanitary latrines and drinking safe and pure water.
“We were inspired to set up our tube wells and the other people are now also getting pure drinking water from those,” said beneficiaries Achiya Begum, Nor Banu, Farida, China, Monwara, Sabana, Shahina and Sajeda of these char villages.
Agriculture and Environment Coordinator Mamunur Rashid of RDRS Bangladesh, an implementing organisation of CLP, said char women now understand necessity of better health, hygiene, sanitation, pure drinking water also to keep their children healthier.
Former members of local Dantbhanga union Monwara Begum, Nur Islam and Abdul Aziz said the women of Kawniar Char village had set up shining example in the fields of health, hygiene, sanitation and pure drinking water in the village.
Chilmari upazila chairman Shawkat Ali Sarker, Bir Bikram, said the example might be followed by all backward people to make the sanitation and pure drinking water.
