BSS-05 Over 2.73cr poor to be benefited from EBEK

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ZCZC

BSS-05

10-INITIATIVE-EBEK

Over 2.73cr poor to be benefited from EBEK

AKM Kamal Uddin Chowdhury

DHAKA, Dec 21, 2018 (BSS) – Over 2.73 crore poor and extreme-poor people
across the country will be benefitted from the government’s “Ektee Bari,
Ektee Khamar (EBEK)” project, one of the 10 priority initiatives of Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The government has a plan to form over 91.92 thousand Village Development
Associations (VDAs) by June 2020 and a total of 54.60 lakh families will get
benefits from the VDAs under the project, one of the successful microfinance
programmes of the government.

“The government has undertaken the project to alleviate poverty as part of
its plan to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through fund
mobilization and farming. In line with the key objectives of the project, it
has been playing a vital role to make the poor people self-reliant,” EBEK
Project Director Akber Hossain told BSS.

He said a total of 79,579 VDAs have already been formed across the country
from which about 38.10 lakh families are getting benefits. The beneficiaries
have deposited over Taka 1450.14 crore till September 2018 and the government
has provided Taka 1,227.75 crore as EBEK project, he added.

Through the project, Hossain said the government is assisting capital
formation of the poor families, sharpening their skills through training and
motivation, allowing them to sit together at courtyard meetings, enabling
them to take decisions independently and develop the need based small family
farms along with ensuring marketing facilities for their products. He said,
by now, members of the VDAs have become self-reliant and capable of running
their businesses independently.

The EBEK project director said the government is giving special focus on
women in the EBEK project as a VDA is formed with 60 members and of them 40
members are women.

Under the project, he said, each member of VDA saves Taka 200 per month
and the government gives the equal amount to them as bonus. All the money has
been deposited to the bank account of VDA.

After getting fund from the respective VDA, he informed, a member of each
poor family develops small farms like fishery, livestock, poultry, nursery
and vegetable gardening.

Thus every inch of land of the low income person is used efficiently for
agro production, he said. After making an income from their farms, the
members of each VDA make repayment of their loans in installment to the
account of the VDA. Thus the fund is being revolved and utilized for poverty
alleviation by these poor permanently.

That is how, Hossein said, it stands out as a sustainable poverty
alleviation cycle to stave off poverty eventually.

Like many other rural women, Rupali Begum of Kishorganj in Nilphamari
district has changed her lifestyle by setting up a duck farm. She opened the
firm one and a half years ago taking a loan of Taka 15,000 from the VDA in
her village under the EBEK project.

“My husband is a cattle trader. He could not properly manage all of the
family expenses. So, I came to business for supporting my husband,” said
Rupali Begum, a mother of three children.

“Within this short span of time, I have become self-reliant and am making
financial contributions to my family from the sale of eggs and ducks raised
in my farm. Now we can afford all necessary expenses for our children’s
education,” she added.

Rupali Begum informed that her elder son is a SSC candidate and the younger
son is in class eight. She also said her daughter is studying in class six.

Rupali’s farm has over 300 ducks. She gets about 200 eggs every day. Rupali
sells the eggs to Gaibandha duck farm hatchery. She has already repaid her
loan of Taka 15,000 and she also applied for another loan of Taka 50,000 from
the EBEK for expanding her duck farm.

BSS/KUC/TAN/ARS/1553 hrs