Home ›› 29 Oct 2022 ›› Nation
More than 36,000 women from slum and underprivileged areas under Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) have come together in an anti-poverty savings scheme to raise more than Taka 13 crore.
The poor and extreme-poor people have gotten the path of eradicating their long-lasting poverty through self-managed savings and credit activities to some extent.
The activities are being managed by the Community Development Committee (CDC), initiated by a recently phased-out anti-poverty scheme. RCC implemented the project.
RCC Chief Engineer Nur Islam Tusser told BSS that main thrust of the project was to improving the living condition and livelihoods of around 72,000 poor and extreme poor families, especially women and girls, in Rajshahi.
He said a total of 36,000 women saved around Taka 13 crore under 173 CDCs consisting of around three lakh populations in the metropolis till September last.
Against the savings, the community members received collateral- free loan for addressing their emergency needs and other family purposes and the credit figure has been accumulated to around Taka 18.5 crore.
After taking loans from CDCs, many of the members are operating different kinds of micro businesses successfully allowing them to have access to a regular income.
The poor communities operate their own savings scheme along with creating a revolving fund from which credit operations are managed through the savings credit program generating a new dimension towards women empowerment and curtailing urban poverty.
Saving of Ganpara CDC has been raised to more than Taka 23 lakh while Taka 18 lakh was saved by Natun Budhpara and the entire money is being managed and used by the community members for their own welfare purposes without any outside intervention.
Mayor of Rajshahi City Corporation AHM Khairuzzaman Liton said the community savings and credit activities have been adjudged as an effective means of addressing some of the challenges to some extent.
Ummaton Begum, 37, of Ganpara CDC, has become a successful grocery shop owner as she pays monthly installment of Taka 7,350 against her credit of Taka 70,000 regularly through operating her shop besides leading her four-member family.
At present, Jahanara of Baganpara is owner of an auto-rickshaw and enabled herself to bring out from the vicious cycle of poverty. Locals Selina and Sonabhan also stated a similar success story.
Taka 8.78 lakh were disbursed among 224 community members under Firozabad CDC till last month, says cashier Sabera Yeasmin.
“We are working to address emerging challenges in poverty eradication through scaling up the innovative solutions by ourselves within the CDC system,” she added.
“It couldn’t be said certainly that all the members have become successful through the money transaction activities but some of them are doing well,” said Mayor Liton.
More schemes needed to eradicate urban poverty in the city alongside eliminating other poverty-linked social crimes especially addiction of drugs and its trafficking in the wake of gradually rising slums, poor and extremely poor people.
Shawkat Shahidul Islam, General Manager (Current Charge) of Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank, said substantial and sustainable promotion of women entrepreneurship could be the effective means of ensuring women empowerment.
Lauding the RCC’s women fund saving venture he said women entrepreneurship is important for boosting their income generating activities besides employment for many others.
Senior banker Islam said the present government has adopted diversified programmes for elevating living and livelihood condition of the womenfolk and urged the recipients for best uses of the borrowed money.
Empowerment of women has become an urgent need for their economic emancipation. So, the government has introduced diversified programmes for boosting women entrepreneurs.
He said the women entrepreneurs should seize every opportunity through the best uses of their trade-wise associations. Professional training could help women entrepreneurs realize these opportunities.
