Extreme Poverty Day

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Dhaka Live

Saturday, 05 November 2011

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DhakaLive learns about the ways and means, the challenges, and the people engaged in steps to eradicate poverty

Shiree stands for Stimulating Household Improvements Resulting in Economic Empowerment; the DFiD funded project works with the poorest 10 percent of the population to help them find sustainable means of livelihood, ways to access government services, better health care and hygiene facilities, improved nutritional intake and also to be better prepared to deal with natural disasters and climate change. The ‘challenge fund’ is earmarked for partnering with local and international NGOs, which are used for expansion of existing programmes and to design, and implement new approaches towards poverty reduction, in urban and rural areas.
On October 25, Shiree’s annual Extreme Poverty Day was held, with BRAC and the British Council, various local and international partner organizations also joined the event. Since 2009, Shiree has marked this day as one, where they raise people’s awareness about the issues related to extreme poverty, share their experiences, and successes are celebrated. The challenges and opportunities that face the extreme poor were shared through a series of discussions throughout the day. According to the definition of extreme poor, households that are deprived from access to any of the benefits they are entitled to fall under this group. Poverty is consequently linked to low literacy, lack of employment, absence of shelter, credit and social safety nets coupled with no participation in decision making. Research has shown that most households headed by elderly, disabled, women, and minority groups, are a significant section of the poorest of the poor. At this year’s Extreme Poverty Day event, the Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith was the Chief Guest, and Special Guests included Dr. Atiur Rahman, the governor of the Bangladesh Bank, Mihir Kanti Majumder, PhD, Secretary, RDCD, Ministry of LGRD & Co-operatives, Israfil Alam MP and Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour and Employment Ministry and Chairperson, All Party Parliamentary Group on Extreme Poverty, Robert Winnington Gibson CMG, British High Commissioner, Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, Chairperson, BRAC and Shaheen Anam, executive director of Manusher Jonno Foundation, chaired the programme.
Starting with a welcome by Sheepa Hafiza, Director of Gender Justice and Diversity and Advocacy at BRAC, there followed three sessions where the partner organisations shared their experiences and lesson. An award was also given to the ‘Field Officer of the Year’ called the Footy Awards. What are you doing? was the question asked of participants, who shared valuable lessons during the sessions that followed, with leading devlopment workers, grassroots representatives, top decision makers and policy analysts present. Among the participants were Israfil Alam, MP and chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour and Employment Ministry, and chairperson of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Extreme Poverty, Anir Chowdhury policy adviser of the A2I Project at the PMO, Sadaf Saaz Siddiqi, marketing director of Sidko Apparels Ltd, . Dr. Munir Ahmed, Chairperson of the Extreme Poverty Research Group, M. Asadul Islam, Project Director of Shiree and Sonia Kabir Research Officer from Uttaran as well as representatives of local NGOs. After lunch, the stalls showcasing the livelihood projects addressing extreme poverty plus eight youth projects were opened, and documentaries on Extreme Poverty Heroes were screened.
This year’s theme was ‘From Poverty to Sustainability: People at the Centre of Inclusive Development’, and the day’s focus was on seeking solutions to eradicating extreme poverty and addressing whose responsibility it is. Among the speakers at the seminar, the Finance Minister also shared his views at the final session. He opined the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of eradicating extreme poverty can be met if khas land was distributed in a fair and transparent manner. Khas or state owned land can be leased or given by the state for use by its citizens. “Identification and management of khas land and water bodies, distribution of the same to landless and poor people, retention of such property by the landless, and pertinent rules and practices within the prevailing social-political context of Bangladesh constitute prime issues of agrarian reform,” said economist Dr Abdul Barakat. The paperwork involved prevents the extreme poor from accessing the land, which is made worse by complicated forms, bureaucratic delays and elite power play. Because the policies are unclear about distribution, the poor suffer as a consequence. Kushum Begum, one of the women who benefitted from Shiree’s partnership with a local organization called CNRS, stated, “I never thought it would be easy, but I also never thought that the very first step (filling the forms) would eliminate my chances.” With her basic levels of literacy and numeracy, the form was too hard to understand; in fact, it took CNRS 8 months of hard work and lobbying to access 254 acres of khas land for 669 extreme poor households.
The fact is that with Bangladesh’s current rate of GDP growth, it is not impossible to want to bring down the rate of poverty, from 31.5 to 20 percent, as long as the work now being done with the extreme poor continue at this pace, and are not interrupted by external factors, such as political upheaval. BRAC’s innovative project, Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction-Targeting the Ultra Poor (CFPR-TUP) aims to improve the overall status of the extreme poor through a holistic approach, provides help with transfer of assets, training, health services, social and organizational assistance. The Bangladeshi NGO is, as of May 2010, is the world's largest non-governmental development organization. Since 1972, when Sir Fazle Hasan Abed established the organization in Sylhet, BRAC has expanded to all 64 districts, and works with over 7 million microfinance group members, 37,500 non-formal primary schools and more than 70,000 health volunteers. It employs over 120,000 people, women are the majority. BRAC’s long-term development work entails addressing empowerment of the poor and landless; now they work with nearly 2 million people with a budget of $216 million from 2002-2011. The Government of Bangladesh’s department of Livestock is also engaged in the process of poverty eradication, with interest free micro-loan worth Tk 400 million earmarked for ultra poor families. “People are poor because they are powerless. We must organize people for power. They must organize themselves in such a way that they can change their lives,” stated Sir Fazle Hasan Abed the founder and Chairperson of BRAC. The day ended with a popular theatre production by BRAC and ‘Pot Songs’ by the members of the NGO Shushilan. Over 30 other organizations were taking part in the event, all of them engaged in poverty reduction in partnership with Shiree. The day-long event, which was not just about the dry facts and harsh truths, but also celebrated the successes, of those at the grass-root level, which was seen in the stalls set up by the partner NGOs. This was a reminder that at the end of the day it is about people, and it is those who Shiree works for and with, who can ultimately speak of the difference it has made in their lives. By facilitating the sharing, learning, and collaboration between the local organizations and their members, Shiree reminds us of the hard work yet to be done, and the hard work that has successfully addressed and tackled poverty in innovative ways. All those who were present on the day, engaged in vital work at every level were inspiring examples of the positive work and the changes taking place across the country thanks to Shiree and the partners.
Two key recommendations reached at the end of the discussions was the need to mobilize more resources for the elderly and disabled, in the absence of a social welfare structure, and to engage the youth so that the cycle of poverty can be broken so they have a chance for a better life. l