4,000 Ethnic Minorities Get Income-Generating Support

Approximately 4,000 ethnic minority youth, including 2,000 women, received income-generating support, such as sewing machines and construction tools, to make them capable of self-reliance.

Abdul Kader, Chairman of Nachole Upazila, said that practical training on various trades and vocations, such as weaving, tailoring, carpentry, tile fitting and building, was also given so that they could make money from the effective use of training and equipment as alternative sources of income.

Support was provided for an anti-poverty project in the 50 villages of Nachole Upazila in Chapainawabganj and Tanore Upazila in the districts of Rajshahi.

Agriculture Sustainable and Socio-economic Development Organization (ASSEDO) and Traidcraft Exchange jointly implement the scheme in conjunction with the ' Fighting Forced Labor with Adivasi and Dalit Communities in South Asia (MUKTEE) Project ' and the European Union.

An eleven-member delegation from European Union and the UK visited the project activities and talked and shared views with the beneficiaries at nine sites of the two Upazilas during the last two days that ended today.

Traidcraft Exchange Programme Director Maveen Pereira and its Bangladesh Country Director Shahed Ferdous, European Union Project Manager Srinivasan Renuka and Mukesh Tiwary, Depankar Sengupta, Seama Mowri, Arshia Haque, Amu Vinzuda, Rajendra Kumar, Karishma Bhoute and Mr Billah from Traidcraft Exchange were present in the delegation.

On the occasion, three sewing machines, two mobile servicing tools and two electrician tools were distributed among seven beneficiaries.

ASSEDO Executive Director Rabiul Alam briefed the team about the project activities and its aspect, adding that the project is aimed to address the systemic and structural vulnerabilities of marginalized agricultural communities for eliminating the menace of child labour.

Source: BSS