The family of Syed Noor had been facing financial hardship with their scant earnings. Having a small amount of farmland, the family of Harinmara village under Rajapalng Union of Ukhiya Upazila had been struggling to meet their expenses. Let alone providing education for their children, the family cannot even afford three meals a day.
But the condition of the family changed with the intervention of a USAID-funded Emergency Food Security Program (EFSP), implemented by World Vision Bangladesh Rohingya Crisis Response (WVBRCR).This program aims at improving the livelihoods of the people in Cox’s Bazar district which has hosted over a million Rohingya people who fled from neighboring Myanmar.
Noor’s is one of the 5,229 families in Teknaf and Ukhiya Upazila of the southern districts who have improved their livelihood with the support from this program. Noor is engaged in Cash for Work (CFW), one of the components of EFSP from where she earned a modest sum of money working six hours a day. Roads, canals and drains are rehabilitated engaging local community people under CFW.
“I didn’t have enough work to support my family but my hardship has been over after I joined the Cash for Work scheme,” Noor said while talking to journalists.
Members of 5,229 vulnerable households work for14monthsin the scheme and earned on average Tk 5,600 (USD 65.88) per month that has ensured the families’ economic solvency and their children’s education.
Besides employment generation, 35.98 kilometers of roads, 3.667 kilometers of drains and 1.08 kilometers of canals have been rehabilitated or improved and 11,989 square meters of ground raising work for disaster risk mitigation has been done in the two upazilas under 110 CFW projects.
Chief of Party of EFSP Md. Rajab Ali said EFSP focuses on addressing the short-term food security crisis and medium-term livelihood recovery needs of the most vulnerable households in the host community through various livelihood interventions in two upazilas in Cox’s Bazar – Ukhiya and Teknaf.
He said through the scheme, they are also improving the construction skills of the unskilled local people who will be able to work at better pay in the future. Apart from Cash for Work, the interventions of EFSP, which focuses mainly on children, are Income Generating Activities (IGA), Livelihood Intervention, Male Engagement Intervention, and Nutrition.
Income Generating Activities (IGA): IGA has enabled the vulnerable households to launch small-scale manufacturing and access to the market at the local level thus increasing family income, diversifying food consumption and creating savings opportunities in families. Considering local contexts, six types of IGA trades -- indigenous chicken rearing, turkey rearing, goat rearing, pig rearing, mask making and dry fish processing -- have been incorporated in IGA.
EFSP provided technical training with business plan for 4,706 local people. Besides, each participant received Tk 15,000 (USD 176.47) as startup business support and thus ensuring their children’s better future.
Sakera Begum, a housewife from Ali Akbor Para, Hnila Union, Teknaf, received Tk 15,000 to rear poultry. She has now developed a medium-sized poultry and pigeon farm. “Now I earn around Tk 10,000 (USD 117.65) from the farm a month,” she said.
Livelihood Intervention: Under the Livelihood intervention, the households have been imparted agriculture capacity-building training on home gardening, sowing, bed preparation, hand pollination, sex pheromone trap and biological control measures by agriculturists.
EFSP provided cash grants for inputs and vegetable seeds (four times) with agricultural tools to 5,229 households on modern homestead gardening. As a result, the targeted households have found alternative income sources, which have ensured nutritious food consumption resulting in the good health of the family members. They also earn by selling their agro products.
“I was struggling to meet the everyday basic expenses of my family. WV encouraged me to cultivate vegetable. Now we have earned solvency,” said Munni Akter, a housewife of Bottoli Konarpara, Rajapalong, Ukhiya.
Male Engagement Intervention: The Male Engagement intervention aims to end discrimination against women in society and thus ensure family peace by making males aware of their responsibilities to the family and of the rights of women.
Local people said violence against women has declined to a great extent with the Male Engagement, popularly known as Jamai-Bou or Husband-Wife intervention, reaching 2,000 couples in the host community through 1,200 sessions.
“I used to misbehave with my wife before I was aware of women's rights. After joining orientation sessions run by World Vision, now I know how I should behave with my wife… And I help her in household chores,” said Apon Rudro from Rudra Para village of Rajapalong Union.
His wife Konika Sharma sitting by him nodded with a smile. “He (Rudro) used to get into row with me over trifling matters, but now he gives me due honour and respect,” she said.
Male Engagement intervention has also increased participation of women in decision making, reduced child marriage, which have ultimately brought peace and solidarity in the family and society.
Nutrition: EFSP’s Nutrition component contributes to the improvement of the life of the host community creating awareness about nutritious food intake and giving orientations on their preparation.
“Most of the people in this region used to lack knowledge about the preparation of nutritious food, like khichuri. Now they know what to eat and how to prepare them,” said Dilwara Begum, a lead mother who have first learned food preparation from World Vision nutritionists and now tech others it.
WV developed 150 lead mothers as community educators who are now delivering messages to 1,866 neighborhood mothers about nutrition and health promotion sessions, healthy food preparation through cooking demonstration and linking the pregnant and lactating mothers with related health service providers.
Support during COVID-19 period: EFSP supported 5,229 households with unconditional cash Tk. 4,500 for five months during COVID-19 and provided mask-making training to 110 women so they can earn some more money.
Public representatives say EFSP has been proved successful. “EFSP has made a great contribution to the improvement in socio-economic condition of the people in the Host Community,” said Rajapalong Union Parishad Chairman Jahangir Kabir Chowdhury.
World Vision authorities have appreciated USAID for extending financial support for implementing this EFSP. “We’re happy to note that we have been able to successfully implement the (EFSP) program with the financial assistance of USAID,” said Fredrick Christopher, Response Director of World Vision.
