Little initiative, significant outcome
Now they not only have a house, but found a way of earning their livelihood as well.
Alongside other occupations, many of them have become self-reliant by selling the items they produce to fulfil their nutritional needs through farming at their courtyards in a small-scale.
The story of many residents living at the government shelter project in Tangail is almost the same.
Earlier, on the occasion of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's birth centenary, a total of 2,304 landless or homeless families in 12 upazilas of the district received a paved house each at the government's Ashrayan Project.
Apart from providing houses, the government has taken various initiatives, especially for the women, to become self-reliant.
As a result, many women of the shelter project have already become self-sufficient by cultivating different vegetables like brinjal, gourd, pepper or raising nursery of fruit and vegetable seedlings at their house yard.
Homeless couple Ranju Miah and Fatema Begum, who got a house at the shelter project in Sialkhol of Bhuanpur upazila, at first opened a tea-stall next to their house.
After failing to generate sufficient income, Fatema raised a nursery of fruits and vegetables in the balcony and the courtyard of their house.
Initially starting with a few species, her nursery now has at least 20 different species of fruit and vegetable seedlings and she is doing well with the income she now earns from selling seedlings every day.
Fatema said she spent her days in utter despair with her poor family as she has no home and cultivable land.
Later, she applied to the authorities and received a house at Sialkhol Asharyan Project and made the nursery in the balcony and backyard of their house with the help of her husband.
"Now I can earn Tk 500 to Tk 600 by selling seedlings from my nursery per day," Fatema said.
The couple expressed their gratitude to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for changing their lives by providing them a house in the Asharyan Project.
Now one can witness such success in every shelter project of the district.
During a recent visit to the shelter project in Mirzapur upazila, this correspondent saw various vegetables like cauliflower, cabbage, beans, beetroot, eggplant, tomato, gourd, green pepper have been cultivated in the backyards of almost all the houses.
Mentionable, fungicide sprays and light traps are being used to prevent the insects in those vegetable gardens.
Apart from meeting the nutritional needs of their families, the beneficiaries are now able to earn some extra money by selling their produces.
Several residents living in these shelter projects said they opted to cultivate poison-free vegetables in their backyards in order to meet their nutritional needs.
Local agricultural officials are helping them in various ways, they added.
Mirzapur Upazila Agriculture Officer Sanjay Kumar Pal said a total of 512 homeless families have been provided land and paved houses at the shelter projects on 30 acres of government Khas land in Anaitara, Latifpur, Asgana, Warshi, Banshtail, Bhatagram, Mahera, Bhaora, Jamurki and Banail unions of the upazila.
The upazila agriculture office has provided seeds, fertilisers and other materials free of cost for cultivating poison-free vegetables on the backyard of the houses in the shelter projects, he added.
Tangail Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Kaiserul Islam said the government is providing various supports to families living in the shelter project to make them self-reliant.
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