By Imam Uddin Mukta
 
MYMENSINGH, June 20, 2022 (BSS)- Amar Bari Amar Khamar project well known as Ektee Bari Ektee Khamar, one of the dream initiative of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina  has changed the livelihood and showed the path of living of 4,70,556 destitute and  poor people in 13 upazilas of the district.
 
The project is being running  through Palli Sanchay Bank (PSB)and the poorest people of the areas become self-dependent through bank loan assistance and necessary trainings. Even, many of them are now becoming   small entrepreneurs.
 
District (regional) senior officer of the project Md Humayun Kabir said Ektee Bari Ektee Khamar project is the first among the ten special initiatives of the premier and the activities of the project began from 2009.
 
A total of 10,053 associations   across the district while the number of members is 4,70,556, he added.
 
 He said a total of Taka 1283.42 crore and 86,000 have been disbursed among the members through PSB  under the project.
 
In fact, the principal aim of the project is to make the distressed people self-dependent through providing loan assistance and necessary trainings, he added.
 
 He informed that they are providing essential advices and directives to the members.
 
Selina, one of the beneficiaries of the project, married off at her early age. Her husband Abdur Rashid was a radiology operator in a local private clinic with low salary. It was really tough for Selina to run her family with the poor income of her husband. But Selina continued her education though she was married off at her early age. At last she received her  honours degree and started to search a job. But she didn’t get any job. She was determined that she would have to do something for her family.
 
Selina said that she started the journey of changing  her life along with seven poor and distressed women in 2007. She bought a swing machine by her savings and took training from Jubo Unnayan department and started tailoring from her home along with seven more women, she added.
 
They were selling those cloths in shops of different local markets and her income has increased gradually. Later, she opened a shop of handicraft named ‘Icche Ghuri’ in front of her residence where she sold different types of handicrafts and cloths of children.
 
 Once, she set up a stall in Unnayan Mela on the premises of Muktagacha upazila parishad and she founded the stall of PSB  just beside her shop. She got encouraged by knowing of different facilities and loan assistance and started a new journey through forming Ishwargram Nandi Bari Mohila Samity with only 43 members .
 
Selina invested Taka 10,000 through taking loan from the PSB . Later, she took Taka 50,000 loan after paying previous loan and started her business on  larger scale. She sold the cloths at different shops and earned handsome amount of money.
 
She also created employment opportunity for the members of the samity. The members started to get Taka 250 to Taka 300 per day. Selina’s monthly income now stands about Taka 50,000 to Taka 60,000.
 
She is now maintaining her family and she has now a dream to set up  a garments factory.
 
Selina got Successful Self-employed Award nationally and she has received the award from the  Prime Minister.

Many women including Rani Biswas, Nurjahan and Surma   Akther of the area got encourage seeing the success of Selina.Thanking to the officials of the project, Selina said they have played pivotal role in her success.
 
 She also extended her gratitude to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for taking the special initiative.
 
Rubel Mia is also another beneficiary of the project and he is a member of Amar Bari Amar Khamar of Muzati  village   in Muktagacha upazila of the district. He didn’t carry out his education after passing SSC exams due to poverty.

Later, he went to take driving training to get rid of the curse of poverty. But, he didn’t enjoy the driving profession. He has two kids and became frustrated as he had no income. Finally, he bought a power tiller. But, it was not so easy to run a family with the only income source. Later, he bought a bull calf and also got another bull calf from his father.
 
Rubel said that he saw a regular program on Ektee Bari Ektee Khamar at BTV and was inspired of witnessing different successful stories. He sold his two calves worth Taka one lakh and bought two Phrygian breeds calves and he has now nine cows worth about Taka 27 lakh, he added.
 
Of those, six are cows, two calves and one bull calf and he is getting about 60 litres of milk from three cows in every day. He is earning about Taka 3000  every day through selling milk in different sweet shops and Armed Battalion Camp.
 
 In the beginning, Rubel took Taka 10,000 loan from the PSB and subsequently  he took Taka 20,000 and finally he took Taka 50,000 loan from the bank. And now, he is planning to invest the loan at his farm in need  . He is now known as a successful farmer in his area.
 
Junia Yesmin is another successful entrepreneur of Dhanuka village in Dulla union. She is also a member of Dhanuka Amar Bari Amar Khamar Samity. She becomes a successful self-dependent woman through farming cows.
 
Once, it was hard to run her family with only income of her husband who is a labourer . But, she is now happy through farming cows by taking loan from the bank. She changed her life within ten years.
 
Yesmin said she knew the information of the samity from its president Dulal Uddin in 2011. Later, she got   membership of the samity and took trainings. In the beginning, she got Taka 10,000 loan from the bank and bought a cow adding  Taka 8,000 more from her  own fund . Later, she took another loan from the bank and bought cows. She has now four cows worth Taka 5 lakh.
 
She is also rearing ducks in a modern way at her house. Now, her kids are going to school. She is now a role model of successful women before the villagers.
 Yesmin also extended her heartfelt thanks and gratitude to the prime minister.
 
Mujati Maddhyopara Amar Bari Amar Khamar Samity member Julhas Ussin is another beneficiary of the project.
In the beginning of his career,   he worked in a factory of making sweet packets and got only Taka 6,000 salary. It was really tough for Julhas to run his family with the low income.
 
Later, he started his own business of making sweet packets and bought a machine in 2018. He took loan from the Bank and bought another machine and expands his business.
 
Julhas said that he is now planning to create more employment opportunity for the unemployed youths of his area.
 
Muktagacha upazila coordinator of the Ektee Bari Ektee Khamar Project Mahmudul Hasan said that they are giving utmost efforts as the special project of the government could be implemented in field level properly. They are also providing necessary advices along with loan assistance to destitute  people of the area, he added.
 
He said the number of members of Muktagacha upazila samity is 11,811   and the savings is Taka 6.79 crore while the number of loan bearers is 7,788. The cumulative investment is Taka 39.41 crore while the collection is Taka 26.9 crore.