Goal of the Project:

The goal of the project is to reduce the vulnerary of the rural poor through skill development & life skill training.

Objectives of the Project:

1. Helping rural destitute families meet their daily food needs and create opportunities for them to increase their income-generating skills, encourage them to raise initial investment through savings, enable them to earn by providing loans, and make them eligible for inclusion in ongoing development programs.
2. To assist rural poor women in positive development of their outlook and capacity building by creating opportunities for active participation in skills development and awareness training related to practical education and other human development.

Under the development package services, all VGD women are provided awareness training, income generating activities training, savings management and credit support. Development package services are implemented through the following activities-

Activity-1: Group formation with VGD beneficiaries: A group of 20-25 people is formed. 100% attendance at each group meeting is ensured to maintain the quality and quantity of development package services.

Activity-2: Social Awareness Training: The objective of life skills development training is to improve the quality of life of poor and ultra- poor women. The topics of the training module were: Food and Nutrition, Financial management & record keeping, Disaster Management, HIV / AIDS, Health and Hygiene and Women’s Empowerment.

This training is basically done in two steps. Basic training raises awareness on a variety of topics that can help them change attitudes, change behavior, and make a difference in their daily lives. During the basic training, a wish list is created for each beneficiary on how to apply the different aspects of the basic training. The second step in refresher training- is to verify how much they have achieved on the wish list in the training. If any beneficiary fails to get it, the cause is known and measures are taken to raise awareness accordingly.

Activity-3: Income-enhancing skills development training: VGD women are provided training on four specific topics such as homestead vegetables gardening, poultry rearing, cow-goat rearing and small business management. Small business management training is compulsory for everyone.

Activity-4: Savings Management: It is compulsory for all VGD beneficiaries to withdraw their savings. Each beneficiary’s savings of Rs. 200 / – is deposited in the bank every month.

Activity-5: Loan Activities: In this step, loan of TK 5,000 to TK 10,000 are provided according to the needs of the beneficiaries. However, the loan activity is not mandatory.

Project Locations: Baliadangi & Pirgonj Upazila of Thakurgaon district and Tetulia Upazila of Panchagor district.

No. of Project Participants: 11,350 vulnerable women.

Project duration: From 2013 to June, 2027

Project Budget: 95,34,000.00

Financed by: Women Affairs Department of GoB.