HELP-ORCA Employment Generation Program

"A project to make job-less youth self-sufficient
in income generation"

A field report by SpaandanB Representative

It was a festive day indeed, at least to few deserving young men. One could easily see the light in their eyes, lit at the prospect of a self-dependent life. They knew that it was not like a free relief distribution program; this was something that they were going to earn by their hard work. That kept their heads held high with dignity.

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Project Details

It all started in 2005, after the devastating flood that left millions in Bangladesh home-less and job-less. As an effort to rehabilitate a miniscule fraction of this population, SpaandanB supported an income generation program with HELP-ORCA, two non-profit organizations dedicated for humanitarian programs and especially focused in the development of Northern Districts of Bangladesh. Instead of just providing free relief , the project explored a different avenue where it provided a group of job-less, flood-stricken young men with Rickshaw or Van for income generation. Two co-operative groups were formed with 33 members. These groups had their own executive committees. In the first year, a group of 11 people were given with the rickshaws/vans as a loaner for one year to run their livelihood. From the income generated out of pulling the rickshaw, they paid back daily a certain amount to their own co-operative group for a year. There was a team leader who, on behalf of the group, made sure that the daily deposits were collected regularly. After one year, sufficient amount of fund were regenerated to pay off the entire debt and those 11 people became the owner of the rickshaws for good. From the regenerated fund, the co-operative group provided 11 more rickshaws or vans to another group of people. This program generated wide level of interest in the locality. It has few note-worthy points-

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