Homeless Shahana now self-reliant, owns six cows

Shahana Begum, 40, once lived with three children and her husband in a mud house built on the other's land. At that time, it was difficult to make ends meet with her five-member family due to poverty.

Now she owns six cows, one goat, and some chickens in her semi-pucca house which was gifted by the prime minister under the government's Ashrayan-2 project.

"Before getting a house and two decimals of land in the project, we had a cow. After two years, we now rear six cows, a goat, some ducks, and chickens," said Shahana Begum of Fatehpur Union of Gowainghat Upazila in Sylhet.

She also said, "Due to the financial soundness, now I am educating my children in school. Once homeless, I am now on the way to becoming self-reliant, and there is no poverty in my family."

Sharif Uddin, the husband of Shahana, said, "I earn Tk300 to 400 a day. After maintaining my family's expenses, we saved some money and bought cows and a goat. All three children are studying. All in all, we are doing well. We are now self-reliant."

Rukia Begum, 40, who was once a displaced woman, got a house in the same village built under the Ashrayan Project. At present, two wooden beds, a wardrobe, LED television, a motorcycle, and a flock of poultry were seen at her house.

She told TBS, "I used to live in a rented house. After paying house rent with a small income, I could not save any money. I never thought it would be my own home. When I got home, I felt like I got a meaning of life."

Rukia, a mother of three, also said, "From the last two years' savings, we bought a motorcycle.

My husband works in a stone quarry during the day and works as a motorbike rider at night.

With the help of double income, we also bought a television last year.

A good number of very poor, destitute, landless, and homeless families of the Fatehpur union of Gowainghat Upazila have benefitted in the same way under the project.

During a visit to the Ashrayan project in Fatehpur Union of the upazila, the TBS correspondent talked to the once-homeless people.  Many of them said they now have some savings and are educating their children. They have now redeemed their hopes to live well.

The government is providing houses to the homeless under the Ashrayan-2 project across the country aimed at providing homes to the country's homeless people. Houses under the Ashrayan project have already been handed over in several phases.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will hand over 39,365 houses built under three Ashrayan projects in Gazipur, Sylhet, and Barishal districts on 22 March.

Of those, "The Nayapara Ashrayan project" is located in Sreepur upazila of Gazipur, "The Nawagaon Ashrayan project" in Nandirgaon union of Sylhet's Gowainghat Upazila, and "Uttorpar Ashrayan Project" in Banaripara municipality of Barishal.

Of those, 170 houses built at Sylhet's Gowainghat upazila will be gifted to landless people on Wednesday.

The "Nawagaon Ashrayan Project" was built on 2 acres of land in the ​​Nandirgaon Union of Gowainghat Upazila, according to the Gowainghat Upazila administration.

On the occasion of Mujib Borsho, marking the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation, the homeless people are getting semi-pucca houses with two decimal lands under the project.

According to the collected data, a total of 237,831 houses have been allotted for homeless people till the fourth phase.  Of those, 215,827 houses were handed over in the first, second, third, and fourth phases.  The remaining 22,006 houses under the fourth phase of the project are still under construction.

In the fourth phase, 1,373 special design houses were allotted in the Char area, and 634 special design Machang houses in hilly areas.