This project is implementing with the support of SELAVIP. This project is first time support from SELAVIP.
The project will build 55 safe and durable homes with latrines at each of the houses for 55 families (with their 331 members) living in semi-urban/rural area – Tongirghat of Tegharia Union Parishad (Lowest administrative unit of Bangladesh) of Habiganj district in Bangladesh. There are 11 Union Parishad of Habiganj sadar; Teghoria is one of them. Securing shelter, improving living condition including water, health and hygiene and undertaking income generating activities centered round the homes are main purposes of the project and thereby achieving ‘Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)’ by 2030. The project area is located at Northeast direction of and 3km from Habigonj district headquarter and surrounded by Habiganj Haor basin. Haor basin is naturally prone to different hazards, disasters such as flash floods, water logging, thunder storms etc. There are 224-256 families in Tongirghat; most of them are hardcore poor families. They had been settled here by purchasing lands (close to the embankment of Khowai river) in the last one more decade after lands being elevated and developed by Tegharia Union Parishad. The present living houses are fragile and dilapidated (Mud-house/hut with tin roofed). Earlier, they had temporary shelters elsewhere in the Haor basin and got to lose their assets due to recurrent happening of disasters. About 30% of Haor inhabitants are fishermen community. Their only means of livelihood is fishing. But due to climate change, fish stock is gradually declining nowadays. So, they have to face immense challenges for their occupation/livelihood, some of them has to find alternative source of income. There are only one food crop (Dry rice) grown there; finding no other ways, some of them has to lease lands for cultivation, become day/ wage labor, earn by plying rickshaw/Van etc., at urban areas. Apart from ASED involvement, we plan and implement the project to build 55 homes with participatory approach, initiating process by engaging community people and local government elected representatives, Local government departments aiming to link with local government planning, service delivery from GO and NGO, training, income generation activities etc., thereby making social and economic benefit vis-à-vis quality of life involvement for these families. We have proposed cost of home with latrine @ USD 1,289 per family that in total cost USD 70,895 (SELAVIP contribution) for 55 families together with a cost of USD 7,605 as a contribution to project from ASED Habigonj and local government/ others.
