论文部分内容阅读
Shabdi D’Costa was in her forties, barely surviving with her three daughters on her husband’s Tk 1,800 (US $22) salary, when she decided to find a way out of poverty by taking charge of the family finances.
“We barely had enough money to feed and clothe ourselves,” said Shabdi. “I needed to learn to manage our money so that we could plan for our rainy days.”
This was four years ago.
Her husband was an assistant at a textile factory in Narayanganj – an industrial town on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka – and the sum of the family assets consisted of a bed.
Shabdi’s family is among roughly 10 million people in urban Bangladesh who live in slums or shanties, facing the threat of eviction and deprived of access to basic services.
Desperate for a break, Shabdi turned to UNDP’s Urban Partnerships in Poverty Reduction (UPPR). Working in partnership with the Government of Bangladesh and UN Habitat, the programme offers poor urban communities resources, knowledge and skills to increase their income and a space to mobilise and create community development committees. Shabdi was selected by her peers to represent the poor households of her neighbourhood, as the "Didi" or "elder sister" whom local women seek out for advice and arbitration.
“I was very excited when I got this opportunity because as a committee member I could receive training in savings and credit management in exchange for the unpaid work of helping other poor households – specifically families of single or abandoned women,” says Shabdi.
Small cash transfers from the programme have so far put more than three million people in urban areas on the path to a better future. Modeled on Brazil’s highly successful Bolsa Familia (family grants) scheme, it offers education stipends, apprenticeships, block grants and access to safe water and sanitation, with women holding 90 per cent of the office bearer posts.
“I am not very educated, but I know enough to understand that education is the ticket out of poverty,” says Shabdi.
“I want to ensure that my daughters get all the opportunities that I was denied because of my poverty,” she adds.
For two years Shabdi witnessed families from her slum transition from poverty to small business owners.
“I watched and learned a lot in those two years – about how to prepare applying for a grant, and how to use this money wisely,” she says. “I learned from the families that found happier days – and I learned from the ones who spent unwisely.” Shabdi did so well as a community leader that she was offered a teaching job at a preschool in her slum, and now earns Tk 1,000 (US $12) a month. As modest as this sounds, she now has savings of over Tk 2800, along with a steady income.
Her story is an example of the country’s great progress in reducing poverty. In the past 20 years, Bangladesh has nearly halved its poverty in terms of the national poverty line.
Shabdi一家生活在孟加拉的一个贫民窟，他们与贫民窟中近一千万的居民一样缺乏基本的生活服务设施，面临着被驱逐的威胁。四年前，Shabdi D'Costa四十岁，她有三个女儿，全家只能依靠丈夫每月22美元的微薄薪水度日。她希望能通过妥善管理家庭收支的方式摆脱贫困。于是，她求助于联合国开发计划署的“城市合作脱贫项目”，该项目与孟加拉政府和联合国人居署合作，建立社区发展委员会向贫困的城市居民提供资源，知识和技术，帮助他们增加收入。Shabdi被同伴推选为委员会中贫困家庭的代表，向社区内需要指导和仲裁的人提供帮助。Shabdi说:“我没受过什么教育，但我清楚教育是走出贫困的唯一途径。”计划实施两年间，Shabdi目睹了贫民窟中一个个贫困的家庭发展为小规模生意的拥有者。由于工作出色，Shabdi得到了在社区幼儿园任教的机会，薪水为每月12美元。她现在有着稳定的收入，并逐渐有了存款。Shabdi的故事是脱贫项目执行过程中的成功案例之一。在过去的20年间，孟加拉处于国家贫困线下的人口几乎降低了一半。
[http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/ourwork/povertyreduction/successstories/bangladesh--how-to-transform-life-in-the-slum.html]
“We barely had enough money to feed and clothe ourselves,” said Shabdi. “I needed to learn to manage our money so that we could plan for our rainy days.”
This was four years ago.
Her husband was an assistant at a textile factory in Narayanganj – an industrial town on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka – and the sum of the family assets consisted of a bed.
Shabdi’s family is among roughly 10 million people in urban Bangladesh who live in slums or shanties, facing the threat of eviction and deprived of access to basic services.
Desperate for a break, Shabdi turned to UNDP’s Urban Partnerships in Poverty Reduction (UPPR). Working in partnership with the Government of Bangladesh and UN Habitat, the programme offers poor urban communities resources, knowledge and skills to increase their income and a space to mobilise and create community development committees. Shabdi was selected by her peers to represent the poor households of her neighbourhood, as the "Didi" or "elder sister" whom local women seek out for advice and arbitration.
“I was very excited when I got this opportunity because as a committee member I could receive training in savings and credit management in exchange for the unpaid work of helping other poor households – specifically families of single or abandoned women,” says Shabdi.
Small cash transfers from the programme have so far put more than three million people in urban areas on the path to a better future. Modeled on Brazil’s highly successful Bolsa Familia (family grants) scheme, it offers education stipends, apprenticeships, block grants and access to safe water and sanitation, with women holding 90 per cent of the office bearer posts.
“I am not very educated, but I know enough to understand that education is the ticket out of poverty,” says Shabdi.
“I want to ensure that my daughters get all the opportunities that I was denied because of my poverty,” she adds.
For two years Shabdi witnessed families from her slum transition from poverty to small business owners.
“I watched and learned a lot in those two years – about how to prepare applying for a grant, and how to use this money wisely,” she says. “I learned from the families that found happier days – and I learned from the ones who spent unwisely.” Shabdi did so well as a community leader that she was offered a teaching job at a preschool in her slum, and now earns Tk 1,000 (US $12) a month. As modest as this sounds, she now has savings of over Tk 2800, along with a steady income.
Her story is an example of the country’s great progress in reducing poverty. In the past 20 years, Bangladesh has nearly halved its poverty in terms of the national poverty line.
Shabdi一家生活在孟加拉的一个贫民窟，他们与贫民窟中近一千万的居民一样缺乏基本的生活服务设施，面临着被驱逐的威胁。四年前，Shabdi D'Costa四十岁，她有三个女儿，全家只能依靠丈夫每月22美元的微薄薪水度日。她希望能通过妥善管理家庭收支的方式摆脱贫困。于是，她求助于联合国开发计划署的“城市合作脱贫项目”，该项目与孟加拉政府和联合国人居署合作，建立社区发展委员会向贫困的城市居民提供资源，知识和技术，帮助他们增加收入。Shabdi被同伴推选为委员会中贫困家庭的代表，向社区内需要指导和仲裁的人提供帮助。Shabdi说:“我没受过什么教育，但我清楚教育是走出贫困的唯一途径。”计划实施两年间，Shabdi目睹了贫民窟中一个个贫困的家庭发展为小规模生意的拥有者。由于工作出色，Shabdi得到了在社区幼儿园任教的机会，薪水为每月12美元。她现在有着稳定的收入，并逐渐有了存款。Shabdi的故事是脱贫项目执行过程中的成功案例之一。在过去的20年间，孟加拉处于国家贫困线下的人口几乎降低了一半。
[http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/ourwork/povertyreduction/successstories/bangladesh--how-to-transform-life-in-the-slum.html]