Best New Year’s Resolution – Eradicate Poverty

Resolutions

Have you made your New Year’s Resolution? Are you going to lose weight? Start exercising? Go to church?  Be kinder?  We’d like to suggest one that will not only improve your life but the lives of others:  educate yourself on the impact of poverty in a person’s life and in our world today and commit yourself to doing something specific about it!!!  Need help with this?  You’ve come to the right place!  

Overview of our Important Work 

PSDI was formed in 2004 and supports a holistic model of poverty eradication implemented currently by our partners in Bangladesh, Poverty Eradication Program (PEP). PEP is focused on partnering with the poorest families in the areas served to help them lift themselves out of extreme poverty. This model is also known as the ultra-poor graduation model,  and is a comprehensive, multi-faceted approach of integrated and independent programs designed to meet the complex and interconnected needs of hard-to-reach populations in developing countries. And it works as shown by the results we have had lifting 67,572 families out of extreme poverty to date! Our work is concentrated in nine areas of the country in the districts of Bogra, Kishoreganj, Netrokona and Chandpur. Our goal is to reduce extreme poverty by 50% in each area.  We have met and exceeded this goal in four of the nine areas where we work.  

Poverty in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is one of the world's most densely populated countries - about 170 million people (half the population of the U.S.) - live in a country about the size of the state of Illinois. Although poverty has declined significantly since 1991, it remains widespread. (https://www.worldbank.org/en/results/2018/11/15/bangladesh-reducing-poverty-and-sharing-prosperity ).  

The population in Bangladesh is predominantly rural, with almost 80% of the population living in rural areas that lack services such as education, health clinics and adequate roads, particularly roads to link people to markets.  An estimated 36% of the population in rural areas lives below the poverty line. They suffer from persistent food insecurity, own no land and assets, are often uneducated and may also suffer serious illnesses or disabilities. Another 29 % of the rural population is considered moderately poor. Though they may own a small plot of land and some livestock and generally have enough to eat, yet their diets lack nutritional value.  As a result of health problems or natural disasters, they are at risk of sliding deeper into poverty. Women are among the poorest of the rural poor, especially when they are the sole heads of their households. They suffer from discrimination and have few earning opportunities, and their nutritional intake is often inadequate. Children suffer the most with 40% of children severely malnourished and 25% of these children not living past the age of 5. 

The Model

We begin our work in a village by forming partnerships with local government and lay leaders to gain their support and to seek local resources such as underutilized land or a hut for a school or health clinic.  They understand that when the poor in their community overcome poverty, their entire local economy is improved.  Our trained field workers then introduce themselves to the poorest of the poor, assess their immediate needs and develop relationships with these families, allowing them to design their own pathway out of poverty.  Immediate basic needs are met initially with food insecurity the most prominent condition of those we serve.  Once a family is stabilized, custom solution programs are identified including income generating opportunities we refer to as economic programs. Resources, education, training, and encouragement are then provided to empower families to succeed and instill in them the belief that with a little assistance they can pull themselves out of poverty.

Examples of economic programs include small cottage industries such as tailoring done by women in their huts, small businesses providing access to products in rural areas, transportation services using rickshaws, raising livestock, fishing and agriculture, to name a few. Small grants averaging $25 are given to extremely poor families to help them get started in their economic development.  

When funds are available, the entire village is served through the creation of safe water wells, an adequate number of latrines for families living in the area, small primary schools for the youngest children to prepare them for a better future, and health clinics.  We refer to these as environmental and social programs.

Monitoring

Field workers monitor the family’s progress regularly. Families are coached on life skills, taught how to budget and save money for emergencies, and provided additional training to help them improve the assets they have been given.  Additional assistance is provided in times of crisis such as floods or a death or illness of a family member.  Our field workers mentor their families, instill confidence and hope, and educate them on current issues such as the recent pandemic.

Every 4-5 years, our team in Bangladesh takes a census of the areas they serve, categorizing families into one of four categories of poverty from extreme hard core poor who have no assets and can only provide one meal per day for their family to the less poor who can provide enough food for their family, but don’t have the ability to provide for their education and healthcare.  Each time the census has been taken, the number of extremely poor families has been reduced significantly, with the last census in 2019 showing 10,166 fewer families living in extreme poverty in the areas we serve.

Graduation

Learning the skills to become financially independent, building and managing assets and creating savings for lean times, combined with being able to provide for the family’s basic needs, is a sign that a family is ready to graduate from the program. Most families become financially independent within ten years.

Independent scientific evaluations done of our work and the work of other NGO’s implementing a similar model supports its effectiveness in many developing countries over a long term.  (See short story featured on PBS in August, 2019 on the effectiveness of Ultra Poor Graduation Approach as researched by Innovations for Poverty Action, a nonprofit organization that applies rigorous research methods to anti-poverty aid; link to story is https://www.poverty-action.org/news/ipa-graduation-model-featured-pbs-newshour.) 

The Current Need

According to a census done in the areas we serve in 2019, there remain 57,437 families living in extreme poverty. The pandemic is expected to result in many more families living below the poverty line. Our ability to serve these families is dependent on the resources we have to invest. Consider making a donation to support our important work at www.psdintl.org. Families in Bangladesh are no different than your family in their desire to become self- sufficient and thrive but they cannot be successful without help from someone. Thank you.

NOTE: some blogs will be short and some longer - with these first few longer than most due to our blog launch and wanting to provide comprehensive content on the topics covered.