The Ambassador and Head of the European Union Delegation to Bangladesh H.E. Mr Charles Stuart Whiteley has praised the field-level interventions of PPEPP-EU project while visiting the project working area in Satkhira on 18 October 2023.
Dr. Nomita Halder ndc, the Managing Director of Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) and Dr. Sharif Ahmed Chowdhury, Project Director, PPEPP-EU project accompanied the Ambassador, along with the First Counsellor Mr Edwin Peter Jozef Koekkoek and the Programme Manager (Resilient Livelihoods) Ms Meher Nigar Bhuiyan from the EU delegation. During the visit, the delegation exchanged views with local government officials including the Upazila Nirbahi Officers (UNO) of Satkhira Sadar and Shyamnagar Upazila and the local representatives including the Chairman.
Expressing his enthusiasm, EU Ambassador stated, “It is extremely interesting to see what a difference this project is making in the everyday life of the people in this area of the country, as there are so many specific challenges in Satkhira district relating to salination, climate change, and so on. What I have seen today is- life has been transformed by quite small-scale grants and loans.” The Ambassador paid tribute to the PKSF, Nowabenki Gonomukhi Foundation (NGF), and all other implementing partner organizations for their role in the project’s success.
PKSF Managing Director, Dr. Nomita Halder ndc, highlighted the two mandates of PKSF in employment generation and poverty alleviation. She praised the PPEPP-EU project for successfully achieving both objectives, emphasizing that the results were visible on the ground.
During the visit, members of Prosperity Village Committees (PVC) shared their experiences of positive transformation, narrating how project interventions have changed their lives and livelihoods, enabling them to overcome challenges on their pathways to prosperity. Members from “Mother and Child Forum” and “Social Development Centre” established under the project expressed their awareness on health and social issues.
The delegation visited a “Prosperity House”, a model for sustainable poverty alleviation through income diversification under the PPEPP-EU project. The household is now implementing at least eight different farm and off-farm income generating activities that are contributing to its monthly income ranging from 18,000 to 20,000 BDT in addition to ensuring family nutrition. They also visited project-supported various IGAs, including cow and goat rearing, fish farming, vegetable cultivation, ecofriendly plantable paper pen making, small businesses, bamboo craft making etc.
Covering approximately 215,000 extremely poor households across 145 unions in 12 districts, the PPEPP-EU project provides support in resilient livelihoods, inclusive finance, nutrition and primary healthcare, women empowerment, disability inclusion, disaster and climate-resilience, and community mobilization.