A resident of a mountainous district
Pyuthan, Bhum Bahadur Nepali used to work as a contract laborer.
However, in the last two years, Bhum, who comes from the lower Dalit, or
untouchable, caste has lived a self-sustained life that he enjoys. With
financial assistance of Rs. 14,000 (US$ 180) from the Poverty
Alleviation Fund (PAF), he now earns Rs. 6,000 (US$ 80) a month, which
is significant in a country where Gross National Income (GNI) per capita
is US$ 340. The loan has helped him buy a sewing machine and an
interlock machine to start the tailoring enterprise.Bhum Bahadur is one of many Dalits
currently supported by Poverty Alleviation Fund-Nepal program. Poverty
is rampant and deeply entrenched among the Dalits — 46% of who live
below the poverty line, compared to the national average of 31%. They
lag considerably behind in terms of incomes, assets and most human
development indicators in comparison with the higher castes.
Established
in 2003, PAF is the biggest national targeted program to reach out to
households living below the poverty line. Sixty-six percent of
beneficiaries’ households are very poor (unable to make their ends meet
even for 3 months). Targeting, empowerment and social inclusion are the
major guiding principles of PAF. Poor women, Dalits, and Janajatis
(ethnic communities) are the main target groups, and after four years of
implementation NPAF has organized 292,193 of these households into over
10,000 Community Organizations who are able to access project
financing.
source:-worldbank.org/Kiran Gautam, Senior Executive Assistant, World Bank-Kathmandu
No comments:
Post a Comment