Where nobody is beggar

Physically disabled Jalmat Hossen, 62, has opened a grocer's shop in Keshba village. “I hope for better days,” he says. It's his first business venture. Elderly widow Mofizon Bewa, 75, meanwhile, is busy rearing chickens in nearby Uttor Durakuthi village. Without any living relatives to support her, she relies on the ten eggs her hens lay each day, which she sells in the market to meet her daily costs.

What the two have in common is that both were beggars. But they are fortunate as they live in Nilphamari's Kishoreganj upazila, the first upazila in the country where begging no longer exists.

Launched on 5 July 2014, the programme "Beggar-free Kishoreganj Upazila" involved the formation of a beggar rehabilitation committee comprising concerned lawmakers, local leaders and government officials headed by visionary Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Siddiqur Rahman.

Harun-ur-Rashid, president of the upazila's respected citizen's committee that has worked closely with the project, says, "It's absolutely wonderful how the 979 identified beggars in the upazila have been empowered.”

“Firstly, they were properly enrolled in the government's social safety net, to ensure they were receiving the benefits to which they are entitled, such as the old age, widow, disability or maternity allowances,” he explains. “Then the beggars were greatly encouraged to leave their entitlements in the bank so that savings could accrue.”

The small savings are a prerequisite for enrolment in another project, "Ekti Bari, Ekti Khamar", meaning "One Home, One Farm," which provides revolving loans to participants.

With access to small amounts of capital available, 711 beggars were able to launch micro-businesses including goat and cattle rearing, roadside shops and poultry farming. Unoccupied government 'khas' land was made available for nurseries and vegetable farming, while various government departments supplied training.

Other former beggars found work in development programmes including the 40-day Food for Work project which provides a daily wage and subsistence rice to participants.

It's quite an achievement: in just fifteen months Kishoreganj has eradicated begging.

“We have proved that with nothing more than proper utilisation of the government's safety net programmes and a little advice and dedication, we can make our upazila beggar-free,” says UNO Rahman, a strong supporter of the programme. “The same can be achieved nationwide.”

Rahman's commitment runs deep. He recently turned down a promotion to additional deputy commissioner in Jhenidah in order to continue overseeing the upazila's progress.

Currently, mobile courts are actively enforcing the anti-begging provisions under the public nuisance act, to ensure programme participants do not revert to begging. But enforcement is hardly required: most have vowed never to do so, with their eyes now firmly fixed on better and bigger horizons.

The success of local efforts has not remained unnoticed. “We are on track to win the United Nation's Public Service Award 2015,” says Rahman, “We've already passed the first two evaluation rounds.”

The Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), meanwhile, awarded it the Kaizan Role Model Award earlier this year.

“The achievement in Kishoreganj is a big and very welcome surprise,” says JICA expert Masatoshi Higuchi. “It's been possible to eliminate begging due to the programme's strong and enthusiastic leadership.”

Nilphamari's Deputy Commissioner (DC) Zakir Hossain brought the upazila's efforts to the attention of the prime minister and others at the last DC Conference in Dhaka, apprising them not only of the success but of the challenges in overcoming begging, an activity that has complex causes and deep roots.

“Kishoreganj is a light of hope for all Bangladesh,” says local lawmaker Golam Mostafa who has worked as an adviser on the beggar rehabilitation committee. “If we follow this example we can have a country where begging belongs only to the history books.”

Thanks to Kishoreganj, a nationwide beggar rehabilitation programme is indeed under consideration, with a recent cabinet decision made to this effect, notes a rightly delighted Rahman.