The Challenge

Economic Tensions: The COVID-19 pandemic sparked an economic and social crisis in Bangladesh. The International Labour Organization (ILO) predicted 5 million job losses in rural and urban areas due to the ongoing pandemic. People working in the informal sector were particularly affected by unemployment, lack of income, depleted savings and debt. According to the ILO, 87 % of the Bangladeshi workforce is employed in the informal sector and thus at risk of losing or having lost their livelihoods.

Increased Domestic Violence: These pressing economic tensions, as well as the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, have increased violence within families. In 2020, incidents of domestic violence increased by 30 %, according to the Dhaka city corporation. In addition to the development of a databank and rigourous legal prosecution, the Ministry of Women’s and Children’s affairs considers mass awareness-raising to be an effective tool against gender-based violence.

The Objective

The project aims at increasing income sources for people living below the poverty line. The combination of family development plans with tailored capacity building and job placement offers economic opportunities for people most affected by the pandemic. Simultaneously, the project helps to reduce domestic violence and mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic through awareness-raising and education trainings.

The Target Group

The project targets vulnerable families below the poverty line, living in the greater Mirpur slum or semi slum area in Dhaka and who are interested in strengthening their livelihoods.

Priority is given to people who are affected both economically and socially by unemployment.

The Approach

The project applies a three-step approach to improve the livelihoods of selected families and increase their income by at least 20 %.

Familiy Development Plans: Individual family development plans are prepared and analysed to identify economical resources and potentials among family members. From each family, the member with the highest potential to be successful is selected for training, with preference given to women.

Tailored Capacity Building: The participants take part in a self-employment training to open micro-businesses and are linked to the TARANGO microfinance programn afterwards. Alternatively, they attend a skills training to successfully enter the labour market.

COVID-19 and Domestic Violence Prevention: All partici-pants attend an additional training which focuses on the prevention of a COVID-19 infection. Additionally, the training informs about gender-based violence and supports its mitigation by raising awareness and informing about pre-vention strategies.