Most years, the Jamuna River in Bangladesh overflows its banks and floods the surrounding countryside. When the waters recede, sandbanks appear and beckon otherwise land-less people to farm this no-man's-land to provide a meager food supply for their families. The Jamuna Rural Development Service (JRDS) commenced in July 2003 near the districts Jamalpur & Tangail (eastern bank) and Shiraganj (western bank) works with the people living on the Jamuna River. The project has three components - education, micro-credit and health.

Education
During the life of the program, 400 people (both children and adults) will learn to read and write and basic training will give 120 preschoolers entry to government school primary education.

Micro-Credit
Most of the adults will pool their meager savings to create a micro credit scheme, which will fund small ventures in income generation: livestock raising and small businesses such as tea-shops, rice husking and kitchen gardens. The profits from these enterprises will help to reduce poverty, which has passed, endlessly, from one generation of river dwellers to another. In cases where families have their land taken by river erosion, the project as funds are available for this purpose will seek to help them by advancing a loan to assist them in re-establishing their families.

Health
The health component will address nutritional needs, clean water, sanitation, health education, HIV/AIDS awareness and training for traditional birth attendants (or midwives). Trees, with income earning capacity, will be planted around the villages.

The timeless Jamuna will inexorably fret away the sandy islands and create others in their place. But not before hundreds of children and their parents have been given fresh hope for the future - better health, education and other life skills.

Please read this article to find out more about this project:

Hope for River Dwellers