Mothers’ Assemblies: a new way to engage with vulnerable pregnant women

Over the years, CLP has generated plenty of evidence to show that extreme-poor families we’ve supported on the chars are, in most case, making economic progress and that female core participants are becoming empowered. However, according to the World Bank, ‘Economic progress and greater investment in human capital of women will not necessarily translate into… Continue Reading
CLP has made winters more bearable for families on the chars

With early morning temperatures hovering around 15 degrees, for some, Dhaka might be considered colder than usual. Venture further north to Districts such as Rangpur, Nilphamari and Lalmonirhat and temperatures have dropped to between 6 – 8 degrees Celsius, which is considered a moderate cold wave in Bangladesh. It’s uncomfortably cold for the locals, but… Continue Reading
Congratulations to another batch of successful vocational training graduates!

Employment opportunities are somewhat limited on the chars, unless you want to become a day labourer! To offer adolescents from the chars an opportunity to explore alternative livelihoods options, CLP introduced a range of vocational trainings that began in December 2014. Courses and hands-on experiences were provided in six different trades, namely driving / auto… Continue Reading
Lessons to share: CLP has many

For over 12 years CLP has worked with the extreme-poor in hard-to-reach areas in north-west Bangladesh. The Programme implemented many different projects focusing on strengthening economic and environmental resilience to improving the nutrition, health and hygiene practices of selected families. The Programme clearly has a lot to share with the development community. We like to… Continue Reading
ASEAB and the Center for Zakat Management sign agreement to continue offering health services in chars

CLP has provided much-needed health services in the north-west chars of Bangladesh through its primary health care and family planning project since 2010. This has translated into 32,000 day-long health clinics, over 1.9 million consultations, and a network of 1,350 community health workers. Although this support is critical for the populations living in under-served chars,… Continue Reading
Battling violence against women in the chars: stories from the field (part 2)

Organised by UN Women, the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence, continues until the 10th December (Human Rights Day). Last week we told the story of Nabeera who had been subject to beatings from her parents-in-law. The village development committee (VDC), formed and trained by CLP, had encouragingly stepped in to protect Nabeera and… Continue Reading
Battling Violence Against Women in the chars: stories from the field (part 1)

This Wednesday marks the beginning of the campaign of ‘16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence’ which is organised by UN Women. From the 25th November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, until the 10th December, Human Rights Day, UN Women and many other international development organisations will be raising awareness and promoting actions to… Continue Reading
A snapshot of CLP’s impact on families in the chars: Meet Mosiron Begum

CLP is coming to an end after two very successful phases and 12 years of working on the chars. During the second phase (2010-2016), we’ve supported over 78,000 extreme poor households. They joined with little-to-no assets, no regular income and no land. For the vast majority, due to the sizeable and integrated nature of CLP’s… Continue Reading
One small step for CLP, one giant leap towards sustainability

With the close of the Programme looming, CLP has been diligently seeking out potential partners to help continue its good work after it comes to an end in March 2016. ‘Sustainability’ has long been a watchword for CLP, so we’re putting a lot of effort into ensuring the remarkable results the Programme has had in… Continue Reading
Women’s participation in a cash-for-work scheme: CLP’s experience

For poor households living on the chars, selling labour is the main, and sometimes only, source of income. This is a risky strategy: if labourers fall sick then household income suffers and the household goes hungry as it has no other income to sustain itself on. It’s also risky because there are some months of… Continue Reading