Bangladesh's Ashrayan Project (shelter project for the homeless) is empowering marginalized people through inclusive development, as this housing project plays a vital role in alleviating poverty to help the country attain at least eight targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Ashrayan Project is now being used aptly as the Sheikh Hasina Model for Inclusive Development, which has ushered in a new era of growth toward building a Bangladesh free from poverty and hunger. Through the project, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has initiated a new dimension of growth and socio-economic development for the homeless populace based on the philosophy - ‘No one will be left behind.’

Over 22,000 landless and homeless families are going to get new houses as a gift from PM Sheikh Hasina. These colourful red, blue and green-roofed houses are being provided in the second phase of the fourth phase of the Prime Minister's Office Asharyan-II project. She hands over these semi-furnished houses along with two hundred acres of land to the families for free on Wednesday. At the same time, the Prime Minister will declare 123 upazilas (a sub-unit of an administrative district in Bangladesh) of the country as completely landless and homeless-free. Of this, all the upazilas of 12 districts have already achieved this development milestone. 

A unique rehabilitation project 

In May 2020, Ashrayan-2 project under the Prime Minister's Office was taken up, In January 2021, the Prime Minister handed over 63, 999 houses of the first phase of this project. At the same time, 3715 families were rehabilitated in 743 barracks. In June of the same year, the Prime Minister handed over 53,330 houses in the second phase. The number of houses constructed in the third phase was 65,674. And 39,365 houses of the fourth phase were handed over in March this year. The remaining houses of this phase will be handed over soon. 

Under this project, 238,851 families have been given houses with land in four stages. A total of 1,194,035 displaced people have been resettled with an average of five members in each family. It is potentially the largest government rehabilitation program in the world in terms of number of beneficiaries and rehabilitation.

Ashrayan is a unique project not only for Bangladesh but also for the world. In different countries, there are various initiatives to help economically backward people in different ways, but there is little precedent for giving ownership of government land to homeless people who have no address and building houses with electricity and sanitation facilities at government expense. In this project, homeless and landless families are provided ownership of two-room semi-paved single-family houses with electricity facilities in the joint name of husband and wife with a 2 percent 'khas' (government-owned land) land settlement. Notably, the project is not only an opportunity for a man and his family to live with dignity, but also a unique example of women's empowerment by ensuring ownership of land to both husband and wife jointly. 

How big and comprehensive this campaign is can be understood in some statistics. Studies have confirmed that 555,617 families have been given shelter in the shelter project started in 1997. Apart from shelters, almost similar projects are Veer Nibas, Minority Resettlement, Cluster Villages, Disaster Resilient Houses, and Housing Fund Houses. Together with all these projects, 414,800 landless people in Bangladesh have become house owners along with land owners. More than 28,000 acres of land have been allotted for homestead alone. The visible result is that 334 upazilas, including all upazilas of 21 districts of the country, are landless and homeless-free today. So far, around a million families have received such houses across the country, giving shelter to more than 3.5 million people. 

Massive change in socio-economics 

In the construction style of the Ashrayan project, one sees in general two-room semi-furnished single houses with a toilet, kitchen and a balcony for each family; specially designed houses for riverside areas; specially designed houses for small ethnic groups in hilly areas; specially designed houses for small ethnic groups in other areas. Multi-storied apartments for climate refugees, paved barracks for coastal people, semi-paved barracks for plain areas, barracks for 'charanchelors' (island areas), and single-room homes for street people. This variety of house construction proves that this initiative is not just a cheap initiative, it has been implemented with very careful thought so that the beneficiary community actually gets the maximum practical benefit in their respective areas.

A house or a family on a piece of land is not only a housing facility, but the shelter has also ushered in massive changes in the socio-economics of the country. Shelters and similar initiatives have empowered the backward communities as well as established them at unique heights of social status by empowering destitute women in land ownership, helping them to return to the mainstream. By eradicating hunger and poverty, providing permanent housing, education, health, and sanitation, ensuring social equity, and rehabilitating climate refugees, this initiative has brought a massive and visible change in the country's rural economy.

The goals of this model are increasing the earning power of the poorest people; establishing their livelihood and social status; empowering women with land and house ownership; increasing self-confidence and self-esteem among women; ensuring environmental protection; and bringing city faciilies to villages.

A careful analysis of the Ashrayan model has found that the beneficiaries of the project have increased their sense of security by 98.87 percent; their social status has increased by 98.5 percent; the standard of living has increased by 95.2 percent; ability to buy new furniture increased 70.22 percent; positive behavior improved 60.78 percent; social harmony increased 60.21 percent; ability to buy electronic devices increased 56.78 percent; savings rate increased by 44 percent; and cultural activities increased by 35.5 percent. 

The project, like several other initiatives of Bangladesh PM Hasina, has caught the attention of the world's policymakers as the largest such rehabilitation project in the world. The project is being discussed in the United Nations Human Settlements Program known as UN-Habitat. In the 77th session of the United Nations, held on September 21, 2022, policymakers from various countries including the United Nations participated in the discussion titled 'Refuge: Sheikh Hasina Model for Inclusive Development'.

Today, people around the world can come and see how the poor and neglected women of Bangladesh have also become landowners, and have built their very own homes with their husbands and families. This project has given them respect, dignity, strength, and confidence.

(The author is a Norwegian academic of South Asian studies. Views are personal. He can be contacted at dratlepearsonatle@gmail.com)