Brac to provide jobless migrant returnees with Tk3cr cash assistance
So far 1,545 returnees have been provided with Tk61.80 lakh through bKash
Brac will give cash assistance of around Tk3 crore to 7,250 migrant returnees who have been jobless due to the Covid-19 pandemic at the destination countries.
Dr Ahmed Munirus Saleheen, secretary to the expatriate welfare and overseas employment ministry, inaugurated the assistance providing programme at a virtual event on Thursday.
Brac officials said so far 1,545 returnees have been provided with around Tk61.80 lakh through mobile financial service provider bKash. The rest of the beneficiaries will get the assistance shortly as a scrutiny was underway.
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The beneficiaries were selected from different districts and upazilas in coordination with the local administrations and field officials of the organisation.
Alongside its own finance, Brac extended the support with the partnership of Royal Danish Embassy, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Prottasha project of the expatriate welfare and overseas employment ministry, European Union, IOM and Children Investment Fund Foundation.
KAM Morshed, senior director of Brac, said the organisation extended the humanitarian support to the country's migrants, showing its gratitude to their contributions to the nation.
"Brac has also planned to spend around Tk100 crore on the migrant returnees for their mental support and capacity building within the next three years," he added.
In his speech, Dr Munirus Saleheen stressed the need for forging partnerships with the government and non-government organisations to jointly address the challenges of Covid-19 impact in the migration sector.
Rafika Hyta, deputy chief of mission of Danish Embassy in Dhaka, Shameem Ahmed Chowdhury Noman, general secretary of Bangladesh International Recruiting Agencies (Baira), Shariful Hasan, head of Brac Migration Programme, among others, were present at the programme.
According to Brac Migration Programme, around seven lakh Bangladeshis have returned from different countries between January and March this year. And around 2-2.5 lakh of them are migrant workers.
