Andhra Pradesh receives $150 million from World Bank

Friday, 21 February 2003, 20:30 IST
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WASHINGTON: The World Bank has approved a $150 million project in Andhra Pradesh in an attempt to empower the rural poor. Expected to benefit over two million households, the project, announced Thursday, aims at enabling the poor to participate in decisions that affect their livelihood and help improve their quality of life. The Andhra Pradesh Rural Poverty Reduction Project (RPRP) builds on the foundations of the Andhra Pradesh District Poverty Initiatives Project (DPIP), which started in 2000 and was implemented in six districts. The project helped 65,200 children move from forced jobs into regular schools. Residential schools increased enrolment of girls by 36,000 over the last three years while 135,000 poor families were provided with opportunities for small enterprise and farming assistance. "It has been gratifying to see that given the right tools and the right context, poor and vulnerable communities can lift themselves out of a cycle of misery into a cycle of opportunities," said Jeeva Perumalpillai-Essex, task leader of the RPRP. The new project provides assistance to self-help groups, community based organisations, local governments for health, school children, persons with disabilities and development projects.
Source: IANS