Barguna Correspondent

Keeping in mind the theme of One Tree, One Life - Let Bangladesh be Green, BRAC's Ultra-Poor Graduation (UPG) program has distributed fruit, forest and medicinal tree saplings among the very poor families in Barguna. Under this initiative, conducted in collaboration with Aarong Social Enterprise, a total of 2,190 saplings were distributed among 730 families in the district. Out of this, 1,080 saplings were given to 360 families in Barguna Sadar Upazila.

Barguna Sadar UNO Md. Shah Aziz was present as the chief guest at the sapling distribution ceremony organized at the Barguna Sadar Area Office premises on Thursday morning.

BRAC District Coordinator Md. Tuhin Alam, Regional Manager of UPG Program Amar Krishna Ghosh, Area Manager of Microfinance Demand Program Rubel Mia, Abdur Razzak, Area Manager of SDP Program Asadur Rahman, SO-ESI Reshma Parveen and UPG Branch Manager of Sadar Branch Office Md. Shariful Islam were present as special guests at the ceremony. The saplings distributed included mango, neem and mahogany.

Md. Tuhin Alam said that these trees will play an important role in maintaining the balance of the environment on the one hand, and on the other hand, they will also help in the financial security of the beneficiary families in the future. Regional Manager Amar Krishna Ghosh gave a brief speech about the various activities of the UPG program at the event.

In his speech as the chief guest, UNO Md. Shah Aziz said, "There is no alternative to planting trees to maintain the balance of the environment. Every family should not only plant trees, but also be careful in taking care of them."

He also said that to combat the effects of current climate change, the tree plantation program must be further expanded. He thanked Aarong for taking such a public welfare initiative and highly praised the BRAC UPG program.