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Sakhib is seven years old and lives in Dhankura village, in Mymensingh.  Sakhib is the youngest of four siblings. His father works in a garage repairing cycles and his mother works in the fields as a day labourer. They struggle a lot financially in order to provide for all their family’s needs, so Sakhib’s parents are very busy working; none of them are able to take care of the children. Another problem is that there is no Primary school nearby, which Sakhib could easily and regularly attend. The KG schools available in this area are too expensive for the family to afford, as they can hardly provide three meals a day for the whole family.
Due to the lack of care and guidance in social behavior and physical care, as Sakhib was unattended from an early age on, he was a little bit out of control. His life took a positive turn one day, Sakhib learned many things at once. He learned to follow a set of rules, about his personal hygiene and to follow a daily routine in a social educational environment. When SHED Board had established a pre-school at Dankura mission compound, where children are given free education, Sakhib was given a chance to go to school. Now he receives proper education and he is developing his social and other skills (e.g. personal hygiene), as he attends the class regularly. Sakhib enjoys going to school. He made friends with other children. He is excited to learn as much as possible. In his first year at school, he was 2nd best in the annual exam. He is well-behaved now! If you saw him today, you wouldn't be able to imagine that he was out of control a few months ago. A healthy and caring relationship with their teachers encourage students to do their best learning at school but also support the development of social skills and discipline. His family appreciates the opportunity for Sakhib to receive education from an early age on. They can see the positive change that education has on their son. Education and friendly social environment enables children to grow personally, emotionally and spiritually. Education provides an opportunity for big dreams to come true in small, small steps. Sakhib dreams about a career as teacher. In the future, he wants to support children from an early age to receive education in a safe, creative and playful environment. Achiya and her family live in a tiny straw shed hut. She, her husband and four children (three daughters, one son) share this tiny space in Taleb village, in Mymensingh district. The family didn’t own any property, so the cultivation of their own vegetables etc. was impossible. The only income came from Achiya’s husband Kafiluddin, who worked as a day labor. This income was never enough to provide for all the needs the family had. Achiya was aware of this fact and therefore she was very eager to find ways to contribute to her family’s financial income. She hoped that this would get her family out of poverty successfully!  Most attempts to earn some money failed. The family continuously struggled much financially. It was almost impossible for them to provide regular meals for the children, not to mention the need for proper education! Achiya had hoped to find a way how to provide for the needs of her children, but along the way she faced much disappointment. In addition to this struggles, like other families in her village, the family struggled to get access to clean drinking water, as there was no tube-well in her village. Water had to be brought in from far away. Unnecessary to mention the additional challenges this brings, as it also resulted in diseases caused by the lack of clean water.
Luckily, Achiya had heard of an ISDP, which was held by SHED Board in Pakirchala. Women of her village spoke about it and Achiya decided to get her husband’s permission to join this program. Both were hoping to improve their socio economic situation gradually, as other women shared about their experience and positive change for their families through the ISDP. Achiya was able to join the Sujana woman Savings group. She became a regular attendant and learned about micro finances management. She received training on micro finance management and money savings on a monthly basis, which would bring a positive change in her financial struggles. She also received education in capacity building matters (e.g. agricultural training). Encouraged and equipped through the ISD training program, Achiya started to grow vegetables at home, as she was given a loan of Taka 5,000.000 to cultivate vegetables on land she could purchase with it. She also was able to buy a cow. Her loan was paid off successfully, as she got some income from her vegetable garden. The training on finance management and agriculture improved her economic situation slowly. With the support of SHED Board she was able to get another loan to increase her small business and she was provided with a tube-well, which was a benefit to her whole community! Now she is able to send her children regularly to school, too. Achiya is very grateful and happy to see her dreams come true, as ISDP support will have a direct and long term impact on her family and community. She finally found a way to fight against poverty with the hands-on training programs that SHED Board provides through the ISDP. |
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