I CAN NOW PROVIDE FOOD FOR MY CHILDREN
“I am happy to see Shayama as an independent businesswoman, someone who has nurtured and put her all into her business and at the same time still running her household.” Sunny Bahia, Forgotten Women
BEFORE WE HAD NOTHING, WE CAN'T EVEN WALK
Overall, the rebuilding lives project has helped the Begum family in many ways, from providing an income to building their confidence and giving them a stable routine which they look forward to everyday.
HE LEFT ME IN A DARK PLACE
“Since having this shop, I feel rich. I am taking care of my sister and my children now, only in my dreams I thought I could ever have a shop like this.” Nargus, Bangladesh
I WAS DOING THROUGH DEPRESSION
“I am very happy, and I am praying for all those who made this happen for me, it is like a dream come true. I was going through depression where I use to sleep during the day to escape life, but now I get up early and get ready to open my shop, I feel much better.” Menal Begum, Bangladesh
FROM £60 TO £280 – WOW
“I am so happy, my health was suffering when I use to work in the tea gardens, I had no choice but to leave, now I have my shop, I am open 24 hours and I make a lot more money here, I sometimes sleep at my shop as I want this shop to be a service to the community.” Jahanrah, Bangladesh
FORGOTTEN WOMEN SAVED MY LIFE
Today Roshangul has become a businesswoman in her own right, as the team went to revisit Roshangul three months later she was excited to see them, she came running to the front and started crying, she then took the team to the back and started to give an entire breakdown of her business.
THANK YOU FOR HELPING US
“We don’t have to use the open fields now to go to the toilet, there are only women in our house and my mother is very elderly, so we are very thankful you have done this for us. ” Ms Kaur and her family live in a rural village in India, she has two sisters and an elderly mother whose suffers with limited mobility. Ms Kaur has never married due to the dire level of poverty which plays on her mind daily.
79 GOING ON TO 30
Amina is 79, she was widowed 36 years ago and was left to bring up her six children alone. Sadly, two of her adult sons are mentally disabled and while her other children struggle to find work, she strives daily to support her entire family. Each day Amina faces a new battle and depends on handouts from neighbours and the community. When this help is not available, she is forced to resort to begging and scavenging through rubbish to find items to sell.
SORROW TO SMILES
Meet Moallim, she has six children and a terminally ill husband who is bedbound, Moallim does what she can to provide for her family. She works odd jobs washing clothes and searching for scraps of rubbish to sell in order to pay her rent and feed her family. Her eldest son was once the main support for the family with his income, but just 15 days prior to this meeting he was killed in an explosion whilst at work and he died instantly.