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Leading the Luckless Lot
The impressive
self-confidence, reflected in her whole appearance makes Anwara Begum from
Potka village of
Sreepur upazila under Gazipur district distinguished from others. Anwara
Begum, at her early 40's, is very much sure of herself. The way she
maintains an air of enlightened integrity is outstanding. Anwara Begum, the
group leader of ‘Potka Kona Mohila Samiti’, Sreepur, Gazipur now stands as
an example of success through entrepreneurship. Her endeavor and proper
planning during the past seven years have brought her the fruit of success
while BEES' assistance has been the nourisher of her efforts. Anwara Begum
says, “I have become the now confident and successful person through my
involvement with BEES. Although my life was not below the poverty line
before, but we had needs. Due to constraint of capital it was not possible
to take up profitable pursuits, which I desperately wanted to. I know that
village usurers give loan to people. But the high interest robs people of
their belongings leaving them utterly ruined. I have witnessed some people
to become so much undone as to become robbed of their last belongings, even
ending up becoming ousted from their homestead. I was not to follow this
terrible instance. I was on the look-out for capital support. Meantime, I
got introduced to BEES and observed their development activities. I knew
that this was the perfect place for me to be in. Therefore with the advice,
motivation and effective support from the BEES’ Extension Worker I organized
a number of neighboring women and formed the group of BEES ‘Potkakona Mohila
Samiti’. From then onwards there was no looking back. Because I have been
receiving the all out support from BEES to uplift myself culturally and
spiritually.”
Anwara Begum got
involved into BEES group activities back in 1997. First time she received a
Tk. 2,000 loan, combined it with her own little savings and started a
poultry farm. She got the right direction of investment from BEES Extension
Workers, she recalls. At the beginning there were 1,000 poultry at her farm.
Year after year Anwara continued her income generation spree with a gradual
increasing trend. “Now, in place of one shed I have three sheds where I am
rearing 5,000 poultry. Having enlarged my farm, I have also employed extra
help to manage the farm. This initiative has given me the opportunity of
employment generation. Besides I also have 6 cattle including 2 cows. My
kitchen garden fulfills the nutritional needs of the family and I can also
sell some in the market. I also get agricultural products from our arable
land. Now my monthly income has become steady enough to put an end to
financial uncertainty. My monthly income is now around Tk. 9,500. With this
income I can easily manage the family rather slovently which was just
impossible some years ago. I have two sons and one daughter. I am sending my
children to school and hope to send them for higher education. My future
plan centers round the farm and my children and I hope that my coming days
will be brighter in both these aspects,” Anwara Begum states.
Anwara Begum is a woman
with strong will power and perseverance. She has proven the truth that if
human potentials get true nourishment it can be developed in all aspects.
For Anwara the power had been within, what she needed was a spark. BEES’
assistance worked as the spark for Anwara. The leadership quality of Anwara
has been effectively explored by her involvement with BEES group as the
group leader. The orientations on diversified issue like general health,
reproductive health, nutrition, safe water supply and sanitation,
plantation, environment, gender equity etc. has opened a new era for Anwara.
Anwara’s horizon has been extended further by her delegation as delivering
these issues to her fellow group members at the weekly meetings. She has
been taking the opportunity to spread these awareness among her group
members and rendering advice for productive initiatives among them. Now she
acts as an alternate teacher, motivator and leader to refreshing the
knowledge she has gained and she manages her group to maintain solidarity
among themselves. Besides, she also stretches her social service range
beyond her group by motivating and advising others of her village. She
demands, “ I find mental satisfaction over doing it. I feel that this way I
can do my duty to society” Her new role has empowered her substantially in
family and society.
In a male dominated
society like ours, Anwara sure makes a difference, with her transformation
and emancipation, which is yet to be multiplied by many others in a desired
future.
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No
More Exploitation
Ratna Begum no longer
has to worry on how to pay-off the high interest loan to the usurer at her
village. But life was not so much unperturbed just a few years back for
Ratna Begum, age 28, from Dorikandi village of Belabo
upazila of Narsingdi district. The very small capital for peddling goods in
the locality couldn’t be possible to manage other than surrendering to the
blood-sucking village money-lenders. What else could Ratna’s husband Md.
Shahidullah do to mitigate the bare necessities of the family when no other
option was at hand, they did not know. As a result life would at times even
refuse to be lived from hand to mouth. Bewildered, Ratna and her husband
thought their head out for an escape route from the chain – of poverty, of
exploitation but all in vain.
The lion’s share of
the profit would go to the usurer’s pocket, the paradox of life was rather
too harsh for the five–member family–Ratna, her husband and three children.
Five members meant 5 mouths, 5 hungry stomachs, which added to the
bewilderment of the couple.
In this circumstance
BEES extended its helping hand to a way out. Ratna Begum came to know of the
group activities and the integrated support service package of BEES and its
poverty alleviation program. She was convinced and further motivated by the
BEES Extension Worker and some group members in her locality. Ratna Begum
became a group–member of BEES and received a Tk. 3,000 loan with
easy–interest. The low interest rate came as blessing against the previous
bitter experience of emptying the income in the hands of the money-lender.
Although Ratna invested her first loan into her husband’s peddling business
but with time she received higher amounts of loan during the successive
years which she invested in diversified pursuits.
Ratna narrates herself,
“When I saw the successful activities of BEES groups and the various
services for development of the group members, I was convinced that this is
where I should go for help. After receiving the first loan from BEES and
repaying it in due time with regular installments I could easily get more
loans. My means was to mark a positive change in the family budget. My
husband also was convinced. With the money he started a grocery shop. While
our capital was only Tk. 15,000 earlier, BEES has helped us to increase it
in Tk. 80,000. With the increased capital naturally income has also
increased and so has the capacity to increase the family expenditure for
facilities we could not even think of before. Our economic condition is very
much steady now. We have built two tin-rooms. Now I have four cows, a number
of cocks, hens, chicks and ducks. With the training received from BEES, I am
taking proper care of my livestock and poultry and also getting vaccination
and veterinary services through the initiative of BEES. I have also bought
some agricultural land. Our monthly income is above Tk. 8,600 now from the
different income generation activities we have undertaken. I can now send my
children to school and my expenditure is Tk. 1,000 for that purpose. In the
family budget issues like nutritional needs, health and medical expenses and
some other facilities have the priority now and we can afford to spend Tk.
3,000 per month while it was a mere Tk. 800 in those bygone plightful days.
I am very happy that our fretful days are over”.
Ratna Begum has been
emancipated from the curse of poverty and eventually from the social
backwardness. While she represented the destitute lot earlier, now she has
been established in society. Her enlightenment owes to the integrated
support from BEES. She has become aware of her basic rights as a human being
and as a citizen of the country.
Having oriented on
primary health care, reproductive health care, hygiene and sanitation,
environment, tree plantation, nutrition, education, gender issues, legal
rights, voter right etc. Ratna now represents a conscious citizen, an
enlightened human being. Her eyes have opened to a new world of potentials
previously unknown to her. A sea-change from socio-econo-cultural
perspective has happened to Ratna's life, encouraging others to tread the
similar ways towards empowerment.
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