BACK FROM BIBIYANA (HABIGANJ): The tiny village of Mostafapur in Habiganj district. The village is home to young Rozina, who has spent her childhood engulfed in pain and sorrow.
But after waging a hard-fought battle against poverty, soldiering on with hard-work and single-minded determination, she has established herself as a successful entrepreneur.
Rozina now has her own tailoring shop and fabric store. This 20-year old girl recalls the days when she, her mother and siblings could barely put food on the table.
“We have now got our lives back. We no longer have to live a hand-to-mouth existence,” she says.
Brave Rozina tells Banglanews24 the story of her struggle to survive.
Rozina and her family were spending their days in dire poverty. Her father passed away when she was in class VI. Left to raise two daughters and a son, her mother, Hawarunnesa felt literally at sea.
Barely able to pull along the reins of the household, she was forced to stop sending Rozina to school. It was at this point that Rozina started looking for a light at the end of the tunnel.
Then, in 2007, Rozina became a member of the Chevron-supported Alternative Livelihood Program (ALP), under which she was enrolled in a sewing training course in 2008.
Even armed with the training credentials, she wasn’t able to work as she didn’t have a sewing-machine. Taking note of her drive and enthusiasm, Chevron’s ALP came forward with much-needed start-up support. Rozina took a loan of Tk 5,000.
She used the money to buy a sewing-machine… and so began Rozina’s journey.
She started sewing at home, so it was a humble beginning. She didn’t set any fixed rates, happily accepting whatever her customers were prepared to pay. Appreciating her hard work and her attention to quality, she became a household name – not just in her own village of Mostafapur, but in surrounding villages as well.
Though she was meant to repay her loan in weekly installments of Tk 125, she began exceeding her minimum repayment amount. Rozina was so committed that she repaid her 12-month loan in just ten months.
Though her monthly earnings initially ranged from TK 1,000 to Tk 1,500, she now earns nearly Tk 10,000 every month. She bought a second sewing-machine to keep pace with her increasing volume of work.
Rozina says, “I don’t want to limit myself to just tailoring work. That’s why I started a small-scale fabric supply business as well. Now, women in the village buy fabric from me and ask me to stitch it up for them. With this, my income has increased from before.”
The girl’s success has inspired other young women in her village to follow her footsteps in the bespoke tailoring trade.
Many are coming to her to learn sewing. Not only is Rozina a tailor and fabric merchant, she is a trainer as well. She earns reasonably well from her training work.
Rozina couldn’t afford to complete her schooling, and that specter continues to haunt her to this day. She was determined that her sister shouldn’t go through the same experience.
She is now contributing to the education expenses of her sister, who is now studying in Inatganj Degree College.
When asked about her dreams for the future, “I want to expand my tailoring shop and fabric business. I now have two sewing-machines. If I had three more, I could use the five machines to work myself, and hire one or two girls as well.”
She goes on to say, “At present, I run the fabric business from my own house in Mostafapur. That’s why I want to start a fabric store in Inatganj. I’ll need Tk 200,000 for this. I hope to be able to realize my dream in just a few years”.
Chevron Bangladesh’s External Affairs Director, Naser Ahmed informs Banglanews that the Alternative Livelihood Program and renewable energy projects are just a few of the initiatives running under the banner of Chevron’s corporate social responsibility efforts.
A key component of these programs is vocational skills training for youths, he added.
However, the support doesn’t end with training. Trainees’ post-training activities are closely monitored. Naser says that need-based loans and mentoring are also provided by way of additional support.
According to him, many other girls like Rozina have received sewing training… and many are now able to stand on their own feet.
He says, “Under the auspices of this program, we have provided 500 improved cooking stoves, and training on their usage”.
“We have also provided 130 solar home systems and installed two biogas plants, and have arranged 40 training sessions on income-generating enterprises. A total of 27 families have been able to establish small businesses and eight demonstration farms have also been set up.”
Naser further informed Banglanews, “Chevron is supporting livelihood improvement programs. Under these programs, 1,700 members have received skills development training, which has led to the establishment of 645 farms and small businesses”.
“According to a survey, there has been a significant income increase in 72% of the families.”
He said that the owners of 57 goat-rearing, 125 cattle-fattening, 47 aquaculture, 22 poultry and 28 dairy farms have changed their own fortunes.
BDST: 1825 HRS, AUG 05, 2015
RR/SMS
