Success story/Case Study

Sample  only

                   Rezia is the name of a veteran in the 
                               battle against poverty.

Rezia is the name of a veteran in the battle against poverty. When she smiles, life salutes her. She faces everything what comes along her way. She turned around and let not her family down. The Sidr and the subsequent poverty induced by it defeated to her courage and determination. Now days, she is a successful entrepreneur.    In 2007, a vast coastal belt of Bangladesh had been affected severely by the devastating cyclone Sidr. The cycle swooped on the land and cracked down millions of houses, and made millions of poor people houseless. Rezia is one of the victims who lost everything in the Sidr. She along with her husband, Monir Gazi, and three children, two boys and a girl, found nothing to lean on, no shade to cover them up, no food to quench their hunger. Their plight even intensified as they found no employment immediate after occurring the cycle. Sidr pushed them to the edge. They were compelled to withdraw their children from school and to engage them in household chores. …… village, the home of Rezia, is situated in the Upazila of Amtoli under the district of … southern-most district of the country, prone to natural disasters with a high ratio of poverty. The scar in the socio-economic condition of that region due to the Sidr sustained for long. . She discussed the matter with her husband. They decided to join in the groups formed by other poor people like them, facilitated by ….. She joined the group and started attending the meetings regularly. She was also regular in participating at their Gram Samity activities. She used to hear from the employees of ….., who suggested them to become self-dependent through adopting various Income Generating Activities (IGA). Gradually, she and her husband regained confidence, and started weaving new dreams of the debris of Sidr. Out of the options of various IGA models offered and discussed in the meetings, she and her husband picked Crab Cultivation in their small pond, as crabs held good market demand. Subsequently Rezia, received a Skill Development Training on crab cultivation, organized by …... She borrowed taka 10 thousand from the Village Credit Organization (VCO) of the Gram Samity. Started working on cultivating crabs. For this, she prepared her pond by cleaning, liming, drying and uprising the banks of the pond. After having the pond been ready, they released 30 to 35 kilograms of small crabs in the pond, which they purchased from local market at taka 150 per kilogram. They took proper care of those crabs, and in two- months, those small crabs grew and matured enough to be sold out. Accordingly, they sold them at taka 600 per kilogram and made a profit of taka 30 thousand. They refunded the loan-amount to the Gram Samity. Couple of months later, they decided to make expansion of their business in besides crab-cultivation. They rented a room at Koraibaria market, and her husband, Monir, started buying crabs from small farmers and supplying to the wholesalers. Their business grew up gradually. After a year, they accumulated a capital amounting taka 3 lakh. They provided the money, as working capital, to some other poor farmers' for cultivating crabs. Soon, Monir's shop became a collection point for crabs. Their business became sustainable. Now days, poverty and hardship are past story in the lives of Rezia and Monir. They have rebuilt their house and retrofitted it to withstand another Sidr. Their children are going to school regularly. Rezia takes good care of her children and ensures that nothing interrupts their regular studies. She plans to purchase a piece of land adjacent to her pond so that she will be able to widen to. She is now happy. She is still an active member of her Gram Samity.