For ten years, HSBC has been supporting The Sreepur Village, focusing on their education programme.
In October 2020, HSBC generously donated BDT 2,444,840 which is approximately £21,000 which will fund a one year project.
We recently enjoyed a visit from HSBC where they got to talk to our mothers and children. They watched our girls cricket team in action, played football with the children and even got stuck into some homestead gardening.
The project, that HSBC is kindly funding, aims to enable the independence of 140 mothers with their children. They are encouraging each mother to leave with at least two skills by following an intensive training and development schedule.
Each mother will be trained in one of the following vocational skills such as Tailoring, Garments, Homestead gardening (‘rainbow gardens’ providing a range of different nutrients), Sack Gardening (for those with very limited space), Nursery plant propagation, Duck and Goat rearing.
Bamboo crafting (making both village and saleable articles), Moori (puffed rice) and snack making, candle making, practice in running a small shop, jute products, hand loom products, tie dye, embroidery and mirrors.
Each mother will also learn necessary universal skills in financial literacy, literacy, self esteem and confidence development as well as small business management.
HSBC are also supporting additional facilities for mothers with disabilities. These include online training for staff on counselling with ongoing support, psychiatrist and psychologist support, online occupational therapy support, basic health and nutrition training and basic legal awareness
We are so grateful to HSBC for their support and generosity in enabling our impoverished mothers to leave The Sreepur Village empowered with independence and dignity.
If you would like to sponsor The Sreepur Village in one of their projects, then please email fundraising@sreepurvillage.org.
Out of the blue, at the tender age of 13, Chia found herself sitting on a bridal stage, about to marry a man who was 35 years old. Her parents had arranged the match, finding the man from their nearby locality in Bhairab.
He was a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) businessman who occasionally sold vegetables and fruits on the street. Chia's aspirations and youthful dreams were abruptly interrupted by this sudden marriage. Instead of books, she found herself with kitchen utensils in her hands. She went from feeling like a princess to becoming a servant overnight.
Sumi's journey is a testament to her resilience and determination to create a better life for herself and her child. Her success serves as an inspiration to all those facing adversity, reminding us of the transformative power of support, training, and the opportunity to rebuild one's life.