International Day of Charity
Why pick The Sreepur Village as your chosen charity?
September 5 was International Day of Charity, and The Sreepur Village marked the day by asking one of its newest supporters why she supported The Sreepur Village. Sandra has, in the past, supported a number of charities like Breast Cancer, The Red Cross and Children in Need. She told us that, smaller charities like The Sreepur Village often get overseen. Sandra was particularly taken with a story she had read on Facebook which highlighted the importance of swimming lessons for children as the number of deaths from drowning in Bangladesh is staggering and she also told us that she was amazed that we were the only charity in Bangladesh to keep mothers with their children.
We also asked one of our beneficiary mothers why having the support of people like Sandra is so important.
Abandoned by her husband, Hana and her daughter, Suma, came to The Sreepur Village in December 2016. Hana told us that she is so grateful to the many donors because with their support both her and her daughter have been given shelter, health awareness and an opportunity to receive skilled training and an education, things they never deemed possible before.
Hana has for the last year and a half received training in a number of areas, she initially joined the village’s shop where she worked for four months. She then moved on to the day care for three months and after that, she received her tailoring training for a period of six months. It was during this time that after having gone through the leadership assessment test she was selected as one of The Sreepur Village leaders. Since then, she has been working in the clinic for the last nine months.
Hana has also made many friends in The Sreepur Village and has created a support system amongst the other beneficiaries. For example, she has to regularly travel to Dhaka to take patients from the clinic to various health care clinics and hospitals for further tests and surgery. During her travel, the other beneficiaries take care of Suma ensuring she is, at all times, well looked after.
How has all the training and literacy classes changed their lives?
Receiving training such as tailoring and adult literacy classes has helped Hana tremendously in terms of developing her income generating skills as well as financial literacy. She has learned to sew and stitch various clothing accessories such as fotuas, girls and boys’ trousers, shalwar and kameez, girls’ dresses. Hana plans to utilise her tailoring skills to generate income when she returns back to her community in Kurigram. For Suma, The Sreepur Village has provided her with the opportunity of going to school. Her dream is to become a doctor when she grows up.
Living in fear or poverty is always a concern of our mothers when they leave The Sreepur Village. So, it is with the continued support of our donors that Hana and Suma can confidently look to the future knowing that their lives are secure, and that Suma can continue her education and fulfil her dream of becoming a doctor.
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