Today at Sreepur Village, Bangladesh, our mothers and their children along with members of staff celebrated International Mother Language Day, honouring the language movement martyrs.
The event, beginning at 6.30am this morning, took place at the Shaheed Minar monument inside the village grounds where single mothers, their children and staff placed wreaths to commemorate the language movement martyrs.
Today is all about expressing gratitude and respect to the brave individuals who sacrificed their lives during the language movement in Bangladesh. The language movement was a movement to recognise the Bengali language as the official language of East Pakistan, which is now Bangladesh. The movement ultimately led to the recognition of Bengali as an official language of Pakistan.
Today's celebrations also included speeches which highlighted the significance of the day and the importance of preserving and promoting all languages.
Life can sometimes throw unimaginable challenges at us, but it's the human spirit's resilience and determination that can lead to remarkable stories of triumph.
Lia's life is a testament to this spirit, marked by adversity, courage, and ultimate success. Lia's story draws parallels to other stories of perseverance, and highlights the crucial role of organisations like Sreepur Village in transforming lives.
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.