Laizu Ahmed Shajeda. She is 39 years old. Marital status- Separated. Father’s name: Late. Deloar Hossain. Mother’s name: Payara Begum. Educational qualification class 6. She has a son living with her. Presently Laizu is doing Tailoring and various types of goods business and her son is an auto rickshaw Driver. Productive Assets in her business are Auto rickshaws, sewing machines and refrigerators for business.
Present Address & permanent address- Saber Company House, Tali Office, Hazaribagh, Dhaka. Total capital of her business at present 75,000 Tk. Current monthly income: 16,000 Tk. Total Savings: 50,000.
Laizu Ahmed Shajeda was born in Tali Office, Hazaribag area of Dhaka city but her origin was in Munshiganj. Because of having no own land, her family moved to Dhaka city after independence (1971) in the hope of survival. Laizu Ahmed was the 5th children of parents among 9 brothers and sisters. Father worked as a tailor to support the family of 11 members and mother used to manage family with great difficulty.
Due to poverty, she left studies and took a job in a sweater company. Then she met Tempu driver Jamal Ahmed whom she loved and married at the age of 12 in 1997 and started living in Tali office, Hazaribag area. During her pregnancy period, all kind of torture began. In-laws took Jamal away and lied by saying that he would be sent to abroad.
Laizu became alone. She offered her in laws money then they accepted her staying with Jamal. In this situation her daughter took birth in 1999. Her first girl child died of illness at the age of 9 months. But again her in laws asked for money, this time she denied and they took Jamal away again. Her Husband used to come to her and went back to his family. Besides he did not supported Laizu. So, to run the family, she used to sell cosmetics and clothes from door to door.
Since her child was 5 years old, Jamal had as second marriage and did not come again. Since then, Laizu Ahmed had been running the family. She admitted Sabbir in a residential madrasa and went to work in a sweater company located in Savar to pay for her child’s maintenance and education. Around 2012 or 2013, militancy and other problems arose in the Madrassa and her work place. As a result, she lost the job and started the previous business again. She learned sewing and started to earn. She had to do a lot of work to run the family. On the advice of his son Sabbir, she rented a small shop in 2021 and started business with capital of 5000 taka. Slowly he was able to increase the income of the business up to 6000-7000 taka through which she used to live a non-human life by renting houses and shops.
In such a situation, in February 2023, the team of “Urban Green Graduation Program” of “Nari Maitree” conducted baseline survey and included her information. In time of group formation she was included as self-help group member and started to participate in ROSBI and group activities. Based on the trust and opinion of the group members, she was appointed as cashier of group. She regularly attends group meetings and tries to learn and apply the learning points of the meetings.
Latter she was selected for business training 1st batch as per the vulnerability score and criteria in July 2023. With the support of Concern Worldwide & Irish Aid, she received trainings on Psycho-social Counselling Training (2 days), Consumption Support Orientation (1 Day), Micro-Business & Business Development training (5 days). After completion of the training, block grants 30,000 taka and consumption support 20,000 (4000/- per month paid in 5 months instalment basis) which were given to her personal bank account.
Then as per business plan she invested 40,000 taka (30,000 taka grants money & her own capital 10,000 taka) in her business. She rented a small shop and purchased a swing machine which can be utilized as fixed asset in her business. Currently, he is selling all kinds of toys, food items, clothes, sewing materials, soaps, cosmetics etc. according to the needs of the customers in the area. She has been running the business for about a year. She now can earn 400-500 taka profit per day from business. Currently, Laiju Ahmed’s total monthly income is Tk 16000.
To increase the income of the family, she has saved 4000 taka in multipurpose societies monthly along with regular ROSBI savings. She is regularly studying with the help of a community teacher to keep the business accounts correctly and is keeping the profit and loss account of the business in a tally khata by herself. She has also received training in Community Risk Assessment, Disaster Management and Change maker through the prograsmme which has empowered her a lot.
1n 2004, the second child Md. Sabbir (19) was born. When Sabbir was two years old, he got a serious accident. He accidentally fell on the broken tea glass cup. Fatally injured his right eye and lost his right eye.
Planting trees, saving electricity, preventing wastage of water, reducing the use of polythene and plastic etc. are being practiced by her to protect the environment. She is successfully working as a change maker in her locality. As a change maker, she worked with local representatives to prevent child and family violence. She herself has got TCB card and disability allowance card for his son Sabbir and is helping others to get various government and private services.
Currently, she has bought an auto rickshaw for his son Sabbir with 35,000 taka from her business income and ROSBI savings. Her son can earn at least 700 to 1000 taka per day.
People living around are following her after seeing business improvement and behavioural changes. Her future plan is to expand the business and increase the productive assets through which she will increase the economic wealth by increasing the income and will be able to live a comfortable life by removing the scarcity.
