Jhorna Begum – Story of A Successful Housewife

Jhorna Begum is a poor housewife from Grouripur Upazila of Mymensingh district who has seven children (one son and six daughters). Her husband Abdur Rahman is a hawker. So, it’s very difficult for Jhorna to maintain a family comprised of nine members. Due to poverty, she was forced to give marry her two daughters at an early age and stop educating the rest of the children.

“I have no cultivable lands. I only have my house. My husband is the breadwinner of our family. His income is impoverished, and we can’t maintain our family comprised of nine members with his little income. We can’t afford the educational expenses of our children which forced us to discontinue their education,” Jhorna was unfolding her griefs.

“I came to know about ADRA Bangladesh from one of my neighbors in 2019. I participated in a community group discussion conducted by ADRA Bangladesh. I found it interesting and thought that I could be benefited if I could enroll in Mohila Unnayan Group of Community Empowerment Project (CEP) of ADRA Bangladesh,” Jhorna was describing her thoughts.

After a few days, Jhorna enrolled in the Mohila Unnayan Group # 1 and jump into the activates as directed by CEP. She started depositing savings. Later, she received training on Vermicompost. Now, she’s producing Vermicompost and selling it to her neighbors. She sold 1300kgs of Vermicompost at Tk. 13,000.00 to her community farmers.

Jhorna was thinking of starting a new business on a small scale to extend her income source. She discussed her thoughts and ideas with her group members and decided to start a business for selling old clothes in her locality.

She took a loan from her group and started the business. She invested some money into her husband’s business. Johrna was selling clothes by going door to door in her locality. She earned Tk. 9,000.00 per month by selling clothes and her husband earned Tk. 11,000.00 per month.

Now, Jhorna has obtained financial stability. She can afford the educational expenses for her children. “I can afford all the expenses for my family. My children are going to school and continue their education. I can offer three meals for them daily. ADRA has changed my life. I’m very grateful to ADRA in Bangladesh,” Jhorna showed her gratitude towards ADRA in Bangladesh.