Yasmin is Struggling for A Better Life

“We lost everything. I didn’t have any dress left to wear. I was managed to rescue only my books!” said Habiba Siddika Yasmin, a 14-year-old girl.

Yasmin was a student of the Chalantika Slum Children Development Project (CSCDP). She lived with her family (comprised of six members) in the Chalantika slum. She was born in a small village called Elisha, located in the Bhola district. Bhola is located in the southern part of Bangladesh which is renowned as the largest island of Bangladesh.

Yasmin’s father had a betel leaf farm in Bhola by which he was maintaining his family. It was an irony of fate that all of a sudden, they lost everything due to river erosion. River erosion is the major natural calamity in Bhola. Yasmin along with her family migrated to Dhaka as they lost almost everything due to river erosion back in 2010. After their migration, Yasmin and her family were living a good life in the Chalantika slum.

“Our dreams broke once again! We lost everything as the brutal fire engulfed all of our belongings. I was able to rescue my books. We lost our house, furniture, and daily commodities. We took shelter in a house where my mother was working as a housemaid a long ago,” Yasmin was describing the horrible incident she witnessed.

Back in 2020, there was a terrible incident took place in the Chalantika slum. According to the locals, more than 100 shanties were gutted in the fire. More than 1,000 people, including children and elderly people, were under the open sky because of the fire.

Yasmin’s father is sick for a long time. Her mother is also sick for the last 2 years. Both cannot work outside. So, Yasmin’s elder sisters Razia and Reshma are the main earning members of the family. They both are garment workers.

From the very beginning, Yasmin was a bright and attentive student. In Primary School Certificate (PSC) exam she obtained an “A-Grade”. Recently, Yasmin has started to earn by doing private tuition for her neighbor kids.