Zayeda Begum lives with her husband and only son in the Sutarkhali Union of Dakop Upazila in Khulna, known for its adverse climatic behaviour. While surviving by fighting and coping with climatic hazards, Zayeda’s family also live on the meagre income of her day labourer husband. Additionally, they do not have arable land to earn some extra apart from their homestead.
In the face of financial hardship, her son Nazmul Sardar became a school dropout. He had to stop pursuing his education after passing the 8th grade and start looking for work to support his family. However, he lacked the skills that would land him a decent job.
As he kept looking for a job, her mother, Zayeda, became a member of the PPEPP-EU project and enlisted Nazmul for skill development training. Nazmul took a three-month vocational training in mobile phone servicing under the project. After the training, he received the necessary equipment to start a mobile phone servicing shop.
At first, he got some mobile repair orders from neighbours and a local shop. In doing so, he gradually became efficient in executing complicated repair work. Now, Nazmul works full-time in a repair shop located in the nearby market. Thanks to his ever-growing skills, his monthly income has reached 5 to 6 thousand Taka. ‘I am trying to save as much as possible so that I can make my own mobile servicing shop one day’, says Nazmul, who now supports his family with 3 to 4 thousand Taka monthly.
Nazmul and Zayeda are cultivating paddy in a 20-decimal area of leased land in their village and have bought five ducks. Zayeda said, ‘I am happy to see my son has become self-reliant and helping us to get rid of our miseries. Thanks to this project (PPEPP-EU), now we have the courage to move forward.’