Name: Shorifa Begum
Age: 40
Somiti: Dristi
Village: North Fuldi
Shorifa was born and raised in North Fuldi. Her father is a poor farmer, her mother is a housewife. She has two sisters and one brother. She and her sisters went to school up to class five. She used to help her mother in her homestead activities.
When she reached the age of thirteen years her parents gave her into marriage with a 27 year old man of the same village. The man had been married before and had two children, both boys, three and five years of age. His first wife left him because he was naive and did not tend to the families need in a proper way.
When Shorifa was fourteen years old she became pregnant and delivered her first baby. After that, she gave birth to six more children and in total she has now four daughters and three sons.
Her husband used to be a sharecropper. Now he is inactive due to physical problems and Shorifa has to earn the families income. She joined CREED’s Micro Credit Programme in 1995 and received four loans in succession, Taka 1000, 3000, 5000 and 8000 respectively. She hired land for cultivation and her sons now cultivate the paddy. She also started to buy cows and she now has four dairy cows and sells the milk in the local market.
She says she would not have been able to hire land or buy cows without the credit facilities she received from CREED. Commercial moneylenders would not lend her money. It helped her to raise the economical status of her family and she is now able to arrange three meals a day for herself, her children and her husband.
Her future plan is to start business with a tempo, babytaxi or bus. This will procure her with a higher income and she hopes CREED will give her the necessary loan to start this business.
Name: Asia Khanom
Age: 25
Somiti: Beauty
Village: Fuldi
Asia was born and raised in Fuldi. Her family is poor. Her father is involved in business and her mother is a housewife. She, her four sisters and five brothers all went to school. She left school after class five and she was involved in sewing in her father’s house when she was a young girl. Since she was an essential factor in earning the families income it was impossible for her to marry. The family received many proposals for her but her younger sisters and brothers could not go without her financial support so she declined all proposals. Now she regrets that she hasn’t married because she seems to have passed the common acceptable age for marriage and no proposals are coming any more. Her opinion is that the age barrier for marriage in the society should be broken down.
In 1995 she joined CREED and received a 1000 taka loan. She invested it in a new business: tailoring, the profession that she is still doing now. In total she received three times loan.
She lives in good relationship with her relatives and is member of the local Shalish committee. Her ambition is to expand her business to the big market outside the area and she hopes her neighbors will collaborate with her so she encourages them to take a loan from CREED as well.
She is happy to be able to receive loan from CREED but she disapproves of CREED’s rule that unmarried women are excluded from CREED’s program. She says there should be a provision for unmarried women because they need to be able to make an income as well. Furthermore she would prefer to repay her installments monthly instead of weekly and she would like to receive more service from CREED in the field of education, nutrition and other issues.
Name: Momen
Age: 32
Somiti: Mouchak
Gram: Fuldi
Momen was born and raised in Fuldi. His father is a farmer and partly possesses his own land, partly is a sharecropper. Momen has three sisters and three brothers. Two out of three sisters went to school. One of them for a few years and the other completed class eight. When Momen was young he was involved in business with his father.
He married at the age of twenty. His wife was sixteen years old. They now have two children, the first of which was born when Momen was 25 years old. His daughter is currently going to school and her small brother is still at home.
Momen runs a business of green vegetables, onions, chili’s and others.
He entered CREED’s Micro Credit Program in 1998 and received three loans since: 10.000, 15.000 and 20.000 respectively. His future plan is to establish a big shop in the local market.
Name: Banessa
Age: 34
Somiti: Surma
Village: Atlab
Banessa was born into a very poor family in Mazuka, a small village not far from Atlab.
She is 34 years of age. Her father was a farmer, possessing a small amount of land but earning his living mostly out of sharecropping. Her mother was involved in cane works. Banessa has three brothers and three sisters. When she was young she used to help her mother and father with their work.
At seventeen she married a drugs addicted man, 23 years old. She had her first child, a son, when she was eighteen years old. Her husband misbehaved with her every day and did not maintain properly her basic requirements. In the end she had to leave him.
She married a second time. Her present husband owns a small business and he as well as her parents in law always behave well with her. She had two more children, a daughter and a son.
In 1994 Banessa joined CREED. She received her first loan, 1000 taka, in 1995. She started a rice business, buying green paddy from the market and processing it and selling the obtained rice in the market with the help of her husband.
After joining CREED she was able to provide three meals a day and she managed to establish two new buildings near her house. Her children go to school and all activities of the family are managed jointly by her and the family. She would like to continue her present activities. Apart from credit services she expects support from CREED in matters like health, sanitation and nutrition.
Name: Amena
Age: 45
Somiti: Dristi
Village:North Fuldi
Amena was born in Norshindi, a village at 15 km. distance of North Fuldi. Her father is a farmer and her mother is a housewife. She has three sisters and four brothers. She and two of her sisters completed class five of primary education. The other sister completed class ten.
Amena married when she was twelve years of age. Her husband at that time was twenty years old and occupied in service business.
She now has four daughters and two sons. Her first child was born when she was fifteen years old.
Amena joined CREED in 1995. In the same year she received 1000 taka loan. She invested this money in poultry rearing and runs her business independently from her husband. She earns enough profit from the poultry rearing to be able to arrange three meals a day for herself and her family. Her relationship with her husband and in-laws has improved since she is involved in Micro Credit. She is now very optimistic about her life and is grateful to CREED’s activities aimed at the well being of society.
Amena received a human resource development training and a skill development training through CREED. She now hopes that CREED will provide a deep tube well for irrigation purposes.
She always recommends CREED to her neighbors.
Name: Sobhan
Age: 55
Somiti: Mouchak
Village: Jangalia
Sobhan was born in Jangalia into a poor farmer’s family. He has two sisters.
He married at the age of eighteen to a thirteen-year-old girl. They had their first child after two years. They now have three daughters and one son. He maintains a good relationship with his wife and is very happy with her because she takes care very well of his daily needs. His wife, however, has a bad relationship with his mother.
Fifteen years ago, Sobhan started a firewood business and he was involved in firewood chopping. In 1997 he joined CREED. His first loan was 10.000 taka. With this loan he purchased wood to produce furniture. In total he has received three times loan.
Because of the loan facilities provided by CREED, he was able to improve his daily income and the status of the family. His children go to the local school. Now he would like CREED to provide a deep tube well for fresh water.
He always mentions to his friends the benefits he has obtained from the micro credit program and advises them to join CREED as well.