I am Masuda and I am 25 years old. I have two children. When I was nine years old my family decided to hand me over to my husband. I started my married life early so I think you can say my childhood died on my marriage day.
My husband and I lived in Rangpur, he was a garments worker and when we had our first baby, we were very happy but because I was only a teenager I encountered many problems. My husband was working at Dhaka and after three years, and during year nine of school, my second child was born but this time we faced severe financial problems.
While caring for my children, I heard my husband had got very sick and after seven days in hospital he died. At that time, I was very upset.
Three months later after the death of my husband, I heard about Shishu Polli Plus and following a routine assessment and visit I was able to live there for three years. During this three year stay, I learned many things and received training in all types of Income Generating Activities. When I now think of Shishu Polli Plus, I feel so nostalgic.
After leaving Shishu Polli Plus I joined the Bangladesh Navy as a soldier. Today, I believe I am who I am because of Shishu Polli Plus, they helped to empower me, my children and now my community. I am now very happy and I hope to be able to represent my country in the future.
The Sreepur Village continues to believe that poverty should not separate children from their mothers and in doing so provides life-saving services so that mothers like Masuda can remain with their children and move far away from poverty and much closer to positivity.