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Pebble

21st January 2015

5 women from Sirajganj

I wanted to introduce you to some of the wonderful women who make the Pebble toys.    We have a number of centres in Sirajganj and are always expanding in that area.   The women there are so diligent and reliable and really feel proud about making fabulous toys for Pebble.

Jobeda

Image:   Jobeda – woman on the right

Jobeda, the smiling woman on the right of the picture, is 25 years old.    She has one child and her husband is a van driver.    Jobeda, her husband and son live with 5 other older family members but their total household monthly income is very low.   Jobeda joined Hathay Bunano in order to be able to send her son to school and provide for his education.

Fahmida

Image: Fahmida

Fahmida, is also 25 years old and works in the Hathay Bunano production centre in Mudipara, Sirajganj.   She has two children and her husband is a rickshaw driver.   She used to work in the hand loom weaving industry but left to come to work for Hathay Bunano where she has more flexible hours and earns more.   She works in order to give her children a better education.

Tahrima

Image: Tahrima, the lady in the centre of the picture who is smiling

Tahrima is 18 years old and only recently joined Hathay Bunano at the NDP Eliza centre in Sirajganj.    Her father is a farmer and Tahrima is not yet married.   Tahrima wants to delay her marriage and continue her education.   So she studies part time at a local college and works flexibly at Hathay Bunano to earn enough money to continue her education and to give to her family to support her so that they won’t pressure her into early marriage.

Khadiza

Image: Khadiza

Khadiza is twenty years old and is married.   Her husband is a CNG driver and they have two children.   She has worked for Hathay Bunano for two years and is able to earn enough money to add to the family income and to send her children to school.

Moniza

Image:  Moniza in the centre of the picture

Moniza is 18 years old and only recently joined Hathay Bunano.    Her father is a shopkeeper and Moniza is not yet married.   Moniza wants to delay her marriage and continue her education.   Like Tahrima, she studies part time at a local college and works flexibly at Hathay Bunano to earn enough money to continue her education and to give to her family to support her so that they won’t pressure her into early marriage.    One of the biggest factors in early marriage in Bangladesh is the financial burden that girls are to the family and as such where families cannot afford, or are struggling to afford, to keep their daughters, the alternative is to arrange a marriage for them.

You probably noticed that all the women in this short list who have children are using part of their earnings from Hathay Bunano to pay for their children to go to school.   In Bangladesh primary education is free at Government schools and schools run by NGOs, but whilst it is free in principle, in practise there are many costs – including books and uniform etc.    Additionally for the children to do well at school they generally need additional books beyond the Government curriculum free books.

In some centres when they first start and we ask the women what they will use their earnings for, the majority may tell us that they are using them for repaying microfinance loans, but its great to see in these longer established centres in Sirajganj that so many women are using their earnings for either their childrens or their own education.   We wish them all well in their education and hope that Hathay Bunano can contribute in a small way to making their lives better.

 

 

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