Nargis Become Healthy Mother by Receiving Pregnancy and Antenatal Care from ENRICH Health Centre

During home visit by the Health Worker of MCHCP, the beneficiary came to know in details about the activities of the ENRICH project. On the other hand, one of the health centers is situated near the home of the beneficiary. The beneficiary also visited the health centre and became familiar with the actions of the project. By this way, the beneficiary gets involved with the health centre and taken the support and health services.The family consists of four members and the head of the family (husband of beneficiary) is a Salesman of a Fruit Shop and monthly income of the family is BDT 2000 to BDT 2300 which is too low to maintain a family considering the present context. It is very difficult for the family to meet up the basic needs including nutritious food, accommodation, health and education. So, it was really very hard to them to bear the expenses related to health and education. Basically, the family was needed health support as well as income generation support.

At first, the health worker visited Nargis Khatuns home and enlisted as pregnant women and invited her to come to the health centre for enjoying health facilities. In the following day, she came to Sethpur Ward Heath Center and became familiar with all the services and she got inspiration after knowing the services and registered herself as a pregnant woman. Her registration number is 305. After getting registration, she enjoyed all sorts of antenatal care from the ward health center and other outreach services. Now she regularly receives pregnancy care and necessary health advices from the ward health center of Sethpur. She also attended courtyard meeting in her area. Nurse, health worker and TBA are checking her and giving necessary advices, medicines as per schedule. Weight, height, BP, anemia, diabetic, Edema and position of the baby were checked during the antenatal care. She already completed 1st and 2nd Anti-natal care visit from the health center. At this stage, the family needs proper food and nutrition support particularly during the pregnancy period which is very difficult to manage it by them. The project could not provide such food and nutrition support due to limitations but the project taught them on vegetable gardening, poultry farming that might be helpful for them to meet the nutritious food. The project is only providing health support. So, the food and nutrition support is needed immediately. After visiting the house of Nargis Khatun and her family, the project found that the health workers are working properly to improve the health condition of pregnant women and children in this area. The beneficiary also received primary health supports from the health center.

  1. i) During the pregnancy period, proper food and nutrition supports are needed because the rural women cannot be provided proper nutrition support from their family due to their poverty and low income and as because the underweight children are born.
  2. ii) Medical Officer and Diploma nurses is very much needed to run the programme in appropriately. Sometimes the health workers cannot provide proper consultation and medical care of the pregnant women while it is complicated cases.

Bashonthi Becomes Change Maker of her Own Life

Bashonthi was engaged at the age of 17, right after she finished her ninth grade. She was born in an ultra-poor family in Khulna District. 13 years ago, Bashonthi Rani (30) was married with Sanjoy Patro living in the village Shoilgathi of Raghunathpur Union of Dumuria Upazila under Khulna District. Her husband did not have a job and Bashonthi was losing sleep over nights to maintain family’s needs. She has no children that creates lots of mental pressure of her also. She was always absorbed in high mental sickness. UNNAYAN field worker found in Bashonthi and suggested to join group and attend various courtyard session of the cow rearing project of UNNAYAN under LIFT program. She received training on cattle farming and took BDT 90000 loan from UNNAYAN for buying cow. She bought a cow with a small bull BDT 42000 and left amount used for fish cultivation. After 6 months, the cow that they owned gave 6-8 litres of milk per day which her husband sold at the local market and neighbours. After two years, she sold bull and gained BDT 100000 and also earned 50000 for selling fish. Bashonthi and her husband was feeling happy and become confident. Bashonthi built a shed for the cattle and a two room bricks house, toilet and kitchen for family. She also cultivates both hybrid Napier grass and various vegetables on her yard using vermin composting fertilizer which is producing with her own cow dung. Her husband is also support to cattle farming. This brings a lot of changes of her livelihood. Bashonthi is very energetic and hardworking woman. She becomes entrepreneur and change maker of her own fate and in control of her life. She feels proud of herself. She expresses her gratefulness to UNNAYAN-PKSF for this valuable support under LIFT program for her community that also motivate many other to entrepreneurship.

Charming Face of Tripthi Mondol for Changing Her Livelihood

Like many women in Bangladesh, Tripthi was married at a very young age and dropped out of school without finishing her primary education. Tripthi Mondol (30) is a housewife of Milon Mondol having one son 8 years of old. She lives in the village Shoilgathi of the Union Raghunathpur of Dumuria Upazila under Khulna District. They lived in a joint family with 9 family members. She is busy in doing household chores all day long. Her husband was a day labor and works in agricultural field. But it was not easy to make ends meet with a big family with her husband very little income. She felt strongly to do something and support her family. Once, she heard of UNNAYAN arranged various IGA related training in her village and she communicated to field staffs of the organization for this training. She received one months sewing training and took a small loan of BDT 6000 from UNNAYAN to buy a sewing machine for starting her tailoring activities. After finishing training, UNNAYAN also provided financial support to her for purchasing cloths for making dress. She begun in dress making of women, girls, baby dress and also some of the men stuffs. Her work was high quality and she became very popular in her village within very short period of time. Now, she earns monthly around BDT 3000-4000 by making dress by work from home after finishing her household tasks. She can support her husband for maintaining livelihood, providing for herself and also support her son’s education. Tripthi also saves BDT 400 every month for emergency period. She is also teaching tailoring skills to her husband, many adolescents girls and women. Tripthi is spreading skills and new ideas to broader community. She wants to buy another machine and open a tailoring shop in front of her household and wish to educate her sons a lot. As a young woman from a poor background running a successful beginner, Tripthi stands out. Thanks to UNNAYAN, she is paving the way to became entrepreneur in her community like Tripthi.

Changing Life of Rinu Sarker: Turkey to Multiple Farming

Rinu Sarker (50) is a housewife who lives in the village Gajendropur of Rangpur Union of Dumuria Upazila under Khulna District. Her husband is Suvash Sarker (60), he is a farmer. They are five family members. They have three children; two daughters and one son. Elder daughter is married in and another daughter reads in college (degree course). One son is also reads in SSC. They have little agricultural land but due to lack of money most of the time her husband could not manage production cost. Her husband could be cultivated once in a year and the family lived hand to mouth. Her family’s average monthly income was about BDT 2,000 which made it difficult for them to maintain their family and almost stopped of her children study. Rinu hopes if she will be able to manage some money, she supports her family, health and again regularizes her children education properly. She was looking for good opportunity for increasing daily income. At that time, Rinu and her son decided to rear Turkey and brought 3 to 4 months age 15-16 Turkey by their savings spending each price BDT 900-1000. She started rearing Turkey at a home but due to very little knowledge and lack of money for buying available food, they could not rear Turkey properly and lost all hopes.

UNNAYAN with the financial support of PKSF has been implementing the project titled “Poverty Alleviation through development and extension of Technology for Turkey Farm” under LIFT program since 2018 in this project area. Field staff of UNNAYAN started to baseline survey to collect potential beneficiaries for Turkey rearing and Rinu was one of them was founded out by UNNAYAN field workers after base line survey. She was oriented on project objectives, methodologies, roles and responsibilities and attended training on turkey rearing, poultry farming, cow rearing and also vermin composting. She has keen interest in poultry farming. She is able to work hard. Then, she received financial support of BDT 10000 for Turkey farm (procurement of Turkey chicken bard, feed, medicine and shade making). After she received financial support and training again started to Turkey rearing. She bought egg incubator machine from Dhaka and breeding 80-90 turkey at her home.

She provided grass, rice, kura rice husks, fish meal, paddy and maize to feed Turkey chicks. She said, “A chick is raised from the egg and a mature Turkey bird laying eggs in seven months and continuously lay eggs for the next four to five years. After six to seven months, Rinu begun to sell out eggs, chicks and meat to neighbours on various festival. Basically, she is breeding Turkey chicks in the Bengali month Falgun. Not only she is breeding Turkey but also breeding duck and hen chicks from eggs. She sells Turkey eggs for BDT 800-1000 and meat for BDT 500 to 550 per kg in local market, relatives and neighbours during various Bengali occasions. Besides her Turkey farm, now she able to develop poultry firm and natural hybrid based hen and ducks firm on her yard. She also makes vermin composting and use it for her own vegetables field resulting she gets more vegetables which tasted much more than before and help to increase her income. This will continue for years together. She will economically solvent and able to meet up the basic needs of her family.

Rinu Sarker is energetic, hardworking and self-motivated person. Now, she has basic knowledge and skills for running Turkey farm. She is very happy to start the farm. Now, she has got the opportunity to increase her income through farm. It is expected that Rinu Sarker will be able meet up her daily expenses and saves for future development program. With her Turkey farm, she believes she will be able to improve her economic condition and nowadays she is happy for this. She desires to establish large cow farm. She is very thankful to UNNAYAN and PKSF LIFT program.