World Food Programme Fighting Hunger Worldwide

32 year old Sheuli and her family shared a similar fate of the other river erosion ‘refugees’ in the Sirajgonj district for many years. Having had their home and livelihoods swept away for the fourth time, the family sought refuge at Sheuli’s parent’s house at Ranipara. But they were soon forced to separate,because having four extra mouths to feed turned out to be impossible for her parents even with her husband, Sobur’s paltry earnings as a rickshaw-puller.

With year after year of natural calamities consistently badgering at their very existence, the livelihoods of Sheuli and her family were reduced to almost nothing until she became a beneficiary of the homestead raising scheme under WFP’s Enhancing Resilience (ER) Programme.Sheuli was provided with training and soon her life and that of her family, took a different turn. She now walks for almost an hour from her home to the construction site, but always with new fervour and great elation in her heart. As a beneficiary under the Employment Generation sheme, Sheuli receives an allotment of 2½ kg of rice and 36½ takas as wages per day, which comes as a great contribution to her family’s meager source of income. From the training that she acquired, Sheuli has now learnt to grow everyday vegetables from her own home garden, the surplus of which she can sometimes even sell for extra money. Her eldest son Sahel has just given his SSC exams, and Sheuli waits with bated breath for the day when she will be able to state with pride that she has successfully fulfilled her role as a mother. Her two other children, Rubina and Rabiul, are in classes 8 and 1, respectively.

“Just a few months back I could never have imagined continuing to support my children’s education when I could hardly give them a mouthful of food. Thanks to WFP’s invaluable support, I am now the proud mother of an SSC graduate and can proudly call myself a bread-earner of the family alongside my husband who is very grateful for my cooperation.”

She is now a role model for the other beneficiaries in the programme who also hope that someday they, like Sheuli, can give their children a proper education and the opportunity to a good future.