Jobeda Hopes to Turn Dreams into Reality
Jobeda lives with one of her daughters in a village in Faridpur district in Bangladesh. Her husband left her 16 years ago, “He demanded a dowry,” she explains, “my uncles had promised him a cycle, a watch and money, but my father could not give him any of this.”
Unstable income
After Jobeda’s husband left her, she was forced to earn a living herself and began working in people’s houses. “My children have suffered a lot,” she says, “and I tried to get rid of the problems.”
Jobeda has now trained to be a tailor and earns less than 1,500 taka a month (around 16 Euros).
This income is not fixed though, as it depends when people will need clothes. She earns more when there is a festival, like Eid or Puja, but they do not occur often.
“Now the prices of essential goods are higher than the previous year,” she explains, “We cannot afford to have meat or fish for our regular meals. It is impossible to buy food like sugar and peas.
“Last year we bought rice for 15 taka/kg and now the price has risen to 25 taka/kg. Our little income cannot support our way of life.”
Ramadhan
Islamic Relief distributed over 15,000 food packs in Bangladesh in 2006. Each pack contained 10kg rice, 2kg lentils, 1kg sugar, 1kg peas and 1 litre oil.
“We cannot afford to buy all of these things at once,” she says, “Now, during iftar (meal to break fast) I can make sarbat (lemonade traditionally drunk during Ramadhan). My daughter will be very happy when she finds peas and sarbat for iftar.
“This food parcel enables me to save some money. By saving money I can turn my dreams into reality.”
Jobeda dreams about her youngest daughter’s future, “I want to ensure her education and this kind of assistance can help fulfil my desire. I want to express my thanks to Islamic Relief and pray for those who donated the parcel.”
IR’s projects in Bangladesh include water, sanitation, health, education, livelihoods support and disaster preparedness.
