A Farm Hands Hope to Elanchi

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

“Every day was difficult. We often went hungry and life was very painful,” remembers Elanchi, a mother of two living in a small village in the Bangladeshi district of Kisoreganj.

The household barely had enough money to survive despite Elanchi’s husband working when he could as a day labourer and rickshaw puller. Such uncertain employment was never going to lift the family from severe poverty though, so the couple began to look for other means of generating cash.

"Every day was difficult. We often went hungry."

About three years ago, World Vision embarked on its area development programme for Kisoreganj, which included Elanchi’s community.

One of the organisation’s first steps was to introduce local people to its Child Sponsorship programme, for which the 32-year-old enthusiastically registered her eligible son, Easir.

As the mother of a sponsored child, World Vision gave Elanchi the opportunity to learn about a range of issues, with the most important for their everyday existence being how to establish a small, home-based farm to grow crops, raise livestock, and breed poultry.

Elanchi was convinced, eagerly launching her agricultural adventure with homegrown tomatoes, pumpkins and a pop-eyed selection of no fewer than three rival types of spinach. The fledgling farmer’s focus was on year-round crops that could be harvested often to generate regular income.

World Vision also gave the family a dairy cow, helping them earn around 110 US dollars a month by selling milk and vegetables at local markets. This income has allowed Elanchi to save some 25 cents a day, which, although modest, is a far cry from when there wasn’t enough to put food on the table.

The household’s upturn in fortunes has meant the thirty-something can now send both her children to school, inspiring big plans for the future: “I want to be a police officer,” Easir says before his sister, Spna, reveals with a smile, “I want to be a teacher.”

Cheerfully, Elanchi says: “I want to thank World Vision for opening my eyes and helping me to support my family. We’re happy now.”