Laila's story

Laila and her daughters and husband

"My name is Laila, I am 29 years old and I live in Dublia, Bangladesh, with my husband and two children. I work as a seamstress and look after the family. My husband works as a hawker selling ready-made garments at the village market.

"Our two children are attending school, the older is in class five and the younger is in class two. We can afford to send them to school, pay their fees and provide them with a better future. Five years ago our situation was very different.

"I was a very shy and timid village housewife. I couldn't even dream of a better future for myself or my family. I was born to a very poor family in Shashkandar village. My father worked as an agricultural labourer, often travelling far away to look for temporary or seasonal work. My parents arranged my marriage at the age of ten and when I was 14, they sent me to live with my husband and in-laws. Those were terrible days. There was so much tension in the house because my father-in-law could barely feed the whole family, and my husband has still not found any work. We could hardly manage two meagre meals a day and went to bed hungry most nights. The situation became unbearable with the arrival of our second child.

"Before getting married, I used to sew clothes for the whole family. So my father suggested that I could make a living out of sewing clothes. What I needed was enough money to buy a sewing machine and some fabric. I asked our relatives for a loan but nobody could help. The bank wouldn't give us a loan either as we were poor, with no land or savings.

"But then my father told me that he had heard of an organisation giving loans to women to help them set up small businesses. So I attended a meeting organised by Come to Save (CTS) and Plan and that's when things really started to change. At the meeting we were asked to think about our needs and how taking out a loan might help us to address them. After another meeting, I applied for a small loan of TK 6400.00 (roughly £75). This would be enough to buy a second-hand sewing machine and some fabric. I was so happy when they told me that my loan was approved. I was also given some training to help me with the running of my business.

Neighbours gather around Laila's sewing machine

"My husband helped me to buy some plain and printed cloth from the market and I began by offering my services to people in the village. At the beginning it was very hard, and I did not think that I would be able to repay the loan. But then everything changed when a couple of neighbours approached me for new clothes and soon I was sewing dresses in different styles and colours. My husband would take them to the village market and local shops to try and sell them. Gradually more and more neighbours were ordering new clothes and after a few months, we had started earning enough money to re-pay the loan. I couldn't believe that I was actually making some money from the clothes I was sewing. Within a few years our business was flourishing and I was in a position to send my children to school and offer them the education I never had.

Laila at work

"Now our monthly income is TK 3500.00 (roughly £40) and after our household expenses have been covered, we are also able to save some money for the future. We are hoping one day to buy a plot of land. This is something I could never have imaged without the help from CTS and Plan. Without their assistance, it would have been very hard for me to improve my family's situation. They have changed my entire life. I will be eternally grateful to them and I am now much more confident in myself and in what I can achieve. And if ever I come across a woman in distress, I will definitely try to help and encourage her by sharing my story with her.