Mohammad Shirajul Islam - Sustainable Livelihood Development Programme

Mohammad Shirajul Islam is the father of sponsored child Soma Islam, now 19, he is the only wage earner in his family of five. When she was 15, he was running a tea stall when, without warning or compensation, the local authority bulldozed his and other roadside small businesses to make way for new road construction works. Overnight his business and stock were wiped out and he found himself without any income for his family. Under the hardship criteria he received US$580 (£470) as a sustainable grant to set up a fresh tea stall.  This fast track response in providing financial support was very welcome – it meant he could set up the new stall in a safer place and make good profits from the stall in order to help his family with the minimum of disruption to their lives.