Lubna always wanted to be an accountant. She received her sponsorship at a crucial time when her father, who was the only household earner, passed away. The family had no choice but to migrate to their village home, leaving behind Lubna at her relative's house when she was only 12 years old. Through her sponsorship she not only received financial support, but more importantly psychological support from Children’s Hope support services.

Lubna successfully finished school and college education and finally completed her graduation with a first class in Business Studies, all with the help of the sponsorship program. Children's Hope sponsorship program also enabled her to secure a placement at a Chartered Accountancy firm KPMG. There she has done well, finishing all in-service courses successfully and within a year she is expected to be a bona-fide Chartered Accountant, which is her ultimate career destination point.

"From an early age I have been involved in contributing to the overall family income whilst simultaneously continuing my school education. Managing both tasks was not easy.  This was when Children's Hope came forward and sponsored me at the age of 13.  Sponsorship has removed a huge burden from my shoulders because the organization was not only supporting my education cost, but also helping my family, both in terms of total healthcare as well as other support. With the help of Children’s Hope education support, for about 11 years, I have successfully completed my school, college and university education. Following my graduation in finance I was seeking a suitable employment, once again  Children’s Hope was there for me to help me take another step in my career development. Children’s Hope found employment for me as a Development Officer at a local industry. I have been working there for the last 11 years and gradually I have been promoted to managerial level.  I now earn enough money and my family are all well off as a result. Today I have stamped out poverty from our daily life and Children’s Hope has been the catalyst for my success." Shahadat Hossain

From the confines of a tiny tea stall, Shamsuddin long dreamed of setting up something bigger; a corner grocery shop to provide more security for the future of his disabled child, Rabuil, and to fund a move away from the slum dwelling without electricity in which he and his family of six lived in. But he never managed to get very far due to lack of available finance. Children’s Hope, who had provided nutrition, healthcare and other assistance to Rabuil in the past, awarded him a further grant of US$257 (£210) towards his total investment, which has at last enabled him to set up the shop. Soon his business started to generate the extra cash needed to relocate his family to more secure accommodation, where there is more room and the roof doesn’t leak in the monsoon.

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.

After her husband’s death in 2007, Kulsum became the sole bread-winner for her family of four, which included Sumi Akter, then 12, who was sponsored by Children’s Hope. Kulsum set up a home-based business with the help of a micro credit loan. Initially, she bought sewing equipment with that money and later took further loans totalling US$1292 (£1050) to boost her business. Today, Kulsum’s business is well settled and enables her to meet all of her essential family needs. Her daughter Sumi graduated last year.

Nurul Islam makes his living as a driver of a three-wheeled taxi, known as a TucTuc. Wanting to provide a more secure future for his seven-strong family he took the risk of taking out a high interest loan from another source to buy a reconditioned taxi, but the interest payments were too high. This was where Children’s Hope came to the rescue. He decided to take a loan from the charity’s microcredit scheme, which repaid his high interest loan and enabled him to manage his family finances with a low interest micro credit loan.

With the help of her husband, Rahima has run her corner tea stall since 2008. While Children’s Hope funded the education costs of her youngest daughter, Tahmina, then 11, now 18, she was struggling to find the money needed for her other two daughters, Nasnina and Sonia Akter, now aged 22 and 25.  She took out her first micro-credit loan in 2009 and invested the money in her business to help generate the extra income required for school fees. Soon she was getting a good return, and she repaid all of her loan in time and secured a second loan for further investment. Today Rahima comfortably manages all her household expenses, including the costs of university education for two of her daughters and paying for accommodation for the rest of the family.

Nazma is a mother of three, after seperating from her husband, she became the sole bread-winner of the family. Her days were very burdensome and whatever she managed to earn as a laborer in a tailor shop was not enough to meet her family needs. So hard was the struggle that she had to take her children out of school. Children’s Hope were able to fund the further education of her son Omar, as well as providing nutrition and family healthcare. To allow Nazma to start saving for the future Children’s Hope awarded her with a non-refundable grant of US$385 to establish her own tailoring shop. Now with the extra income she can support the education of her other children as well as contributing to the accommodation costs of relatives

Bilkis is the elder sister of a sponsored child called Kamrul Hasn, who is now 21. When they were evicted from their slum dwelling, the Family Rehabilitation Project awarded her US$308 (£250)  to set up her own tailoring business in the community and also provided her with appropriate training. Whereas before she was just getting by on the small sums she earned as a private tutor, today she makes a profit of US$26 (£21) per month, which helps her family pay the rent for their new accommodation in another urban area of Dhaka. The project has not only provided material assistance, it has also given her a newfound independence as the decision maker in the family.

When Rehana Begum’s husband, the only bread-winner in the family, fell into ill health with diabetes and heart problems, Rehana applied to the Sustainable Livelihood Development Project for a grant to set up her own grocery shop to provide her family income. She was awarded US$578 under the scheme and was able to provide much needed stability, giving her husband the best chance of recovery, and her children who were covered by the Children’s Hope sponsorship scheme, were able to continue with their studies.

Saiful Islam had been successfully running his savory food business from home until his house burnt down, destroying all his business assets and leaving him and his family of four living by a roadside. He was allocated US$578 (£470) to rebuild his house and additional money was also granted to salvage his business. He has since made a gradual recovery from his loss and today he is now able to save US$14 (£12)  each month from his own business.

“I am Amena Begum, 46, whose 14-year-old daughter Aysha Akter is with the Children’s Hope scheme. I was a day labourer working long hours in an embroidery factory, but I was paid very little, it was not enough to meet my family needs and the long hours meant I was unable to spend quality time with my girls, caring for them or supporting them in their studies. Children’s Hope gave me a non-refundable sustainable grant in order to buy an embroidery machine. Consequently, I set up my own embroidery business, employing two staff. One Sustainable Livelihood grant has turned my family earnings into a comfortable income from which I can now save some money on a monthly basis.

Mr. Hasem Mollah is the father of sponsored child Mohammad Karim, who is now 24. As a rickshaw puller he had been the main wage-earner for his family of four. But as he got older, his health began to deteriorate and over the last year he could no longer work on a full time basis. In fact the effects of age and the onset of heart disease meant he needed to find a radically new way of earning money. So he sought help from the Sustainable Livelihood Development project to set up a small grocery shop and was successful in securing US$385 (£315)  to set up his grocery business. Today, Hasem manages to support his family through a new business, which doesn’t now pose a risk to his own health.

“My name is Amena. My son is a registered disabled child in Children’s Hope respite care. Now, because he gets this care, I can now go to work as a maid, cooking and cleaning, as I cannot rely on my husband’s earnings because he is ill with diabetes and a heart complaint.  Thanks to Children's Hope, not only does my son receive care and decent nutrition, it also gives me the opportunity to regain more control over what happens to my family by allowing me to save some money for my son and to send my other daughter to school. Respite care has changed all our lives.”

Joynab Bibi is the 40-year-old mother of a Children’s Hope student. In 2006, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer but could not afford the necessary and expensive radiotherapy treatment she needed. She received nearly US$400 (£326) under the Scheme for Life-Threatening Cases to pay for her treatment and also to give her regular access to a top gynaecologist for her follow-ups. The charity helped her as she battled the illness, which left her unable to care properly for her family and home. Fortunately, today she is well and free of cancer.

“My name is Rehang Parvin. I became a sponsored child with Children’s Hope when I was just 12 years old as my stepmother could not afford my education fees, even though I wished to study more. The comprehensive support I received from Children’s Hope has allowed me to achieve academic success in both secondary and further education. Today I am completing a Masters in English Literature at a private University in Bangladesh. When I graduate I would like to train to be an English teacher because this is a subject most students with limited resources find difficult to learn. I believe any student who has the passion to learn and who receives the right support can master anything.”

“Shortly before Habibur Rahman became a sponsored Children’s Hope student, he was diagnosed, aged 12,  with rheumatic fever. However he didn’t receive proper treatment and by the time he was 24 years-old, and a second-year university student, he developed difficulty in breathing. Then he consulted a Children’s Hope doctor (he was a sponsored child from 2002) who referred him to a consultant doctor, he was diagnosed with life-threatening rheumatic heart disease. Habibur had a three-month course of treatment at the National Institute of Cardiac Vascular Disease Hospital, but his condition didn’t improve – and surgery, by then, was the only option. He received over $3,000 (£2450) for full treatment from Children’s Hope and underwent open heart surgery. As his home in a slum was not a suitable place to recover from major surgery, he remained in hospital to recuperate. All the costs were funded by Children’s Hope. At present his condition is good, and he receives regular check-ups and medication. Thanks to the intervention, Habibur was able to graduate in management in 2012 and now runs a grocery business, which helps support him, his parents and four brothers who live with him in Dhaka.”

“My daughter is Sanjita, who is now 18-years-old. Her father is not alive. This care facility has been a wonderful help for me. Before, I had to leave Sanjita at home on her own because, as a single parent, I had to go to work at a doctor’s surgery as a support worker. All Sanjita was able to do was watch TV, she couldn’t make friends and felt incredibly lonely.  Of course I still have to work, but leaving Sanjita under respite care while I am at work means I worry less. Sanjita can chat with other children and makes friends. She is a lot happier.”