Each year when we launch our Useful Gifts Catalogue, we scour our projects for inspiring examples of how our partner’s work is making a difference in the lives of those facing poverty.
Last year, we featured Sharothi Rani Roy and her daughter, Rupali, in our ‘Pre-School Classes’ gift.
So…what’s happened since?
Our South Asia team leader Kelly Rae recently met up with Sharothi Rani Roy and Rupali. With the support of Tearfund’s partner Baptist Aid - Bangladesh Baptist Church Fellowship (BA-BBCF), they’re both doing really well!
Having attended the BA-BBCF pre-school, Rupali is now enjoying being in class one in the government school and says it's "good" to be in school and learning. She was happy and healthy and continues to have an amazingly bright smile!
Sharothi & Rupali, 2015 (left) and 2017 (right).
Sharothi is now the treasurer of her women’s Self Help Group. When we first met she had taken a loan from the Self Help Group for a sewing machine which helped fund Rupali’s education. Since then, she has been able to access two other loans - one for a goat and the other to purchase cloth to expand her business.
In just two years, her monthly income has doubled! She’s keeping detailed records of her business and has banners advertising her services near the local pre-primary school. More exciting than that, she is encouraging other women to begin their own business, and now three other women have started a small business as a result of her encouragement.
If you’ve ever doubted the impact of your Useful Gifts purchase, then we hope that this is an encouragement to you that a Really Useful Gift is not just a beautiful card, it is an investment in the lives of real people - helping them achieve more of their God-given potential.
Who knows what other stories are waiting to be written!
