Sadia is a 17-year-old girl from Manikpara village in Bangladesh. She is the fourth daughter among nine siblings. Coming from a family living in poverty, Sadia’s only family asset is a small piece of land. The situation worsened when her father, the sole breadwinner, fell seriously ill while she was in seventh grade. Despite multiple treatments, his health did not improve, leaving him confined to the home. To support the family, Sadia’s mother began working in other people's houses.
Sadia had always dreamed of continuing her education, but financial hardship kept her dreams out of reach. She spent many nights crying, wondering how she could help her family. A friend suggested she learn sewing, but the local training centers charged 2000–3000 taka — an amount Sadia could not afford, especially with her father's daily need for medicines.
One day, representatives from our community partner, the Center for Mass Education in Science (CMES) visited Sadia’s home as part of a survey. They informed her that CMES offered free training in tailoring, computer skills, and vermicomposting. Overjoyed at the opportunity, Sadia quickly enrolled in the tailoring course.
She attended classes regularly and learned to make a wide variety of garments, including salwar kameez, designer kameez, frocks, designer frocks, burqas, petticoats, blouses, maxis, shirts, fatwas, and Punjabi suits. Alongside her skills training, she also participated in awareness classes twice a week on subjects such as gender discrimination, property rights, women's rights, human rights, reproductive health, and reproductive rights.
During her training, Sadia managed to buy an old sewing machine for 3000 taka. Initially, getting sewing orders was challenging, but over time, people from her neighborhood began regularly commissioning her work. Today, she earns about 2000 taka per month, contributing to her family’s income.
Sadia now dreams of expanding her tailoring business to better support her family. She feels deeply grateful to CMES for helping her turn her dream into reality. She also extends her heartfelt thanks to the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) for implementing such an impactful project that has provided life-changing opportunities to thousands of women and girls like her.
