Two women save and Pass On gifts in Bangladesh

Arjina, the wife of Ripon, is a member of the Chikashi Heifer Group (a Passing on the Gift group). She has two sons and a daughter. One of her sons and her daughter go to school, but the eldest son works as an agriculture day laborer in another’s home.

Arjina received training in Heifer International’s 12 Cornerstones, including gender justice, improved livestock management and vegetable cultivation, and she received the gift of a cow in October 2008. To date, she has sold milk from her cow, earning 8,000 Taka (USD$115). Weekly, she deposits 100 Taka (USD$1.44) into a Pass On fund to support another family in need and saves about 05 Taka (less than USD1 cent).

Currently, she has the cow and two calves, valued at 35,000 Taka (USD$506). She plans to continue to improve her family’s circumstances by raising livestock and hopes to provide a complete education for her children.

Sajeda, the wife of Sukur Ali, is a member of the Guwadohori Heifer Group (A Pass on the Gift group), formed in June 2007. She and her family of three subsist on small trade and she has been saving a little each month, but in January 2009, she received a bull from Heifer International.

She raised and tended the bull for eight months and sold it for 20,400 Taka (USD$295), making a profit of 11,700 Taka (USD$169). She contributed 2,000 Taka (USD$29) to the Pass On fund to help support another family in need and invested the rest to buy two bulls. Her success, she says, is due to her partnership in the Heifer project program.