Speeches Shim
Standing their ground against the COVID-19 pandemic, Bangladesh’s midwives and other health workers are going the extra mile to care for people and protect and save lives. One young champion is 24-year-old Shilpi Rani Bormon. She has been working as a midwife in the remote Char Chandia Union Health and Family Welfare Center in Feni District’s Sonagazi upazila since 2019. Every day, she risks becoming infected and continues to provide health services.
Parvin Akter was born in 2002 into a poor family in Cox’s Bazar. Pressured by poverty, Parvin’s mother sold her to a couple with two other daughters. Parvin was studious and disciplined, but economic hardship ended her education in class five. As she grew older and more independent, her foster father started abusing her mentally, treating her as a second-class family member, blaming her for their economic difficulties, and dehumanizing her. Eventually, he decided to marry her off to a man from Kazi Para, a village in Cox’s Bazar when she was just 15.
Saiful Islam lost everything. Now he works to keep others safe in a time of crisis in Bangladesh. Since 2014, the USAID/Bangladesh Counter Trafficking-in-Persons activity has given more than 2,890 trafficking survivors a place to heal and start a new life. More than 25,260 migrants have learned about their rights, and almost 5,000 persons at risk of trafficking have been given the information they need to stay safe.
Farida Begum is proud of her contribution to her family and to her community as a worker on the road repair project. She is one of 4,790 beneficiaries in Bangladesh providing lasting support for their communities through cash-for-work projects. “I can see that my village is being developed, and so am I.’’
Md. Habib, Md. Jahid, Md. Abual Hossen, and Md. Abul Hossain are four of the unsung heroes in Bangladesh’s rapid response to COVID-19. They are, quite literally, driving the response—every day, all over the capital city. They are the ones who suit up and help collect specimens to track the virus and keep others safe.
Pages
Last updated: May 02, 2022
Comment
Make a general inquiry or suggest an improvement.