Extraordinary Woman: Meet Shahinur
After the river collapsed and dragged her home underwater, Shahinur’s family was plunged into extreme poverty. Today, she’s a thriving entrepreneur. Discover her Extraordinary story.
BY SARAH ALLEN
This story is the first of five in our Extraordinary Women series. Learn more about our Extraordinary Women campaign and help us raise $1 million for Extraordinary Women.
“My house was swallowed.”
Shahinur grew up in a remote village called Lalmohan on the southern coast of Bangladesh. After she married, she and her husband struggled to make ends meet. There were very few jobs or opportunities to make money in the small village.
Their family remained in Lalmohan until 2012, when the bank of the river Meghna collapsed and dragged her home underwater.
Desperate and with nothing, Shahinur and her husband had no choice but to move. Like thousands of other climate migrants pouring into Bangladesh’s urban centers, her family fled to Dhaka, where they worked as day laborers to make ends meet.
Each morning Shahinur and her husband would line up to find work anywhere that needed it, but they were never sure if they would come home with a salary.
“When our son Mahin was born, something changed for me,” shared Shahinur. “When I saw his face for the first time, those beautiful eyes like shining pearls, I made up my mind: I would do anything to ensure he did not grow up in poverty.”
After years of grinding away — perpetually stressed, exhausted, and hungry — Shahinur found just the opportunity she was looking for when she was invited to join BRAC’s Ultra-Poor Graduation program. The comprehensive, holistic program is designed to help women lift themselves out of extreme poverty — and it’s highly effective.
She recalls, “In 2018, I met a staff member from BRAC. She came right to the door of the single room we were living in. I told her I was interested in opening a small business. She inspired me and said I could do it.”
During the 18-month program, Shahinur soaked up everything she learned from BRAC’s local staff. She received financial literacy lessons, a microloan, and all the essential tools to run a successful business.
Shahinur graduated, hustled to open a grocery cart, and started saving for the future.
Starting with a modest vegetable cart, she quickly became the community’s favorite vegetable vendor. She and her husband walked around every corner of their community with their cart to expand their customer base.
Flash forward to 2024: Shahinur now owns her store and multiple vegetable carts. She even has two employees of her own.
“Our hard work slowly paid off,” Shahinur shared. “We became our community’s favorite vegetable vendor. Then, because there was also a demand for general household goods, we used the proceeds from the cart to open a small corner store… There were always new faces arriving in [our community], and the demand for fresh vegetables kept increasing.”
Shahinur also proudly sends her eldest son, Mahin, to school.
“My eldest son says he wants to be a doctor when he grows up. I dream of seeing him walk through the gates of medical college,” Shahinur shared.
Now an entrepreneur with a solid understanding of business management and investing her savings, Shahinur purchased her own plot of land as an investment.
“It felt as if I had regained the land I had lost to the Meghna,” she said of buying the land.
Shahinur built three tin-roofed shelters on her land as soon as she could afford the materials. She now rents them to women, offering them a safe place to live while earning additional income.
This isn’t a fairy tale. It’s what happens when we invest in women like Shahinur, who are full of grit and determination.
It costs just $500 to support a mother like Shahinur to complete BRAC’s Graduation program. And researchers tell us it’s one of the most effective anti-poverty programs in the world.
When determined women like Shahinur have the right opportunities, there is no limit to what they can achieve. And, when women can escape extreme poverty, they in turn employ, house, educate, and provide health care to many more people, creating a boundless ripple effect.
This season, we’re on a mission to raise $1 million for Extraordinary Women like Shahinur. Will you join us?
Sarah Allen is Communications Manager at BRAC USA.