Mosammat Shaheda Khatun from Monakhali village in Meherpur district had been battling poverty for a long time. Since her husband’s family owned no land and lacked a reliable source of income, their family struggled to make ends meet. Each day was a challenge, and every meal was uncertain. Life became more difficult after the birth of their daughter. But Saheda did not give up.
Discussing with her husband, she decided to start rearing sheep, although the main obstacle was the lack of capital. Through a community meeting facilitated by WAVE Foundation’s local field team, she learned about the organization’s microcredit-based women’s groups and how they support rural women to start small enterprises. She became a member in April 2021 and received a loan of BDT 50 thousand that same month. Alongside the loan, WAVE provided basic livestock rearing training, advice on shed construction, and linkages with veterinary services to reduce livestock mortality. Combining the loan with her own savings, she bought 10 sheep, the beginning of her journey towards self-reliance.
Through hard work and dedication, her farm started yielding profits from the very beginning, and the number of sheep and her income gradually increased. In 2025, she took out a second loan of BDT 70 thousand to build an improved shed. This second loan was part of WAVE’s “enterprise expansion” initiative, which helps successful borrowers scale their businesses. Currently, her farm has 78 sheep, and she earns an average of BDT 30 thousand per month. With this income, she has built a new house, bought one bigha of land, and gained respect and recognition among the local community.
Shaheda is now not just an inspiration for herself but also for other women in the area. Several women from her village have already joined WAVE’s microcredit program after seeing her success, creating a ripple effect in the community. Her dream is to expand her farm further and create employment opportunities. She believes that without timely financial assistance, she would not have come this far. The help from the organization not only freed her from poverty but also restored her self-confidence. Her journey is one of the similar transformations WAVE has nurtured across the region, proving that microcredit combined with capacity building can break the cycle of poverty.
