A reason to hope

Life has thrown so much at Binita, but thanks to your support and the work of local project staff, she is beginning to have a reason to hope again

In the corner of a tailoring centre, a project in Bangladesh supported by The Freedom Challenge, Binita* lines up the material to sew. She has learned a lot in the past few weeks as part of the tailoring course. The project team at this centre in Bangladesh is delighted she is there. And Binita is beginning to realise how the training can provide stability and a new purpose to life.

Binita’s story is harrowing. She grew up in a slum where one of the project team members, along with a few local Christian women, have been running clubs for children and teenagers for years.

Binita attended as a young child but when she was 15, she was forced to get married. Sadly, within a short time her husband divorced her. Binita moved back in with her mother and grandmother and attended the girls’ teenage club. 

Binita’s father had long abandoned the family, so with no man to provide financially, her mother struggled to make ends meet and took out loans. Shortly after Binita returned home, her grandmother was killed near the slum.

At the same time, Binita was forced into an exploitative relationship and became pregnant. Her husband demanded she terminate the pregnancy, but Binita refused. Nevertheless, after the baby was born, the father made her sell the baby. Then, just a few short weeks later, Binita’s mother died, lying in Binita’s lap in the vehicle taking her to the hospital.

This catalogue of loss in Binita’s life is almost too much to comprehend. Thankfully friends from the Freedom Challenge-supported project started weekly grief counselling with Binita to help her come to terms with the trauma. 

But Binita was left in a vulnerable situation. Recognising this, the project team and local believers came alongside Binita, enabling her through to rent a room away from those who exploited her.

She now lives near a few Christian women in the slum, and her mother’s debts have been repaid. The tailoring training course she now attends with another local woman gives her a reason to get up every day. Her daily part-time job also gives her the ability to provide for her basic needs. Gradually she is regaining her dignity.

Although this is just the beginning, hope is blossoming. The project team’s prayer is that through the counselling and the time she spends interacting with team members, Binita will experience healing and hope for the future.

Without your support, Binita would have remained in a very vulernable situation. Every gift you give makes a difference. Please consider helping more girls like Binita.