Het verhaal van Abul Kalam

Storytelling van 21 maart 2016

Van partnerorganisatie TLMI-Bangladesh kregen wij het volgende verhaal van Abul Kalam. Met hulp van TLMI-Bangladesh heeft Abul Kalam meegedaan aan het Community Based Rehabilitation Project (CBRP) en werd hij lid van een Self Help Group. Voor onder andere zijn Self Help Group gaat het trainingscentrum gebouwd worden.

In 2001 at the age of 13 Abul Kalam (now 32 years) got accident with power tiller (ploughing car) and lost his right leg above knee. At the same time he lost family acceptance, friends and also community acceptance. As a result his surrounding became smaller, most of time he was passing his day laying down or sitting in home. His poor father sold everything for his treatment cost. He wanted to earn money but he didn't know how it's possible.
Within a few resources he set up a small bicycle repairing workshop. But lack of capital he couldn't make profit from this workshop.

In 2009 he joint a self-help group and involved in savings activities. After joining group he received a tricycle, a set of crutches from CBRP project. He also received six months bicycle and van mechanic training from CBRP project. He became an active group member in Self-Help Group. Now he is the group cashier and secretary of Dimla Sub-district association.

He first received a TK.5000 loan and expends his business including bicycle and tri-cycle mechanic tools. Group members helped him to marry a girl. After one year of marriage he became a father of son. But he couldn't manage family needs from his small business.

Abul can read and write in bengali so he quickly became updated about disability rights.
He gathered more knowledge about people affected by disability, disability rights, development of disability and where the facilities are available for disabled persons.

He quickly received government disability allowances for his strong communication with local union chairman and government social services officer. He said this continuous allowance provided him extra support for his family.

On the other hand he received several time loans from group and gradually extended his business. Now his shop is full of different bicycle, tri-cycle tools and became as a well-known technician. He set up his tri-cycle with rechargeable battery and modified it like auto rickshaw. This rechargeable tri-cycle helped him extra moving ability. Now sometimes he receives order from disabled person for making auto tri-cycle. Recently his workshop gets popularity as an auto tri-cycle making workshop for disabled peoples. His earning has increased significantly. Next year he is planning to set up a brick house. He says that CBRP's supports able him to be an independent, self-reliance and accepted person in community.