Sopura’s Story: Finding Hope

Sopura lost both parents as a child and survived abuse, homelessness, violence and the loss of her eyesight. Now, with her 2-year-old child Safi, she has found a safe place to recover, receive medical care and build a future she can finally hope for.

Sopura's life has been marked by loss, hardship and challenges that began when she was a child. Yet through every painful chapter, she has continued to find the strength to survive. Today, at the age of 39, she is beginning a new chapter at Sreepur Village, where she has been living for the past 4 months with her 2-year-old child, Safi. Sopura lost her mother when she was just 3 years old. Four years later, at the age of 7, she lost her father too. Without the care and protection of her parents, Sopura's childhood ended far too soon.

At only 11 years old, she came to Dhaka to work as a domestic worker. Instead of finding safety, she experienced violence and abuse. Unable to continue, she eventually left and found work in another household. There, the family became closely involved in her life and arranged her marriage when she was just 17. Her first marriage lasted only 2 years before her husband died.

After becoming a widow, Sopura went to her in-laws' home hoping to find somewhere to stay. Instead, she was forced to leave. She returned to the family where she had previously worked in Dhaka, but they were unable to take her in either. With nowhere else to go, Sopura spent nights on the streets.

One day, she met a bus driver who offered her shelter at his home. Eventually, they married. For a while, life finally seemed to be changing. Together, they raised ducks and chickens and began building a home. Sopura also found work as a caregiver at a hospital. For the first time in many years, she experienced something she had rarely known - stability and happiness. But that happiness did not last.

Her second husband began to torture and abuse her. At the same time, Sopura was struggling with serious health problems, including a tumour and kidney stones. With little support, she used the money she earned to pay for her own medical treatment. Then one day, the violence became unbearable. After being tortured, Sopura spent 2 days lying in bed, unable to eat. When she finally managed to get up, she suddenly realised that she could no longer see. Instead of caring for her, her husband forced her out of the home. Once again, Sopura had nowhere to go.

She went to her sister's home for a short time before eventually returning to Dhaka, determined to find work and survive on her own. But she did not even have enough money for the journey. With nothing else to sell, Sopura made an extraordinary sacrifice. She cut her own hair with a knife and sold it for BDT 600. That small amount was enough for her to travel to Dhaka, where she found work cutting vegetables in a canteen. It was during this difficult period that Sopura heard about Sreepur Village, Shishu Polli Plus.

4 months ago, she came to Sreepur Village with her 2-year-old child, Safi, her only child and a child from her second marriage. After years of instability, violence, homelessness and illness, Sopura finally found a place where she and her child could be safe together.

At Sreepur Village, Sopura has received medical support for her eyesight. Following treatment and surgery, her sight has partially returned. She can now see a little, although her vision is still not sharp or clear. She remains under medical observation and is currently focusing on her recovery. For Sopura, this support means more than medical treatment. After years of having to fight through every difficulty on her own, she now has people around her who are monitoring her health and helping her through her recovery. At present, Sopura is not yet focused on work or a livelihood programme. Her priority is medical recovery and regaining her strength, while caring for Safi and adjusting to life at Sreepur Village. And it is not only the medical care that has made an impression on her.

What Sopura likes most about Sreepur Village is its friendly and familiar environment. After spending so much of her life experiencing uncertainty and feeling that she had nowhere to belong, she has found a community where she feels safer and more at ease. Most importantly, she sees Sreepur Village as a place where her young child can grow up safely. "I like the environment here most. It feels friendly and familiar, like a family. For me, Sreepur Village feels like heaven - a safe place where my child can grow up."

For Sopura, that feeling of safety is precious. She has known what it means to lose the people she depended on, to have nowhere to sleep and to face illness without support. Now she wants something different for Safi. She wants her child to have the childhood she never had - a childhood with safety, care, stability and the opportunity to grow.

Sopura's story is not simply a story of suffering. It is a story of resilience. She lost both parents as a child. She survived abuse, child labour, widowhood, homelessness and violence. She faced serious health problems and the loss of her eyesight. Even when she had nothing left to sell, she found a way to keep moving forward.

Today, she is still recovering. Her eyesight is not yet fully restored, and her future is still taking shape. But for the first time in a long time, Sopura does not have to face that future alone. At Sreepur Village, she has found medical care, safety and a supportive environment where she can begin to heal. Sreepur Village's wider rehabilitation approach is designed to help mothers and children remain together while building the health, skills and confidence needed for a more independent future. For Sopura, the journey ahead may still be difficult. But now she has something that has been missing from much of her life: a safe place to recover, a child to care for, and hope for tomorrow. "I have lost so much in my life, but I still believe that better days are possible. Now I want to recover, live peacefully and give my child a safe and happy future."

After everything she has endured, Sopura is no longer simply surviving. She is beginning to hope.