Changing Khala’s Life through Crowdfunding

I met Khala today at her tea stall after a few months. We had spoken over the phone a little during this time, but seeing her in person was different. Her business is doing well—she runs it from 5 AM to 9 PM every day.

Between 5 AM and 7 AM, the Milk Vita delivery truck stops in front of her tea stall to distribute milk. Around 15–20 people work as a team there, and many of them come to her stall for tea and biscuits. Khala told me that during these two hours alone, she earns about 300 taka.

She is also receiving her widow allowance regularly—thanks to Bashir, who kindly helped her get access to it. She collects the money quarterly and has been saving it carefully. With her savings, she bought 1.25 khata of land in Gomostapur, Rajshahi, for 370,000 taka. She has already paid 300,000 taka and expects to complete the payment within five months.

“Who will own this land?” I asked her. She replied loudly, “ME.” I felt a deep sense of empowerment hearing her say that.

Once the payment is completed, Khala plans to start saving to build a small house on her land.

This was all sparked by a small crowdfunding initiative in 2023—an informal effort with my colleagues that raised about 20,000 taka. It wasn’t a huge amount, but it made a meaningful difference in her life.

Thank you, dear colleagues, for your kind contributions.