Imon Hossain: A Story of Resilience

Imon Hossain used to live happily with his parents and two sisters. His father was a bus driver, and the family enjoyed a decent income. Imon and his two older sisters attended school regularly. However, when Imon was in grade-5, his father secretly married a second time and brought his new wife home. This caused immense conflict between Imon's father and mother, leading to the expulsion of Imon, his mother, and his two sisters from the house. They sought refuge at their maternal grandparents' home. Life became extremely difficult for them, relying on the elderly grandparents for support.

Their situation worsened when Imon's mother remarried and left to live with her new husband. The grandparents, burdened with debt, managed to marry off the eldest sister of Imon. Tragically, due to the inability to provide a dowry, the eldest sister faced physical abuse from her in-laws and ultimately died. Unable to bear the grief of losing his granddaughter, Imon's grandfather suffered a heart attack and passed away. Witnessing these events, Imon could only cry and felt helpless.

After his grandfather's death, his grandmother struggled to make ends meet. The family barely had enough to eat. Imon felt immense pain, especially seeing his younger sister's suffering. Out of necessity, Imon dropped out of school and started working at a chatpati (local food) shop for 100 taka a day.

During a regular field visit, an ARKTF worker met Imon and introduced him to the Child Forum. After completing all the necessary procedures, Imon became a member of the Child Forum and began attending meetings regularly. One day, after a Child Forum meeting, Imon expressed his desire to continue his studies to the ARKTF worker.

The ARKTF worker discussed Imon's situation with his grandmother and employer. The employer agreed to allow Imon to attend school and continue working in the afternoon for the same wage. With the employer's assurance and the support of ARKTF, Imon's grandmother also agreed to send him back to school.

With the consent of both the employer and grandmother, ARKTF collected the necessary documents for school admission and met with the headmaster of Uposhohor High School. They explained Imon's situation and the headmaster waived the admission fee and admitted Imon to the 6th grade. ARKTF provided Imon with school uniforms, a school bag, shoes, socks, and a belt under the project.

Imon is now attending school regularly. He is very happy and grateful to ARKTF for helping him resume his studies. Imon aspires to become a teacher, believing that as a teacher, he can contribute to the education of the underprivileged.