Hailing from the quaint village of Lathialdanga in Rowmari Upazila, Anjima Khatun, the eldest among four siblings, faced the harsh realities of life early on. The untimely demise of her father when she was just 11 thrust the responsibility of caring for her and her three siblings onto her mother, Ms. Kasima Begom. To make ends meet, Kasima took on roles as a housemaid and a road-digger/excavator.

Caught in the clutches of poverty, Anjima, too, had to bid farewell to her education and was wedded to a van-driver named Hafizur Rahman at the tender age of 12. A daughter arrived less than a year into her marriage, bringing with it a cascade of health issues for Anjima. Despite her husband's efforts and loans taken for medical treatment, their financial struggles intensified.

In a bid to change their circumstances, Anjima and her husband ventured into agriculture, leasing land for cultivation, and initiated poultry farming. However, their financial woes persisted, exacerbated by three consecutive childbirths. The eldest daughter's education was curtailed at the sixth grade due to financial constraints, leading to her marriage at the age of 15. The aftermath of their daughter's marriage plunged the family deeper into poverty, leading to Hafizur Rahman's mental breakdown.

In 2023, Anjima was identified as an eligible participant for livelihood and health interventions under the Climate Change Programme of SAJIDA Foundation. She underwent an intensive three-day training session on Climate-Resilient Agriculture and Nature-Based Solutions.

Post-training, Anjima received essential livelihood inputs from the CCP, including 7 ducks, 5 fruit saplings, 11 types of vegetable seeds, a pheromone trap, and netting. Alongside livelihood support, she availed physical and mental health services provided by the CCP. Within a month, her duck farming venture began yielding results, with 216 eggs produced. Anjima, resourceful and determined, utilised the eggs to meet her family's needs and earned an additional 2000 taka from sales. Now, she contemplates reinvesting the earnings to purchase a small-sized goat, envisioning a gradual ascent from their current circumstances.

Her aspirations extend to securing a better future for her children, ensuring they escape the hardships she endured and can pursue a quality education. Anjima Khatun embodies resilience, steering her family towards a brighter tomorrow through the transformative interventions of SAJIDA Foundation.

"Now, I am thinking of utilizing the money I earned from selling eggs to buy a small-sized goat. I plan on slowly moving forward from here on," said Anjima Khatun.