Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee Ole Danbolt Mjøs joins the members of Grameen Bank taking vow to fight poverty at Dhamrai on the outskirts of the capital yesterday as Prof Muhammad Yunus looks on. Photo: Shamim Ashraf

"From an ordinary village housewife owning not even a house to live in I now have my own house, five cows and a truck. It took 21 years, but I did it," says Monwara Begum of Dhamrai's South Kelia village describing the bumpy way to her success.
Monwara started her fight against abject poverty that once threatened her very existence with only a loan of Tk 3,000 from Grameen Bank. She now gets 10 maunds of paddy from her own land and sends one son and a daughter to school. Another son who drives the truck also earns.
"I have received loans 21 times and made the best out of it," a confident Monwara told none other than Norwegian Nobel Committee Chairman Ole Danbolt Mjøs yesterday.
The story of Fazila is another example of poor women's success against social odds.
“My house was in such a bad condition that I showed a neighbour's house as mine while applying for loan," says Fazila. She also started with only a Tk 3,000 loan from Grameen Bank.
"Now I lead the people in my area," says Fazila, now a union parishad member.
Monwara and Fazila are just two of many successful women in South Kelia and adjacent villages who defeated poverty and changed the course of not only their own lives but also their children's.
"There can be no better example in the world than these valiant women's stories if we look for instances of women empowerment," Prof Mjøs said during his visit to the village.
Nobel Peace Centre Director Bente Erichsen and Norwegian Ambassador to Bangladesh Ingebjørg Støfring accompanied Mjøs with Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus to Dhamrai to see how the borrowers of Grameen Bank are doing.
The people of South Kelia looked much enthused about the visit.
"It's fantastic to see how these grassroots women have defeated poverty. Stories of from-nothing-to-something and then to almost everything are amazing examples of fighting poverty," Mjøs said.
Khukumoni of ward-7 of the same union is another example of becoming a successful entrepreneur.
"When my husband failed running our grocery shop after receiving loan on high interest, he agreed to let me take Tk 6,000 loan. We now have goods worth Tk 10 lakh in our shop, fixed deposit of Tk 50,000 in bank, and a DPS [deposit pension scheme] bank account for Tk 1,500 a month," she said.
Her two sons read in class five and six. She had to build a separate depot to keep her goods.
"They've not only become self-reliant but are now also supporting their families. The way they have shouldered the responsibility of their families, it can be a lesson for other nations of the world," the Nobel Committee chairman said.
After listening to the success stories of Fazila, Monwara, Ferdousi, Basaton, Rowshan Ara, Rokeya and Zaheda, Prof Mjøs talked with some college and university students whose parents have drawn study loan.
"The women who do not have any education at all have taken loan to ensure a better future for their children, many of whom have completed university study while many are continuing now," he said.
The Nobel Committee chairman became emotional when he met the Grameen Bank members who once used to be beggars.
After quitting begging, Saleha of Sharifbagh village took Tk 500 loan and started selling tooth powder, chocolate and judicial stamp. After she paid off the first loan, she took Tk 1,000, later Tk 2,000 and lastly Tk 3,000 in loans.
"As I have no relatives to look after me, I had to choose a way to survive," Saleha told The Daily Star.
Sahera, Bulbuli and Ramisa also abandoned begging to look for a decent way of living.
"The loan was very helpful because we do not have to pay any interest and we can take a long time to repay it," said Bulbuli.
The Grameen Bank members displayed different products they prepare at home with jute, bamboo, brass and leather.
Little schoolgirls presented a dance performance to popular Bangla songs including "Takdum takdum baje Bangladesher dhol" in honour of the visiting guests.