Mother's Day UK
Today in the UK people will be celebrating Mother’s Day but in The Sreepur Village every day is Mother’s Day. For 32 years, The Sreepur Village has made sure that poverty doesn’t tear a child from his or her mother and in doing so continues to provide more destitute mothers and their children with a secure home and a number of life-saving skills that will bring them hope for a brighter future.
Here is the story of Jesmin, a mother living in The Sreepur Village with her 4-year year old son. Jesmin was married at a very young age, too young to know what it was like to be a bride. Her husband used to beat her and demanded a dowry from her on the first day of their marriage. Jesmin tried to appease her husband and convince him that her father was unable to provide the dowry he insisted but in her eyes she failed.
It wasn’t just her husband that beat her daily but her parents-in-law also used to beat her. After the birth of her son, Jesmin’s husband left her so that he could have a second marriage. So after their divorce, she went back to her parent’s house where she found more devastation - her father had too many mouths to feed. Due to poverty she couldn’t feed her son properly and in sheer desperation she found out about The Sreepur Village.
We asked Jesmin what it’s like to be a mother, Jesmon said, “In my community, due to poverty and domestic violence, I couldn’t take proper care of my son. In The Sreepur Village me and my son are getting everything we need. We eat together which is helping to develop the eating habits of my son. When he comes home from school, I ask him how was your day? He replies to me in a pleasant way and shares with me what he is learning. In the evening we sit together to study and he responds to me very well. Sometimes we play together. Back in my community, I couldn’t spend much time with my son. I always tried to convince my husband but eventually I failed.”
Jesmin also said, “I am spending the best time of my life in The Sreepur Village. I am participating in various training programmes and my son is attending school, spending quality time with other children.”
The Sreepur Village strives every day to bring hope to mothers like Jesmin and it is because of their donors, volunteers, trustees and sponsors that they are able to empower more vulnerable mothers and children with independence and dignity.