Sixty year old Ahed Ali, from Marka village in Kaliganj, Satkhira, grew up in a family struggling with poverty. With limited access to education, he left school early to support his father, a day labourer. Despite hardships, he remained active and cheerful, enjoying cricket, football, and kabaddi in his youth. Later, he became a van driver to support his family. In the early 2000s, Ahed faced a life altering incident when he was attacked during a land dispute, leaving him with severe burn injuries.
The trauma shook his confidence. “At that time, I felt my whole life had collapsed,” he recalls.
Support arrived when the Executive Director of Swadesh, Madhab Chandra Dutta, ensured immediate medical care and legal assistance. Ahed later joined several psychosocial support sessions and lifeskills training offered by Swadesh, helping him regain emotional strength.
“Their support slowly brought me back to myself,” he says.
When the SBGN Network, supported by ActionAid Bangladesh, was established, Ahed joined through Swadesh. He received training in fish farming and later a financial grant of 10,000 BDT, which became the turning point in rebuilding his livelihood. With this support, he began small-scale fish cultivation in his family pond, gradually expanding it as his confidence and income grew.
Today, in 2025, Ahed manages a 3-bigha fish farm, cultivates seasonal vegetables on 20 decimals of land, and earns 30,000–40,000 BDT annually, with hopes of reaching 80,000–100,000 BDT this year.
“My life has completely changed. I now stand on my own feet,” he says proudly. He dreams of expanding his fish farm further and feels confident because, as he puts it, “If Swadesh and ActionAid continue to stand beside me, I believe I can achieve even more.”
Ahed’s story is one of resilience, empowerment, and rising through disruption, transforming adversity into opportunity through sustained community support, capacity building, and his own determination.
