Nila Azim was appointed as an Animator in February 2023. Now, she conducts session regularly at Shonglap center. Besides, she is continuing her study and is leading at the Shonglap forum as a peer facilitator. Her dream is going implement.
Nila Azim, a girl from a poor family of Haluaghat upazila under Mymensingh district. She is the daughter of Rekha Azim and Clemen Chiran. She has one brother. Nila Azim is the eldest daughter in her family. Father is a village policeman and mother is a housewife. As a Garo girl, Nila’s life was like any other ordinary indigenous girl. On the one hand, poverty in the family and on the other hand, being the eldest daughter in the family; it was impossible for Nila to go out much or mix with other people. She did not have much affinity with people of other communities because Nila did not feel comfortable to speak in Bengali.
In 2020, she established a Shonglap center with 20 girls with the aim of empowering girls and making them self-reliant through a survey process in the village under Sabalamby Unnayan Samity (SUS) SEEDS Project named by PRAJAPATI Dialogue Center. Nila joined the Prajapati Shonglap Center as an adolescent. Nila is a regular student of Kumuria Narail High School in 10th standard. She dreams to become a nurse in future. Nila attended sessions at Shonglap center for 01 year regularly and received 03 days agriculture and 02 days IGA training (Vegetables cultivation & Livestock rearing) sessions at Shonglap center. She actively participated in the session. She started growing vegetables in her backyard after gaining a clear idea of how to grow vegetables and rear hens. She cultivates vegetables like gourd, tomato, spinach, Indian spinach (Puishak) etc. Besides, she started rearing of 2 hens. Her family is encouraging her in all these aspects.
She wishes to spend a part of the income for her family and with the remaining money, she will buy a bicycle and SEEDS team regularly advises and encourages her to fulfill this dream.
On 1st January 2021, Prajapati Shonglap center was transformed into a Shonglap forum called Prajapati. Nila Azim was elected as the General Secretary of the Shonglap Forum Executive Committee by the consensus of all the forum members. In 2021, she appeared in the SSC examination and passed with a GPA of 2.00. At this time, she received training on Family Development Plan (FDP) Monitoring Process, Advocacy, Linkage and Networking and peer facilitator from SUS. And she regularly started providing assistance to implement FDP at Self-Reliant Group (SRG) family level. As a result, everyone in the area began to like her and her acceptance began to increase. She got a bicycle from Tribal Welfare Association (TWA) and started going to college regularly. At the end of January, she came to know through a recruitment notification that at Kumuria High School, school-based Shonglap would be introduced and animators would be recruited as well. Nila applies and uses the knowledge gained from the Shonglap to do well in the recruitment test and the recruitment committee selected her as an animator. She is now an animator and is doing sessions regularly. Nila Azim is an ex-student of the school; so, she is getting the support of all the teachers of the school regularly and is also supporting her family by getting an honorarium of taka 2500 per month. Currently, she is studying in 12th class. She is now able to pay her own tuition fee. Garnish Chambugong, chairperson of the ward committee said, “Nila is a very calm, gentle and friendly girl, she is hard working. So, she will definitely be able to fulfill her dream one day”.
She participates in various social activities such as: Awareness campaign against tree plantation, child marriage, violence against women and drugs and day celebration). In 2022, Nila received training on organization and leadership development. She participates in the forum’s monthly meetings regularly and is playing strong leadership role to the forum.