AHMED HUMAYUN KABIR TOPU, Pabna

Hailing from Pabna’s Chatmohar upazila, Zannatul Sarkar Champa had to lead a hard life at a very early age. She was born in an impoverished family, at Mollikbain village in Parshodanga union.

In the middle of their childhood, Champa and her brothers were abandoned by their father, when he got married a second time. Champa was only in school back then. After a few years, her brothers went their separate ways, seeking jobs as day labourers, while Champa started working at a textile mill.

In 2005, she got married when she was an SSC examinee. But Champa’s new journeys always seemed to end on a bad note. She got divorced within a year, owing to her husband being a drug abuser.

Once again, Champa was left stranded. This time on the streets.

But even such an obstacle couldn’t break her. She landed a temporary job at an insurance company after completing her HSC exam. Fate, however, was cruel as usual. She couldn’t continue her job for being transferred to another district in 2008.

A resilient Champa started selling newspaper in Chatmohar Bazar to survive, while facing widespread criticism.