The Sabalamby Shelter Home was established in 1998. It is situated in the village Malni about 1 km away from Netrakona Town and offers space for 8 girls or women.

There are two rooms with attached bathroom and a cooking place. Aim of the Shelter Home is it firstly to give distressed women who are in any kind of emergency or crisis a secure place to come and stay and to provide food and services like Health Service or Legal Aid. The second goal is to offer them a future perspective outside the Shelter Home. The girls should be able to see a sense in their lives again. Therefore Sabalamby offers them to take part in its skill training program where they can learn tailoring and also get some numeracy, literacy and awareness training. As part of the skill training they get a small allowance from which they are saving one part to buy a sewing machine after finishing the course. But often the reintegration into society is very difficult. Illegitimated children, rape and divorce the most frequent problems of the Shelter Home residents, are the main causes for lifelong stigmatization of women in Bangladesh. Therefore many planned future visions discussed in the weekly counseling session might always stay a dream. Nevertheless Sabalamby tries with focused work together with the woman and with her community and with a one year follow-up to raise awareness for her situation and to make the reintegration successful.


Shiuli is 18 years old. She comes from a village called Betali near Netrakona. She never went to school. Her father left the family when she was stilla baby. For the
family's survival her mother started to work bari-bari which means that she goes from house to house and offers her service. Shiuli's older brother works in a small shop.
They have no own house and mostly

sleep on some neighbor's veranda.As her mother lives without a husband, is poor, has no own place to live and works bari-bari her reputation is very bad.Shiuli was often alone when her mother went to find work. Then she was harassed and insulted and her mother became afraid about her security. Therefore she asked Sabalamby if Shiuli could stay in their Shelter Home. Shiuli is now 3 month living there, she still feels shy, but she likes her new surroundings and also the skill training. After finishing her 1-year tailoring course Shiuli wants to buy a own sewing machine and hopes to save so much money that she can build one day a small house for her family.