Every morning is the same for Moinuddin — and he loves it. At the crack of dawn, he wakes up and goes straight to his vegetable garden. He tends to a variety of crops – all of which are cultivated and sold at the local market. Like most entrepreneurs, he loves his work because it is his own. He is his own boss.
This wasn’t always the case. His dream to start a business stemmed from desperation and hunger. Twenty years before he was married, Moinuddin worked on a fish trawler. Most of his life was spent on that boat. He never received a salary — just a small ration of food in exchange for his labor. Moinuddin knew that he needed to escape and earn a decent living for himself.
He left the fishing industry and decided to carve his own path. With the help of his father, he quickly became an expert in the vegetable business. His father taught him everything — before he passed away last year. Now he continues the legacy and has grown the family business so he can support his family and send his children to school.
“I am very grateful to God for everything he has given me,” Moinuddin says as he fertilizes the last of his crops for the day.
For Moinuddin, school was never an option. He only made it to Class 2. He refuses to let his children make the same mistake.
Moinuddin is living in Cox’s Bazar with his family. He continues to operate his small vegetable business to help his children’s future. His children — three sons and a daughter — go to the local school. Moinuddin hopes that the success of his business will support his children to become educated and empowered — ultimately bringing a larger change to the community.
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