Jalal Uddin, once a hardworking and ambitious man, is now a 'physically challenged person, a victim of a tragic road mishap. But he did not lose his hope for life, instead, he started a small shop in his village which is located in the heart of his village and always surrounded by a large crowd. A cheerful Jalal Uddin, in a wheelchair, can be spotted sitting in the shop and going about his regular business.
Jalal Uddin grew up in a poor family in Budaikandi village of Brahmanbaria. His father was a farmer. He had to work hard to support a family of six. Jalal had been preparing himself to take over the family's responsibility from a young age. In 2008, Jalal got the opportunity to go to Saudi Arabia. His family raised funds to help him migrate. After moving to Saudi Arabia, he took a job as a salesperson in a clothing store. Jalal's difficult life as an immigrant began.
He used to send most of his earnings to his family and save the absolute minimum for himself. His life was mostly stable. But one day Jalal was out walking. A speedy truck ran over him. He was sent to hospital in a serious condition. Jalal became bedridden immediately after moving to Saudi Arabia. He was on the verge of life and death at that point in his life.
Jalal had to spend nearly a month in the hospital in Saudi Arabia. His wife used to earn a little amount of money from stitching and tailoring to help feed the family back home. But it was not enough. Jalal decided to return to Bangladesh since the expense of his treatment in Saudi Arabia was unbearable for him.
"I thought, I would go back to normal life after getting treatment at a low cost in Bangladesh. But it was not in my fate," Jalal said.
Jalal was hospitalised in Dhaka roughly for seven months. He gradually began to recover but lost the ability to stand on his own. Since then, the wheelchair has become Jalal's daily companion.
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Jalal was going through years of hardship and pain. Until the day his cousin visited him and suggested renting a small shop to provide mobile financial services to the locals. Without a second thought, Jalal agreed and rented a tiny shop and started his small business with the help of his cousin.
At present, he is a popular 'Uddokta' of Nagad in the neighbourhood and the proprietor of that particular shop known as "Kawser Telecom". He provides mobile financial services to the locals. Customers wait in line in front of his shop to get services such as cashing out, cashing in, sending money and so on. It is easy to assume that he is running a successful business as self-confidence and self-reliance are evident on his face.
Jalal was the first Uddokta to capture Nagad consumers because there was yet no Nagad Uddokta in his area. People from the community started flocking to Jalal's shop to take services like, opening accounts and recharge, cash-out, cash-in, bill payments and other services because of Nagad's lucrative offers.
"Nagad revolutionised my life by allowing me to make more money on every transaction. Since becoming a Nagad Uddokta, my small business has prospered. As the first Nagad Uddokta in my neighbourhood, I make roughly 20,000 taka each month. People always want my assistance. Finally, my family's poverty has eased," Jalal exclaimed.
Commenting on Jalal's story, Ziaur Rahman Zia, PRO of Nagad, Brahmanbaria, said, "Jalal Uddin is a successful uddokta from Budaikandi village of Brahmanbaria and he is physically challenged. We always provide him with the best service possible. He inspires us to do better in the future."
Thousands of underprivileged people, like Jalal, have had their lives transformed by Nagad. Uddoktas have been able to become successful by earning more profits due to the low cost and conveniently accessible service of Nagad.
Tanvir A. Mishuk, Managing Director of Nagad, said, "Our effort remains to improve the lives of the unprivileged people. For instance, we have recently taken up a scheme to ensure postmen's retirement income allowing them to supplement their income. By encouraging more people to be Uddokta, we hope to ensure affordable services of Nagad for the common people in the remote part of the country."
At present, the number of Uddokta of Nagad is around 2.42 lakh and recently Nagad announced that, upon retirement, all postmen under the Bangladesh Postal Department can become Uddokta of Nagad.
There are 9,886 post offices across the country, with around the same number of postmen employed. A significant number of postmen retire every year, and in most cases, they usually have no work post-retirement. But now, they can have work after their retirement.
