Today is T-Shirt Appreciation Day

Rosa Loves (!!!)

Limited edition cute t-shirts where the proceeds benefit lovely (and specific) causes?!

Each shirt is especially designed for a cause or purpose (and no: not one of those lame and ignorant causes like “Save Africa.” Don’t you just want to smack people who talk about A.I.D.S. in Africa and ask them to what part of the country they’re referring? This is clearly another rant for another day).

The picture listed above helps the Sharkar family. Here is an excerpt of their story.
[Clickity Click to Read More About the Family and See the Website.]

“Through our friends at Rosa Loves and IIRD, we are now planning to aid the Sharkars. We plan to purchase a rickshaw for Babul, repairing and extending their current house, and providing Mrs. Rita Rani with a livestock-rearing program. In addition, the community will receive a Child Development Center to help educate first and second grade students. This will include Kobita and Shanto, as well as Purnima once she is of age.

We hope that through these initiatives the Sharkar family will experience economic and social opportunities that will allow them to choose a better life. We pray that this will fulfill Mrs. Rita Rani's wish that her family could gain the security needed to live in peace.

While working with IIRD, we came across the Sharkar family. They were a family of seven residing in the Rouha Union in Netrokona, Bangladesh. Here over half of the population subsists in extreme poverty. Both Hindus and Muslims live in the Rouha Union, where they struggle as day laborers and rickshaw pullers in order to provide for their families.

Life had not always been this way for Mr. Sharkar. He used to work as a rickshaw puller spending his days transporting villagers throughout Netrokona. Back then, he could work with dignity earning a living wage and providing for a growing family. Unfortunately, two months ago Mr. Sharkar was forced to stop pulling his rickshaw due to the growth of a tumor on the right side of his throat. His older son, Babul, had to take over his father's job of pulling a rented rickshaw. Babul pulls this rented rickshaw three days out of the week earning a mere 97 cents per day minus what he owes the rickshaw owner. Now the family relies on Babul to bring enough income to provide for the seven member family.

After we met Mr. Sharkar, his wife Mrs. Rita Rani arrived along with the rest of the Shorkar family: Babul, Noyon (a ten year old boy), and Purnima (a one year old girl). Through speaking with Mrs. Rita Rani, we became saddened to learn that the entire family had not been able to eat proper meals, resulting from the lack of income. She is so malnourished that she cannot even lactate to breastfeed Purnima. Malnourishment is the overriding reason why Babul can only work three days out the week. He simply lacks the energy and proper nutritional diet to pull the rickshaw. She further told us that Noyon also contributed to the family by fishing at the local pond, but seldom is successful.”