Livelihood
From handout to household income.
OBHIZATRIK's livelihood programme has empowered 8,200 families across Bangladesh to step out of poverty for good. A graduation pathway — SHOKKHOM, SHAKTI, SHOFOL — moving households from a productive asset to lasting independence.
Our impact, in numbers.
What started as a single asset transfer to two families in 2016 is now a graduation programme empowering thousands of households across the country.
A productive asset is the first step. Independence is the destination.
The OBHIZATRIK livelihood programme is a beacon of hope for families striving for financial independence. By transferring productive assets and pairing them with training, savings, and healthcare, the Foundation has empowered 8,200 families to step out of poverty for good.
More than half of all beneficiaries are women a deliberate choice rooted in the evidence that economic empowerment of women lifts entire families. Our programme also extends to disabled, transgender, and indigenous communities ensuring that no household is left behind by sector or stereotype.
Every livelihood is funded through a transparent mix of individual donations, CSR funds, and Zakat, governed by a Shariah Board Committee established in 2019 to ensure Islamic compliance and full transparency of every taka deployed.
SHOKKHOM · SHAKTI · SHOFOL
Three Bengali words. One pathway. From the day a family receives its first productive asset, to the day it no longer needs us a graduation programme designed to retire its own beneficiaries.
A productive asset matched to the beneficiary's skill — a sewing machine, a rickshaw, a pair of goats, a grocery stall. Funded by Zakat, CSR, and individual donors. Governed by a Shariah Board.
- Asset transfer (BDT 15K–80K)
- Skill-matched livelihood
- 13 startup typologies
- Zakat-eligible model
A 24-month wraparound for ultra-poor households earning below USD 1.90 a day. Asset transfer is the start vocational training, consumption support, savings plans, and healthcare are the rest.
- 24-month engagement
- Training + asset + savings
- Consumption + healthcare support
- Ultra-poor focused
The graduation tier. Family income stable above the poverty line. Savings accumulating. Children in school. Healthcare accessible. The household is no longer a recipient it is a contributor.
- Income stable above poverty line
- Active savings & financial literacy
- Children enrolled in school
- Programme exit with dignity
The three pillars, up close.
Each stage of the graduation pathway is a fully designed programme of its own. Here is what each looks like in practice.
SHOKKHOM
Launched in June 2016 with funds from a handful of individual donors, SHOKKHOM has grown into one of Bangladesh's most rigorously governed Zakat-driven livelihood models. We match each beneficiary to a productive asset based on her existing skill rickshaws for pullers, sewing machines for tailors, livestock for farmers, grocery stalls for traders.
Thirteen distinct startup typologies are currently in operation, each with its own training, follow-up, and reporting protocol. A Shariah Board established in 2019 reviews all Zakat-funded deployments for Islamic compliance.
via SHOKKHOM alone
SHAKTI
SHAKTI is built for the families furthest behind households earning below USD 1.90 a day, or BDT 1,600 a month. For these families, an asset alone is not enough; the gap between extreme poverty and a stable livelihood requires sustained, multi-dimensional support.
Over 24 months, SHAKTI bundles vocational training, productive asset transfer, consumption support, savings plans, and healthcare. The pilot phase ran in Dhaka and Cox's Bazar in partnership with ZXY International and 7 STREAMS, with cows transferred to women already experienced in dairy rearing.
holistic wraparound
SHOFOL
SHOFOL is the destination of every OBHIZATRIK livelihood journey. A family graduates from the programme when its income is stable above the poverty line, savings are accumulating, children are in school, and basic services are accessible without dependence on external support.
SHOFOL households often become local mentors and trainers for new SHOKKHOM beneficiaries closing the loop and converting recipients of charity into stewards of the next family's chance.
enables the next family
Meet the families waiting for their first asset.
Each candidate below has been screened, matched to a skill, and is ready to begin. Your donation funds the exact item they need.
Watch a SHOKKHOM journey unfold.
Real beneficiaries. Real assets. Real outcomes. Two short documentaries from OBHIZATRIK's own coverage.
A rickshaw, a rider, and the day a family stopped depending on charity to eat.
How SHOKKHOM, SHAKTI and SHOFOL fit together — from one asset to a household graduated out of poverty.
Every taka tracked, traced, & reported.
OBHIZATRIK is a registered charity in Bangladesh (RJSC-12013, NGOAB-3301), Portugal (NIPC: 517934175), and on the U.S. federal SAM.gov registry (UEI# QLCCMKWKEJ53). Our Zakat deployments are governed by a Shariah Board Committee established in 2019, and we are a GlobalGiving Vetted Organization.
Fund a family's first step out.
BDT 15,000 buys a sewing machine. BDT 27,000 a rickshaw. BDT 30,000 a pair of goats. One asset is a household income for life.