Farida grew up in a cramped single room in a slum settlement on the outskirts of Dhaka. At 14, she dropped out of school when her family could no longer afford the fees.

When Mother Ayesha Foundation opened its TVET Skills Development Institute near her neighborhood, Farida enrolled in the tailoring and garment design program.

"I had never believed I could learn a proper skill," Farida recalls. "I thought that kind of training was for people who already had something. But they welcomed me with nothing."

Today, Farida runs a small tailoring shop from her home, employing two neighbors and earning three times her previous income.