5 lessons towards a workforce that works for women
16 November 2022
Jannatul Ferdous
30 November 2022

A near-death experience changed me forever, but it also taught me to adapt and learn faster than my peers. Today, I travel across Bangladesh, leading a team of over a 100 people.

Falguni Saha
Officer, Human Resource, BRAC

When Falguni was just eight years old, she was met with a near-death accident. Her injuries were so severe that doctors had to amputate both her arms.

She had to relearn every task that she had done on her own all her life.

Within six months though, Falguni was back at her school, learning how to write again. Learning to hold the pencil was difficult but then by the end of the year, she ended up topping all her exams, surprising her teachers and classmates. “I never wanted to look back at that accident with sadness. It could have happened to anyone. I chose to study harder. I also took up singing lessons because it made me happy.”

Falguni got full scholarships to study honours, and then masters, at Jahangirnagar University, one of Bangladesh’s most reputed public universities. Her ability to adapt to challenges from a very young age made her an example among her friends and family. Her friends would be amazed at how she managed everything so independently. “She wrote better than me, and faster!” one friend recalls.

Since joining BRAC as a human resource officer in 2019, Falguni has travelled across Barisal and surrounding sub-districts, sometimes with colleagues and sometimes on her own, overseeing the work and wellbeing of 170 staff members whom she now directly supervises. “In my first month of joining BRAC, I was tasked with handling a big project. This was a surprise, but it also made me feel like I was a valued member right from the start.”

Falguni’s work involves recruitment, deployment, and orientation of staff. She is always on the move, visiting branch offices, some of which are located in remote areas, for staff training.

Falguni enjoys taking up new challenges and learning new things. It gives her new faith in her own abilities to grow in her career and live independently.

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