Bangladesh; a country in which young girls like me are often coerced into early marriage to overcome poverty. Scarce employment opportunities, threats of homelessness, and no independence - all due to a lack of money for facilities. I want to create the opportunity for young Bangladeshi girls to learn a skill, get employed, and escape this vicious cycle of poverty.

The garment trade in Bangladesh employs over 4 Million Women, and a growing population and a growing demand means that the industry is growing every day. A simple manually powered "Butterfly" sewing machine could empower a young girl to gain valuable skills and earn money for themselves and their family.

These simple, yet life changing sewing machines cost just £45 each, I am looking to raise enough money to buy 100 sewing machines and distribute them when I visit Bangladesh with my father in December. They will be distributed to girls leaving school; the school I have chosen is Sultanpur Girls School in Sylhet.

We will work with the school principal Numanul Haque , who will do the purchasing for us, and I will personally give the sewing machines out on the 26th December 2018. These girls are in desperate need of a platform from which to develop, build a skill, and build a life. We are living in the 21st century; a time of female empowerment, a time of change. I live a life surrounded by opportunity and choice - by giving these girls ( young women, just like me, with desires and ambitions ) a sewing machine, we are giving them the choice and opportunity to become more than just products of the male-dominated society in which they live in. I hope you can help me empower with this worthy cause.

Amina Chowdhury