Helena, a woman from Char Kauwa in Barishal, drives a battery-powered rickshaw on the Laharhat route. She has just begun—this is only her second day on the job. She previously worked as a mason’s helper, but rising expenses made it difficult to survive, so she turned to rickshaw driving.
Helena lives separately because her husband married more than once. Of her three daughters, two work as domestic helpers and stay in other people’s homes. She rents a small room for 3,000 taka a month and, after depositing 300 taka daily, is left with roughly 200–300 taka to cover her needs.
She says she ignores insults or comments from others, and many passengers even pay more than the regular fare. Helena hopes that someday she will own her own rickshaw, so she can live a little more securely with her children.
