Sold house to buy a computer, today Raihan is a millionaire

Poverty was a constant companion. Sometimes there was no food to eat, sometimes continuing education became difficult due to want. He had to write multiple times on the same page of the notebook after erasing it with a rubber. Yet he did not succumb to poverty. He dreamed of turning things around, of standing on his own feet. To fulfill that dream, at one point he had to sell two goats of his mother and sell his father's homestead. The old computer bought with that money changed his life.

Through struggle, perseverance, and hard work, today he has built a three-story house, bought a personal car and agricultural land. Besides, he has set up a cattle farm and is cultivating fish in a pond. He did not stop at changing only his own fate; he is also showing the path to self-reliance by providing free freelancing training to unemployed youths in the area.

This story of struggle to success is of Raihan Mia (32) of Parerhat village in Magura Union of Kishoreganj Upazila in Nilphamari. Sitting in a remote area of the village, he is working on international online marketplaces. Many youths who have received training from his established Sadia IT Firm are now earning more than one lakh taka per month. Raihan, who once fought against poverty, is now a name of inspiration for the youths of the area.

Local UP member Golam Mostafa said to make unemployed educated youths self-reliant, Raihan has set up Sadia IT Firm in the village. There he is creating employment opportunities for the youths by providing training free of charge. Through his initiative, many young people are dreaming of changing their fortunes.

Parerhat village is about 30 kilometers west of Rangpur city, past the 'Bhinnojagat entertainment center.' At the entrance of the village, Raihan Mia's established Sadia IT Firm catches peoples' eyes. He lives on the second floor of the three-story building. On the ground floor there is a madrasa, and on the third floor is the neatly arranged IT firm. His salaried employees are working there. At the same time, many come to receive training.

About 100 yards south of the house is the cattle farm. Rows of coconut trees surround the house. The family that once found it difficult to manage two meals a day now enjoys solvency.

Raihan was born in 1992 into a poor family. He is the eldest among six brothers. For his father, Aliyar Rahman, it was difficult to bear the expenses of the children's education along with meeting the household costs. Due to poverty, Raihan often had to go to school without eating. While classmates came to school in new clothes, he sometimes had to spend the whole year in the same clothes.

However, poverty could not reduce his interest in education. Through hard work, he passed SSC from the technical branch of Kishoreganj Multimodal Model High School in 2007. In the same year, he was admitted to the computer department of Dhaka Polytechnic Institute.
Julfikar's IT firm in the Baganbari area of Bashantek in the capital was where he first learned freelancing. Later, in 2010, he received six months of training in graphic design from an IT institute. But even after learning the work, he could not start freelancing because he did not have a computer.

In 2011, after completing his diploma, he returned to the village and told his mother about his dream. Thinking of her son's future, his mother, Moyna Begum, sold two of her goats and gave him six thousand taka. On the other hand, his father, Aliyar Rahman, sold one of their three tin-roofed houses—a 22-foot room—for 20 thousand taka.

With that 26 thousand taka, Raihan returned to Dhaka and bought an old computer. Then he opened accounts on various online marketplaces and began looking for work.

Finally, the long-awaited day came. In 2012, a client from the United States gave him a job worth 480 dollars. Because he completed the work on time, he also received an extra 100 dollars as a tip. That first job increased his confidence. After that, he never had to look back.

Earning crores through freelancing

According to information provided by Raihan, he is now a "Top Rated Plus" freelancer on the international online marketplace Upwork. He said his total earnings from Upwork have exceeded four crore taka. Currently, he earns about five lakh taka per month from freelancing. His clients include various organizations from the United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

In addition to working on Fiverr, he also creates content on YouTube and Facebook. Raihan said he has worked directly with more than a hundred American companies outside the online marketplaces as well.

With his freelancing income, he gradually changed his family's financial situation. In place of the straw house, he bought land and built a three-story brick house. He bought two acres of arable land. He also has a house and a personal car in Rangpur city.

He did not limit himself to technology-based work only. For about six years, he has been cultivating various species of fish in two ponds. His income from this sector is about one and a half lakh taka per year. In addition, his farm has 35 cows of foreign breeds. He said an average of 200 liters of milk is produced daily from the farm. He also earns about two lakh taka per year from the cattle farm. Raihan has also established a madrasa and an orphanage in the village using a portion of his earnings.
Changing the lives of the youth

After achieving success himself, Raihan took the initiative to create employment opportunities for unemployed youths in his area. In 2018, he established Sadia IT Firm. Although he did not get much response from the youths at first, seeing his success, many gradually became interested.

Since then, he began providing free freelancing training to the youths. Many youths of Parerhat village who received training from him are now self-reliant. Among them, Ahsan Habib, Marjan Hossain, Ratul Islam, Hasan Raza, and Sakib Hossain are notable. Several of them now have monthly incomes of one to one and a half lakh taka.

Ripon Hossain of the village, after passing HSC in 2017, chased jobs for four years. He did not succeed even after running small businesses. Later, in 2021, he received digital marketing training from Raihan and started freelancing. Currently, his monthly income is about one and a half lakh taka.

Ripon Hossain said, "Raihan sir's training and inspiration helped me reach where I am today. He does not think only about his own improvement; he is also showing the path to self-reliance to other youths of the village."

Joy Islam, a youth of the same village, said, "Many big freelancers cannot provide training due to lack of time. Even when trying to learn from YouTube or Facebook, there are various limitations. Even after paying for courses, many times there is no opportunity for hands-on learning. But Raihan sir gave us his time free of charge and patiently taught us every subject."

Received multiple recognitions

Raihan has also received various awards in recognition of his contribution to freelancing. In December 2021, he received the BASIS Outsourcing Award as the best freelancer. In July 2023, he won the "Rising Youth Award" as the best freelancer at the district level. He said he most recently received the "Citizens Success Web Development Award" on May 11.

Kamrul Hasan, assistant teacher of Kishoreganj Multimodal Model High School, said that through freelancing, Raihan has become the owner of a house, land, and a car. But the simplicity of his personality and lifestyle remains as before. Despite having a house in Rangpur city, he lives in the village with his wife and children. At the same time, he continues to train educated youths.

In 2012, Raihan married Rumana Akter of Nagarban village in Chandkhana Union. They have three children. His wife Rumana said, "When people say at social events, 'That is the wife of Raihan the freelancer,' I feel blessed."

Raihan's father, Aliyar Rahman, said, "At one time we had no identity in society. We had to walk with our heads bowed. Today I feel proud as the father of a successful son."

Raihan believes his own hard work and effort played the biggest role in rising from poverty. However, his dream is no longer limited to his own success. He wants to make more young men and women self-reliant by training them.

Raihan Mia said, "I want to help more young men and women succeed by training them. My dream is that more people in Bangladesh come forward in freelancing. Let them become solvent by earning foreign currency and also contribute to the country's economy."