64-year-old Rezaul now a freelancer, earns over Tk 100,000 per month
Sheikh Rezaul Karim, a 64-year-old resident of the New Eskaton area in Dhaka, regularly spends at least two hours in Ramna Park, walking or jogging 7 to 10 kilometres. He listens to music in his leisure time and appears to be a content man.
At this age, one would expect him to be enjoying retirement. But Rezaul is still busy, working in a field usually dominated by young people. He is a freelancer. His life story is filled with surprises. Sitting at the Prothom Alo office in Karwan Bazar, he recently shared his journey.
In 2003–04, Rezaul worked at the Titas gas transmission and distribution company in Dhaka. He was struggling to cover household expenses with limited income. Hoping for extra income, he managed Tk 400,000–500,000 and invested in the stock market. Reinvesting dividends and adding more capital, his investment rose to Tk 6 million by early 2010.
With an additional loan from a brokerage house, he made another investment of Tk 1.4 million. In July the same year, his total market investment reached Tk 11.4 million. Rezaul felt like one of the most successful men.
The good time did not last long, as the stock market suddenly crashed. At the same time, his wife, Hasanat-un-Nahar, was diagnosed with Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS), a rare neurological disorder that causes muscle weakness and, eventually, paralysis. Within days, his once-healthy wife became fully paralysed.
While he ran around seeking treatment for her, the stock market continued its free fall. His investments shrank to a fraction of their value. At one point, the brokerage house forcibly sold off all his shares to recover the loan, leaving him destitute.
As his retirement approached, Rezaul looked for new plans. In 2017, he started a cattle farm in his home village of Shoildaha in Chitalmari, Bagerhat. He officially retired in January 2020. Farming was already close to his heart, and he saw it as his post-retirement fallback. But the Covid-19 pandemic shattered all his plans. He incurred heavy losses. Titas Gas deducted his outstanding Tk 3 million loan from his retirement package, leaving him with only Tk 1.4 million.
“I lost so much in the stock market and the farm that I could not sleep for days,” Rezaul told Prothom Alo. “The pain of financial loss is unbearable. I got greedy and could not control myself. I kept thinking things would get better today or tomorrow, but everything collapsed in the meantime. I even had to sell the cattle at low prices during the coronavirus fallout. During lockdown, feeding them became a huge challenge.”
Later, Rezaul himself contracted Covid-19. Bedridden and idle, he started watching YouTube videos. It sparked his interest in freelancing. He enrolled in a data entry course with a mentor, but the mentor also contracted Covid-19, cutting the training short. Then he came to know about an online platform called Skilluper, which offers freelancing training. At age 61, in 2022, he enrolled in a live course after initially struggling with pre-recorded videos due to his limited computer skills.
Live sessions helped Rezaul grasp the concepts. He received training on Google Ads, Google Analytics, Google Merchant Center (Shopping Ads), and issue fixing, and gained confidence to begin a new journey. He had already created an account on Fiverr, a global freelancing marketplace. To date, he has worked on 35 different types of tasks.
Rezaul works closely with his coursemate Mohammad Sajib Mia, who is younger than his own children. With Sajib’s help, he overcomes his limitations in computer proficiency. He has also completed several projects on Upwork, another major freelance platform.
This year, Rezaul has been recognised as a top rated freelancer on Upwork. It is an elite status that requires maintaining a job success rate of at least 90 per cent, earning a minimum of USD 1,000 in the past 12 months, staying active, and satisfying clients.
His wife, Hasanat-un-Nahar, is a retired schoolteacher. They have two children. Their daughter, Raonak Reza, is 26 years old. Their son, Ishmam Reza, 24, is a person with special needs. Though his wife is now able to walk a little, she remains largely dependent.
Rezaul Karim turned 65 on 20 January this year. “I earn over Tk 100,000 per month,” he told Prothom Alo. “I enjoy my retirement through various activities, and freelancing is one of them. To me, living a healthy life matters more than how much I earn.”