They dream of a Bangladesh free from illiteracy. Their vision is to build a future where no children would have to live on the streets. Not only dreaming, they already jumped into the field to make their dream come true.
They are students of 14th batch of the IBA of Dhaka University (DU) Ridwan, Sadman, Meraj, Ishraq, Masud, and others. These visionary friends established 'Shopan', a school for underprivileged children, who work in different shops or move around the DU campus.
As 'Shopan' has no infrastructure so its classes are being taken under a Mango tree beside IBA Canteen. A good number of street children are now getting chance to identify themselves as 'Student' on the DU campus, which is a long cherished dream of many young men.
Initiators said they desire that minimum one of these children would be able to get admission into Dhaka University's Business Administration Institute. On a day of October 2008, a few of the initiators started designing 'Shopan' and formed different committees to achieve the goal. At first, the challenge was to collect students, because many of the street children are engaged in earning their livelihood.
To remove this problem and to make them enthusiastic to schooling, some material support have been provided to the children such as providing lunch at the end of class every day, giving 1kg rice per head, special treats like chocolates or other foods on special days or for most regular students.
To provide these facilities the expenses needed are being borne by the organisers and their friends of BBA 14th batch students. At first, the number of students fluctuated from 10 to 30. But now, after providing some facilities, the number of regular students has risen to 15.
The ultimate plan is to introduce a per student sponsorship system where the expenditures required for a particular student would be borne by his/her sponsor, organisers said.
Initially, three subjects, Bangla, English and Mathematics used to be taught at the school. Three half-an-hour classes each day are taken on four days of the week. The students are taught on the basis of the curriculum developed at the start of the programme. The curriculum was, however, developed with an objective to finish the board-approved syllabus of classes 1 and 2 within the period of one year.
Despite some minor problems, the result of the programme so far has been satisfactory, say the organisers. They also said "We have greater plans of expanding the parameter of 'Shopan' to bigger and better levels".
"We hope not only to increase the number of students and have a permanent structure in near future, but to collaborate on a larger scale with other similar organisations to turn this into a dynamic social movement", they added.
- New Nation