Congratulations to Alamin and EDS!!!

A teacher working with a Norwegian school will take his Norwegian students to Guatemala to attend a school for peasants and indigenous people in Guatemala. This teacher invited Alamin to go to Guatemala (Central America) to teach how Alamin and EDS work for development through volunteerism. We are very very proud of Alamin, that people from different parts of the world ask for his knowledge and experience in EDS!!!!

The teacher who invited Alamin was impressed by Alamins commitment to enable Bangladeshi children to get education and gain valuable life skills and he was impressed how Alamin is including agriculture and fish farming in EDS to teach in practical ways and enable the poor EDS children to get nutritious food. Alamin will visit the school in Guatemala for some weeks next year and also live in the rural areas with the local people and learn about their life style, culture, perspectives on development and challenges. In this way Alamin will contribute to development in Guatemala and bring his experience from Guatemala to EDS in Bangladesh!

Good luck Alamin, you will be a good representative of EDS!

The EDS students love Alamin because he teaches well and makes fun during teaching.

Hafiz explaining about EDS to interested participants at the Intercultral Navigators,

a course by British Council.

The Intercultural Navigator participants were surprised about the development of EDS,

so Hafiz and Asma explained more about the education program.

Alamin is the driver of EDS. Without him there would be no EDS!

Almin is a student, but spends all his time, apart from his university lectures, in EDS.

In the inerview below Alamin explains the establishment of EDS to Bangladesh TV:

Alamin is a good teacher, makes fun during teaching and explains well the subject matter, so the EDS students like him (left). Alamin enables the EDS students to see their own development by giving them tests (right).

Alamin has considerable knowledge about cropping and fish cultivation, so he established a vegetable garden and a small pisciculture in EDS in order to teach the EDS students in practical ways. Alamin gives the EDS students responsibilities in the EDS garden and involves EDS students who are at risk of dropping out of EDS. After harvest the EDS students take some food back home.

Alamin arranges picnic (bottom), movie evenings (upper left) and sports (upper right) for the EDS students to create good social relations between him and the students and among the students. Many of the EDS students only eat once or twice in a day and they rarely can afford meat. They also do not have the chance to watch movies or practice sports apart from in EDS. Alamin also visits the EDS students at home to check that they are fine, studying well and helping their parents.

Alamin explains the EDS students about their responsibilities (left). Alamin explains students from Khulna University about EDS and motivates them to volunteer as teachers (right).

Alamin also conducts meetings for the parents of the EDS students where he motivates them to let their children get education, send them to school and EDS and teaches them how to use motivate their children to good behaviour instead of using physical punishment.

EDS would never exist without the dedication, strong commitment and continuous hard work of several people.

Asma and Hafiz paying football with some EDS children

The EDS leader Hafiz treats the children as his friends (left). Alamin teaching EDS children (right).

Gulshanara is a good teacher and has been teaching the EDS children regularly for several years!

Hafiz' mother (in yellow sari) visits EDS daily and discusses with the EDS children.

The EDS children loves Moshiur as he always makes fun while teaching.

Mrinal has been teaching natural sciences to the EDS youth.

Students from Khulna University have teamed up and are now teaching in EDS.

There are many more people who help EDS and EDS is grateful for the support from all volunteers, young and old. You are all invaluable to EDS!!

Thanks a lot for your help!!

This is the story of EDS published in Prothom Alo (01.10.2011), the most popular newspaper in Bangladesh

Irfan is born in a poor family and when he was in grade seven his father died. He thought his dream of getting higher education was destroyed as he had to start working in a jute company to earn money for his family. However, thanks to Education for Deprived Students (EDS), Irfan’s dream is now about to come true. By the help of EDS he completed SSC (final exam, secondary school) and HSC (final exam, high school) and is now dreaming of getting into the university. Not only Irfan, but 400 students like him are realizing their dreams by the help of EDS. Although Hafizur Rahman lives in Norway, he established the education program, which provides free education, in Fulbary gate, Khulna, Bangladesh.

How EDS started

While studying in school Hafiz used to think about the poor children. He played with them, taught them what they should have learned in school, and started dreaming of creating an educated family free from corruption. When he was in class 9 he started realizing his dream by teaching children from poor families on the roof of his parents’ house and continued throughout his university studies. In 2005, he started working in a more organized way and established EDS. The same year he got a scholarship in Norway and went there. However, he didn’t forget his dream of helping poor children to get education, and was thinking how to do that while being in Norway. He contacted his nephew Alamin and motivated him to take care of the children. At first, Alamin wasn’t interested as he was studying in class 10, did not know how to teach and handle the children, and he was afraid about his friends’ reaction when they would see him mingle with poor children. However, Hafiz motivated him and Alamin agreed to help out. Hafiz didn’t have any house where Alamin could teach the children, so when Alamin proposed to use his own bedroom, Hafiz got very surprised and happy. Alamin placed a mat on his bedroom floor as he didn’t have any chairs or tables. The news of the uncle and nephew helping poor children slowly spread everywhere. The number of students increased day by day, so Alamin told Hafiz that he didn’t have enough space for all the children in his bedroom and it was difficult to teach so many sitting on the floor. Hafiz sent Alamin money from his scholarship and Alamin bought four benches, a blackboard, some books and papers and continued teaching and helping the deprived children. Alamin and Hafiz didn’t only teach the children school subjects, but also how to behave with each other and their parents, awareness about corruption, leadership skills, health related issues, to take care of their friends and younger children and their responsibilities as Bangladeshis in developing their country.

EDS gets more organized

In 2008, EDS got more organized and as the number of students continued to increase, it got very difficult for Hafiz to bear the costs. Hafiz wanted to use the resources properly and was thinking how to teach more children by little money. He considered the children as a resource for EDS, so he motivated the older students to teach the younger. In that way the older students would learn to be responsible, develop their skills in teaching and managing groups of children and they would also learn their own school subjects better. However, nobody could teach the EDS students in grade 9 to 12, so Hafiz started paying some university students to do this. As the number of EDS students increased, Alamin’s home was not large enough, so Hafiz bought a house for money he had saved from his scholarship. The students were transferred to this new house in 2008. Every month Hafiz spends 4000 NOK from his own salary to cover teacher cost, books and other educational expenses for the EDS students. Two friends of Hafiz also helped EDS from 2008. As the number of students was increasing Hafiz decided to include volunteer teachers from universities and colleges to teach his students. He rented some houses close to his home for the new EDS students. More and more students were coming, so he consulted the authorities of Ajax and Shonali high schools (owned by Ajax and Shonali jute mills) to borrow classrooms for teaching the EDS students. In the afternoon there are no classes in those schools, so that time EDS uses the classrooms. About 200 children in Ajax and Shonali are now getting free education from EDS.

How was the response of other people to EDS?

When people from different areas around Khulna town saw the success of EDS, they started contacting Alamin to admit their children in EDS. Even poor children living 6-8 miles (10-13 km) far from EDS came to EDS every day. Poor people who were begging, daily workers and thieves started a new life with education by the help of Hafizur Rahman. It wasn’t easy for Hafiz to motivate those people. He used entertainment, played with them, arranged picnics and behaved like a friend. Finally he managed to motivate them to go to school. EDS is still following these methods to make the children interested in going to school and stay there. EDS also has a gift ceremony to inspire the students to study. Many people have improved their lives by the help of education from EDS. This year, some EDS students sat for the HSC exam, all passed and one got GPA 5. Those students said they never thought they would be able to get education, but now they are dreaming of getting into the university. They are now taking the admission tests to the universities and EDS will help them to cover the study costs.

Teachers and volunteers

Eight teachers are paid in EDS, but about 30 students from universities and colleges volunteer to teach the EDS students. Also two associate professors, from Khulna University and Khulna Engineering University are teaching the EDS students voluntarily. The EDS children are very happy that university teachers are teaching them, as these teachers know their subjects and teach in a good way. As there are no schools in Bangladesh where university teachers teach children, the EDS children never thought this would be possible. The volunteer teacher from Khulna engineering university said: “How can I just sit and look at Hafizur Rahman’s initiative? When I heard about Hafiz’ sacrifice I couldn’t sit at home. I felt that if Hafiz can do this from Norway, why am I not doing that even though I live close to EDS? Then I decided to join EDS as a volunteer”.

EDS students and parents thoughts about EDS

A worker in a hotel in Fulbary gate, Abdur Razzak, has a daughter named Maria. When Maria was in class 3 she had to quit school due to poverty as Razzak earned too little to provide her with pencils and extra classes. One day Razzak heard that Hafiz helped poor children to get education. He contacted Alamin and admitted Maria in EDS. Maria, now studying in class 8, said: “If it wasn’t for Hafiz, I would never have been able to continue my education. Now I am dreaming of getting higher education”. The van driver Abdul Gazi’s daughter, Zannatul Akter, had to stop her education in grade 5 due to poverty. Now she is studying in class 8 and said: “Now I’m studying for free in Hafiz’ organization. I don’t need to pay anything. As I have gotten this possibility to go to school, I am now dreaming of higher education”. Norosundor Bisnupodo, mother of Gaurango Sarker, a student in class 8, informed: “My son was not a good student. He was unable to understand the books properly and wasn’t interested in going to school. As we are poor and illiterate we couldn’t afford his education. When he joined EDS he changed a lot and now he gets good grades in school. I’m grateful to EDS for my children’s education”.

What do people say about EDS?

Alamin has been with EDS from the start. He is now the coordinator of EDS and responsible for all the EDS groups (there are five groups belonging to EDS in Khulna). Alamin told: “I feel proud to help my uncle’s great work. He is an example of a good leader of a society”. AKM Azharul, the head of the Department of computer science at Khulna Engineering University told: “I visited EDS several times and was very impressed by this good initiative. That is why I’m inspiring my university students to teach voluntarily in EDS, and many of them are doing so”.

We talked with Hafizur Rahman in Norway per mobile

Hafiz told us about his dream: “I dream of a society where people help each other to achieve development for poor people in Bangladesh. I know it will be difficult to establish my dream, but at least I will try my best. EDS is my life and I want to spread it to all Bangladesh. My dream will succeed when I will see deprived children become educated and spread the light of education to the entire society. These children take an active lead in spreading the values of EDS, such as being responsible, to help others and not be corrupt”.

July and August 2009 I spent five weeks in Bangladesh with Md. Hafizur Rahman’s family and the education programme Education for Deprived Students (EDS). I have seldom met so genuinely warm and hospitable people and I was impressed by their way of including me in their family. Bangladeshi are proud of their country and eager to show me their culture. The EDS students were from resource poor families and many of them used to be illiterate and fail nearly all exams prior to EDS, but after starting in EDS they have become among the best students in their classes. Many students had improved their behaviour due to EDS and were now voluntarily teaching younger children. However, despite my knowledge of the success of EDS, nothing could have prepared me for the students’ and parents’ happiness to meet me and how they truly appreciated my visit.

The EDS method is that university students and school teachers receive remuneration for teaching the oldest EDS students, who in turn teach the younger EDS students voluntarily. Apart from learning the theory better, the EDS students also learn to be responsible, to assist others and they learn that they are valuable and great resources for their community. One day EDS arranged a seminar about group work where the oldest students were divided in groups, given a development case to solve and observers (other students) observed how the group members collaborated. Afterwards the groups presented their results and the observers commented on the students group working skills.

Although the students had never done any exercise like this before they showed creative solutions and many presented the topic like professional speakers!! During the presentations about 60 youth sat in the largest room (about 4x6m) in the EDS house and 15 in the room next door. Despite limited space and heat there were no complaints, only smiles. THAT really impressed me.

EDS arranges cultural evenings where the students dress up and perform. The condition for joining is that the students behave and study well. The students really enjoy these events so all students helped out. The evening prior to a gathering EDS arranged for the local leaders and Khulna University professors three of the EDS boys voluntarily, on own initiative, cleaned the entire EDS house. Later, when EDS arranged a picnic and served food to the EDS students, the same three boys hand dish washed over 50 plates twice…with the same great enthusiasm and smile!

The students often came to the EDS house an hour in advance of their lecture. When I asked why they came so early they replied:

“We enjoy being here, because here nobody hit us. You behave friendly and here we learn through playing, it is fun”.

When I watched the oldest female EDS students waiting in excitement to know who would be awarded as the “Best female EDS teacher” and when watching the nine year old boy proudly teaching a group of 10 younger children I really understood why the children enjoy EDS. In EDS, the teachers motivate the students, make the students understand and see that learning is fun. The children and youth who previously failed the exam and could not read or write learn in EDS that they are fully capable to learn, they learn that EDS and their society need them. The students are respected by the EDS teachers, and they are encouraged to study and behave well by receive small gifts (like pen or papers) when they have improved their school results or behaviour. Through spending time with the children and youth, listening to them, being patient and behaving friendly with them, the students develop trust in the EDS leaders and teachers and understand that these adults really care about them and wish to support them.

As the parents are important in the children’s development EDS arranges parent meetings. The first parent meeting I helped to arrange was for the mothers and over 50 mothers showed up. EDS has about 700 students, but many live far from the EDS house, so the attendance was good with 50 mothers. The mothers were divided in groups and discussed in which ways EDS had impacted their family and children and what they thought about the program in general. After a few minutes the entire EDS house was filled with eager discussions, it was obvious that THIS was a topic engaging the mothers!! On the next parent meeting many fathers came and while discussing EDS and their children’s education in plenary one father took the floor and said:

“I am a worker in the jute factory and earlier I did not care much about my five children’s education as they were only going to work in the factory like me. Since one of my daughters started in EDS I have realized the importance of education and now I want all my children to get good education so they can get better jobs than me and a good life”.

Another father stood up and said that prior to EDS he and his wife didn’t pay much attention to education, but after some of their children started in EDS and they learned from Hafiz the benefits of education they now want all their daughters to get good education. I was thinking what a huge difference it makes to the life of a girl if she is married off at 13 (as is the fate of some girls in Bangladesh) to a much older husband who may mistreat her or if her parents support her education so that she can get a good job and husband and decide over her own life. My meeting with the EDS parents showed me how EDS has changed the minds of the parents, how the parents have gained hope and see that there is a way out of the poverty, through education. The EDS parents said they were happy that I bothered to use my time in Bangladesh to meet them, the poor people. I was very, very touched to see how much it meant to them that I cared about them, so I assured them that their children can achieve anything if they study hard and behave well, coming from poor conditions doesn’t mean you have to remain poor or fail in school. Their own children have proved that they are able to get the very best school results and help running EDS! I also assured the parents that I will be with EDS for my entire life!!

Another person who impressed me was Alamin, the EDS coordinator who is taking care of EDS while Hafiz is studying in Norway. EDS has five groups in different areas and Alamin keeps regularly contact and visits these study groups. He motivates university students to teach voluntarily in EDS, he arranges parents meetings, weekly EDS exams to check the students improvements, cultural events, gives classes to the EDS students, check that the oldest students’ teachers are competent, he collects the students’ school transcripts and has regularly discussions with Khulna University professors. Alamin is himself a student, but spends most of his time in EDS. He feels the poor EDS children and youth are his sisters and brothers so he is very committed to help them to get education to improve their livelihood.

Trust is essential in EDS. Hafiz is grown up in the EDS area so the EDS parents can relate to his stories of what may happen if their children don’t get education or are married off early. At the same time Hafiz is an inspiration as he, despite many challenges, achieved good education and is now working. The EDS parents listened with great attention to Hafiz advices in the parent meeting. As Hafiz has proven that he really cares about the EDS students and their parents by spending time with them, the parents trust that he wants their best and take his advices seriously.

In the beginning, local people were really negative about EDS and asked Hafiz: “What do you gain from teaching the poor kids? You will be poor yourself if you spend all your money on those kids”. EDS is now respected in the area; university professors and students ask to volunteer in the program and increasing numbers of poor children and youth wish to join. In EDS I have seen how one can change a society by engaging the local people, through motivation and a true commitment to volunteerism! I have seen that it works and I am convinced that the best way for development is by and for the local people. I wish EDS will spread to give more children and youth the chance to education in an environment that motivates them and where they feel they are valuable resources for others.

Irfan was about to quit school in class eight due to poverty and informed Alamin that he planned to start working in the jute mills to earn money. Alamin motivated Irfan and his father to let Irfan continue his studies. Irfan did not use to get good grades in school, but after joining the EDS he got good results (grade A, GPA 4.75 out of 5) in the upper secondary school exam (Secondary School Certificate, SSC). After that Irfan’s father died and again Irfan thought he had to stop studying as his father had been the only earning member in the family. Irfan informed Hafiz about his situation and Hafiz inspired him to continue his education and started providing him 1500 Taka/month (20 USD) for his family costs. Then Irfan’s mother got sick and eventually paralyzed. Again Irfan was about to stop his education to take care of his mother and earn money for her treatment. When Hafiz heard this he went to Irfan’s home and became surprised to see how patiently Irfan took care of his mother. Irfan did the shopping, cooked, cleaned the house, fed his mother and helped her to go to the toilet. Hafiz cried when he saw this difficult situation and decided to bear the treatment costs for Irfan’s mother. One friend of Hafiz, Ratna, motivated her brother to provide Irfan’s mother free treatment. Irfan’s mother was cured and Irfan could again concentrate on his studies and got a good grade (A, 4.4 out of 5) in the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) exam. Irfan is in charge of the EDS Ajax branch, and even during the hard times he still continued teaching 50 poor children in Ajax. Irfan never thought he could continue his education and study at a university in Bangladesh, but now he is admitted to the National University in Bangladesh and has started to study Bachelor in commerce.

Razu is an EDS student who graduated from high school in 2011. He is teaching the EDS students in class 7. His father drives a rickshaw and his family is very poor, so Hafiz once told him: “If you start working now you can earn more money than by being a student”. Then Razu replied: “But I want to be educated and help other people like you”. Hafiz told Razu that he could earn more money if he would give private classes, so why would Razu volunteer for the EDS. Razu replied: “It is our responsibility to help others, we should not always think about money. If you (Hafiz) can spend so much of your time for us, then why can’t we do the same for the EDS?” Hafiz was very happy to hear that an EDS student wished to help others because he had gotten help from EDS.

Asha’s high school graduation

Asha is an active EDS student, who lives in the Shonali jute mill area (Khulna, Bangladesh) with her family. Asha likes to study, but her family is poor so she never thought she would get a higher education. Some years ago she joined the EDS and in May 2011 she completed high school with an A+ (GPA 5) on the final exam (HSC exam). Asha’s parents are very interested in their children’s education, so they were really proud of their daughter.

In Bangladesh, only students with good grades from high school can sit for the entry exams at the universities. The entry exams for the universities are highly competitive and expensive, so only the very best students will ever get the chance to enter. Without reading day and night for months a student does not have any chance to pass the entry exam. The EDS therefore created groups of high school graduates who study together for the entry exams. Asha started reading and preparing herself for the entry exam, but in September she stopped coming to the EDS study group. She had to start working to earn money for her family. When Hafiz heard that, he offered to pay Asha what she would have earned from the job, so that she could quit the job and concentrate on her studies. Asha wished to continue her studies and quit the job.

Asha’s father gets ill

Then Asha’s father got severely ill and a tumor started growing on his neck. All were afraid it would be cancer. Asha was very sad because her and her father’s income sustained the entire family. If her father would get ill or die she would not be able to continue her studies. She was also concerned about how they would be able to pay for her father’s treatment, as private clinics are expensive. There are government hospitals, but as these are normally overloaded with patients they have low capacity. Asha contacted Hafiz and cried as she didn’t know what to do. Hafiz asked a friend who is a doctor in the Government hospital in Khulna for help. The doctor agreed to help out, and created a team of volunteer doctors who examined Asha’s father and later operated him for free. Prior to the operation the doctors were worried for Asha’s father and unsure whether the operation would succeed, but fortunately it went well and the doctors were relieved. Asha’s father still has a long recovery time in front of him, and therefore Asha is now the only earning member of her family (she gets 1000 Taka = 12 USD from the EDS monthly for her family). Despite economic problems, Asha continues to teach about 50 poor EDS children in her area for free and studies for the university entry exam. Asha wants to get a higher education and work to improve the livelihood of poor people in Bangladesh. Due to her difficult economic situation, she is searching for a scholarship for her studies.

Will the Asian University for Women give Asha a scholarship?

In Chittagong (east in Bangladesh) there is a fairly new, private university called the Asian University for Women (AUW, http/www.asian-university.org). The university seeks to develop Asian women to become honest community leaders who will develop their communities. Thus they offer scholarships to poor students with good academic records, who are committed to make a positive change for their country. When Trine Lund read this she became excited and suggested to Hafiz that Asha should apply. If Asha could study at the AUW she would not only get a high quality education, but also learn from fellow students from all over South-Asia, build a network with other women who volunteers to develop their communities and learn good leadership skills, in line with the EDS values. Trine contacted the AUW for more information, while Hafiz informed Asha about the AUW. Asha is now hopeful that she will get a scholarship at the AUW and fulfill her dream. The EDS also wishes that Asha will get a scholarship as she will then inspire poor, young girls in the EDS to get a higher education and to work to improve the livelihood of poor people.

July 2010 the two EDS branches Ajax jute mills and Moheswarpasha played a friendship match at Ajax jute mills, Fulbary. Both players and supporters enjoyed the event.

Official opening of EDS house

July 2009 Hafiz’ mother (left) officially opened the EDS house in Moheswarpasha.