Youth Organisations

Fazle Rabbi Khan and Sheikh Iraj

There are different youth-based organisations in our country. These organisations are actively involved in many social activities, like providing free education and healthcare, as well as  other charity work like distributing food and clothes. Such youth organisations can create an example in the development of the country, as they are mainly focussing on educating the young generation, fighting against poverty and fulfilling other social needs.
This week, Y&I talked with some youth organisations to find out about their work and contribution to the society.

Jaago Foundation

Jaago Foundation (JF) is an organisation which is working to provide education to underprivileged children and help empower youths in Bangladesh.
Korvi Rakshand, founder of the Foundation, told Y&I: “When I started the journey back in 2007 with only 17 children, the struggle was inescapable. Today, after nine years of bumpy ride, when I see the smiling faces, eyes full of dreams to achieve something, I feel proud. All the sacrifices I made, the hardships we went through have paid off. They give me the strength to dream further to rebuild the nation through education and youth empowerment.”
JF has two principle programmes, one deals with education and the other with youth.
Under the education programme, it has 13 schools, where a total of 2,200 underprivileged children are getting free education. It also has 20,000 volunteers in the youth programme, which focusses on youth development through various social involvements.

Poverty Fighter Foundation

Poverty Fighter Foundation (PFF) is an organisation which is working to eliminate poverty. PFF aims to bring substantial changes in the lives of  impoverished people by helping them to become self-reliant. PFF is currently working to ensure  basic rights of underprivileged children. Their education and nutrition are its top priorities.
“Every year, millions of children  living in urban slums and streets are deprived of proper education, their basic right, and remain illiterate for the rest of their lives. Most of them are condemned to lead a life of eternal hardship and poverty. We’re confronting this multi-dynamic problem with a highly dedicated youth community,” said Shaba Binte Amin, founder of PFF.
PFF’s journey started in 2011 and within five years, it has achieved much.
Serving more than 80 children, PFF’s school project is running two schools, one at Uttara in the capital and the other in Khulna city. The children are taught in the English version of the national curriculum.
Its ‘Healthy Human’ and ‘Mission Hygiene’ programmes provide nutritious meals twice a week and hygiene products to the students, all free of cost.
“This year, we’ve setup a computer lab to introduce the modern wonder machine to the children and teach them its operations. We’re constantly working to ensure maximum utilisation of our resources and render the best possible services to these children through modern teaching methods and techniques, and by creating a proper learning environment,” Shaba said.
“There are so many unrecognised talented youths inside and outside Dhaka city. They show great potentials in different fields, from pottery to digital graphics. Through our newest project, ‘Talent Trace’, we’ll sponsor at least two young people every year. We’ll encourage them and flourish their talents by providing the necessary support,” she added.

Asha – The Light of Hope

Asha – The Light of Hope is a volunteering team, which was formed in 2014. Initially, it started as a small volunteering group where the co-founders used their own pocket money to buy food for slum children. Slowly, the group became bigger. Currently, 20 people are working as its permanent members, along with 200 volunteers.
Founder Talha Sayed said: “We named it ‘Asha - The Light of Hope’ as we hope for a day where no one in the street will sleep hungry. With this vision, we have been working for more than a year now. But in this one year, we have received more criticism then appreciation. A lot of people think that charitable organisations do not use donation money properly. This is a very wrong concept which most people seem to have. In spite of so many barriers, my friends and I have been working enthusiastically and we are continuing our journey in what we do best, because we know the truth”.
“Our team has done quiet a few events, but the most successful one that we did was last year during Ramadan. Named ‘Ramadan Mubarak’, we were able to feed more than a thousand children at the event. And we also provided more than 800 new Eid clothes for the underprivileged children. This year, we are trying to introduce a new concept named ‘One-is-to-One’. The basic idea is that if one person helps only one person, the burden will be less on the person who is trying to help, rather than one person taking on the burden of several people. I believe, if each person helps one needy person, one day there will be no poverty in the world,” Talha added.
This year, the organisation is also planning a campaign ‘Summer Relief’, to set up water tanks in different areas of Uttara, so that rickshaw-pullers, street vendors and the public can have easy access to water.

Shishuder Jonno Foundation

Shishuder Jonno Foundation (SJF) works for poor, helpless, autistic children. It is fighting for their rights, trying to give them primary education and helping them to express themselves.
Established in 2011, it started a school called ‘Sopnopuri’ in  Tangail with 70 students. Now, it has five schools in Tangail, Dhaka, Chittagong and Jamalpur, and 500 volunteers all over the country. Every member gives Tk 100 monthly to the foundation.
SJF has also established a children’s newspaper, named ‘Shishukishor Barta’, and an online children’s news portal: www.skbnews.com.
A total of 400 students now study in ‘Sopnopuri’ schools. The children are fed eggs, milk and cake weekly, and get ‘biriyani’ once a month. Every Eid, they receive new dresses and other gifts.
“In future, I wish the Foundation will have a technical centre, to give vocational training to street children. This year, we will work all over the country with various programmes, for example iftar party during Ramadan, warm clothes distribution in winter, etc. I believe, one day Shishuder Jonno Foundation will have 64 schools in 64 districts. We will try to ensure an enjoyable education environment in every school,” said Muid Hasan Torit, founder and chairman of SJF.

Mastul Foundation

Mastul Foundation works for improving the lives of underprivileged people. It is involved with different social activities, where the main objective is to develop the living condition of deprived people.
It was formed in 2013 with very little resource. Now, the organisation is a bit more successful and involved with various projects to achieve its goals. It has a total of 4,500 volunteers across the country.
The Foundation runs four health camps, which are providing services to more than 150 patients regularly. It has other  projects like planting trees, providing winter clothes, arranging birthday celebrations for street children and many more.
“I believe youth is the strength of a nation. If the young generation does its best, the development of a country is a certainty. I want to incorporate this youth strength for the development of our country,” said Kazi Reaz Rahman, founder of Mastul Foundation.

Youth Organisations

Fazle Rabbi Khan and Sheikh Iraj There are different youth-based organisations in our country. These organisations are actively involved in many social activities, like providing free education and healthcare, as well as other charity work like distributing food and clothes. Such youth organisations can create an example in the development of the country, as they are mainly focussing on educating the young generation, fighting against poverty and fulfilling other social needs. This week, YI talked with some youth organisations to find out about their work and contribution to the society. Jaago Foundation Jaago Foundation (JF) is an organisation which is working to provide education to underprivileged children and help empower youths in Bangladesh. Korvi Rakshand, founder of the Foundation, told YI: When I started the journey back in 2007 with only 17 children, the struggle was inescapable. Today, after nine years of bumpy ride, when I see the smiling faces, eyes full of dreams to achieve something, I feel proud. All the sacrifices I made, the hardships we went through have paid off. They give me the strength to dream further to rebuild the nation through education and youth empowerment. JF has two principle programmes, one deals with education and the other with youth. Under the education programme, it has 13 schools, where a total of 2,200 underprivileged children are getting free education. It also has 20,000 volunteers in the youth programme, which focusses on youth development through various social involvements. Poverty Fighter Foundation Poverty Fighter Foundation (PFF) is an organisation which is working to eliminate poverty. PFF aims to bring substantial changes in the lives of impoverished people by helping them to become self-reliant. PFF is currently working to ensure basic rights of underprivileged children. Their education and nutrition are its top priorities. Every year, millions of children living in urban slums and streets are deprived of proper education, their basic right, and remain illiterate for the rest of their lives. Most of them are condemned to lead a life of eternal hardship and poverty. Were confronting this multi-dynamic problem with a highly dedicated youth community, said Shaba Binte Amin, founder of PFF. PFFs journey started in 2011 and within five years, it has achieved much. Serving more than 80 children, PFFs school project is running two schools, one at Uttara in the capital and the other in Khulna city. The children are taught in the English version of the national curriculum. Its Healthy Human and Mission Hygiene programmes provide nutritious meals twice a week and hygiene products to the students, all free of cost. This year, weve setup a computer lab to introduce the modern wonder machine to the children and teach them its operations. Were constantly working to ensure maximum utilisation of our resources and render the best possible services to these children through modern teaching methods and techniques, and by creating a proper learning environment, Shaba said. There are so many unrecognised talented youths inside and outside Dhaka city. They show great potentials in different fields, from pottery to digital graphics. Through our newest project, Talent Trace, well sponsor at least two young people every year. Well encourage them and flourish their talents by providing the necessary support, she added. Asha The Light of Hope Asha The Light of Hope is a volunteering team, which was formed in 2014. Initially, it started as a small volunteering group where the co-founders used their own pocket money to buy food for slum children. Slowly, the group became bigger. Currently, 20 people are working as its permanent members, along with 200 volunteers. Founder Talha Sayed said: We named it Asha - The Light of Hope as we hope for a day where no one in the street will sleep hungry. With this vision, we have been working for more than a year now. But in this one year, we have received more criticism then appreciation. A lot of people think that charitable organisations do not use donation money properly. This is a very wrong concept which most people seem to have. In spite of so many barriers, my friends and I have been working enthusiastically and we are continuing our journey in what we do best, because we know the truth. Our team has done quiet a few events, but the most successful one that we did was last year during Ramadan. Named Ramadan Mubarak, we were able to feed more than a thousand children at the event. And we also provided more than 800 new Eid clothes for the underprivileged children. This year, we are trying to introduce a new concept named One-is-to-One. The basic idea is that if one person helps only one person, the burden will be less on the person who is trying to help, rather than one person taking on the burden of several people. I believe, if each person helps one needy person, one day there will be no poverty in the world, Talha added. This year, the organisation is also planning a campaign Summer Relief, to set up water tanks in different areas of Uttara, so that rickshaw-pullers, street vendors and the public can have easy access to water. Shishuder Jonno Foundation Shishuder Jonno Foundation (SJF) works for poor, helpless, autistic children. It is fighting for their rights, trying to give them primary education and helping them to express themselves. Established in 2011, it started a school called Sopnopuri in Tangail with 70 students. Now, it has five schools in Tangail, Dhaka, Chittagong and Jamalpur, and 500 volunteers all over the country. Every member gives Tk 100 monthly to the foundation. SJF has also established a childrens newspaper, named Shishukishor Barta, and an online childrens news portal: www.skbnews.com. A total of 400 students now study in Sopnopuri schools. The children are fed eggs, milk and cake weekly, and get biriyani once a month. Every Eid, they receive new dresses and other gifts. In future, I wish the Foundation will have a technical centre, to give vocational training to street children. This year, we will work all over the country with various programmes, for example iftar party during Ramadan, warm clothes distribution in winter, etc. I believe, one day Shishuder Jonno Foundation will have 64 schools in 64 districts. We will try to ensure an enjoyable education environment in every school, said Muid Hasan Torit, founder and chairman of SJF. Mastul Foundation Mastul Foundation works for improving the lives of underprivileged people. It is involved with different social activities, where the main objective is to develop the living condition of deprived people. It was formed in 2013 with very little resource. Now, the organisation is a bit more successful and involved with various projects to achieve its goals. It has a total of 4,500 volunteers across the country. The Foundation runs four health camps, which are providing services to more than 150 patients regularly. It has other projects like planting trees, providing winter clothes, arranging birthday celebrations for street children and many more. I believe youth is the strength of a nation. If the young generation does its best, the development of a country is a certainty. I want to incorporate this youth strength for the development of our country, said Kazi Reaz Rahman, founder of Mastul Foundation.