Feature

East West University
“Village Development Program”

Kamrul Huda Talukdar

We dream of a Bangladesh without hunger and poverty, where people would be self-reliant. Poverty-stricken people can hardly contribute towards the welfare of a nation. How would they contribute when they are unable just to meet the basic needs for survival! But, if we lend our hands towards them, conditions could be better and hopefully poverty would be alleviated completely.

Having this dream alive, we started our journey. Perhaps, we have limitations in financial strength, but our small contributions can have immense impact on these people. This could just be the beginning of the aim towards a country of dream. The name of the project is Village Development program which has been initiated by Rotaract Club of East West University (EWU) and Junior Economists' Forum. The program started with a village called Barai Vikhara, situated in Manikganj. The objective of this project is to help these struggling people to become self-sufficient. Nine cows were given to nine families, each receiving a cow as loan without any interest and security with relaxed conditions. The fund was collected through a program called 'Add Color to their lives' organized by Rotaract Club of East West University and Junior Economists' Forum. The recipient families are dreaming of a brighter and prosperous future. One of the recipient villagers, Faraz Ali, who has gone mad due to utter poverty, was confused about the events occurring over there. But his wife and children are hopeful to bring him back to normal state. Another villager, and one of the recipients, Shovon Mia is unable to send his daughter to school. Now, he is dreaming to lead a better life. Similarly, hopes of all other families have rekindled.

We are grateful to the Rotaract Club of EWU for giving us an opportunity to be a part of this program. Furthermore, Nabiul, Parash, Ashfaq and other members, who worked so hard in collecting fund, deserve special thanks. We would like to convey our heartfelt thanks to Dr. Mohammed Farashuddin, Dr. Mohammed Musa and other faculty members who were always with us and inspired us to dream of a prosperous Bangladesh. Most importantly, we are grateful to Tanya Islam and Asaf Farashuddin, two Bangladeshis residing abroad, who have contributed a significant amount of money to this program.

This project under EWU aims to instill a nationalistic feeling among the young generation of Bangladesh. It is difficult to express how it feels when we think we have done something for our country. Being a part of this program, we now feel that we have advanced little forward towards our dream. Although, it is still a long way to go, we won't let our efforts go in vain. We invite all the affluent people to come forward and support these helpless people to bring happiness among them.

Rotaract Club, East West University