Enterprising young teachers aim to break the cycle of poverty by
providing English-language education for the poorest of the poor.
She may be labelled by some as underprivileged, but Class III student
Shamima Hossain Lily has big dreams. The 14-year-old plans to be a
psychologist one day.
Her father Delowar Hossain, a construction worker, makes about Tk
5,000 ($62.3) a month, while her mother Monoara is a homemaker. But Lily
hit her
academic stride once she joined the JAAGO Foundation School.
"JAAGO's teaching style, countless workshops aimed at mental health
development and its library have changed me for good," said Lily, who
attends the JAAGO school in Rayerbazar of Dhaka.
JAAGO, which means "rise" in Bengali, began as one man's hobby
helping a few poor kids, and grew into an ambitious vision: that of
providing quality, free, English-language school in every district of
Bangladesh for students whose family income is less than $2 a day.
Growing pains
Growing up in an affluent family in Dhaka, Korvi Rakshand was
expected to take over the family business when he completed his
education. But at the age of 21, his life took an unexpected turn.
Hoping to give underprivileged kids a leg up, he and some friends
rented a room in the Rayerbazar slum area and, in November 2007, began
teaching 17 kids English.
"It was not a school. It was more like a place where some children
came to learn English from me," Rakshand told Khabar. "A few days later,
these children asked me, 'Sir, when will we be promoted?' Their
enthusiasm motivated me to open up a school."
As the effort progressed, the young teachers encountered various
obstacles. Each new problem spawned a new programme to address it.
After receiving a $300 donation from an uncle, they decided to
provide students with uniforms. "The students were very happy," Rakshand
recalled. But the happiness was short-lived.
"A week later, they began coming in dirty uniforms. We realised they
were not buying soap as they hardly have the money to have three
straight meals per day. They did not have any concept of brushing their
teeth or washing their hands. This got us to initiate the hygiene
programme. A month later, our teachers told us that most of them are
tired and dozing off in class due to lack of nutrition. We began giving
them food then," he said.
"Although initially our plan was to provide free English medium
education to the children, as time passed, our causes gradually branched
out from this core to other areas like women empowerment for their
mothers, and clean water for the children."
Over the next few years, despite many obstacles, JAAGO became a
foundation
overseeing six schools with 70 teachers, serving some 1,200 children; a
first aid centre, a sewing centre and a pilot project on
computer-facilitated learning.
The schools are located in Korail and Rayerbazar in Dhaka, and in Tongi, Rajshahi, Chittagong and Gaibandha districts.
"Two more JAAGO schools are in the pipeline," Rakshand told Khabar,
adding that the aim is ultimately to "have a JAAGO school at each of the
64 districts in Bangladesh and in other South Asian countries".
Injecting new ideas
To realise that dream, he is experimenting with educational
technology
– software like Webex, which can connect teachers with students
remotely via a webcam and projector, and Smartboard, a sort of
electronic syllabus that can be used in areas with no Internet
connectivity.
"This is still running on a pilot project. A board contains a
syllabus from KG to Class 12. Only a computer operator is required to
click on the board that will provide the lessons to students in the
classroom," he said.
Equipment was donated by digital content distributor Core Knowledge.
JAAGO Foundation also receives support from the government, the UN
Developmental Programme (UNDP), UN Habitat, Global Fund for Children,
World Bank and the private sector.
But teachers' pay and education expenses come primarily from
sponsorships, according to Rakshand.
"The sponsorship model is very simple. Anybody can
support education of any of these children at Tk 1,500 or $20 per month. 80% to 90% of our funds come from the sponsorship model," he said.
Rakshand says that before launching his own organisation; he
approached existing schools, and found them resistant to change and new
ideas.
"My point to them was to initiate a school that would provide the
education to these underprivileged children in English as, although this
is a second language in Bangladesh, this would really help them when
they go abroad for jobs or even look for work here. These people I went
to thought I am crazy," he told Khabar.
His unorthodox thinking is a welcome challenge to the status quo, one observer says.
"JAAGO's initiatives are definitely having a positive impact on the
education system in Bangladesh," said Nazim Farhan Choudhury, managing
director of Adcomm Limited, an advertising firm, in Dhaka.
"In fact, the initiative of taking English education to the
grassroots has changed the paradigm of education entirely in
Bangladesh," he added.
![Watched by a classroom facilitator, children at the JAAGO School in Gazipur listen to their teacher in Dhaka over video conferencing technology. The school, the first of its kind in Bangladesh, is using technology to address a shortage of qualified teachers in the area. [Photo courtesy of JAAGO Foundation]](http://khabarsouthasia.com/shared/images/2013/02/27/130227_TASHFIN_BD_JAAGO2.jpg)
![JAAGO students and their teacher in Rayerbazar, Dhaka celebrate Independence Day with the original flag of Bangladesh on March 26th, 2009.The school admits children whose families earn less than $2 a day. [Photo courtesy of JAAGO Foundation]](http://khabarsouthasia.com/shared/images/2013/02/27/130227_TASHFIN_BD_JAAGO3.jpg)
![Korvi Rakshand, 27, began the work that became the JAAGO Foundation five years ago. [Abdullah Apu/Khabar]](http://khabarsouthasia.com/shared/images/2013/02/27/130226_TASHFIN_BD_JAAGO.jpg)
