Tale of a torchbearer

Visually-impaired ex-cotton mill worker runs free education centre for children in Tangail
Rafiqul Bari indeed knows what it means to see nothing. He was born with normal organs, but a slight stomach problem at the age of two changed his life forever. Wrong treatment by a quack made him blind.
So to ease a little the heavy burden weighing down physically or mentally challenged children in life, he has set up a centre to give them the basic education and vocational training for free.
Founded in 2003 at Ghatail in Tangail, the Welfare Centre for Challenged offers general education up to class-III. The “school” has now 120 students aged between five and 16, 45 of whom are mentally challenged.
Inspired by Rafiqul’s initiative, some local youths joined hands. Of them, Bhajan Chandra Nath took charge as headmaster and Md Mukul, Shamsunnahar Begum, Shiuli Akhter and Razina Akhter as assistant teachers. They also do other work at the centre.
The vocational courses include sewing and boutique training for all the children, 55 of whom are girls.
Thanks to such education, training and care, some of them have overcome their physical and mental barriers.
Ten-year-old mentally challenged Shuvo, for example, has changed in many ways. His mother said he can now respond to and follow instructions. “He can also write,” she said.
Towhid Islam, also 10, has no hands. At the centre, he has mastered the skill of writing with his toes.
The “school” is unique in that it has no steadfast rules for learning, nor is there any rigorous test. It is a care-more-force-less method. However, three examinations are held every year as in other schools, and students are required to pass for promotion to the next class. Most students take two years to complete each grade.
On completion of education at the centre, a number of students got admitted to other schools. A few others now work at different tailoring shops in the area.
Shamsunnahar, a third year student of Ghatail GBG College, teaches Bangla and Social Science at the centre. She said the instructors had no training in teaching physically and mentally impaired children, but they are doing it sincerely.
Asked about his experience in working for these disadvantaged children, Rafiqul said, “Sometimes they are considered a burden on the family and society, but it is not true. They can lead a normal life if they get proper care and some training.”
It pains him that many parents do not treat their challenged kids well. “They [parents] spend a lot of time and money for their ‘normal’ children, but ignore the needs of the challenged ones.”
Initially, six young boys and girls began teaching at the centre without any remuneration. In February this year, three other teachers were appointed. They all now get a little honoraria.
In the beginning, arranging money was his main challenge. So he started a microcredit programme to maintain costs. The Ghatail cantonment authorities came forward to provide a second-hand microbus and Tk 1 lakh. Things eased further for him when local political, social and business leaders extended support to his cause.
In 2005, the then deputy commissioner of Tangail allotted a piece of land at Chandusi of Ghatail municipality for the setting up of the centre.
“Basically, the centre runs on the income from the microcredit programme and some donations,” Rafiqul told The Daily Star.
BECOMING A TORCHBEARER
Born in 1968 in Baguntali under Tangail upazila, Rafiqul remained at home for much of his childhood. His parents, whom he lost in his 20s, took him to many doctors but no treatment could restore his vision.
In 1983, he undertook a series of training at the National Federation of the Blind, as he wanted to grow into a self-dependent man. He also received a multitude of vocational training.
He joined Tangail Cotton Mills at Mirzapur as a worker in 1989 but lost his job when the company laid off staff in 2002.
It was time for a new beginning, he thought. So he returned home and set up the centre with the money he had saved and got through the golden handshake.
The school section started its journey with 15 students in May the same year.
Rafiqul Bari terms the progress made in the last eight years positive. But his challenges lie ahead. “I want to set up a hostel for the children and arrange training for the teachers,” he said.
As for himself, Rafiqul, still single, lives in a tin-shed room near the centre. He does his own shopping, cooking, washing and everything else.
He can move alone. He has his stick to show him the way.

Courtesy of The Daily Star

Related News

Farmers find hope in solar-powered irrigation

EAM Asaduzzaman Life is easier now for Abu Taleb, 45, a potato farmer of Saddyo Puskuruni village in Rangpur. A year ago, high irrigation costs for diesel-run pumps, which he bore out-of-pocket, made it difficult for him to provide for his three children. Now, after switching to solar-powered irrigation, his livelihood has changed for the ... Read more

Shoilmari: A river dead, livelihoods endangered

Dipankar Roy The once mighty Shoilmari river in Khulna’s Batiaghata upazila can now only be called a river on paper. In just three years, it has been filled with silt. The once 150-metre-wide river has now turned into a 3 to 4-metre narrow channel. Boats cannot sail there in low tide and people can cross ... Read more

Countrywide heavy rains until 13 Sep

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The current heavy rains brought on by the depression at the Bay of Bengal are predicted to last until Tuesday, according to the weather forecast service. The low will weaken in next 24 hours and move towards the plain land through Odisha and towards Chhatishgarh through West Bengal afterwards. Mostafa Kamal ... Read more

120 hills disappeared from Chattogram in 4 decades

An environmental group called Bangladesh Environment Forum alleged Sunday that 120 hills had vanished from Chattogram city in the past forty years. The port city’s hills decreased from 32.37 square kilometers in 1976 to 14.02 square kilometers in 2008, according to a written statement from the forum’s general secretary, Aliur Rahman. He was addressing during ... Read more

A young agro enthusiast helping farmers in Tangail

Mirza Shakil When the pandemic hit and in-person classes at universities were suspended, Shakil Ahmed, then a final-year student of agriculture department at Noakhali Science and Technology University, had returned home. But he refused to sit idle, and so, asked his father for a plot of land to farm squash. The yield was massive as ... Read more

Brood fish release sample eggs in Halda

Brood fish in the Halda have released sample eggs – indicating full spawning – since Saturday night at various points of the river. Egg collectors got 200-500 grammes of eggs on average since Saturday night from the river. Ashu Barua from Madunaghat area, a seasoned egg collector, told The Daily Star that they started coming ... Read more

Ban on catching hilsa to end at midnight after 2 months

The ban on catching hilsa will be lifted at midnight today after two months. The fisheries department said due to the two-month ban, it will be possible to collect the desired target of 6 lakh tonnes of hilsa fish this time, reports our Barishal correspondent. However, many fishermen said they are not interested in going to ... Read more

Second chance at education for Pirojpur elderly

“I never knew there’s so much beauty and fun hidden inside a book,” said 44-year-old Salma Begum, who learned to read and write very recently. “I had to blindly trust anyone who could read to let me know the contents of important documents. Now I’m self-sufficient in that regard, and use my own signature instead of ... Read more

Barind farmers at mercy of DTW operators

Ethnic minorities suffer more Suzon Ali . Rajshahi Farmers in the Barind region are held hostage by Barind Multipurpose Development Authority deep tube well operators. Some farmers in the region said that deep tube well operators did not irrigate their land properly while others said that operators extracted extra money and ‘undue benefits’ from them. Talking ... Read more

Local seeds for local needs

Female farmers of Khulna exchange varieties at fair Dipankar Roy Seeds of local varieties – preserved by families for generations – have been the most adaptive way of cultivation for the distinct climatic conditions of the country’s coastal areas. In what is considered a yearly tradition, female farmers exchange the seeds at the “seed fair”, ... Read more

Ingenious indigenous innovation

Kabuljan Begum’s eco-friendly oven makes waves across Rajshahi Anwar Ali Fourteen years ago, Kabuljan Begum developed an environment-friendly oven to keep herself and her family safe from air pollution caused by open-fire ovens. Her solution has now become the go-to choice for hundreds of others in the rural areas of Rajshahi region, covering three districts ... Read more

Tow month long hilsha fishing ban imposes from today

In a bid to conserve Jatka or juveniles of hilsa, the government has imposed a two-month ban on netting, selling and transporting hilsa in six sanctuaries from today (March 1). Bimal Chandra Das, fisheries officer of Barishal, said the ban is going to be observed across 432km area of six districts, including three in Barishal division. ... Read more

Food crisis hits bee colonies

Thousands kill each other, climate change blamed Emran Hossain This year’s frequent, untimely winter rain left bees, a key pollinator, in an unprecedented conflict as they died in thousands fighting over food, beekeepers and government agricultural extension officials said. Affected beekeepers said that they never faced a crisis of food for bees to this extent ... Read more

Scientists expect Kakila will roam into water again

Freshwater garfish, known as Kakila in Bangladesh, once found in open water bodies, especially in rivers, canals, haors etc., is a delicious fish that is rich in nutrients, but now it is almost extinct, due to the effects of climate, natural disasters and various man-made habitats, damage to breeding grounds and the number of the ... Read more

The fastest Sailfish caught in the Bay of Bengal

Curious people rushed to see and touch the Sailfish caught in the fisherman’s nets on Wednesday Two marine fish have been caught in fishermen’s nets in the Bay of Bengal. Fishermen locally call it ‘golpata’ fish because of the shape of its back fins. Experts say, actually these are sailfish, members of the billfish family ... Read more

Bad days for good farmers in Bangladesh 

Chemically grown pineapples see higher demand Consumers are falling for chemically grown eye-candy pineapples that look bigger and brighter than the naturally farmed ones but actually taste bland and have less nutrient content. This trend is hurting the farmers who are not using excessive chemicals while growing the fruit. To get a firsthand experience of ... Read more

Three in one

Cost effective agricultural tool made in Dinajpur A locally manufactured harvester in Dinajpur proves to be an all-in-one device, while the cost is relatively low. Anwar Hossain, a 51-year old quack at Dakkhin Basudevpur village under Phulbari upazila, designed the machine that can harvest, thresh and pack paddy or wheat simultaneously. The machine, which requires only ... Read more

Grabbers feast on Bakkhali river

Lax legal process encourages enchroachers in Cox’s Bazar Bakkhali river in Cox’s Bazar is getting narrower day by day as the land grabbers are out to encroach on both sides of the river by erecting illegal structures. Many of the grabbers have either built structures or hung signboards on the encroached land along the banks ... Read more

Unusual rain at end of monsoon

Just before the end of the monsoon, the country has been experiencing unusual October rains following three drier months in a row when the monsoon was supposed to be most active with heavy rainfalls. Usually, the country experiences a maximum of eight rainy days in October, the Met office website says. But this time around, ... Read more

Conqueror of odds

Pirojpur farmer prevails over salinity through innovation Defying the onslaught of salinity that had long been affecting rice cultivation, a farmer in Pirojpur is now excelling in fish and vegetable farming, setting an example for others to follow. “Making profits from the combined farming of fish and vegetables is a total shift from the loss ... Read more