In an unprecedented show of management skills, the students of Dhaka University have been collecting and disseminating relief goods to flood-hit eastern and south-eastern regions of the country.
It has been five days and the flood situation has improved a little, but hundreds of people with cash and kind are still thronging at Dhaka University.
However, enthusiasm for managing this huge task has not waned even slightly.
As the FE made a tour of the university on Thursday afternoon, several trucks from Sammilita Babosayee Parishad of the FBCCI reached Teacher-Student Centre (TSC)-one of the three centres where students collect aid.
Two other centres are the Dhaka University Central Students' Union (DUCSU) and the Dhaka University Gymnasium.
An estimated 1,200 volunteers work daily in these places as they start packaging once the aid reach there. Around 100 trucks have been sent to different districts up till now.
A package comprise of puffed rice, flattened rice, biscuits, primary medicine, candles, torch, sugar, molasses, baby and adult diapers, baby foods, saline, drinking water, clothes and water purification tablets.
"Anybody, including students from schools, colleges and universities, from anywhere in Bangladesh can come here and join us in volunteering," said Shahariar Md Yamin, one of the members of a medical team.
They also sent over 30 doctors in flood-affected districts.
SHARING MOTIVATION
It was 3:50 on Sunday night. Synthia, a third-year physics student at Begum Badrunnessa Govt Girls' College, was working with her friends at the TSC. Like Synthia, countless other volunteers believe the dreams they have harboured for Bangladesh will now be realised by students.
One of the volunteers is Al Imran, a DU alumnus and a banker. His elder son, Izaz, a sixth-grader at Birshrestha Noor Mohammad College, was seen carrying heavy sacks with his father inside the TSC at 1:00 am on Friday.
Despite that heaviness, the little Izaz said he was enjoying the work and felt good about contributing to his country. Al Imran, on the other hand, wants to instill in his son the value of serving the country from an early age.
ENJOYING TOGETHERNESS
Synthia and her college friends came in the evening and worked throughout the night. They enjoyed teamwork as Synthia said they earlier raised funds from their college in smaller groups. "It's a new experience," she cited.
The volunteers at TSC are organised into several sectors, each overseen by a coordinator. Under each coordinator are several team leaders, with 10-15 students working under each leader.
While some issues arose on Thursday and Friday, they were largely resolved by Saturday. Mustafa, a DU student of international relations and one of the volunteers, said some lack of coordination is normal in such sudden efforts.
"Many of us were not prepared or experienced in this kind of work, but we stepped forward anyway," he added.
Mohammad Tanmoy Zaman Taj, a first-year student of Dhaka Medical College, joined the volunteers at TSC on Sunday. "I've never been involved in such work before, but it's nice to work with everyone."
Mohammad Ridwan, a fourth-year Computer Science student at Prime University, came with his friend Nazmul Hussain, a student of Shaheed Suhrawardy College. Both are from Mirpur.
Nazmul said he was not able to sleep since Thursday night, thinking about the flood-affected people. He worked non-stop for two days and developed blisters on his feet.
DEDICATION AND TEAM SPIRIT
The volunteers worked spontaneously. When tired, they would rally with slogans or sing songs. As the FE tried to talk to them at night, most volunteers were too engrossed in work to spare time for comment.
While some gasped for breath, others chanted slogans to gather pace. Two volunteers sat nearby, singing patriotic songs like "Amon deshti kothao khuje pabe nako tumi" [You will find such a country nowhere]."
Amidst this dedication, humorous chants slogans like "If you're not working, you're Harun uncle" brought laughter to give some relief from their labour.
Some slogans were patriotic as they go: "When people die in floods, Abrar remembers you", "Our struggle continues" and "Inqilab Zindabad".
Waliullah, a DU alumnus who worked for RTV, claimed he quit his job and joined the movement because RTV did not cover student protests adequately. He frequently led the chants, with others joining in.
Some volunteer teams also traveled to flood-affected regions, including Feni and Comilla, where they assisted local volunteers and delivered relief supplies through the District Commissioner or, in some cases, the army.
Nadim Shuvo, a volunteer coordinator, said, "We'll continue this relief work. The student movement will persist until everything is back to normal."
bdsmile@gmail.com and
shakibtahmid05@gmail.com