The youth and our future
non-formal educational institutions, nee | Wednesday, 21 December 2011
non-formal educational institutions, nee
Masum Billah The youth remains a vital force to steer the country forward. When this force gets derailed, the nation awaits a bleak future, which we can never expect. Tendering youth, educating them properly and guiding them towards the bright path are the important jobs of this moment. Drugs of whatever kind have immense influence, particularly on youngsters who easily fall into the trap of the drug demos. Yaba addicts suffer from episodes of violent behaviours along with other physical and mental disorders. It has more hallucinogenic effect than heroine. Yaba damages the small blood vessels in the brain, leading to stroke. The bad effect of yaba causes severe depression and can inducethe tendency of killing oneself. In one word this tiny red pill does wonders to the mind and body of humans. The yaba addiction leads the society towards imbalance as the addicts can cause any crime showing the thumb to the law enforcers. Just like SIDR,Yaba has also shaken a particular section of youngsters representing the serious moral degradation of the society. Its force and fury stands not less than SIDR, which demolished the southern belt of the country representing the destructive natural force. Yaba also demolished the morality of our youngsters whose bright future has turned into dark, quite dark. Now it is already overdue to see the origin, causes and possible remedies of Yaba conundrum. The Nazis manufactured this tiny, but stormy pill to keep their troops awake for days which has found its place among the rich and well-to-do youngsters in Bangladesh, though it has been banned across the globe. Its ugly touch has vitiated the most formative section of the citizens of our country. Eve teasing is another social malady. Why does it happen? Though social scientists know better or they have still much scope to conduct research on this malady, we can mention some causes. Rowdy student politics and rewarding these students seriously encourage such kind of crime. The obscene films imported from Bollywood and the titillating dances and postures of the beautiful heroines and the co-actresses sometimes seem to be the competition of showing the sex-inducing parts of the body make the youths imbalanced to have the taste of female body, which is a natural desire of all males. The loose family ties and control encourage the youths to spend time more on imagining and thinking of female bodies rather than their usual task of study and gaining knowledge. Mohammad Shahjahan, an Executive Officer at Bangladesh Centre for Communication Programmes, has rightly said, "Only stronger family ties can ensure healthier, happier and better society." The family which sees love and affection among the members has the little chance of children going astray. The disintegration of the joint family has meant a loss in the social support system and it has created a new set of problems which needs to be addressed. A child learns first as a family member-long before he or she goes to school. If the child picks up the right habits and values, it will be reflected throughout his or her life. The family is the first school and the senior members of the family, whatever their occupation, are the first teachers. The child will have its first lessons from the first role models. These social causes and facts are the contributing factors of eve teasing. The immoral education business has thrown the moral education away from all tiers of educational institutions and it also contributes to go this crime unabated. The whole city of Dhaka witnesses thousands of mosques and other religious prayer houses and educational institutions. Every Friday and in the month of Ramadan it is awfully difficult to make room in the mosque, but the number of crimes in every sector is also increasing vying with these religious organsations. My question is what roles are these religious leaders who preach millions of people every Friday and Sunday playing? Doesn't it have any tangible effect on humans, particularly young minds? These religious leaders must be aware of the modern social problems and find out the solutions in the light of reasonable and practical examples and ideas. Only preaching the basis of old histories of Islam and other religions cannot allure the people to throng the mosque and other religious gatherings. Religious leaders and prayer houses along with formal and non-formal educational institutions need to play some pragmatic roles to boost up the morality of the youngsters. In the midst of these frustrations it is really encouraging to see that around 3000 volunteers , most of them are the students from different English medium and Bangla medium schools, colleges and universities who decided to give 1800-odd disadvantaged street children of the city a day of respite from their hard day's labour by swapping places with them. On November 03, when I came out of the office with our official car a group of yellow young students wearing yellow T-shirt moving and doing something came to my notice almost at every important point of the city. They actually took the duty of selling flowers and trinkets in favour of the street children who were invited to spend a blithe day at various amusement parks, have fun rides, enjoy nutritious food and get a free health check up. "We just don't do it for fun, we really want to feel the peril of the street children who pass their days in the streets instead of schools, facing the rejection of the people while pursuing them for just a little money," said Adnan, a student of Mastermined School. He continued: "I was trained for this voluntary work on October 28-29 at International School of Dhaka where the Volunteers for Bangladesh (VBD) conducted the training." Sheikh Mohammad, an A-level student of Wills Little Flowers School, also gave similar response. "At first, I felt kind of shy asking the passersby to buy a flower, but soon enough I started to get positive response from them and got motivated to sell more." Anita, O-Level student, European Standard School, said. "I never realised that volunteering for a good cause feels very noble as primary Education for All is its motto." This noble campaign happened simultaneously at 22 busiest points across the capital and also in nine other districts from 8 a.m. to 5 pm. The volunteers roamed around the Dhaka streets to collect money by selling flowers. At the end of the day the moderators collected the money from the volunteers at a particular point and deposited it at the central fund of Jaago Foundation where all the money goes. Aumee Ahmed, Communication officer of Jaago Foundation, said the daylong campaign was organised to celebrate the Universal Children's Day 2011. The campaign was supported by US Embassy, Dhaka,Airtel, Pizza Hut, KFC, Far East Knitting and Dying Ltd, Austan, Pepsi Wonderland, Green World, prescription Point, TTL, Kaharba Productions, Elite Force, Evatex and Carpet Bag.This year's campaign was to promote the enforcement of primary education irrespective of social or financial background for children all over the country. VBD powered the event in the form of 7000 volunteers nationwide, who worked to make this event a success. These volunteers stepped into the shoes of these children for a day to create awareness about children's Rights and Universal Children's Day. Ahmed revealed that one group of volunteers spent the entire day out in sun and traffic , raising awareness about the day , children's rights and importance of the cause as well as accepting donations from commuters. Another group spent the day entertaining and taking care of the underprivileged children. Excellent initiative indeed! The students of our English medium and even some Bengali medium schools hardly can grasp the real pains of the street children, slum dwellers, underprivileged youths and the farmers of Bangladesh though we cannot neglect the identities of these sections. It is necessary for the future leaders of the country to empathise with the impoverished segment of the society. KorviRakshand, founder of Jaago Foundation, said "The money raised in Dhaka will be used to help Jaago Foundation provide education to the underprivileged children in the capital. And the money raised in each district will go towards funding community development projects planned, organised and executed by the local youth group of VBD." The young register the vitality of a nation. They are the arteries of a nation. When they become morally weak and damaged, the nation must be crippled. The city of Dhaka poorly and the most indecent way accommodates many slums where the poorest and the hapless human creatures huddle with the least possible necessities of humans. The youngsters of middle and higher class should know how to extend their possible helping hands towards them to alleviate their poverty. The educational institutions of all kinds are mushrooming and the kids of higher middle class and wealthy section gather around the fashionable ones. But what they learn when the hapless condition of the motherland cannot touch their heart? When the education fails to make them feel the chill penury of the millions cannot be termed as real education. This section remains unaware of the poor social state of the nation. So,the initiative taken by Jaggo Foundation commands appreciation. The educational institutions and social organisations must come forward to infusing the mentality of 'giving back something to the community' into our youths with new genuine patriotic feelings so that they can really serve the nation when they will helm the affairs of the state. (The writer is Programme Manager at BRAC Education Programme and can be reached at: [email protected])
Masum Billah The youth remains a vital force to steer the country forward. When this force gets derailed, the nation awaits a bleak future, which we can never expect. Tendering youth, educating them properly and guiding them towards the bright path are the important jobs of this moment. Drugs of whatever kind have immense influence, particularly on youngsters who easily fall into the trap of the drug demos. Yaba addicts suffer from episodes of violent behaviours along with other physical and mental disorders. It has more hallucinogenic effect than heroine. Yaba damages the small blood vessels in the brain, leading to stroke. The bad effect of yaba causes severe depression and can inducethe tendency of killing oneself. In one word this tiny red pill does wonders to the mind and body of humans. The yaba addiction leads the society towards imbalance as the addicts can cause any crime showing the thumb to the law enforcers. Just like SIDR,Yaba has also shaken a particular section of youngsters representing the serious moral degradation of the society. Its force and fury stands not less than SIDR, which demolished the southern belt of the country representing the destructive natural force. Yaba also demolished the morality of our youngsters whose bright future has turned into dark, quite dark. Now it is already overdue to see the origin, causes and possible remedies of Yaba conundrum. The Nazis manufactured this tiny, but stormy pill to keep their troops awake for days which has found its place among the rich and well-to-do youngsters in Bangladesh, though it has been banned across the globe. Its ugly touch has vitiated the most formative section of the citizens of our country. Eve teasing is another social malady. Why does it happen? Though social scientists know better or they have still much scope to conduct research on this malady, we can mention some causes. Rowdy student politics and rewarding these students seriously encourage such kind of crime. The obscene films imported from Bollywood and the titillating dances and postures of the beautiful heroines and the co-actresses sometimes seem to be the competition of showing the sex-inducing parts of the body make the youths imbalanced to have the taste of female body, which is a natural desire of all males. The loose family ties and control encourage the youths to spend time more on imagining and thinking of female bodies rather than their usual task of study and gaining knowledge. Mohammad Shahjahan, an Executive Officer at Bangladesh Centre for Communication Programmes, has rightly said, "Only stronger family ties can ensure healthier, happier and better society." The family which sees love and affection among the members has the little chance of children going astray. The disintegration of the joint family has meant a loss in the social support system and it has created a new set of problems which needs to be addressed. A child learns first as a family member-long before he or she goes to school. If the child picks up the right habits and values, it will be reflected throughout his or her life. The family is the first school and the senior members of the family, whatever their occupation, are the first teachers. The child will have its first lessons from the first role models. These social causes and facts are the contributing factors of eve teasing. The immoral education business has thrown the moral education away from all tiers of educational institutions and it also contributes to go this crime unabated. The whole city of Dhaka witnesses thousands of mosques and other religious prayer houses and educational institutions. Every Friday and in the month of Ramadan it is awfully difficult to make room in the mosque, but the number of crimes in every sector is also increasing vying with these religious organsations. My question is what roles are these religious leaders who preach millions of people every Friday and Sunday playing? Doesn't it have any tangible effect on humans, particularly young minds? These religious leaders must be aware of the modern social problems and find out the solutions in the light of reasonable and practical examples and ideas. Only preaching the basis of old histories of Islam and other religions cannot allure the people to throng the mosque and other religious gatherings. Religious leaders and prayer houses along with formal and non-formal educational institutions need to play some pragmatic roles to boost up the morality of the youngsters. In the midst of these frustrations it is really encouraging to see that around 3000 volunteers , most of them are the students from different English medium and Bangla medium schools, colleges and universities who decided to give 1800-odd disadvantaged street children of the city a day of respite from their hard day's labour by swapping places with them. On November 03, when I came out of the office with our official car a group of yellow young students wearing yellow T-shirt moving and doing something came to my notice almost at every important point of the city. They actually took the duty of selling flowers and trinkets in favour of the street children who were invited to spend a blithe day at various amusement parks, have fun rides, enjoy nutritious food and get a free health check up. "We just don't do it for fun, we really want to feel the peril of the street children who pass their days in the streets instead of schools, facing the rejection of the people while pursuing them for just a little money," said Adnan, a student of Mastermined School. He continued: "I was trained for this voluntary work on October 28-29 at International School of Dhaka where the Volunteers for Bangladesh (VBD) conducted the training." Sheikh Mohammad, an A-level student of Wills Little Flowers School, also gave similar response. "At first, I felt kind of shy asking the passersby to buy a flower, but soon enough I started to get positive response from them and got motivated to sell more." Anita, O-Level student, European Standard School, said. "I never realised that volunteering for a good cause feels very noble as primary Education for All is its motto." This noble campaign happened simultaneously at 22 busiest points across the capital and also in nine other districts from 8 a.m. to 5 pm. The volunteers roamed around the Dhaka streets to collect money by selling flowers. At the end of the day the moderators collected the money from the volunteers at a particular point and deposited it at the central fund of Jaago Foundation where all the money goes. Aumee Ahmed, Communication officer of Jaago Foundation, said the daylong campaign was organised to celebrate the Universal Children's Day 2011. The campaign was supported by US Embassy, Dhaka,Airtel, Pizza Hut, KFC, Far East Knitting and Dying Ltd, Austan, Pepsi Wonderland, Green World, prescription Point, TTL, Kaharba Productions, Elite Force, Evatex and Carpet Bag.This year's campaign was to promote the enforcement of primary education irrespective of social or financial background for children all over the country. VBD powered the event in the form of 7000 volunteers nationwide, who worked to make this event a success. These volunteers stepped into the shoes of these children for a day to create awareness about children's Rights and Universal Children's Day. Ahmed revealed that one group of volunteers spent the entire day out in sun and traffic , raising awareness about the day , children's rights and importance of the cause as well as accepting donations from commuters. Another group spent the day entertaining and taking care of the underprivileged children. Excellent initiative indeed! The students of our English medium and even some Bengali medium schools hardly can grasp the real pains of the street children, slum dwellers, underprivileged youths and the farmers of Bangladesh though we cannot neglect the identities of these sections. It is necessary for the future leaders of the country to empathise with the impoverished segment of the society. KorviRakshand, founder of Jaago Foundation, said "The money raised in Dhaka will be used to help Jaago Foundation provide education to the underprivileged children in the capital. And the money raised in each district will go towards funding community development projects planned, organised and executed by the local youth group of VBD." The young register the vitality of a nation. They are the arteries of a nation. When they become morally weak and damaged, the nation must be crippled. The city of Dhaka poorly and the most indecent way accommodates many slums where the poorest and the hapless human creatures huddle with the least possible necessities of humans. The youngsters of middle and higher class should know how to extend their possible helping hands towards them to alleviate their poverty. The educational institutions of all kinds are mushrooming and the kids of higher middle class and wealthy section gather around the fashionable ones. But what they learn when the hapless condition of the motherland cannot touch their heart? When the education fails to make them feel the chill penury of the millions cannot be termed as real education. This section remains unaware of the poor social state of the nation. So,the initiative taken by Jaggo Foundation commands appreciation. The educational institutions and social organisations must come forward to infusing the mentality of 'giving back something to the community' into our youths with new genuine patriotic feelings so that they can really serve the nation when they will helm the affairs of the state. (The writer is Programme Manager at BRAC Education Programme and can be reached at: [email protected])