The Letter Video

The is my first attempt at making video. We have been hearing complaints from the students and teachers that just reading from the book has become quite boring. A video of the book might make the process of learning even faster as students would get drawn to it. I finished the first two lessons and in the coming weeks would be done with the whole book hopefully.

A Different Way

I must admit I was curious when I heard of the book that could make people know how to read and write within 7 days. It was a thin four page book which could even be called a real book beacause of the size and shape.It was not freely given. and the students would have to pay a  10 taka to have the book that could possibly change their lives. One might say that it is not their age to know how to read and write but we believe that there is no barrier when it comes to knowledge. It is never too late if you do not know something. I thought it would be the same booklet which I used in my childhood with the typical arrangement of letters and pictures but to my surprise it was not. I got it then why it took so long to develop such a book. Each page was decorated with four letter of Bangla Language.It might seem a random arrangement of letters but if one look carefully one can make as many as 20 words using them. The students not only become familiar with the letters but also become aware of the the many words associated with the letter.And that was the magic of the book.

My First Experience of Asking Permission for Holding Workshop

It has been quite some time since I have started working for this Mass Literacy Movement . No matter how big or small my dream is, everything would have to come across some kind of obstacles. Sometimes I wish people would read what is in my mind and think the same way. But unfortunately it is not possible. Going from school to school in this scorching heat was indeed some experience.My first encounter- Prepatory Girls School and after turning back from two gates, I at last was able to locate the right gate to enter. It was my first experience of doing something like that and even the simple act of entering a school can be so cumbersome sometime. There was the guard, the moment I stepped inside, pestering me with all sorts of questions about my motives and my intentions. And there I went for five minutes telling him what I was up to. Alas at last he did let me in and that too after having a glimpse of the letter I have brought along with me. I went upstairs to the third floor as he had told me with high hopes and the logo of the envelope on the outside for people to see my intentions. I waited and I waited and still there was no clue for me to get inside. I see the minute hand going by, I hear the bell to mark an end to one period and then another one.But still there was no clue. I thought of going home once but then thought I should finish what I have come for even if it takes me the whole day. Rather than being frustrated by the whole situation where I have put myself I started to observe and notice the details this new place has within itself, just like Mersault in The Stranger. Time did pass well, and at long last I was called inside. I was worried about what to tell and what to do. I handed down the letter to the principal and started introducing myself. The rest of what I told seemed to have been erased from my memory but I do remember the long pauses between my speeches. After some thought and some discussion, the headmaster decides to hold the workshop after Eid. It was quite frustrating for me as I have spend so much time waiting outside to get the permission. Exams and education do have preferences than the social services I am willing to tell the students. 2 hours would not have definitely be of any harm to their studies! I went on arguing within myself but on the bright side at least I got the permission and it would mean some new faces to join the movement and help make it even bigger. And for that I think I can wait for that.

The Magic Book

We at the Mass Literacy Movement Forum follow a special book written by Dr. Anisul Rahman. The book is a product of 60 years of research. His quest was to find the most effective way to teach the old people in the least amount of time. Our most recent project in Gaibandha proved that 3 hours of studying for 7 days can make an illiterate person see the light of literacy.

Let Us Join the Movement and Take Responsibility of Atleast One Illiterate Person.

We were the only nation to shed blood for a language and taking its hand we gained our independence. But sadly even after 60 of the Language movement and 40 years after our independence; we still could not make our mother tongue in a written form available to everyone. Most of the country’s population is still illiterate. Recent statistics has shown only 54.8% of the population are literate (Source: 2010, Primary and Mass Literacy Ministry). With this huge percentage of the illiterate people, development of Bangladesh would not be possible. We need to spread the light of education to them and it is only possible through volunteerism of the youth.

                Mass literacy means primary sense of literacy for everyone. Education should not be made available within the lucky few people. It should be within everyone’s reach despite their social or economic positions. The ones for whom mainstream education system cannot be adapted, mass education is the solution to their problems.

                Through education or mass education our thinking processes becomes more enhanced and we begin to understand art and culture in a way people would not have thought about before. This is the reason we encourage people all over the country to join this movement. Through volunteerism we are trying to make it a nationwide movement. Through this movement’s motive is to reach to all those illiterate people and make them truly know how to read and write. By literacy we are not just meaning their signatures but actually know how to read and write. We have a specific path that we follow as a part of all the work we do and following our guidance and trainings, it is possible for a person to know how to read and write within 2 months.

                Education plays a very vital role for the nation’s development. Education created a more capable work force for the country. And it is the reason the world values the importance of the education. Bangladesh is developing country and to bring about any big change in its development. But even now a lot of the people do not have the primary educational background. As a result we cannot go forward in terms of development and gradually the intellectual and cultural development is being destroyed. We Bangladeshis are mostly known as a nation of cheap labor.

                We have earned the name of the Bengal Tigers in many other sectors apart from sports. But for any education movement or for development we were not able to do so. According to Millennium Declaration, within 2015 Bangladesh has promised to remove illiteracy.

                For this reason beside the government, everyone who had the opportunity to get an education should take on the responsibility. By uniting everyone, through volunteerism we can make this a movement that can make the whole nation know how to read and write because without it the future of the country is bleak. Our history tells us that we have achieved a lot through our sense of nationalism and volunteerism and staying within the same path, we need volunteerism to shed away the curse of illiteracy. Apart from that we are in debt with all that the community and society has done for us.

                Let’s come together and at least take the responsibility of one illiterate person. By giving him/her the sense of letters we can play a part in establishing this truth.