Education

Scholarship

Today’s children are the future of tomorrow. And it is education that opens up unlimited possibilities for them to build the foundation for a bright future. However in Bangladesh, 65% of our people live in the darkness of illiteracy, 40% of our children have never gone to school, and 93% of primary school-going students will never progress beyond primary education. Poverty is the main cause behind all this.

Therefore, Grameenphone is a part of the Grameen Shikkha Scholarship Management Program that makes it possible for the bright but underprivileged students to realize their educational endeavors.

Objective

This program inspires underprivileged students and gives them the opportunity to study hard and grow as real leaders so that on completion of their studies they may take the challenge to become future leaders of Bangladesh.

Project Duration

December 2003- till date

Project Description

Grameenphone, in collaboration with Grameen Shikkha, an organization of Grameen Bank Family, provides financial assistance to 100 bright but underprivileged students through a scholarship fund at different academic levels annually. The fund is being managed directly by Grameen Shikkha. Currently 100 scholarships are being managed through Grameenphone’s fund.

Project Achievement

11 students participated in Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examination last year (2010) and all of them have passed with flying colors. Four of them have achieved GPA 5.00 (A+) including one Golden A+. The rest have scored an ‘A’ grade. 5 students achieved a GPA 5 in Secondary School Certificate (SSC).

With a strong determination and an aim to become a doctor, Eyerin Al Naser was raised in the remote village of Kishoregonj along with three other siblings. She is the eldest daughter of a small poultry farmer who supports his business through micro-financing by Grameen Bank. She has accomplished brilliant results both in HSC (Golden A+) and SSC (A+). Eyerin is now preparing to get admission into Medical School. Each day is a hardship for the family. For this reason her mother makes contributions to the educational expenses of the other three children by providing private tuitions and sewing dresses for neighboring children.

Aspiring to be an Engineer, Nazmul Islam is the only son of M. A. Mannan and Jhorna Begum. They are day laborers who do not possess any land of their own to grow food and crops. Nazmul has scored GPA 5.00 (A+) in both SSC and HSC exams. He also got scholarships in Class V and Class VIII in talent pool. He has been acquiring partial financial support from his maternal uncle who works as a ‘Line Chief’ in a garment factory. Nazmul is now preparing himself to get admitted in an Engineering University.

Wishing to be a 'Clinician', Afzal Hosen is the son of a day laborer along with three other siblings. He was raised in a small house made of mud and straw. His family was unable to afford higher education, but Afzal continued to work hard and earned GPA 5.00 (A+). He also works as a private tutor to earn money for his family in his spare time. Now Afzal is preparing himself to be admitted into a Medical School.

Daughter of a construction worker, Parul Akhter was raised in a remote village of Feni district. Frustrated on getting an ‘A’ in the SSC exam in 2008, she promised herself to do better in HSC exam. Her conviction combined with her hard work and dedication earned her a GPA 5.00 (A+). Parul is now preparing to get admitted into a university to do her BBA.

Alokdeep: Non-Formal Primary School cum Cyclone Shelters

Introduction

Cyclone SIDR, a category 4 storm, struck Bangladesh in November 2007. It first hit the offshore islands and then swept across the southern coast east to west. This caused extensive damages. More than 3.1 million people in the 28 southern districts were reported to have been directly affected by the cyclone. It has been estimated that more than 3,500 people died, with extensive damages of roads and public buildings, including the destruction and partial destruction of 4,306 educational institutions. The most affected areas include Bagerhat, Barguna, Barisal, Bhola, Gopalganj, Khalkathi, Khulna, Madaripur, Patuakhali, Pirojpur, Shatkhira and Shariatpur districts.

Objective

Alokdeep aims to provide shelter when natural calamities strike. It otherwise will act as a place to provide non-formal primary education to the poor population of the community.

Project Duration

October 2009 to till date

Project Description

Grameenphone, as part of its rehabilitation plans in the SIDR affected areas, committed to provide financial assistance to build four non-formal primary school-cum-cyclone shelters named as ‘Alokdeep’ in the southern belt of the country. RDF and Shushilan, the two local NGOs that operate in the selected areas are responsible for the overall management of the project which includes the construction Sand operation of the schools. Each of the Alokdeep consists with a two-storied building along with adjacent playground.

Locations

Project Achievement

According to the plan, constructions of all four Alokdeeps have been completed and are open for use whenever it is necessary. Two of the Alokdeeps have already started their operation as non-formal primary school and it is expected that the other Alokdeeps will start similar operation in the near future.

Information Boat (Tathyo Tori) - A joint project by Grameenphone & CARE Bangladesh

Introduction

With information comes knowledge. It is believed that it is the lack of effective information services in remote areas of Bangladesh which is the core impediment towards socioeconomic manumission. Therefore, it is necessary to provide an information hub to meet the communication needs of rural communities, especially in the Char and Haor areas, who have limited access to up-to-date livelihoods and other information due to their remoteness.

Objective

Grameenphone’s Information Boat (Tathyo Tori) has been initiated to break the digital divide- both by educating and empowering rural people with the necessary information for their livelihoods. The specific focus is on poor and marginalized people of the communities.

Project Duration

Project Description

Grameenphone in association with Care Bangladesh launched the Information Boat (Tathyo Tori). Information boat is a special boat equipped with computers, internet and e-mail facilities with web camera, printers, scanners and television etc., that works as an information hub to meet information and communication needs of the rural communities living in the water-logged areas of Bangladesh. The boats move from one place to another on a fixed schedule to provide different services.

Services provided by Information Boat ranging from

• Information services
• Internet browsing
• Computer training
• Entertainment / Educational materials
• Computer compose and printing
• Video conferencing
• PCO/ Flexiload services
• Conduct medical camps depending on the demand from a particular locality

Project Achievement

A total of four Information Boats provided their service to the areas of Sunamgonj, Kishoregonj and Netrokona.

Supporting 1 GOAL: Education for All

Introduction

At the World Education Forum in Dakar in April 2000, 164 governments made a pledge to ensure Education for All (EFA) by 2015 where they agreed to spend 7% of the GDP and USD 16 Billion yearly to fulfill the need to support Education For All.
However, in 2010 it was seen that only 4 billion is available for the cause and government spent much lower than GDP 7%. With the global meltdown, it is feared that this will go further down.

Objective

The project aims to collect pledges from individuals as many as possible. These pledges will then act as a foundation for its advocacy work on education financing to governments attending the high level summit in South Africa during the World Cup.

Project Duration

Project Description

To support this cause, Grameenphone carried out various kinds of activities. These activities included the following Press campaign to major national dailies from 4 June 2010:

• Sent approximately 25 million SMSs to Grameenphone subscribers starting from 3 June 2010
• TV commercial from 11 June 2010
• RJ endorsement from all FM radio stations
• Different internal activities to motivate the employees to be a part of the cause

Project Achievement