NGO comes to aid of poor pupils

A non-governmental organisation (NGO) will take the responsibility of running a school with 76 students at Misripara Seema Buddhist temple in Kuakata under Kalapara upazila of the district from January next year.

A team from Ujjibito Bangladesh, led by its chairman Rasel Amin, visited the temple about five kilometres from Kuakata tourist spot on November 11. They met Venerable Uttam Bhikkhu, priest of the temple and founder of the school that he started in 2007.

Rasel said they had decided to take responsibility of the school in the interest of the poor children and the minor communities.

“We will build a schoolhouse in January and hope to run academic activities from February,” he said, adding that the NGO will bear all the expenses of the school, including teachers' salaries.

“I built a tin-shed house last year on the temple yard and the school was shifted there as its activities were hampered due to the crowd of tourists from home and abroad. Two teachers were appointed as I can't spare much time for teaching,” Uttam Bhikkhu said.

At present, 76 Muslim, Hindu and Rakhine children from poor families are studying there free of cost, said Abdul Jabbar, a teacher.

Uttam teaches them six days a week in two shifts. He buys them the necessary stationery and sometimes even pays their exam fees.

A report on the school was published in The Daily Star on December 13, 2014, titled 'A torchbearer of education.'

Carrying on such an altruistic mission comes with some expense, so Uttam set up the Loka Sukha Buddha Bihar Poor Student Development Foundation.