Revolution - Helping One Life at a Time
"Revolution" returned this year with the aim to bring some positive change into someone's life yet again. The initiative was conceived last year by two North South University students, Muhtasim Samaun Sadaf and Fahim Hossain Dibosh, with the pledge to help one life at a time.
Sadaf and Fahim, along with Sadaf's cousin, Moumita Mahmuda Pushan, set out in August with the dual purpose of saving the environment and giving Md. Shahid, a van puller, a means to survive.
"We wanted to make a permanent change. So, we decided to sell seedlings and invest the profit to secure someone's livelihood," said Sadaf.
Md. Shahid works for a nursery caretaker, transporting plants around Dhaka on his van. The rented van comes at a hefty cost of BDT 2000 every month. With a meagre income of approximately BDT 10,000 a month, he struggles to provide for his family of four as the sole bread winner. To empower Shahid with a sustainable income source, Sadaf and Fahim made the decision to buy him a van. They began selling plants and seedlings online to friends and family to raise the capital.
"We contacted friends and shared content regularly on Facebook. Everybody who wanted to contribute accessed us through Revolution's personal number and the video that we uploaded describing our proposal," explained Sadaf.
They offered 11 seedling varieties and delivered the plants themselves across 5 locations - Gulshan, Moghbazar, Bashundhara, Mirpur DOHS and Cantonment. For each seedling bought, people contributed BDT 100 into the fund for the van.
"We were quite overwhelmed by the response. It was a big motivation when we found so many people sympathetic to our cause and willing to contribute to help Shahid mama," said Fahim.
Over a span of 7 months, Revolution managed to raise BDT 6000, far below their required fund of BDT 9800. A setback, yes, but Sadaf and Fahim weren't disheartened. They had a singular goal and their friends were happy to help further.
"We were short of our target capital and we pooled our savings to make up for it," explained Sadaf. After the van was purchased, Moumita, a painter and sketch artist by the name of Lemon_Arts on Instagram, painted the van before handing it over to Shahid.
Shahid will be paying rent to Revolution for the next 6 months. With BDT 2000 going into the fund each month, Sadaf and Fahim hope to establish an instalment programme of sorts that exists solely to secure employment for those struggling to make ends meet. At the end of six months, Shahid mama becomes the sole proprietor of the van, with the knowledge that the money he contributed will help someone else.
"We were happy with our first initiative but this time, we wanted to develop a sustainable model that helps more people. The profit isn't for us. Through this fund, we hope to trigger a perpetual cycle of change," explained Sadaf.
Shahid was more than happy with the arrangement. "We don't usually meet people who are willing to stand by us. But I have faith that the young generation will change that, just the way these two have. I'm grateful to Revolution because I can now provide for my children properly and also, help someone like myself do the same," he said.
This isn't the first time these bright, young individuals embarked on a mission to help those traditionally, and systemically, overlooked in society. Last year, they, along with a third volunteer, Rakin Ahmed, rented three rickshaws from a nearby garage so that the pullers of those rickshaws could go home and spend Eid-Ul-Fitr with their families. At the end of the day, the volunteers earned a total of BDT 2675, part of which they invested in an ongoing project to install water purifiers in rickshaws.
"We are pretty hyped about the success of this initiative, but we want to do more. We helped one person today, but in 6 months, we can help more people. That's what gets us through the day," ended Sadaf. In the future, they hope to establish an NGO and change more lives with the work they do.
Sadaf and Fahim are on an unbreakable stride to seek out the unfortunate and empower them. With changemakers like them among us, poverty eradication in Bangladesh may not be such a lofty dream after all.
Revolution is looking for sponsors and volunteers. Visit their Facebook page for more information.
Facebook: fb.com/Revolution-534869136719900/
Mithi Chowdhury is a dog-loving-movie-watching-mediocrity-fearing normal person. Either that or a penguin. Find out at mithichy612@gmail.com