Nineteen-year-old Afsana Akhter is the only individual pursuing university education in a neighbourhood of a thousand people and has made a point to end the cycle of poverty for her family and pave the way for her three younger siblings to have a chance at their dreams…writes Sumaiya Iqbal
A s you make your way through the very narrow yet bustling alleys of the Rayer Bazar Slum, careful not to tumble over a chicken, a toddler crawling on the road or even a runaway goat, all the while bombarded with the vast array of smells in the air, you will eventually reach the far end where stands the Martyred Intellectuals Memorial. Right across this magnificent structure is a little network of tin-roofed shanties, packed one after the other resembling a group of tiny mushrooms allowed to grow unattended.
Delve deeper and amongst the numerous makeshift houses is one with a single room, a thin wooden door and nothing but a bed made for one, yet shared by five. On the floor there is a television. It may not sound like much but it is in this very room that a little girl learnt to be most resilient and is now on her way to making dreams come true, even if a thousand have told her to quit.
Afsana Akhter, 19, is the eldest of four sisters and the sole breadwinner of her family, earning to feed her three other siblings and grandmother. Afsana’s father left the family when she was younger and her mother, who works as a domestic help in households, only visits them occasionally. Even if the weight of the family falls on these little shoulders, this teenager has made it a point to end the cycle of poverty, which most families in slums live in, with undeniably the most powerful weapon one can possess: education.
Afsana is currently the only individual in her entire area of roughly 1,000 people pursuing a higher education at university and is in her third year at Alhaj Mokbul Hossain University College. She is majoring in Marketing and aspires to be a banker one day. She also believes that being given this advantage, she has the responsibility to educate others and thus works as a teacher for primary school children at Spreeha Foundation while tutoring others on the side.
With her contribution, she is slowly reaching out to the hundreds of children in slums giving them a chance to fight against all odds. ‘Teaching is a gift to me because it encourages me to study further. I grew up in a slum and people here do not see dreams anymore. They just try to survive. I work hard for my students and myself because I know how much it means to have education when you are born in a slum. I try to do my best always,’ says the responsible young woman.
Slums in the city are a breeding ground for diseases and crime while the lack of facilities is ongoing. Most affected are children with no proper sanitation, low levels of education and lack of basic supplies. Families in such areas live in cramped conditions with four to five people living in single rooms that too made of mud and not proper concrete. Mere acts of paying rent and providing for basic supplies cost an average household with three to four members in the Rayer Bazar Slum around Tk 10,000 with nothing left to spare.
With women usually generating the income, jobs as domestic workers or garments workers leave them with Tk 5,000 per month thus compelling them to send able children out to fend for the family as well. The male members typically work as rickshaw pullers with a monthly income of a similar amount. When life is this hard, education is a luxury.
On average, most children in the slums study till class 5 and depending on results, only a few are able to continue further and at most till class 8. The prime reason for this is the increase in costs from that level and the expenses that have to be paid for coaching made mandatory by the schools.
Afsana wishes education was cheaper or at least affordable for the poor. Girls are usually withdrawn from schooling earlier than boys for the misconception that a boy would be a better investment as girls are married off and leave. This is why those who are born in such situations are barely able to make it out.
‘I always loved learning and even teaching others about what I learnt and it always scared me to think of not going to school. All I wanted to do was read my textbooks. But slowly, expenses built up and education was becoming more and more expensive. Even buying stationery such as notebooks can be such a burden on us!’ says an upset Afsana.
She was going to quit school after finishing class 9 for the unbearable expenses and would have joined a parlor for work to take care of her sisters. Hearing of her decision, a teacher at her school who observed her merit and determination generously offered to pay for her college (class 10 to 12) fees. ‘She said she believed in me and that she knew I would do well,’ says Afsana with a grin. Wonderfully enough, Afsana was able to repay the generosity with brilliant results both in her SSC and HSC examinations. ‘I was so happy! It was a difficult time for me because I had to take care of the little ones, work and study at the same time but in the end, everything paid off!’ she shares with New Age Youth.
By the end of her life in college, Afsana heard of Spreeha Foundation, a non-profit organisation in her area, which empowered individuals in poverty by providing facilities including education. Taking her chances, she went to them with her dream of becoming an educated individual and returned with a scholarship paying for her university fees.
She knew the decision of further pursuing a degree would mean working hours on end to make ends meet for her family but she was willing to fight through. ‘People told me to stop studying and I almost did thinking of how much I could earn if I was free during the day time. They also told me I would go nowhere and would be better off married. But I knew that I had to take care of myself first if I wanted to take care of my sisters. I know if I am educated that they will be educated. I will make sure of that and will not give up until each of them has a chance at their dream,’ she says confidently.
Afsana’s is the face of resilience, perseverance and true determination overcoming all barriers that comes with deprivation and poverty. She sets an example of how much can be done if facilities are made slightly more accessible and is truly an inspiration to her generation.