Aiming for the best

At age 28, when Alamgir Miah became head teacher of his school, he was determined to make it one of the best schools in Bangladesh. This was no small ambition. His school is the Char Filiz primary school, located in one of the poorest and most remote areas in Bhederganj Upazilla, Bangladesh.

Alamgir faced an uphill struggle from the start. There was a shortage of teachers, classroom space and furniture. It also seemed that if he was going to improve his school, he was going to have to do it on his own. Nobody else in the community seemed able to help.

A glimmer of hope appeared when Concern offered to lend a hand. It was arranged that Alamgir, along with some key members of the community, would receive practical training on how to improve the school. They were also taken to visit one of Bangladesh’s most reputable schools, where they picked up many valuable ideas.

As a result of this training, many community members became much more aware of their responsibilities towards the school and its students. This has had a dramatic effect. Since then, enough funds have been raised to build two extra classrooms and a library.

Meanwhile, Alamgir was able to recruit four volunteer teachers. Most impressively, he has managed to build a place for 30 of his poorest students to live. Now he’s arranging so that all the schoolchildren are given a basic medical check. Things have come a long way since the days when he first took the job as head teacher.

Through Concern, Alamgir has also recently been given a laptop and wireless internet connection. He quickly set up a profile on Facebook to help raise more funds for the school. Alamgir is very excited about the new opportunities that this training may present. He sees it as another tool he can use to help make his school one of the best in Bangladesh.