The ABC School

There's an old saying, usually attributed to Confucius, that goes something like "Give a man a fish, and you'll feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you've fed him for a lifetime."

I would translate it conceptually into something like "Education is the most important thing you can give someone to increase his opportunities."

Eglal’s ABC School is an extension of the work begun by a teacher of the American International School, Dhaka (AIS/D). Eglal gave lunch to a wandering ‘street boy’ one day at her home and asked him to come every noon. The boy started bringing his friends with him. Very soon, Eglal was feeding about one 100 children every day. She also provided them with their emergency medical needs. Nowadays, over 120 slum kids eat and get an education every day. How is that for a ray of hope?

What my children are taking for granted, here in the slums of Dhaka is perceived as a privilege. These kids are the lucky ones that, once they get admitted, will receive a bilingual education. And there is more to support that: free health care, free lunch, daily showers, uniforms, and mentoring.

I have never been too big on charity. Part of it was maybe because as a number guys I would have a good understanding on how much out a dollar goes to cover overhead cost. But here, all money goes to the school. There are volunteer board members and volunteer teachers. The donations go directly to the education and welfare of the kids. And visiting the school allows you to see how little money it takes to provide for a healthy child.

One kid I spoke to told me that he WILL go on to university. That was probably unimaginable for anybody in his family, not that long time ago. How awesome is that?

We left wishing we could give all of the kids everything they wanted and promising ourselves to find a way to make a difference while in Bangladesh. The need is so great here!