The blind torchbearer

Children start their day with physical exercise (left) and blind Rafiqul Bari (cross-marked) with other teachers at the School for Disabled at Ghatail. PHOTO: STAR

Inspired by his noble mission, six local youths joined him to extend a helping hand to the disabled. They are giving voluntary service to the School for Disabled at Ghatail upazila headquarter in Tangail district.

Their initiative has drawn sympathy and goodwill from local people.

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Rafiqul Bari Khan, 36, a bachelor, and the six youths are running the institution since 2003 without taking any financial benefit.

Rafiqul lost his eyesight at the age of two due to wrong treatment for diarrhoea by a quack.

His father Abdur Rahim Khan spent a lot of money but to no result.

"I knew about the National Blind Organisation (NBO) through the radio. I got admitted there in 1983 and received training." After training from NBO, Rafiqul also took training on some vocations in 1986 from an institute at Tongi in Gazipur, run by the Social Welfare Ministry.

He joined Tangail Cotton Mills in 1989.

Since then he had a dream to do something for the disabled like him.

But Rafiqul became unemployed in 2002 when the mill was laid off. He was offered a 'golden handshake'.

Rafiqul started his real mission in life the same year (2002).

He first established a Disabled Welfare Centre in July 2002. Later he opened a school to impart education to disabled children.

After some days, Morsheda Khatun, Bhajon Chandra Nath, Mukul Hossain, Rozina Siddiqua, Sheuly Akhtar and Shamsunnahar joined him and volunteered their service. They are able-bodied youths.

They are teaching the disabled children with love and affection since setting up of the school.

There are 80 students on roll. Four of them are blind, 20 physically disabled, 22 with impaired hearing and 34 are disabled in intelligence. Twenty-five of them come to school regularly and attend classes.

The days programme starts with physical exercise in the morning in the backyard, followed by classes on Bangla, English, general knowledge, mathematics and painting.

Performance of students and teachers are reviewed regularly.

Many illiterate children can read or write now.

The school was formally inaugurated on August 19, 2003 by former state minister for Jute Lutfur rahman Khan Azad MP, now State Minister for NGO Affairs.

The state minister donated Tk 20,000. Later the upazila administration allotted one metric ton of rice.

"That is all. Since then I did not get any help from the government to run the school.

"Running the school is becoming harder due to increasing financial crisis".

The school runs at a two-room house, rented at Tk 1000 per month. One room is used as classroom and the other for office. The school has to pay around Tk 150 as monthly electricity bill.

But the school has no income as the students are from poor families. Tuition fee is not realised from them.

Moreover, the school authorities pay Tk 1200 per month for transporting the students to and from the school by rickshaw vans, Rafiqul said.

"As we have to deal with four kinds of disabled students, we need at least four rooms and a play ground for recreation and mental development of the students", he said.

Morsheda Khatun, a graduate from a local college, heads the teaching staff.

She said sports facilities are vital for such disabled children, but there is none except two caromboards.

Education for the disabled is mainly given through instruments, but we lack those and also proper training.

She said the teachings at the school are helping the children tremendously.

"Many students who could not understand anything earlier now understand many things. Their level of understanding is growing".

Rafiqul regretted that the local administration did not support their initiative in any way.

He met the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) several times but did not get any positive response. "Rather the UNO discourages me", he said.

Rafiqul is very grateful to Ghatail Upazila Social Welfare Officer Nikhil Chandra Majumder who helped him get registration of the Disabled Welfare Centre (DWC) as an NGO when it was started.

"We the disabled people are not the burdens on society. We do not seek pity. We demand our rights", he said.

Disabled people can lead a normal life if educated and trained, he asserted. Rafiqul wants to build the school as an ideal institution for the disabled in the country.

Hearing impaired Dulal, 14, is among the students. Talking to this correspondent, his rickshawpuller father Shamsul Haq said his son has improved a lot since he started attending the school.

Similar view was expressed by retired army man Shahjahan, father of mentally impaired AL-Amin Chayan, 15.

"I an happy about the improvement. Now Chayan can understand what he should do and what he should not do", he said.