By Marian Gomes (YES 2019 - 2020, Bangladesh, placed by CIEE in Chattanooga, TN) and Sabrina Khan (YES 2019 - 2020, Bangladesh, placed by Ayusa in Eugene, OR)

In December, we, along with several other Bangladeshi YES alumni, organized two projects to support underprivileged people in our communities: Project Aleya and Project Asroy. For Project Aleya, we organized an event to teach underprivileged children about American holidays. For Project Asroy, we raised money to buy winter gear and food for underprivileged families. 

Project Aleya aimed to dispel stereotypes and familiarize underprivileged students in Bangladesh with American festivals. At the event, we had eight booths run by alumni where participants could learn gratitude and leadership, experience American holiday traditions, and play American games. The holidays we focused on were Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, since those all take place close to when the event was held. The participants were students from a local primary school between the ages of 10-12. One of the most rewarding moments from the event was from an activity where we had a wheel spinner, and the students had to spin the wheel and do whatever action the spinner landed on. One student spun the wheel, and landed on “Show Gratitude”. The student turned to his friend and told him how thankful he was for their friendship, and how much he appreciated that his friend had always been there for him. Later, his friend told us that he had never felt so appreciated, and that he was so thankful for the event for giving him that experience. 

We were inspired to host this project by our stays in the United States, where we shared our Bengali culture with our host communities. After we returned to Bangladesh, we wanted to do the same in Bangladesh by sharing American culture with Bangladeshi youth. We also hoped to encourage the children to apply for the YES program in the future through this event. 

In addition, we also implemented Project Asroy in December, which raised money for winter supplies and food for 120 underprivileged families in a small village called Bajitpur of Kishoreganj. Many underprivileged people suffer during the winters because they cannot afford warm clothing and have to work outside in cold conditions. Overall, we raised 70,000 BDT (~$800 USD) through our friends, families, neighbors and local businesses. We donated blankets, winter clothes, sanitary pads, and food items such as rice, lentils, salt and oil. All of the families had either lost a family member to COVID-19 or had lost their source of income. 

The most rewarding aspect of the project was seeing the smile on peoples’ faces when they received their donations. It was so heartwarming to know that we were contributing to their happiness in some small way. We also learned more about the importance of teamwork and volunteering for social welfare activities through working on this project. We all came away from the project with a greater sense of purpose and social responsibility. 

Through both Project Asroy and Project Aleya, we developed a deep sense of responsibility for helping those who are underprivileged. In the future, we aim to implement more projects that will help those in need and contribute to the education of children.