A Slum Kid is Struggling for His Future

“I am in love with cricket. My idol is Shakib Al Hasan who is the number one all-rounder in the world. My dream is to play for Bangladesh,” said Shuvo, a schoolboy from Ershad Nagar slum area which is located at Tongi in Dhaka city.

Shuvo is 12 years old and lives with his grandmother. His father is no longer in contact since he got married again and his mother is currently living in Jordan where she is working as a garment’s worker. His grandmother did not have enough money to send Shuvo to school, so he started his education at the age of eight. Shuvo's confidence has been slowly growing since then. He is attending school regularly and plans to continue his studies in the future. Shuvo wants to become a cricketer.

Shuvo was born on July 10, 2007. His father’s name is Md. Aslam and mother’s name is Begum Nurbanu. He has an elder sister named Akhi Akhter. Aslam, father of Shuvo was a day labourer and mother was a garments worker. His parents were quarreling most of the time, in fact, it was a very common incident in their family. Since the birth of Shuvo, her elder sister used to look after him. Because his mother used to work in a garment during the day time. But her sister couldn’t go to school because she had to look after her younger brother. Two years later, another new member was added to their family. His mother gave birth to another son. They became a family of five members.

When Shuvo was six years old, unexpected news came to them like an uninvited guest. His father Aslam left the house without informing them anything. After a few days, he sent the news to his family through an unknown person that he married another woman. Shuvo's mother was shocked at this news as that news came to them like a bolt from the blue. It was a difficult task for her to run the entire family without the main earning person. At that time, it was very tough for her to handle the expenses of a family comprised of four members. She moved into her mother’s residence with her entire family. Shuvo's grandfather couldn’t help them financially as he was a day labourer. Shuvo got admitted into USEP Technical school. In the meantime, his grandfather died.

Shuvo's mother had decided to go abroad for earning more money. And, in early 2017, his mother went to Jordan to work as a garment’s worker. She started sending money every month for their family expenses. That same year Shuvo admitted to grade two at Tongi Children Education Program (TCEP) school maneuvering by ADRA Bangladesh.

“Shuvo is very positive. He is very diligent and doing well in cricket as well as in his studies. He is very cooperative with his friends. His mother encourages him to play. He showed interest in the game when he was a little kid,” his grandmother was unfolding his characteristic.

Right now, he is attending grade four in TCEP school and getting all sort of supports from his school, such as educational materials, health education, nutritious meal (once in a week), etc. He is very attentive to his studies. He likes to play cricket in his leisure time. Sometimes he helps one of his uncle (neighbour) at his tea stall. His aim in life is to be a national cricket player.