Story of A Slum Kid: Rassel Wants to Be an Engineer

ADRA in Bangladesh is working to improve the livelihood of the slum children across the country through its child education programs. Chalantika Slum Children Development Project (CSCDP) is working closely with the deprived slum children in the Chalantika slum of Dhaka city. CSCDP has become the beacon of hope for the children in the Chalantika slum as CSCDP is offering free quality education for destitute children.

There are numerous children in the slum who has big dream dormant in their minds. Md. Rassel is one of them. Rassel wants to be an engineer in the future. The 11-year-old kid attends Class-V. He has learned a lot of new things from the CSCDP center.

Rassel’s parents are living in their village which is located in the Borguna district. But Rassel doesn’t live with his parents. His father Md. Jakir sells tea in his tiny tea stall.

“I don’t live with my parents as they live in the village and there’re so many drug-addicted people are living around them. Thus, I came to Dhaka and started living with my grandmother. I’m missing my parents a lot. I’ve got the opportunity to study in the CSCDP center. I’ve learned a lot of new things from the CSCDP center,” Rassel was describing his challenges and opportunities.

Rassel and his grandmother live in a one-room house. The house is made of bamboo and tin. There is one toilet and two stoves which they need to share with three other families. Like other slums areas, the Chalantika slum is missing out on the living standards and the slum dwellers have to compromise with basic amenities of living.

“I like to attain the classes in CSCDP center as I like the method of teaching. I can enjoy the recreational classes as well. Our teachers teach us diverse topics including social awareness and moral ethics which are helping us to develop our interpersonal skills. Apart from this, CSCDP authority provides us with a wide range of educational materials for free!” Rassel was unfolding the advantages he is obtaining from the CSCDP center.