A Documentary Script, Voice Over Narration and Speech I have written for an International NGO.

DOCUMENTARY

Eco Social Development Organization (ESDO) is a national development organization in Bangladesh. Inagurated by A group of young social workforce of Thakurgaon District to support the 1988 flood victims. Although they have started with the releief activities, but after the flood, the ESDO volunteers continued the comprehensive development activities based on the necessity of the poorest and landless community of this area.  

Community from the northern most part of Bangladesh often experienced the awful Natural Disasters like flood, river aggression, severe drought, invertion and immobility in life during the severe winter and months long Monga. Thus the disadvantaged section of the society always found the poverty as the part and parcel of their lives and the ESDO felt and realized this adverse state of affairs.

From its starting, ESDO envisioned for a society which will be free from inequality and injustice. A society where no child will cry from hunger and no life will be ruined by poverty.

Over two decades of uncompromising hard work towards creating a impartial society free from poverty and prejudice, ESDO has tailored with the varying situation and provided the most time-bound services for the marginal and poor community through all-embracing rural development programme in the areas of food security, livelihoods, health, education, water and sanitation, nutrition, mother and child care services, women empowerment and human rights promotion.  

ESDO has embraced new grounds and opened up new perspectives to help the underprivileged and vulnerable poor people to bring consequential and long-lasting changes in their lives with the assistance of various donor agencies. 

Consideratin was given to the national policy and millennium development goal (MDG) as ESDO’S guiding principles.  

ESDO has already expanded its development activities across 103 upozilas under 23 districts of Bangladesh covering over 6.5 million marginal and disadvantaged people.

MICRO CREDIT

Not far away from Tista char, is Amena Bewa’s small hut. Catastrophic Tista flooded away her previous homestead. At last begging from door to door became her fate. But she wanted to regain her lost dignity. A suitable work to become self dependent. 

SPEECH

Incorporated into a small group under micro credit programme of ESDO, now Amena is busy at her own work. Now she is independent. A dignified member of the society like others. Like Amena, many other poor men and women got rid from the grip of extreme poverty through the micro credit programme of ESDO.

FOOD SECURITY

24 years and husband abandoned Sumera Begum could not continiue her study after class 8 due to financial distress. From then she has been living with her widow mother. Being introduced with FLS project under Food Security Porgramme of ESDO, Sumera started a new way of life, also many others like her.

SPEECH

They found a small hope of light in their distressed life. To ensure that they will have food in their house every day, each of them has been able to choose the right profession as per their ability under Food and Livelihood Security Programme and other similar programme of ESDO. As continuation of this development activity, ESDO has included the School Feeding Programme for the children of these poverty stricken areas. Where the children are getting 75 grams nutritious biscuits every day in the school, which make them attentive to their studies and as well as fulfilled their need of nutrition. At the same time it has reduced the rate of dropping from school, said the relative personnel.  

AGRICULTURAL REHABILITATION

Jhorna Rano or Shamsuddin, any one of them did not know about modern agriculture method. Yet the agriculture is the only means for them to make a living. The ESDO put importance first of all in modern agriculture techniques in order to enhance the cultivation of these marginal and small farmers at the same time make them educated to take nutritious food.

Marginal and small farmers from the northern region of the country able to upgrade the traditional agriculture techniques under FS-FFC project of ESDO.

Soil test, use of quality seeds, preparing and using organic fertilizer, distributing modern agricultural machineries to the farmers, all these are included in this project. According to the local farmers, implantation of the modern agricultural techniques enhanced their gain much more than previous.

EDUCATION

Talented girls and boys like Khairunnesa or Dukori Das, once dropped from school for financial distress, now emerged as the only earning member of the family. But they need professional skills as well as they need to continue walking along the path of education so that they can bring the improvement in the present financial status of the family and can ensure a long-lasting living standard for the future generation . PLCEHD-2 under ESDO's Education Programme is such a Action oriented projects.

SPEECH

Successfully completing the Trade Courses they have became the momentous member of the family and society.

ECO PATHSHALA & COLLEGE

To make them competent with the challenges of 21st century information technology, ESDO established Eco Pathshala for children and Eco College for the young. Presently ESDO is operating four Eco Pathshala in Thakurgaon city, Shibganj, Peerganj and in Ruhiya. Learning under the most time bound education system, children from Eco Pathshala has already made their places in different scholarship programme. Living in the most remote areas of Thakurgaon, students of Eco Pathshala and college has become able to get the highest quality education of the country.

HEALTH

Pregnant Shefali from a remote char is going to a nearby Community Hospital by a three wheel van in order to give birth to a healthy child. It is now a common scenario in the secluded villages, remote char or among in the urban citizen having lower earning level. Almost everyone in the ESDO project areas are now less interested in traditional method rather they have passed the modern methods of delivery along with modern health care. Because through COMSS, CMQHS, CMHC, SMSP and IMCN projects, this organization consistently ensuring the health, nutrition, safe drinking water and sanitation for the poor and disadvantaged people. To keep the community hospitals functional with the help of local community and with the intensive care of ESDO health workers, it has become easier to ensure the safe motherhood, safe delivery, infant child care and overall improvement for mother and child nutrition. 

SPEECH

Significant improvement can be seen in health by establishing separate hygienic latrine for boys and girls in the school, ensuring the supply of safe drinking water and establishing sanitary latrine for disadvantaged people at rural level under SLEP, SHEWA-B etc projects of ESDO.

Besides the lower income people already getting regular health care service through the experienced doctors and advanced medical technology in the ESDO community hospital and ESDO child care hospital at Thakurgaon city.

HUMAN RIGHTS

To resolve local conflicts, disadvantaged men and women like Rozina can approach to the Village Courts. The main purpose of this implemented project is to strengthen the hand of local authorities so that they can empower the local community and can provide them legal help through Union Parishads (UP) with Transparency and accountability. By consistent counseling of the employees, this local judicial system already became much popular and people from 88 unions under 13 upozila of Rangpur, Lalmonirhat and Nilphamari are enjoying the benefits.

PREMDIP PROJECT

To the mainstream section of the society, they are outcast or neglected, but ESDO stands right with them through PREMDIP PROJECT. They are the kneaded class. It is prohibited for them to enter the mainstream of the society. Nobody wants to talk with them, sit with them or eat with them. They do not get proper treatment even at the Government Hospitals.

For the rights of this outcast community, ESDO has been working from the year 2007 with comprehensive development activities. They established a contact between this kneaded community and local authority to and took necessary steps to ensure the supply of safe drinking water, sanitation, preventing child marriage, educating women about nutrition, providing medical and healthcare service to the people of all ages, establishing child education centre, arranging technical training for the young and above all to provide them with training on income generating activities and supplying them with the capital they need.   

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

ESDO fall in with the appropriate role of keeping safe the people living within the project areas from the danger of natural disaster and from the risk of climate change along with to eliminate the risk of disaster by cleaning the environment. At the same time ESDO has taken the necessary measures of immediate income from the people involved with these activities. Many others like Sumona and Zaheda were able to bring solvency through ER and PRODUCE project of ESDO.
 

SPEECH

To keep the environment clean, it is necessary to remove the household garbage. ESDO already has taken the responsibility of removing all the garbage of Thakurgaon Pouroshova under the slogan of "GREEN THKURGAON, CLEAN THAKURGAON." Not only that, ther is another beautiful slogan of their Waste Management Project and that is "WASTE ARE NOT USELESS, WASTE CAN EARN MONEY." Means, with proper management of waste, produce biogas and organic fertilizer which is creating a big source of employment and work for the poor community.   

SPECIAL ACTIVITIES

When you show the seeds of possibilities at present that will write the history of an enlightened future community. ESDO believes in this statement. And thus, not depending on foreign donation, they have started a few projects totally with their own fund. Such as:

1. In order to deliver safe and healthy foods to the people of all level and to re-include the indigenous producers in the process of producing these goods by evaluating them correctly, the ESDO has started “ESDO Value Chain Activities.” 

2. In order to empower the poor and disadvantaged women and to bring financial prosperity for them, ESDO has started “ARONI Handicrafts” with an aim of ensuring marketing of different handicrafts produced by these poor women.   

3. ESDO launched joint leadership and Initiative of floating micro-entrepreneurs in the urban areas. To ensure the base of financial prosperity for these micro-entrepreneurs one of the most time bound initiative by ESDO is “Amader Bazar.” 

4. Lokayan Livelihood Museum intends to capture a complete picture of the livelihoods of all categories of people living in the northern part of Bangladesh for hundreds of years.

5. Many of the medical plants are now at the edge of extinction and to preserve them ESDO has developed an Herbal garden.  

6. Lokayan Shishu Shorgo.

CONCLUSION
ESDO firmly believes that, it is necessary to waken up the people of grassroots level by reinvigorating the Bengali tradition and fighting attitude. Poverty must be prevented through work, through proper implementation of efficient planning. At the same time, needs to release the strength confined within the marginal people to open the door to make a Bangladesh free from poverty and full with possibilities of prosperity.

ECO PATHSHALA & COLLEGE

The most difficult challenge of 21^st century is to ensure the quality of formal education. Although, the capital centered education system of Bangladesh has some improvement but yet the Quality education crisis intensified at outside of Dhaka. But in order to turn Bnangladesh into a prosperous state it is necessary to accumulate well educated and trained human resources to each and every parts of the country. 

Putting the highest emphasis in this reality, in the year 2001, with only 23 students, Eco Pathshala started its journey at Thakurgaon, the northernmost disadvantaged locality of Bangladesh, where at present the number of student is more than three thousand. Besides three primary section of Eco Pathshala also inaugurated in Peerganj, Shibganj and Ruhiya.

Founding Eco Pathshala and Eco College is the relentless effort of some brilliant academics, who discouraged the education to consider as business. Who envisioned for such an education which not only manifest the merits, skills and efficiency but also play a conformable role to develop human resource, creativity and advanced consciousness among children and young generation.  

One of these brilliant academics is Dr. Md. Shahid Uz  Zaman, the Executive Director of Eco Social Development Organization (ESDO) and chairman of Eco Pathshala and Eco College. He himself was a brilliant student. He has completed his education from University of Dhaka (Masters of Social Science) with first class first position. His deliberate planning and guidance is constantly motivating the principal and the teachers of this organization.  

VISION OF ECO PATHSHALA & COLLEGE

Human Resource Development, to manifest fully the creativity and advanced consciousness.

MISSION

Ensure quality of student learning and teaching environment.  

Confirmation of the overall development of the students

Develop full human qualities of learners through innovative and proven approach.

Consistent and effective approach to improve the quality of education received.

With all infrastructure facilities, situated in Govind Nagar, the pleasant city centre of Thakurgaon district, the Eco Pathshala and Eco College has already been able to be known as the role model for education.

CLASS MANAGEMENT

Eco Pathshala and College has a clean class management.

There are maximum 30 students per class with necessary section.

To ensure effective teaching proportion of student and teacher per class has been determined carefully. And the classrooms are decorated with Child friendly materials.

CURRICULUM

Government Primer is being used in Eco Pathshala.  Besides that with the guidance from the renowned academics of the country and Bangladesh Kindergarten Association, teachers of Eco Pathshala finalized the lesson plan and syllabus. Lesson plan and syllabus are distributed into the students at beginning of the year.    

TEACHER TRAINING

Eco Pathshala and college authority believes that there is no alternative to the good teacher for quality education. Giving priority to this issue, highly educated and qualified teachers are recruited.  Who are able to teach in innovative method.  Afterwards, in order to make the teachers more efficient and skilled, they are frequently trained by the experienced instructors of primary, secondary and higher secondary education department of Government and by the experienced teachers from the renowned kindergarten schools of Dhaka.   

From the very beginning the necessary initiative is taken in the Eco Pathshala to guide the students for beautiful handwriting, to increase the speed of handwriting and to make proficient in pronunciation and in English. 

Giving lessons in the class room has varied ways. Lessons are given in such a way with flip chart suitable for children and with different toys so that the children, instead of being afraid of learning, rather they can enjoy a beautiful childhood. 

Giving lessons to students of all classes in order to ensure quality, multimedia projector and sound system are being installed in each classroom. 

CO-CURRICULUM ACTIVITIES

There are wide play ground and sufficient arrangement of in-door and outdoor games for students of all ages in Eco Pathshala and college.   

RICH LIBRARY

A rich library is the main elements to create enlightened people. Eco Pathshala and college have a rich library which contains daily news papers, children books, books about literature, science and technology, biography of many renowned and historical figure, moral science and books about many other subjects. The students paved the way for creative mental development by reading these books and news papers. 

COMPUTER LAB

Eco College has a tidy computer lab including broadband Internet connection, laser printer and scanner. Hence the students got all of the opportunities of globalization and the digital age in their clutches. 

LABORATORY

Eco College laboratory is equipped with all the necessary science materials and equipment. Having all these opportunities, they do not have to lag behind in their educational life.  

HEALTH CARE

Specialist doctors from ESDO Community Hospitals are responsible to check and monitor the health of each students of Eco Pathshala. An ambulance is always ready to be mobile for urgency. 

TRANSPORTATION

The Eco Pathshala has their own 3 school bus and sufficient van for the students coming from far away.

CULTURAL ACTIVITIES

Exercising pure cultural activities play a vital role in developing children’s inner strength and only a cultured human can illuminate the population. Eco Pathshala and college authority sincerely believed this. Eco Pathshala and college, frequently exercising cultural activities and observing various cultural events, raising up this locality. 

GUARDIAN MEETING

Guardians of the students also have a close relation with Eco Pathshala. The only reason for that is the GUARDIAN MEETING. In these meetings, the guardians share their opinion with the teachers and students for the betterment of the school, and the authorities also took their opinion into consideration and tried to implement. 

MOTIVATING

So that the children can accept the school as a place of enjoyment, the Eco Pathshala has a pretty nice arrangement. Like, observing birthdays during the leisure period, learning about the tradition, history and people through study tour, observing various national and international days, arranging sports events or participating from the Pathshala etc.

All these are helpful for the children’s moral, physical and mental development. And the child is grown with the responsibility of a good citizen and love for the country.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Students of Eco Pathshala have remarkable achievement. Some of this are-

• Hundred percent pass rate in 2013 Primary, JSC and SSC exams.

• 92 students got the scholarship in 2012 Kindergarten Association Scholaeship Exam and placed in the combined merit list as First Class First – 1 student, 2^nd – 2 students and 3^rd – 2 students.

The Eco Pathshala and College believe that in a short period of time this small city will transform the city of enlightened education. Education will eliminate all the misery. And the students from Eco Pathshala and College will be able to create a modern and prosperous Bangladesh one day.

INTERVIEWS

SELIMA AKHTER, PRINCIPAL, ECO PATHSHALA AND COLLEGE

It is the dream of the founder of Eco Pathshala and also a dream of mine to established Thakurgaon as role model centre of education. To achieve this Eco Pathshala is working consistently, working for the people of Thakurgaon. At present there are play group to twelfth class in the Eco Pathshala. Also in response to the needs of the inhabitants of Thakurgaon, from the year 2002, three branch of Eco Pathshala namely Shibganj Eco Pathshala, Peerganj Eco Pathshala and Ruhiya Eco Pathshala inaugurated. These three branches are controlled from the centre, and follow the same quality standard, syllebus, curriculum and same system as the main Eco Pathshala. 
 

Now if we want to talk about the result of Eco Pathshala, we proudly can say that in the primary level, specially the scholarship exam taken by the Kindergarten Association, where 17 students of class one from Eco Pathshala are in the merit list in this year. In my opinion, this exam which is organized across the country, where total 84 students got the scholarship out of which 17 are from Eco Pathshala, for us it is delightful. No doubt, we can proudly say that the Eco Pathshala and Eco College playing an impressive role for quality education in Thakurgaon. 

Their names should be mentioned specially and with respect those who has helped us in many ways, inspired us at the time of launching the Eco Pathshala. Such as my respected elder sister Nazma Akhter- who is also a member of our executive council, also the respected guardians of Thakurgaon, high officials of ESDO and the financing from ESDO. Eco Pathshala is the result of combined efforts of all of us. We believe that the dream we have, the goal we set that to established the Eco University, we certainly can reach to that goal.

………........................................................................................................................................................

AMINA 
I was living begging from door to door. Now I am living a improved life with the loan granted from ESDO. I got this house also from ESDO.

TANIYA

I eat this biscuit everyday as this reduces the weakness of the body, make us attentive to the study. That is why I eat this biscuit every day.

TEACHER

Because of this biscuits they can attend the full time school.

DURUNI

I came here for check up and already done 4 times. It was not difficult during giving birth to my child. I was under supervision of Monika Apa, I am taking the medicine that she prescribed and I now am well enough.

LABONI

It's been 6 days since my child born, CSB sisters from COMS project of ESDO gave us advice, said that regular check up will improve the baby's health, baby's positions will be better, they took us for check up, arranged meeting in our yards, always help us to realize, we are poor, don't have money, thanks ESDO Coms Project for the support they gave us. 

STUDENT FROM TRAINING PROGRAMME

Those of us receiving training here are tribal people. Orao tribes, Santal, Kneaded people. We can get work, learning house wiring, can make our future which eventually will improve our life standard.

SUMONA 
We excavated 53 CFT soil every day, money received from that day labor, with that bought one goat and two ducks, now I have four goats and six ducks, arranging money by selling one goat and from my savings I bought one cow.

FOZILA

The entire Garbage of Thakurgaon city is being brought here, we pick up the materials that can be used to make organic fertilizer and put those into the cistern, and from its water bio gas is produced, we receive 5 thousand taka per month, 9 women are working here including me, and everyone is benefited from this.

INTERVIEW

ESDO has repair 96 tube well, girls student of this school are enjoying the benefits of this latrine. 

THIS DOCUMENTARY WERE MADE TO PRESENT TO THE INTERNATIONAL DONER GROUPS AND TO THE VARIOUS ORGANIZATION OF UN.