Through its different initiatives, 1° Initiative has come to be about more than its members or its projects; it has come to be about the kids they have worked with. Kids from the streets and slums, kids who are Bangladesh's tomorrow, kids who have an enormous amount of untapped potential. 1° members have played with them, taught them a thing or two and learnt much more, and have held them special.
Therefore, in celebration of 1° Initiative's third birthday, the team decided to launch an evening dedicated to these children. Aptly titled 1° of Celebrations, (sponsored by Akij Food and Beverages Ltd. (AFBL) and Dhaka Bank Ltd; with Radio Today as media partners), it was a fulfilment of the promise to the kids we have worked with of giving them the opportunity to showcase their creativity, and perform a series of dance numbers, drama and songs in front of a large audience who will appreciate their efforts. At this event, children from Aalok Shishu Shikkhaloy (a concern of Afzalunnessa Foundation), Ekmattra and JAAGO Foundation were provided with a platform that celebrates their spirit and cherishes the fact that the smallest change contributes to a greater whole, and the humblest of beginnings goes a long way.
When we first visited the library we had not anticipated what we would find there. We were drowned in dust and it felt like trying to wake up a sleeping giant. Everyday we would clean and list and come home looking like chimney-sweeps. We sorted the books into disposable and usable books, disposed of the text books which were out of syllabus, cleaned the books and rearranged them in the shelves after the catalogueing was complete. This is the fourth library that 1di set up but is the first one which they reopened after re-cataloguing all the books. Dusting wasn't the only thing we did there. Apart from playing in the dust, we sucessfully broke a bench, made a huge mess and irritated the teachers in many different ways however they were awefully kind about it all.
