Stipend and education materials are distributed among indigenous children.

Ethnic Community Development Organization (ECDO) organized an education materials distribution program under the project ‘Secondary Education Support for Marginalized Students (SESMS)” on May 24, 2023, at the conference hall of the Deputy Commissioners Office, Sylhet. Md. Mozibor Rahman, Deputy Commissioner of Sylhet, attended as the chief guest at that event. Mr. Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Husseini, Associate Professor, Department of Public Administration, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST), Mr. A.S.M. Kashem, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Education and ICT) of Sylhet, and Abhijeet Kumar Paul, Sylhet Sadar Upazila Secondary Education Officer, attended as special guests. The program was presided over by Mr. Lakshmikanta Singh, Executive Director of ECDO. Md. Mozibor Rahman, the chief guest and the Deputy Commissioner of Sylhet, initially conveyed his appreciation to ECDO and Hei Verden for such an important program for marginalized children. Further, the chief guest thanked ECDO and Hei Varden for taking up such a nice and important education program with marginalized communities like tea labor, Patro, and Manipuri. He suggested all the students and parents ensure regular attendance at school as well as proper utilization of the distributed educational materials. Mr. Chowdhury Abdullah Al Husseini said that he is completely cognizant of the activities of ECDO and the substantial efforts for the education of indigenous children in Sylhet, as well as the human rights-related initiatives of ECDO. Further, he highlighted the importance of dedicating additional efforts to secure the enrollment of marginalized children in their schools with the aim of building a smart Bangladesh. Mr. A.S.M. Kashem, Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) and the special guest of the program, said the goal of the government is to create an educated society, so we should work together as GO and NGO to achieve the goals. Furthermore, Mr. Avijit Kumar Paul, the Upazila Secondary Education Officer, expressed his gratitude and assured his full support, promising to provide maximum assistance in this endeavor. Besides the guests, the Guardians of the Children expressed gratitude to ECDO for this effort. Later, the students received stipend and education materials from the honorable guests. And the program ends, followed by the speech of Lakshmikanta Singh, Executive Director of ECDO. Notably, ECDO carried out this initiative as a part of activities under the “Secondary Education Support for Marginalized Students (SESMS)’ project, supported by Hei Verden, Norway. Under this project, 25 marginalized students will get the opportunity to complete their secondary education in class VI and VII. The event started with the well-come speech of Ms. Nongpoklai Sinha, conducted by Ms. Tasnim Chowdhury of ECDO.