Meet Akhi, a student enrolled in our Girls’ Education Program directly benefiting from funds raised through Red Nose Day, a campaign run by the nonprofit organization Comic Relief US.
Akhi is a Grade 8 student from Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, a region that is home to nearly 1 million refugees who fled Myanmar in 2017. Room to Read began working in Akhi’s community in 2019 thanks to support from Red Nose Day, and together we have been able to provide essential support to students as local schools and government services have struggled to adapt to the large influx of refugee children and their families.
Akhi is beginning her third year with Room to Read’s Girls’ Education Program and is grateful for the influence it has had on her life. The fourth of seven siblings, Akhi's parents have often faced financial hardship. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the family’s finances suffered. In order to provide for her children, Akhi's mother started a small-scale livestock farming operation. This left Akhi responsible for more chores around the house, making it harder to keep up with her studies from home.
Throughout the course of 2020, Akhi had regular phone-based mentoring sessions with her Room to Read social mobilizer, a local woman mentor. During these individual mentoring sessions, Akhi received guidance that helped her balance her new household duties with her schoolwork.
In addition to mentoring, girls in our program attend life skills education classes, which guide them to develop skills such as critical-thinking, empathy and self-reliance to help them meet day-to-day challenges and make informed decisions. During school closures, our social mobilizers have also encouraged girls to explore creative projects as an outlet for stress and a form of self-expression. Akhi has taken to drawing and painting. She even developed a series of pieces inspired by International Day of the Girl Child.
Akhi’s social mobilizer was impressed with the courageous way she handled various challenges throughout 2020. She nominated Akhi for a special honor — to represent the Girls’ Education Program in an International Day of the Girl Child webinar on the "Future of Our Girl Child in the COVID-19 Context." The webinar was attended by several important education officials, including the Minister of Education.
In the future, Akhi hopes to become a doctor so that she can care for her community. But for now, she is simply excited to continue her studies and build the skills and knowledge to make her dreams come true, all with help of Room to Read Girls’ Education Program supported by Red Nose Day.
Together, Room to Read and Red Nose Day have supported 1,189 secondary school girls in our Girls' Education Program. Red Nose Day has also pledged to support an additional 455 girls this year in Cox’s Bazar. Throughout pandemic-related school closures, Room to Read has adapted our programs to ensure girls in Cox's Bazar received the support they've needed to continue their education, including additional individual mentoring sessions with social mobilizers, hosting community-building virtual events to provide resources with parents during this challenging time and, more broadly, working with the national government to adapt our life skills curriculum into TV episodes in collaboration with the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education.
We are proud to partner with Comic Relief US and Red Nose Day to support girls in Cox's Bazar. Stay tuned for more updates about our partnership.
Meet Akhi from Bangladesh: Supported by Comic Relief US — Red Nose Day
