Rafiqul Islam Shaheen is a 12-year-old boy living in a slum in Laldighirpar with his parents and two siblings. His father was a scavenger, meaning he collects and sells scraps around the city, and his mother is a housemaid. However, in 2020 his father had to stop working due to illness, meaning Shaheen was forced to leave school and start working as a domestic servant to help feed his family.
Thankfully, in June 2021 Shaheen met one of our UKBET teachers, Ms. Shraboni. She managed to convince his employer to let him take part in our ‘Doorstep Learning Project’, even getting permission to teach Shaheends 9-year-old brother Fahim, as well.
Shaheen has said his life was becoming very difficult without school and it was made even harder by him having to stop cricket, which is his passion. Even saying, “Shakib Al Hasan is my favorite cricketer. I want to become an all-rounder like him and play for our national team one day”.
Shaheen is a very intelligent young man and is said to always be very attentive whilst studying. He has excelled in the monthly assessments conducted by UKBET and this year, in January, Ms. Shraboni enrolled Shaheen in class 6 at PDB high school (Power Development Board High School). Now Shaheen goes to school, doesn’t work as a domestic servant, and plays cricket every day.
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