Amanda Ryan's Feedback

A Volunteer from Australia

I have been in Bangladesh and with the JAAGO Foundation for three months now and I’m not sure that I will ever leave.

I am continuously amazed at how remarkable my new children are. These children lead hard lives where food is never guaranteed, in 2m squared shacks with usually at least five other family members and share one small toilet with the other 100 people in their area of the slums. Yet they come to our school everyday with a smile on their face that I rarely got to see back home, they bare a true smile, a smile that makes me appreciate being alive. These children really are the most amazing creatures on this planet and I think it is us who needs to learn from them.

My experience with the JAAGO foundation has allowed me to grow so much in my short time here already and the children have opened me up to give and receive so much more love in my life than I thought was possible. I will never be the same person I was before I arrived.

We in the western world seem to forget sometimes how lucky we truly are. I know I never had to sacrifice food to study and I spent most of my time at school abusing the privilege of having education so readily available for me. When I see the way the JAAGO children study it makes me feel extremely guilty for my behaviour in my youth. One thing I do not ever want to forget is that although I cannot change my past I continue to appreciate all the privileges I have been born into and help those who were not so lucky to be born into a country like Australia.

I have had the pleasure of taking the art class amongst other duties whilst I have been here and I never get tired of walking into a room of kids screaming ‘Amanda miss’ with the most beautiful smiles in this world.

I believe art is a very important class for our students most of these children have experienced hardships that most of us in the western world never have to endure particularly at such a young age. When I look at some of these children I see the eyes of a forty year old woman on a four year old girl and it’s extremely disturbing.

I’ve found that for our students expressing themselves artistically allows them to show their feelings and hardships indirectly. It allows us to understand them and why they may have behavioural problems in class because of their environment at home or on the streets.

It is sometimes easy to forget you are working with children from the slums of Dhaka whilst we are within the school walls they behave like they have everything they desire and look very smart in their recently donated school uniforms from some extremely supportive high school students here. I big reminder of what type of children I am working with was when recently in art class I ask the students to do a dream exercise. I asked them to close there eyes and try and remember their dreams I asked questions like where were you in your dream? Where there aliens? Where you in the mountains or down the beach?

When all of the students had finished the lesson I had 40 drawings of a traditional Bangladeshi village. This was all the students knew and had seen.

During my time here I have also had the pleasure of taking some of the kids on their first car trip that felt more like an amusement ride rather than mundane a to b travel. The students were screaming “wow” every couple of minutes, and were soaking up images of places they had never seen before yet were not even 1km from where they live. For some of them however the wow didn’t last for long as motion sickness kicked in and they were forced to spend the rest of the trip with there heads out of the window.

Being with these children has me constantly stepping out of my own perspective and into a completely different world. JAAGO and the children teach me so much about myself and the world. The rawness of their lives here really makes me remember what is truly important in life and them giving me the gift of the ability to remember that everyday is worth so much more than any time and money I have and will ever put into the project.

For all the good times at the project there has also been some bad as with everything in life. I sometimes feel as though we are constantly on an uphill battle, constantly searching for funds, fighting off rising rental prices for the classrooms, and trying to convince people who really don’t care and have the ability to help can become disheartening at times. After we have done so much work to be turned down or the children not accepted by the wider community is extremely disappointing. However I guess if it was an easy thing to do I would not need to be here and if no one did anything to try and make it easier the world would be a horrible place.

I could talk for hours, days and years about what I have learnt at the JAAGO Foundation and in Bangladesh but I would like to end this on a quote from Oprah Winfrey.

“None of us in this world have made it until the least among us have made it”

Amanda Ryan

Asfin Haider's Feedback

A Volunteer from Canada

My visit to JAAGO really did wake me up. The visit to JAAGO was on their fun day where kids were watching cartoons, dancing and playing games. That gave me a chance to see how the kids interact with the teachers and the visitors. I was amazed to find out how much each and every volunteer and teacher love the kids, and I can’t blame them because the kids are actually adorable. They'll greet you with a big smile and will ask you a lot of questions. They are very polite, friendly and confident. I think all the credit goes to the people guiding them. I salute you all for your dedication.

But JAAGO is not only about fun and play, I was happy to find out they way how the classes are being conducted and also about their exam policies. They also train the kids on how to lead a healthy and hygienic life and keep their environment clean.

I always wanted to make a difference, would be more than happy to help the kids of JAAGO Foundation anyway I can. Specially after I found, even the smallest gifts can make them so happy. I wish Korvi and his army all the success in life.

Asfin Haider

Ratib Mortuza Ali Biswas Feedback

A Volunteer from Leo Club of Dhaka Heaven Plus

Firstly, I'll say JAAGO Foundation is located at a remote location. Hard to get there but once you are there, YOU WILL BE AMAZED! The kids are lovely. They greeted us in proper English, and unlike ALL the other Charity School I have visited. They weren't shy at all, even the slightest bit!

The kids were dressed in proper uniform and they were enjoying themselves. There was music and games, conducted by the volunteers who seemed very involved with the kids. I liked that. There was warmth in the campus. It didn't feel like an Charity School; it felt more like a home.

Julie Wallis Feedback

A Volunteer from Australia

My visit to the Jaago Foundation fun day was my second visit to the foundation to meet the students and all the volunteers. On my first visit I saw a beautiful performance of music, dance and drama by all the children with some help from staff. Everything had amazingly been prepared and rehearsed in a very short period of time including the transformation of the outdoor area into a very beautiful and colourful function space. A presentation of the children’s first uniforms followed.

I was really struck by the enthusiasm and joy the children exuded and also by the love and dedication shown by all the volunteer staff. It is a place that makes me want to return again and again to give of myself in whatever way possible, even if that can only be from time to time. I think that anyone who visits feels the same way. To be present and share in the energy of the staff and the children feels like a gift that must be returned.

The Fun Day was indeed a day filled with fun. I started by watching cartoons with some of the children and being taught the words for mouse, sister, party, key, bad…. in whispers and giggles as we watched the Cinderella story together. Then I went to another room to dance (very badly) with some of the other children. Much of the dancing involved being spun around in circles by children holding my hands, while trying to remember the dance moves the children were taught before the music started. I certainly got my exercise for the day.

But mostly the day was spent laughing together and having fun. I loved it and still think of all the children’s smiling faces. A delicious lunch followed then it was time to say good-bye to everyone, for now.