Free-of-cost School for Underprivileged Children

JAAGO Rousing Hope!

Hope is being able to see the light at the end of a pitch-black tunnel. It is the small inkling which holds you back from giving up. One cannot hope to build a better future without sharing the universal responsibility for humanity, where one’s duty is to aid those who need the most.

It is with this faith of building a better world that JAAGO is galvanizing the hopes of thousands of children. Prior to JAAGO’s planting seeds of hope within them, the children used to work as child labors or wander about on the streets. JAAGO provided them a greater vision by providing them with free quality education. JAAGO illuminated the dark tunnel and created hope within their hearts so that they can perceive the future differently for themselves, their families, and the nation.

11th Foundation Day | QUALITY EDUCATION FOR ALL

With the aim of breaking the cycle of poverty and provide quality education to the underprivileged, JAAGO started in a very small arena in 2007. Our first School started with only 17 children but now after 11 years, we have 3000 students in 12 Schools across Bangladesh. Also, JAAGO’s Youth Development Program has created a platform where youth can raise their voice. The youth representatives of the country stand through JAAGO and engage themselves in the activities related to country’s welfare.

During this long way of journey, we have achieved so many things and loves of people. We were determined to deliver rays of education to every corner of the country. On 15th of April, 2018 we have completed our 11th year of journey. We came this far with the promise of bright future and we will move forward to bigger goals and achievements for human welfare.

Artsy Tape Crafts- Workshop with Tape That

According to Greek Philosopher Aristotle, “Art completes what nature cannot bring to finish. The artist gives us knowledge of nature's unrealized ends.” It is with this hope that JAAGO explores the artistic sides of our children and brings out their interpretations of their natural settings.

For the first time in Dhaka, Tape That conducted a workshop with an interesting medium to create art. Tape That visited JAAGO Rayer Bazar School this February to conduct the workshop on Tape Art, organized by German Embassy, Dhaka. Tape That is an artist collective established in Berlin and they create art works solely out of adhesives tapes. Each of their artworks is unique as they are inspired by and incorporate the spatial circumstances.

The children at JAAGO were fascinated by the idea of creating art out of an everyday object that most people take for granted. Our creative little minds watched the team of Tape That demonstrate the process and then produced remarkable pictures such as national monuments, skyscrapers, figures, the map of Bangladesh, etc. It was quite an amazing learning experience for our students where they got the opportunity to explore their talents and specialties via art.

Empowering through Innovation- Science Fair 2018

JAAGO has always believed that Innovation leads to progress, because of which we encourage our students to put their heads together. The JAAGO students carry out few days of training sessions and workshop before presenting their projects at the grand event. They form teams, brainstorm, get trained, practice, learn and finally present their project for the final event in front of sponsor parents, teachers, students, guests, JAAGO officials and sponsors. A jury board selects the winners by judging their innovations and declares winners among them. Thus this project helps the children to develop their interpersonal and presentational skills, encouraging them to take on bigger challenges for future.

6 teams from 2 branches of JAAGO had participated on this Annual Science Fair 2018, supported by KrisEnergy. They had gone through 4 days of formal workshop in two branches where they got trained by expert professionals. A number of 30 students from 2 branches participated in the program.

The projects they exhibiting at the Science Fair are Solar Caps, Solar House, Solar Hat, Solar Turbine, Electricity from Potato, Hand Generator. Participation on such events has helped the students of JAAGO to nourish their dreams and prepare them for future challenges ahead.

Technical and Vocational Education and Training

After the commencement of the Secondary School Certificate examination, JAAGO wanted to utilize the time students usually spend sitting idle by enrolling 13 of the students into UCEP Bangladesh for some short technical courses. We wanted to provide our students with an opportunity to get a strategic overview of a certain area, plus the working skills that is needed to put their ideas to work efficiently. These workshops would develop their skill-set and would help them in the future.  

UCEP’s core program is the Technical and Vocational Education and Training, which is comprised of skills training as well as formal stream of technical education (Grade 9 and 10 toward S.S.C. Vocational) with a timeline of 3-6 months. All UCEP Training centers have RTO (Registered Training Organization) and RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning Status) assessment center status from the government in a number of trades.

Our students enrolled in courses titled Sweater Linking Operator, Lathe Machine Operation and Mobile Phone Servicing Technician. These courses will help the students be more successful team members in the classroom, in organizations and in their professional spheres, and build essential skills for lives of leadership and service.

How JAAGO Changes Lives!

Statement of Sabbir
Grade 10
JAAGO Rayerbazar School

“I am Sabbir, a student of standard 10 at JAAGO School. Ten Years back when I entered JAAGO I felt I saw the ‘Door of Alibaba’. It was a wonderland where I saw a prince ruling the kingdom peacefully.

I got a lot from JAAGO. It helped me to extend my world of imagination. I started to dream a lot bigger and better. JAAGO has inspired me a lot to increase my sense of responsibility towards my family, society and country. It has been a tremendous journey so far yet too short. We have a long way to go. As a student, I am extremely proud to be a part of JAAGO. I do not have any words to show my gratitude towards JAAGO. Probably, I need to come up with a new word in the dictionary to describe what JAAGO is to me. Just can say, without JAAGO my life would have been a pond without water, a tree without leaves, and a human without dreams.

Today it feels amazing to know that we have reached 10^th year of our journey. In these 10 years we have gone through a lot of ups and downs. The contributions of our respectful teachers, parents, volunteers are unforgettable. I can proudly say that you will hardly find any organization as promising as JAAGO.

I wish to be able to spend my remaining lifetime in the service of JAAGO.I want to contribute ungrudgingly with everything that I have to see JAAGO at the peak of its success. Hopefully together we will not just have a better society, a better nation, but a better world.

I wish to get the blessing of Almighty in that regard.

LONG LIVE JAAGO…!!!

Thank You

It is with the utmost sincerity that we convey our gratitude to the national and international child sponsors, corporate partners, donor agencies and supporters from various fields. Without their contribution and support, this journey would not have progressed and prospered in changing lives of these underprivileged children. JAAGO requests them to continue providing their irreplaceable support to this humanitarian cause, so that we can ensure each child in every corner of the country, and perhaps beyond, receives quality education to rescue themselves from the curse of poverty in future. Stand with us to withstand odds falling onto our children!    

JAAGO Starts 2018 with New Promises

This year 2018, JAAGO Foundation starts its journey with same promises of eradicating poverty through providing quality education to those who cannot afford.  The journey hasn’t been easy when it started in slum of Rayerbazar with only 17 children, a white board and a mat. Since then, JAAGO is shaping and constructing dreams of deprived children’s and injecting new hope for a better life to them & families. Starting from a very few students, currently we have 3000 students in all 13 Schools across Bangladesh.

Dream is the word which has different meanings to different people. To our young stars of JAAGO, dream is something which pushes them to chase, work hard and engage into things what they want to achieve in life.

Each year new enrolled students of JAAGO fears to have dreams because of their extreme background of poverty. However, once they are settled after few days, JAAGO nurture these young stars in a way which shapes them into confident human beings who are confident, believes they can change their lives as well their families. Now, at the starting year 2018 journey our student can proudly say JAAGO has given them hope of a better future while they excel at public examination and extra-curricular activities. 

Merging Towards Excellence

Attending JSC and PEC Examination

The Junior School Certificate, also known as JSC, a public examination taken by students in Bangladesh after successful completion of eight years of schooling where our students of 8^th Grade participate and achieved great results.  

Starting from 2007, these are JAAGO’s 3^rd batch students from Rayerbazar School, who have participated in JSC examination 2017. 90% students have passed the exam successfully, 58% students got A, 16% students got A-, and 16% students got B.

The Primary Education Certificate (PEC) Examination is a national examination administered by the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education Bangladesh for students at the end of their fifth year in primary school. This year’s PEC Examination was important for JAAGO not because only for the first board exam for students but also it has become a landmark for us. To remove the obstacle of distance barrier from delivering quality education, we had introduced Online Schooling Program in 2011. This year, student of 1^st batch from our first ever Online School, JAAGO’s Gazipur Branch has participated in the PEC Exam. Also, it is the first time our Banani School has participated in PEC Exam as well.    

Students of three schools of JAAGO Foundation have participated in PEC examination 2017. From Rayerbazar School 3.45% students got A+, 41.3% students got A, 27.6% students got A-, 16% students got B and 10% students got C. From Banani School, 93.75% students got A. From Gazipur School 6% students got A+, 37.5% students got A, 19% students got A-, 25% students got B and 12.5% students got C.

Getting Prepared for SSC

The Secondary School Certificate (SSC) Examination is a public examination in Bangladesh conducted as completion exam of Secondary Education. Students of 10th grade/class ten appear in these examinations. All the students who enrolled on our 1^st batch couldn’t made this far, because they belong from the underprivileged background. They had to struggle with their livelihood as well. There were dropouts and enrollment on 1^st batch and finally, we have 19 students participating in SSC examination in 2018.

The change is significant in the local communities where JAAGO schools operate. When JAAGO started its journey, the communities were reluctant to open up to yet another organization which wanted to change their lives. But watching the people of JAAGO’s unwavering commitment and dedication to improve lives of not only its students but also the families, these communities have slowly realized the impact JAAGO’s school program. After this 10 year journey, JAAGO first batch students are looking to participate on SSC Examination this year which is one of the very important exam for any students in Bangladesh.

Photo Voice Exhibition

JAAGO believes in injecting creative and logical thinking among the children of JAAGO to help them flourish with knowledge. Each child has the potential to become everything they have dreamt of, only if they are given the right platform. At JAAGO, we ensure our children get the right education and experience to achieve their dream.

From this belief, JAAGO collaborated with Volunteer for Bangladesh (VBD), largest youth organization in the country, to instill creative skill among its students. They were trained of how this exhibition will work, trained on taking picture etc. Together, they have organized an exhibition of photos where one photo says thousand words. Children picked random photos of their choices, which expressed many untold issues of the community. Finally these photos were exhibit on public.  

Public Speaking Competition

JAAGO delivering education in a way which shapes the students for future endeavors by preparing them in a way so they could develop themselves. Public Speaking Competition is an internal competition in JAAGO Schools where student participates and deliver speeches on random topic selected by teachers.

This is an initiative designed to develop skills of the students and build capacities among them for future challenges. Teachers allocate different topics to students on saving environment, pollution, necessity of nutrition etc. They deliver speech in front of students which boost their confidence as well. Finally, winners are nominated by teacher’s preference. However, this competition has great benefits such as building self-esteem, honing critical thinking and presenting network opportunities.

How JAAGO Changing Lives!

Statement of Fatema
Class: 10^th Grade
JAAGO Foundation, Rayerbazar School 

I am Fatema and I belong to a very poor family. My father was a rickshaw-puller and mother works as a house-maid. There was a time when I could not think of studying as my family was unable to provide education to me with their low financial condition. No one in my family understood the importance of education where as I wanted to be highly educated. My fate surprised me with an amazing blessing; JAAGO came into my life as a dream. Unfortunately, I lost my father at a young age when I was studying at standard 5 in JAAGO. I felt that all of my dreams are about to end. My mother and I were living together and we could not manage food for 3 times a day. That’s when JAAGO stood by me and rescued from the horrible trauma. There’s a saying when God take something from you, He gives you something too. JAAGO provided the house rent for me and I started working as a part time assistant teacher in my school. When my brothers wanted me to get married at a certain age, I stopped going to their house because my motive was something very different. I wanted to study and have a very bright future for myself.

Now, I take tuitions and try to help my mother as much as possible. We all know that when a child is born, he/she rear-up in his/her mother lap, just like that I have grown up in JAAGO’s lap. JAAGO taught me to fight against all the odds and taught me to dream. Now, I dream of being a civil engineer with the wonderful education they are providing me. I found my fairyland on earth which is JAAGO Foundation.  

Thank You Note

This long journey of success on shaping lives of children as well their families wouldn’t be possible without our companions. We would like to thank GlobalGiving, our sponsors and all our supporters for sharing the journey with us and underprivileged children of JAAGO. Thank you so much for your support, hope together we will build a better future for tomorrow.