Committed to the service of others

After completing his education from abroad, Rahmatuzzaman Rumon, the Founder of the non-profit organisation We, Not I, came back to his homeland with the goal to help the youth. To keep impressionable youths from succumbing to behavioural problems, drug addiction and depression, the NGO was formed at the start of 2018.

Graduating students volunteer at various events for We, Not I.  The organisation's funds come from the registration fees of their volunteers. It also has several established clubs for volunteers so that those who are interested can sharpen their skills.

They have English Language, Science, Sports, Debate and Literature clubs.  The volunteers are asked to attend meetings and seminars as per the requirements. However, due to the ongoing pandemic, the involvement of volunteers has been very restricted. 300 volunteers are currently involved with We, Not I.

The organisation intends to instill good habits in young kids. "We hope that the kids will learn to keep the community clean and will grow up to be respectful towards people from all walks of life," explains Rumon. "Much like the rest of the world, we had to delay our plans and events due to the pandemic. We did, however, try and help people as much as we could by taking the necessary safety precautions while we were out and about." They provided PPE suits to those who were likely to require it and maintaining social distancing as strictly as possible.

At ‘Bin of Hope’, the volunteers cleaned up roads and set up 50 sustainable garbage bins around Mirpur.

Their latest event, 'Project Ekannobotti', is about supplying food for at least 15 days to families that are unable to afford their own food during the pandemic. So far, they have been able to feed around 1,500 people. During Ramadan this year, they sold iftar packages at BDT 10 to destitute communities. Through their project, 'Eduguard' they tried to help laid off teachers financially. To campaign for a clean environment, they arranged the event 'Bin of Hope' and setup 50 sustainable bins around Mirpur. They provided Eid gifts to around 50 families and they also provided iftar packages to the police to commend their hard work.

"In the future, we hope to expand our reach through workshops and engage the youth more and more towards the betterment of the country," said Rumon. We, Not I can be reached through their website and Facebook page.