If the month of July taught us anything, it was unity. Likewise, within a matter of days, it was as if the entirety of Bangladesh came together to stand beside those affected by the recent floods. Young people, especially, have once again been at the forefront, raising BDT 5.23 crore for flood relief at the TSC area of Dhaka University alone as of August 25.

And that isn't all. Besides being vocal about the crisis on social media and going door-to-door to collect donations for flood relief, the youth have also figured out unique ways to contribute from their own positions.

Sarika Saiyara, an A level graduate from Academia who has been tutoring students for the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) for a while now, took the initiative to raise funds for sanitary napkins that would be included in flood relief packs. Alongside Azneef Ahammed Chowdhury, an A level student from Chittagong Grammar School who is also an SAT tutor, the two plan to host an SAT masterclass with a small registration fee of BDT 200.

"The masterclass will cover a 360-degree overview of the Digital SAT, including, but not limited to, a timeline for taking the test, resources to ace the test, and section-wise strategies," says Sarika. "I am pleased to say that we've raised over Tk 11,000."

A similar initiative was taken by Edbridge Scholars, an education consulting agency specialising in helping students get into US colleges. The agency has offered a series of ten different workshops covering topics like SAT preparation, profile building, essay writing, etc. at a cost of just BDT 2000.

Tanvir Thamid, CEO of Edbridge Scholars and a junior at Bates College, says, "We have ten instructors from some of the best institutions in the world aboard for this project and they are the ones who should be thanked for making this initiative a success. The Edbridge Scholars team is just extending its hand in a collective cause."

Thamid further projected that the fundraising project will likely attract around 50 participants, thus raising approximately BDT 100,000. Afterwards, all the funds will be forwarded to credible organisations working towards providing relief materials in flood-affected areas.

Gamers have also been raising funds for flood relief from their positions, notably in the form of charity game livestreams. Arghya Joseph Das, a student of BRAC University (BRACU) and CEO of Dead3ye Esports, an esports and gaming organisation, shared how his team was doing their part through gaming, expecting to reach an overall donation sum of BDT 25,000.

"We've done charity livestreams in the past to raise funds for Palestine. So, when we saw the entire nation coming together to support the ones affected by the floods, we decided to engage our content creators to show support from our end," he said.

Photo: Palash Khan

To maximise the donations, they have also planned out certain steps. In that regard, Arghya said, "Our primary focus will be streaming Valorant, where we'll invite viewers to join custom matches. Involving viewers in the stream increases the likelihood that they'll share it, helping to attract more donations. Additionally, we have plans for collaborative streams with various streamers from other organisations, which will automatically boost the viewership and engagement. And lastly, along with the donations we receive, Dead3ye Esports will contribute BDT 5 for every reaction on the streams."

Iftekhar Ahmed, 20, also a student of BRACU, took another unique approach to raising funds from his side. Being in the search engine optimisation (SEO) industry for a while, Iftekhar decided to sell SEO backlinks to clients, with all the proceedings going towards flood relief.

Sharing the idea behind this initiative, he said, "There are a lot of people in my friend list who share a similar background in SEO and software as a service (SaaS). Therefore, I decided to offer backlinks at different price points and domain ratings, and I will donate the entire amount sold from here to flood relief funds. As of now, I am aiming to raise approximately $1,000 through this initiative."

Even in the face of one of the most overwhelming calamities in recent memory, the unity and creativity demonstrated by the youth have been nothing short of inspiring. From educational initiatives to gaming fundraisers and professional services, they have proven that this new Bangladesh is one marked by collective effort and impartiality.

Reference:

The Daily Star (August 25, 2024). Over Tk 5.23 crore collected over four days at TSC.

Ayaan immerses himself in dinosaur comics and poorly-written manga. Recommend your least favourite reads at ayaan.shams@gmail.com