100 Smiles

Photo: Courtesy

The annual event of 100 Smiles returned to 11 zones of Dhaka on July 13, 2015. Launched in 2010 by One Degree Initiative, the flagship project is designed to gather underprivileged children from different zones around the city and organise a festive Eid for them.

Held in three different venues in Dhanmondi, Banani and Tejgaon on Tuesday morning, the event recruited hundreds of volunteers over a span of one month.

"Since 100 Smiles volunteers are always enthusiastic, we try to recruit them as quickly as possible," Sabhanaz Rashid Diya, founder of 'One' Degree Initiative, said. "We are always amazed by the huge number of responses that we get."

Although the event takes place for a particular day, the process of volunteer recruitment is lengthier and more time-consuming. Selected volunteers attend various workshops around the city and join groups such as event planning, child collecting, decorations, gift creating, photography, social media teams etc.

"We break down the event into many categories so that our volunteers not only have a chance to help the kids but they also get to polish up and learn new skills," Diya said. "It's a great way to learn, grow and give to the community."

Tashfiq Ahmed, who's interning as a volunteer manager at One Degree for the summer, said that he was surprised by the huge turnout when he went with his volunteering team to gather children from the slums.

"You just learn to engage with a diverse group of people and know them so well," Ahmed said. "I would have never had the chance to do this if an event such as 100 Smiles didn't exist."

During the day of the event, volunteers apply henna and paint on the childrens' hands, play games with them, share stories and give them many gifts. "People say that we are creating the best Eid for the children, but that's not true," Bari Faiaz, social media manager for Tejgaon, said. His job is to collect stories and quotes from the children and collaborate with the different photographers and volunteers. "These children are giving me the best Eid I've ever gotten. I'm so inspired by their stories; I want to help them even more." Ashmina Rahman,  100 Smiles administrator and one of the event's main organisers, said that despite the strenuous efforts that go into planning, she will organise this event every year if she can.

"At the end of the day, it's all worth it when you see so many smiling faces of children," Rahman said. "100 Smiles is something that everyone should join and it will definitely get bigger and better each year." 100 Smiles hopes to return next year with many more volunteers and children in other parts of Bangladesh. Currently, 100 Smiles for Chittagong is preparing to launch their event next month.

The event was sponsored by countless donations and Zakat funds from One Degree Initiative supporters. Elite Mehdi, Northern Tosrifa Group and Abdul Monem Limited were generous partners who organised 100 Smiles 2015.