Guiding the differently-abled

BRIDGE Foundation works for the skill development of people with disabilities. The Co-founder, Swarna Moye Sarker, is one of the 22 Bangladeshi changemakers who have been selected for the Acumen Fellowship in 2021. She has completed her bachelor's and master's from Dhaka City College.

BRIDGE Foundation started out in 2013 with Swarna and her fellow Co-founder Natasha Israt Kabir working on a US State Department funded project, 'IT for differently-abled children'. It helped them discover that their hearing impaired participants were gifted in the field of painting. Subsequently, they set up a Facebook page called, "Magical Art Of Silence", through which some participants' paintings, pottery, and bamboo artworks are sold to customers around the world.

Around 80 participants attended classes on IT, cooking, and art, among other topics, which helped them get jobs in restaurants, departmental stores, schools, IT firms, and as freelance artists. The foundation has received many national and international accolades for its efforts.

"Our  goal is to financially uplift people with disabilities as independent individuals who can contribute to the economy of Bangladesh," says Swarna.

The foundation plans to launch its skilled participants as trainers for the differently abled, and work on their mental health.

Mohammad Matiur Rahman Tuhin, an alum of New Model Degree College, volunteers at the foundation.

"It is a matter of fortune to work for people who are deprived in our society. I also learn a lot from them," he adds.

The author is a freelance journalist. Email: farahkabirg5@gmail.com.