‘We will have pulao this Eid’

Sufiya Khatun is a fifth grade student of the Babu Dying Adivasi Alor Pathshala, in Godagari upazila, Rajshahi. She was thrilled to receive an Eid gift pack on Sunday.

Sufia was elated getting the gift package and said “No one had pulao last year Eid because of poverty caused by Covid-19. But we will have pulao this Eid. That will be fun.”

Like Sufia, a total of 318 students of the Babu Dying Adivasi Alor Pathshala received the Eid gifts. Besides, 11 teachers-officials and the retired founding headmaster of the school Kanai Chandra Das have been given Eid clothes as gifts.

These gifts have been given at the initiative of Prothom Alo Trust, with support from Summit Group. The members of Prothom Alo Bondhushava handed over the gifts in three phases maintaining social distancing at the Alor Pathshala premises.

The gift pack contains four kg regular rice, one kg polua rice, sugar, lentils, salt, one litre soybean oil, 200 grams lachha shemai (vermicelli), 50 grams milk powder, a packet of soap, detergent powder and a mask.

Present at the event where the gifts were handed out, were national agricultural award-winning fruit grower, Matiur Rahman, retired teacher Tariqul Islam, social workers Aminul Islam and Zahirul Islam, village head Logan Saran, retired founding headmaster of the school Kanai Chandra Das, the current headmaster Ali Uzzaman Nur as well as Prothom Alo Bondhushava Chapainawabganj unit organising secretary Sayeed Mahmud, literary secretary Shirina Khatun and human resource secretary Sonia Khatun.

Tariqul Islam said, “I have seen many schools but never saw such an initiative of providing food assistance among the students.” During the programme, fruit grower Matiur Rahman declared that he would provide nutritious food to the students of Alor Pathshala once a month.