At Sumitomo Corporation Asia & Oceania Dhaka Office, all employees work together to provide support for children who do not have the opportunity to get enough education.
Quality Education is a basic human right. However, in Bangladesh, many children have either never attended school or dropped out early due to poverty. To address these issues, we are collaborating with Ekmattra Society, a well-known NGO that started through the Open Sky School campaign (an educational program that offered outdoor classes to disadvantaged children). Ekmattra Society has an academy that provides for all the basic needs of underprivileged children and takes care of them like a family.
To make our commitment to quality education, we have selected 3 action plans.
We donated educational materials and IT equipment to children at Ekmattra academy.
We offered online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic when schools were closed. Our eight volunteer teachers have given 15 classes in the last four months.
Yasmin Farhana, Corporate Affairs Dept., instructor of the online class.
“I was very happy to be able to offer online classes to these special children. They were very keen to learn new things. Although we had to conduct the classes online, I felt that all the children were brilliant and could achieve excellence with the proper support and guidance.”
We arranged Happy Day, a full-day program at Ekmattara Academy in Mymensingh on March 27, 2022. A total of 10 Dhaka members participated.
All the children and guests wore the same “Happy Day” themed T-Shirts and caps and participated in many activities throughout the day.
We also celebrated with the children by a special cake.
All the children and guests wore the same “Happy Day” themed T-Shirts and caps and participated in many activities throughout the day.
We also celebrated with the children by a special cake.
"Happy Day is a platform where we can share our feelings and learn many things from the children. I thought they had immense potential. They just need someone to get them started. It was a great pleasure and an exciting experience for me. I’d like to support this project in any way that I can. My simple message is: "Add value where you are".
Shamim Ahsan, Metal Dept., participated in Happy Day
Although the lockdown and the sharp increase in COVID-19 infection rates limited our working hours and made things very challenging, all 17 members in Dhaka office were very dedicated and worked together to overcome the difficulties.
Active participation of all 17 members in Dhaka office made the project successful!
As a result, we got some big smiles from 50 children at Ekmattra Society.
We believe that our small contribution will help motivate them to continue their studies. In that way, we were able to contribute to the betterment of society.
I have experienced one of the most amazing times during the implementation of the 100SEED project. At the beginning, it was difficult to run through this project due to COVID-19 situation in Bangladesh. After the situation improved, we made progress on all our action plans successfully. This project gave me the opportunity to work with underprivileged children through Ekamattra Society. Just spending a little time talking, playing, and doing small things with these children makes them happy. Through these activities, we can contribute to the betterment of our society and community.
Afsana Monia, Steel and Metal Dept., talked about the significance of the 100SEED program.
We are planning to continue giving support in order to ensure quality education for these underprivileged children. In the fiscal year of 2022, we are considering taking online classes, donating educational materials, and arranging a “Happy Day”-related event called “Inclusion day” to share the happiness among children.
February 2023
