When he was 14, he started paying his own way through school by tutoring the other children for money. He continues to pay his own way through university by tutoring and also receives some help from World Vision for the work he is doing. As if being a volunteer, a tutor, and a student wasn’t enough, Forkan must currently support all eight members of his family.
He is the first member of his family to attend post-secondary school. At one point, his younger sister was a sponsor child. Unfortunately, her sponsor dropped her and - while World Vision still continues to provide assistance to the family - she was not sponsored again.
Forkan believes that each person had a duty to help our fellow man. He is fiercely passionate about education being the solution to the poverty in his community.
I asked him what his most meaningful experience was as a volunteer. He told me of a time when he visited a family as part of his regular rounds. The furniture was gone from their house; they didn’t even have a seat to offer him. None of the men were able to work and two family members were disabled. They were living in a dire situation. Fulkan informed a World Vision program officer and together they met with the family to discuss their options. The mother was invited to join a World Vision development group and receive training in sewing. In six month time, she was supporting the entire family with her income… something virtually unheard of in rural Bangladesh.
With both pride and humility, Forkan acknowledged that without his help, the family would probably still be in the same dismal situation. I get the feeling that the same could be said for a lot of Patenga’s families.
(Photo taken by Lydia Keen.)
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