Student-led initiative Lal Sabuj Unnayan Sangha expands nationwide support for underprivileged children through micro-savings
Photo Collected
More than 2,500 students across Bangladesh are driving a grassroots social movement by donating 10 taka each month—saved from their daily lunch allowances—to provide educational supplies to underprivileged children. What began as a local initiative in Daudkandi, Cumilla, has expanded over the last decade into a nationwide network spanning all 64 districts.
The organization, known as Lal Sabuj Unnayan Sangha, was founded by Kawsar Alam. A native of West Noyadda village in the Biteshwar Union of Daudkandi, Alam established the platform to channel the collective savings of students into humanitarian aid. The organization supplies notebooks, pens, pencils, geometry boxes, and bags to those in need, while also providing new clothing during the Eid holidays and emergency support during natural disasters such as floods and river erosion.
The movement originated from a personal experience in 2005 when Alam and his sister, Farzana Akter, witnessed a girl in their village being forced into domestic labor by her parents. Although the siblings pooled their own scholarship money to help the child return to school, the girl was eventually pulled from her studies and married off. That experience spurred the siblings to continue using their scholarship funds to buy supplies for impoverished children, eventually formalizing their work into an organization in May 2011.
Beyond material support, the organization places a heavy emphasis on social awareness. According to Alam, the group has engaged more than 4.5 million students over the last 15 years, conducting advocacy campaigns against drug abuse, child marriage, sexual harassment, juvenile delinquency, and corruption. The organization also encourages moral development, patriotism, and environmental stewardship, having distributed over 615,000 tree saplings to students during the same period.
The initiative has garnered praise for fostering a culture of philanthropy among the youth. Mizanur Rahman Talukdar, general secretary of the Daudkandi branch of the Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA), lauded Alam for transforming student volunteers into agents of social change.
Last Thursday, Alam marked his 1,941st program at the Khordkomarpur Multipurpose High School in Gaibandha’s Sadullapur Upazila. Despite the scale of the operation, Alam maintains that the mission remains grounded in the simple act of providing a child with the tools for a brighter future and instilling a sense of dignity and responsibility within the next generation.
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