“People with disabilities often feel helpless in our society. But if they are educated, they can become self-reliant and build a livelihood of their own. A livelihood is not only about earning money, it is about personal freedom and social inclusion.”
Ashraful Alam said this in a firm voice on Monday (15 December) at the Safwan Bashundhara Global headquarters in Bashundhara Residential Area of the capital.
Wearing dark glasses, he was speaking at the “Braille Book Donation Program 2025”, organised by Bashundhara Exercise Book with support from View Foundation.
Ashraful Alam works as the executive director of Uttaran Protibondhi Sangstha and was also involved in the technical process of producing the braille books prepared by View Foundation.
He said Bashundhara Group has been working on this initiative for a long time. At the higher secondary level, braille books are provided only by Bashundhara Group and View Foundation. Such initiatives would also inspire the government to prepare braille books at the higher secondary level.
The keynote speech at the event was delivered by Yeasha Sobhan, honourable vice chairman of Safwan Bashundhara Global. She said there is a saying in Bangla that people can be blind even when they have eyes, referring to those who fail to distinguish between right and wrong despite being able to see.
She added that true strength comes from courage, not eyesight and said Bashundhara Paper has always stood beside visually impaired students and that Bashundhara Group would continue to support them.
Organisers said they have been running the Braille Book Donation Program since 2022. This year, NCTB-approved braille versions of Bangla Sahitto Path, Bangla Sohopath, English For Today and ICT books were distributed among around 50 visually impaired students from 18 colleges across the country.
In Bangladesh, only Bashundhara Exercise Book and View Foundation provide braille books for visually impaired students at the higher secondary level.
The theme of this year’s programme was “Education for all, dreams without inequality."
Visually impaired students attending the programme presented Quran recitation, musical performances and shared stories of their life struggles, highlighting their creativity and talent before the audience.
Imdadul Haque Milon, adviser of Bashundhara Group, said the group’s vice chairman Yasha Sobhan has long been working for marginalised communities. He said Yasha Sobhan has been running a school for children with disabilities in Keraniganj for many years, alongside initiatives like the braille book donation programme. He added that Safwan Bashundhara Global would always stand beside such efforts.
Hasan Howlader, a first-year higher secondary humanities student of Mirpur Government Bangla College, studied at a school in Shariatpur. His dream is to become a good human being. Along with his studies, he enjoys writing stories and also works as a content writer for several YouTube channels.
He said he first heard about View Foundation from senior students at his school and had previously studied using the foundation’s audiobooks.
Shahed Zahid, chief operating officer of Safwan Bashundhara Global, said that although visually impaired students may not see what is happening around them, education allows them to see the world through their inner strength and show that vision to others.
Mohammad Solaiman, a first-year humanities student of Narsingdi Government College who came from Narsingdi, said he felt very happy to attend the programme. He said such initiatives have made their learning process much easier.
Other guests present at the event included Dr Mozammel Hossain Khan, vice chairman of View Foundation, Ali Ashfaq, trustee of View Foundation, and Saiful Islam Shahin, executive director of View Foundation.
Also present were Md Mustafizur Rahman, senior deputy managing director; Mohammad Masudur Rahman, head of division (sales); Mohammad Alauddin, General Manager (marketing) and other senior officials of Safwan Bashundhara Global.
With heartfelt participation from guests, guardians and students, the programme became emotional and inspiring, sending a positive message of humanity and compassion to society.
Bashundhara Exercise Book reaffirmed its commitment to continue standing beside visually impaired students in their journey of education and progress, believing that when dreams grow big, Bashundhara Exercise Book stands by their side.
Courtesy: The Daily Sun
Bd-Pratidin English/ AM
