Rikta Akhter Banu, a nurse from Kurigram, has been recognised within the BBC 100 Girls 2024 listing, which honours titillating and influential ladies across the sphere. Nonetheless the myth on the reduction of this proud achievement is deeply heartbreaking.
Within the far-off inform of northern Bangladesh, having an autistic or disabled baby is viewed as a curse. As a mother, Rikta needed to be taught this truth the hard intention.
Her 22-yr-aged daughter, Tanvin Dristy Moni, suffers from cerebral palsy. After enrolling her in a local authorities well-known college in 2007, Rikta faced a large kind of challenges.
“My daughter misbehaved with any individual, and a teacher expelled her from college. After that, she became careworn about going to school, however the lecturers didn’t enable her. They now and again refused her admission resulting from she used to be disabled and struggled to have interaction with others,” Rikta educated The Business Typical.
No longer only that, Rikta and her husband can also no longer even wait on social events resulting from other folks would fabricate hurtful comments about their daughter.
Rikta lives in Shorkarbari village in Ramna union, Chilmari upazila, Kurigram. She is a Senior Workers Nurse on the Chilmari Upazila Health Advanced, the set aside she works on shifts. Her husband is a teacher at a local ladies’s school. As every fogeys had been busy as a rule, they became deeply anxious about their daughter.
“I secure many scars on my body. My daughter would usually bite me,” Rikta persevered.
“One day, she bit me hard and made a deep hurt on my arm. I was in a style of peril. That day, I even slapped her. I could presumably well per chance now not pick out what to assemble. I can no longer raze her. I even idea of jumping into the river with my daughter and drowning,” Rikta talked about, breaking into tears.
What adopted used to be a sleepless night time. Nonetheless even this overwhelming anguish can also no longer end her. Things assemble no longer change overnight, however usually one night time is lengthy adequate for a miracle to occur. The next morning, a idea got here to Rikta: to open a college for disabled young folks.
She discussed the topic with her husband, Md Abu Tariq Alam and requested that he give her the 39 decimals of land next to their house in train that she can also space up a college for her daughter. She deliberate to point out on the school within the mornings and work on the health heart within the afternoons.
Nonetheless organising the school and organising all the things didn’t tag easy.
In 2009, the dream lastly became into fact. She established the ‘Rikta Akter Banu Buddhi Protibondhi College’ (Rikta Akter Banu Studying Disability College) for her daughter and different disabled young folks.
With four volunteer lecturers and a handful of school students, the race began in a slight tin-roofed house of three rooms.
Earlier than the institution of Rikta’s college, fogeys within the village faded to lock up their disabled young folks at house after they went out to work. Now, they’ll creep away their young folks at school with out any worries. In barely the important thing 10 days, the choice of young folks within the school elevated to 63.
“The MP (member of parliament), upazila chairman, Upazila Nirbahi Officer, deputy commissioner, and everybody else supported me. They had been overjoyed to be taught of my notion and encouraged me,” she talked about.
Rikta’s college now provides training to practically 300 college students.
“While the school used to be first and most foremost built for young folks who are autistic or secure a discovering out disability, it now caters to young college students with a differ of psychological and bodily disabilities,” the BBC listing’s real net grunt material reads.
Currently, the school provides training as a lot as the fifth grade, offering a differ of tutorial and technical topics, including stitching, tune, and sports activities. Beyond its position in training, the school has a great deal impacted local perceptions of disability, fostering a extra inclusive and supportive neighborhood.
There are 20 lecturers employed within the school. In 2020, it used to be incorporated within the MPO (Month-to-month Pay Negate) map. Among them, 15 folks, including eight lecturers, are receiving salaries.
BBC compiled the 100 Girls listing with 5 categories: Local climate Pioneers, Custom and Training, Leisure and Sport, Politics and Advocacy, and Science, Health, and Tech. Rikta has been recognised below the Science, Health, and Tech category.
Rikta refuses to rob the credit all by myself. “It is your achievement, Bangladesh’s achievement. It reflects the cooperation of the folks of our nation. Chilmari is a extremely uncomfortable inform. This achievement belongs to the total mothers and sisters of this neighborhood,” she talked about in an emotional train.
Nonetheless, her race is honest starting up. Amidst all pleasure, she spoke of the shortcomings of the school and her dream of going miles forward.
Rikta talked about the shortage of residential facilities, moral food provisions, a boundary wall, and transportation in her college. She also highlighted the need for lecturers’ salaries, repairs to damaged sports activities tools, and musical instruments like harmoniums.
“If these factors are addressed, these disadvantaged college students can growth even extra.”
