‘‘I can dream - this is the biggest achievement in my entire life,’’ said Bahar Uddin Raihan, an Active Citizen from Bangladesh, at the International Study Visit 2016 of Active Citizens held in January 2016.
His story moved 15 of the Active Citizens who came from different countries. When Raihan was telling his story, the audience, which comprised of Active Citizens, a member of the Bangladesh Parliament, and relevant influencers, were left mesmerised.
Raihan lost both his hands in an accident when he was only nine years old. According to him, the incident marked the start of a fight, the fight against challenges that plagued his life. He has been fighting ever since, but today, he feels like a winner because he can dream and hope again. With the only one family member, his mother, Raihan, a young boy from Cox’s Bazar, almost drowned in a sea of challenges before being able to find strength in his ability to overcome these obstacles.
The Active Citizens Youth Leadership Training was able to restore his life back to normalcy, aiding him in his growth. He said, “It opened up my eyes. Now I know what my rights are and also know how to get those rights. I think I am more competent for work than many other young people who are physically okay. I can work more without hands because I gained confidence through my journey as an Active Citizens.”
Raihan is working on a social action project where he along with other team members are running a school for underprivileged children. They are also getting a lot of support from people from the community. He is a very popular leader as well as president of a committee for people with disabilities in his area. People in Cox’s Bazar who are usually preoccupied with other disasters have little time to think about rights of persons with disabilities. However, now, small initiatives taken by Raihan is finally bringing about change. Interestingly, Raihan is also a blogger. He uses the digital platform to create and increase awareness about rights of differently-abled people. His friends, teachers and mentors are proud for him and they believe that he will one day be able to do something innovative which no one has thought about, breaking free from stereotypes.
The British Council has seen Raihan as a very active and successful team player in different activities and events. His team won the best Social Action Project (SAP) award in the Active Citizens Regional Achievers’ Summit in 2016. Raihan’s aim is to become a magistrate one day. No matter what he becomes, he surely will become someone that Bangladesh is proud to call as one of our own.
