It's hope they get

She cannot see the colours and wonders of the world, yet she never stopped dreaming, and yesterday she found a means to make her dream of becoming a lawyer come true.

The joy in visually impaired Bibi Kulsum Lipi's voice thus resonated through the Mirpur indoor stadium when she uttered, "I am happy. I am delighted," expressing her reaction to receiving the Dutch-Bangla Bank Ltd (DBBL)'s scholarship for higher secondary education.

A total of 4,025 meritorious and financially underprivileged students, who passed the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent examinations in 2015, were awarded with financial aid at Shaheed Suhrawardy Indoor Stadium in the capital's Mirpur yesterday.

Lipi was able to complete her education up to the SSC level, thanks to her mother's determination, her visually impaired elder brother's paltry income as a Hafiz in the Holy Quran, and the generosity of a Baptist missionary in Dhaka.

But continuing her education further became a challenge as the cost of education material for the visually impaired became higher because of shortage of inexpensive books for visually impaired students studying in the higher secondary level.

"Each subject matter requires almost Tk 5,000 worth of books and material. Then there's hostel costs," said Lipi, whose family lives in Kabirhaat, Noakhali.

However, the Tk 2,000 monthly scholarship along with yearly Tk 2,500 for books and Tk 1,000 for dresses gave Lipi some hope.  The same goes for Mahedi Hasan Jewel, son of a restaurant staff in the capital, who aspires to be admitted to a reputed college like Notre Dam. "I didn't even have the money to register for the SSC examination," he said, noting how the scholarship would inspire him to do well.

Dr Fatematuz Zohora, resident physician of Dohar Hospital in Keraniganj, who had received the scholarship in the 2005-2006 session, reminisced about how the award not only helped her graduate with a medical degree but also the way it motivated her to do well.

"To continue to avail the scholarship, you need to continue to excel in your studies, so it is a big inspiration," she told the ceremony.

Since 2006 DBBL has awarded 36,410 students, 18,748 of them still receiving the scholarship at different levels of education. Ninety percent of the scholarships are given to students from rural areas and 50 percent of them are earmarked for females.

Without the scholarship, Tutul Chakma, who is now studying at Rangamati Government College, might have had to give up his studies.

Coming from the remote Luxmichhari upazila of Khagrachhari, he would have to spend almost Tk 600 daily to commute between his home and college.

"This scholarship will help ease the pressure on my father, a village policeman," he said.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Law Minister Anisul Huq, and Canadian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Benoît-Pierre Laramêe praised DBBL's corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities.

Sayem Ahmed, chairman of the Board of Directors of DBBL, and KS Tabrez, managing director of the bank, congratulated the award winners and hoped for their better future.