The youth-led organisation, Prochesta Foundation, is distributing food and necessary goods to underprivileged communities, as the nation copes with the coronavirus pandemic. Recently, they provided aid to 1,000 low-income families in Tejgaon, Nakhalpara, Hatirjheel, Ashkona, Munshiganj Bedarpalli, Hazaribagh, Mirpur and three orphanages. Their packages are comprised of around 8,000 kg of rice, 3,500 kg pulses, 7,000 kg potatoes, 1000 liters of oil, 500 kg of salt, 2.000 bars of soap, 500 kg of onions, 3,500 eggs and other necessary items, which the families can utilise for around eight to twelve days. In addition, they have conducted cleanliness and awareness campaigns for 350 children. They are also carrying out awareness campaigns through phone calls.

Students, teachers and staff of Chittagong Grammar School (CGS) and their families celebrated the first day of the Bengali New Year remotely, singing the National Anthem in tandem with each other.

Peace Talk Café, presented by Digital Khichuri Challenge, hosted an online discourse with the youth on misinformation and hoaxes surrounding the COVID-19 crisis, recently.

Empty streets, closed shop doors and a few faces dwelling on the roads in masks-- this is how Dhaka, one of the busiest cities, looks in isolation. While most individuals employed in management and other official sectors are working from home at the moment, the daily labourers, who composite a large number of our population, such as rickshaw and van pullers, house maids, blacksmiths and potters are left jobless for several weeks now. To help them, Eco-Network, an organisation founded by 7 university students to conserve nature and rebuild our environment, has extended their work boundaries with few initiatives, which includes distribution of food and cleaning items to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

SM Anamul Arefin, a Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University graduate, has been working hard to manufacture reusable, plastic face shields, in a bid to prevent coronavirus infections.

Youth OP of this week.

As a safety measure against the coronavirus pandemic, Dhaka has been in isolation since the past few weeks. While the educational institutes have suspended face-to-face classes, most offices have arranged work from home facilities for their employees. The labourers, who have to depend on their daily earning for survival, are currently in distress. Under such circumstances, BD Clean, a social organisation that aims to build a clean nation, in association with Atiqul Islam, the current mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation and his volunteers from the initiative, ‘Shobai Mile Shobar Dhaka’ have been distributing food packages to underprivileged communities in Dhaka from April 6.

Dhaka Youth Club and Mohajon Foundation established the Manobik Store in Bongshal to help underprivileged families during the global coronavirus crisis. With the slogan, bhalo thakun, bhao rakhun, the initiative was funded from their own accounts and maintained by the members of the club and the foundation.

In these dire times, Bangladesh lacks proper healthcare equipment and necessary protective gear for doctors and other medical professionals.

Offices, malls and educational institutions have been shut down across the country, in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Yet, many are unaware of such rigorous measures, especially social distancing. With an aim to raise awareness on the contagious virus, a group of young people from Bogura created a Facebook group, titled ‘Corona and Situation of Bogura’, last month.

Owing to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, a shutdown was announced in Bangladesh recently. This shutdown has taken a serious toll on the underserved communities.

As Bangladesh copes with the coronavirus pandemic with a shutdown, a large number of daily wage earners have lost their earning sources. These marginalised and underserved groups are barely getting by. Rikshaw pullers, technicians, plumbers, street vendors, and street food sellers among others are at vulnerable positions at the moment. Mission Save Bangladesh, in association with The Daily Star, Sheba XYZ and The Daily Samakal, took a commendable step to support these people.

A free transport service for caregivers, including doctors and nurses, will start operating from April 1 so that medical service providers can go to hospitals from their homes in a fast and convenient way, as Bangladesh copes with the coronavirus pandemic.

A group of university students have been distributing groceries amongst underserved communities in the capital, as of last week. The countrywide lockdown has brought hardships to families that live from hand to mouth. With Covid-19 crippling nations around the globe, as anticipated by economists, it is turning out to be a massive threat, expanding the economic inequality, putting the labour market under bleak circumstances.

Mentor Moshai is a development and lifestyle platform for children. With an aim of encouraging kids to be innovative, the team regularly posts content related to dreams, mental health, technology, communication, internet safety, cybercrimes, social studies, interactive quizzes, interesting facts about environmental and societal matters and answers to different questions starting with ‘why’. They share the content daily on their YouTube channel and Facebook page. Interestingly, all of their content creators are children.

In the face of a shortage of hand sanitisers amid rising fears of the coronavirus in Bangladesh, several leading universities produced their own hand sanitisers, not just to meet internal requirements, but also for distributing some for free amongst the masses. Before educational institutes were shut down owing to the pandemic, individuals from North South University, Independent University, Bangladesh, BUET, Dhaka University, Daffodil International University, Comilla University and Chittagong University produced their own hand sanitisers.

Our comic for this week, enjoy!

A commendable initiative

Dr Md Luthfor Rahman, a veterinary surgeon at Central Veterinary Hospital and Afzal Khan, widely known as Robin Hood – The Animal Rescuer, recently raised awareness on the Coronavirus pandemic, and debunked some of the most circulated myths about the issue.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Fellowship Announcement 2020-21