Reviving the Abandoned Pogose School Library

After a grueling two months of work, a team from One Degree Initiative finally managed to re-open the library in Pogose School in Puran Dhaka - the first private school in Dhaka founded in 1848!

When we first visited the library we had not anticipated what we would find there. We were drowned in dust and it felt like trying to wake up a sleeping giant. Everyday we would clean and list and come home looking like chimney-sweeps. We sorted the books into disposable and usable books, disposed of the text books which were out of syllabus, cleaned the books and rearranged them in the shelves after the catalogueing was complete. This is the fourth library that 1di set up but is the first one which they reopened after re-cataloguing all the books. Dusting wasn't the only thing we did there. Apart from playing in the dust, we sucessfully broke a bench, made a huge mess and irritated the teachers in many different ways however they were awefully kind about it all.

Sunbeams Community Service Club donated about 240 books and American International School Dhaka donated 120 books to Pogose School. We are very gratfeful to them for their cooperation and enthusiasm.

The project was tremendously fun and the library was inaugurated on 21st March 2009, Saturday in coalition with the "Anti- Presentations" - presentations against Acid Violence, drug abuse, littering, etc. Zulfa Mohammad (Headmaster of Pogose School), Rick Davis (Science teacher of AISD), Khaleda Mariam Sajjad (A/O level coordinator of Sunbeams School), Taimur Islam (Head of Urban Study Group (USG)) attended the inaguration ceremony. After speeches from the guests, the library was inaugurated by handing over the register to the Headmaster. Other guests who attended the event were Homaira Zaman (USG coordinator) and Shamira Islam (USG member).

1di would like to take this opportunity to express their heartfelt gratitude to USG for helping us make this project possible and helping us all bridges we faced during the whole time. 

This was a novel project and 1di is extremely proud to have taken such an initiative. After all, new initiatives are what we're all about!

See pictures

Related Stories:

The "Anti-Presentations"

The Pogose Experience

Project time-span: Februray - March 2009
Inauguration date: 21st March 2009, Saturday

Project Leader: Hiya Islam

Deputy PL: Mushfiq Rahman

Dusting and catalogueing team: Zubaer Tazin, Tanzim Taher, Mayeesha Azhar, Wasiq bin Omar, Maxim Argho, Swapnil Avisek Singha Roy, Abrar Rahman(Jycee), Zabir Hasan, Rafed Hossain Tomo, Badrun Nessa Shurovi, Zeeshan Alam, Ashik Khan, Bosra Farha, Reazul Jannat, Shourab Sabhanaz Rashid Diya and Asif Aziz Khan.

Inauguration event management team: Sabhanaz Rashid Diya, Mayeesha Azhar, Mashruk Zaman Khan (Wasif), Tousif Farhad, Risalat Khan, Mujtaba Morshed, Zubaer Tazin, Mushfiq Rahman, Tanzim Taher, Fahmim Ferdous, Rafed Hossain Tomo, Badrun Nessa Shurovi, Maxim Argho, Aaqib Hossain, Ashik Khan.