bKash and Bishwo Shahitto Kendro celebrate 12 years of joint journey in book reading program

"What a person observes in childhood, they try to recreate it throughout their life,” said Professor Abdullah Abu Sayeed, Chairman and Chief Executive of Bishwo Shahitto Kendro. The eminent educator and writer reminisced about how deeply his father influenced him in spreading books and the habit of reading.

Regarding the expansion of the book reading programme across the country, he said, “There were many struggles along this journey, but we also received help from many quarters- personal, social, institutional, and government support. Among the non-state organisations that provided major assistance, one was bKash.”

He further said: “Over these 12 years, we received 400,000 books from bKash, which were distributed to various educational institutions nationwide. These 400,000 books have been read by at least 3.2 million readers and students."

He explained that had bKash invested this money elsewhere, they could have made a profit. "Whether bKash benefited financially from it or not, I don’t know, but the nation has certainly benefited from the partnership,” Prof Sayeed said.

Professor Sayeed expressed these views in a video message during an event organised in the capital on Friday (September 4) to mark the 12th anniversary of the partnership between Bishwo Shahitto Kendra and bKash to spread the book reading programme across the country.

Dr. A N M Ehsanul Hoque Milon, Minister of Education, attended the event as the chief guest. Among others present were Kamal Quadir, Chief Executive Officer of bKash; Major General Sheikh Md Monirul Islam (Retd.), Chief External and Corporate Affairs Officer of bKash; and Khandakar Md Asaduzzaman, Executive Director of Bishwo Shahitto Kendro. Additionally, over three hundred students and their teachers from various schools as well as civil society members attended the event.

Expressing hope for building an intellectually sound society, Professor Sayeed also said in the video message, “Such a small country, yet such a large population! It is difficult even for the best people in the world to lead this country toward prosperity. But if we all keep trying- each from our own position- then nothing is impossible.”

In his chief guest’s address, Education Minister stated, “Positive change is needed in society, and the Prime Minister is working hard toward it. The government is giving the highest priority to improving the quality of education in the country, which must begin right from the primary level. Priority is also being given to technical education.”

Mentioning that the government aims to gradually increase the education budget to 5.0 percent of the national budget, he said, “This government has already raised the previous government’s 1.39 percent education budget to 2.0 percent. This year, we have received an education budget of BDT 136,000 crore.”

Dr Milon further added, “To pull the new generation away from mobile phone and drug addiction, we must foster the habit of reading books. In this regard, I thank the initiative of Bishwo Shahitto Kendro and bKash, and I hope many more institutions will come forward in the future out of corporate social responsibility.”

At the event, bKash’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer Kamal Quadir said, “Since the beginning of our journey, bKash’s goal has been to bring a positive change in the economy by driving financial inclusion in the country. At the same time, as a responsible corporate entity, we believe that education and the pursuit of knowledge are among the core foundations of sustainable development. It is from this belief that bKash has been associated with Bishwo Shahitto Kendro’s book reading programme for the last 12 years.”

He added, “bKash has been operating for 15 years and has been making some profit for the past few years, but we have been engaged with Bishwo Shahitto Kendro long before making any profits. When we got the chance to work with this organisation 12 years ago, we eagerly seized the opportunity. We thank Bishwo Shahitto Kendro for connecting us with their initiative. We have always prioritised initiatives that take the young generation beyond the boundaries of textbooks and into the world of knowledge, creativity, and open-minded thinking.”

The nationwide ‘Book Reading Programme’ of Bishwo Shahitto Kendro stands as one of the largest and long-term initiatives dedicated to instilling reading habits, critical thinking, and human values among students. For over four decades, Bishwo Shahitto Kendro has been running this programme across the country.

Embracing this vision of Bishwo Shahitto Kendro as part of its corporate social responsibility, bKash has been continuously associated with the initiative for 12 years since 2014. Through this partnership, bKash has distributed more than 400,000 books to libraries of various educational institutions across the country. The books distributed have reached nearly 3,000 educational institutions, directly benefiting over 3.2 million students and readers.