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PROJECT PROFILE
1. Background of the Concept
Bangladesh is a poor
country and most of the population lives below poverty level. There
are many distressed families among the poor those who are unable to
nurture their children due extreme poverty. These kids are deprived of
basic needs like food, shelter and education. Their growing number is
a great concern for the society. ORCA, the organization of the ex
cadet's of Rajshahi Cadet College strongly feels for these children.
We consider that it is our responsibility to do something for these
marooned children. Keeping this in mind, the idea of 'ORCA HOMES' was
floated in 1999 by the members of Chittagong ORCA.
2. Organization of 'ORCA Ctg'
There are about forty members of
ORCA Ctg chapter. Most of them are from Bangladesh Navy. There are
also members in Bangladesh Army, Air Force and in the civil society.
There is an elected body that decides yearly program and activities of
the organization. We seat every quarterly for our future action. The
members pay a monthly contribution for the organization.
3. Opening of 'ORCA HOMES'
In Apr 2001, a residence was
hired in Patenga, Ctg (opposite to Ctg steel mills ltd) to accommodate
the children of ORCA HOMES. The location was chosen close to Ctg Navy
as we always had some naval members who would take care of the boys.
The house stands on a land of about 5 katha (quarter bigha ). It has
four small family quarters. Each quarter has two rooms and a toilette.
There is a small yard in front of the quarters. Two of the quarters
were made accommodation for the children, one was made study room and
store then another one was kept to lodge the caretaker and cook. Most
of the living materials like cot, mattresses, utensils etc were
collected as charity from the members. Twelve (12) orphan boys,
mostly of tender age were collected from different parts of the
country. A caretaker and a cook were also appointed to run the
institution. Thus the noble venture received its initial momentum.
4. Daily Program of 'ORCA HOMES'
The children wake up at
5:30 and offers morning prayer. Then they go for PT (Physical
Exercise). After that they take breakfast and prepares for school. All
of them go to a local primary school. Most of the boys read in between
class III-V. They return to homes at around 2 pm. After taking lunch
they offer johr prayer and then go for a nap. Subsequently they are to
assemble in study room for studies by 3 pm. They are to study the
Quran for half an hour after asr prayer. Then they go out for games.
They come back to homes before magrib. They take shower, offer prayer
and start preparation for next day's school. A young dedicated tutor
has been appointed for them recently. Dinner is served in between 8-9
pm. Then they offer esha after which they are given one hour time to
watch TV.
The daily program has been chalked out considering the daily
events of a cadet of Cadet College. In addition, recitation from holy
Quran and the salat has been made compulsory.
5. Yearly Program
A yearly program is also set which
includes different kinds of games and sports, cultural events,
publication of magazines and educational tours.
6. Medical Coverage
The physician members of ORCA Ctg
provide the medical coverage.
7. Inspection
Regular inspection of the accommodation
by a nominated ORCA member is carried out to look after
hygiene of the children and their living standard.
8. Staff
The homes have one caretaker who looks after
overall administration. He receives guidance from the committee. The
tutor is responsible for studies and other daily and yearly
activities. Other than them, there is a cook for daily cooking.
9. Expenses
The daily running cost expended is mainly for
food. Approximately Tk 7000/00 per month is spent for purchase of
foodstuff, namely vegetable. The monthly expense includes house rent
(Tk 6000/00), salary of the staff (Tk 7000/00 approx). The occasional
expenditure is for cloth, school gears for the children etc. At
present, the total running cost is Tk 20,000/00 per month.
10. Meeting the Expenditure
It should be mentioned that the actual monthly
expenditure would exceed Tk 30,000/00. Every month, a
good quantity of ration is collected from the officers and sailors of
Bangladesh Navy. Moreover, every month 2-3 sacrificial animals are
also received from Navy. ORCA North America pays the monthly house
rent. The other expenditures are met from monthly contribution of the
members of Ctg area and other donations.
11. Initial Goal
At the beginning, the committee had
planned to increase the number of children to 100 step by step. We
also thought of having own land and accommodation for homes. Our final
goal was to launch a technical school in the homes premises and train
the boys there. The aim had been to train the children and establish
them in the society.
12. Achievements
The establishment of such a noble
venture was obviously a great success. Twelve children, those who were
burden for their parents are being brought up for last about five
years and they are doing good result in the school. They are also
living a healthy living, which is unexpected in the poor society.
13. Present Problems
The initial momentum was
excellent, but the speed was restricted due to loss of effort and
scarcity of fund. Most of the founder members are now out of Ctg and
adequate fund could not be generated due to lack of initiative. There
is also lack of close supervision of the children which is essential
for sound physical and mental development of the children.
14. Proposition
Followings are essential to revamp the
institution:
Purchase of Land: A piece of
land of around at least
one bigha (33 decimal) may be purchased to build own infrastructure.
This land also includes playground for the children. If we don't buy
enough land, we would not be able to carry out future expansion. The
minimum cost of one bigha of land would be Tk 30 lacs (low land,
without road communication). The price may be up to Tk one crore when
the land is high and beside road.
Construction of
Accommodation: The present
accommodation can only support 12-16 children. In the first stage, a
building may be constructed to accommodate at least 30 children. The
construction of a tin shed building would cost Tk 10 lacs.
Source of Permanent Income: If
would be best if we
can arrange something which would bring regular income for the
organization. Making few low cost houses and renting it to local
population can be a good option. Shortage of house is very acute in
Ctg area. This is because of rapid growth of Ctg EPZ (Export
Processing Zone).
15. Conclusion
'ORCA HOMES' is a gracious endeavor to
mitigate the sufferings of the destitute children of the society. Work
for the humanity is considered one of the best deeds as declared by
the Almighty. Let us make an all out effort to help the expansion of
the institute.
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