Shubroto's Great Escape to School

Imagine you are a 13-year-old boy, working 7 days a week, 15 hours a day, in a carpenter’s workshop for 6 months. You want to become an engineer and you dream about going to a remote school – 350 km away, beyond a great river – where your divorced mom would not let you go at any cost. But you will not give up on your dream. You look at your options, gather information and prepare an elaborate escape…

An expert? A diplomat? Or an engineer?

That boy is now 16-year-old Shubroto, a very energetic teenager and “diplomat”. When we asked him about his skills, he said: “I’m an expert in coconut tree climbing and fishing. I can catch fish with a hook, a net, or with my bare hands while diving. I also like playing soccer and cricket with my friends, and I think I’m good at it.”

Today, Shubroto goes to GAPS boarding school with his two younger brothers, Shorov (5^th Grade) and Shajol (3^rd Grade). He takes care of them and helps them with school. Sometimes, Shajol comes with math homework and says: “I don’t get it. Can you count it?” And Shubroto (being a good brother) helps him. When his siblings fight with others though, he turns into a diplomat. “First I check what’s going on, what they’re fighting about, what’s the problem. Usually, I don’t get involved. That’s teachers’ job, so I take them to the teachers. I mean, if I were to judge them, I would get myself into a conflict of interest. And I mustn’t let that happen here!”

From his childhood, Shubroto has been interested in machines and everything related to electricity. When there is a film screening or a speech on a microphone, Shubroto is one of the boys who control the devices. That is one of the reasons he wanted to become an engineer very much. But his dream turned sour.

The family is separated, Shubroto’s dreams are shattered

At the end of 2014, having had long-term relationship problems, the parents split up. His brothers stayed with their father in Khulna, South Bangladesh, near their hometown. The mom moved with Shubroto and his little sister Marta to the East, to her relatives in coastal Chittagong, the second largest city in Bangladesh. The division of the family meant not only losing ties and economic support, but also losing the possibility to go to the school Shubroto loved. He thought he was going to attend a school in Chittagong, but making ends meet was not easy for a mom with two children. Illiterate, she cleaned and cooked in households of richer people and had a different plan for him. 13-year-old Shubroto had to start working. And his dreams began to shatter.

Too young to work

“First I worked in a carpenter’s workshop in Chittagong and then as an assistant in a big shop. I spent 6 months in the workshop, 7 days a week, from 8am to 11pm or even midnight. We had two half-hour breaks for lunch and dinner. Food was provided by the employer. I helped the carpenters at work. I carried material and tools and was at hand. I made 3,000 Takka a month (approx. 45 USD) giving it all to my mom.” Shubroto was only 13 at the time and his child dreams were falling apart. It was the saddest time of his life. He remembered picnics and other amazing moments from school, his friends having fun while he could not be there. “I missed that very much,” he says.

Good news brings hope and a bold plan

After working in the carpenter’s workshop half a year, he worked in a shop for a month. As needed, he sold goods or filled shelves. Then a message from his uncle reached him, saying that a donor who would support him in studying was found in GAPS, the school he had attended. “I’d been waiting for a donor earlier and all of a sudden there was someone who wanted to support me,” he says. The divided family could not afford the school towards the end of 2014. This good news made him very happy. He immediately asked his mom to let him go back to school, but she would not hear of it. Shubroto would not give up his dream though. All the more so when he knew it was almost fulfilled. And so the bold escape plan emerged in his head.

Shubroto escapes and returns to school

“My mom didn’t want me to go back to GAPS and she wouldn’t give me the money to make the trip. So I waited for my salary from the shop to have enough resources for the journey. There came an opportune moment when my cousin from Chittagong traveled to Barisal, which is on the way back home. But if I told her: “I’ll go with you,” she would tell my mom and they would stop me. So I lied to my mom. I asked her to let me see my cousin out to the station. She agreed and I went with my cousin. We said our goodbyes, she boarded her train and left. I couldn’t get on the same train since she would notice me. But I learned how the station works and got on the next train going in the same direction. It went from Chittagong to Chandpur. There is a big river port in Chandpur. In the evening I boarded a night ferry to Barisal. Then I rode the bus to Khulna and walked back to our village, to my uncle. And from the village I got back to GAPS during a holiday. I went to Richard (BCSS coordinator) and he introduced me to the school’s principal who admitted me among the students.”At school, Shubroto met his two brothers who had received support from foreign donors, too. Once in 2 or 3 months, their dad visits bringing some food and pocket money. Shubroto has not heard about his mom or little Marta ever since. Who knows how they are getting on? When Shubroto grows up he will try to find his mom and provide for her. The best thing would be to make peace between his parents and bring his family together.

Inspiration for all of us

When Shubroto told us his story, it was touching as well as inspiring in many aspects. Still a child, he displayed courage, wit and endurance, which helped him triumph over adversity and all the pitfalls including the large river. By train, ship, bus, and on foot, he traveled through a large part of Bangladesh to get back to his school desk next to his two brothers. He never stopped dreaming and never gave up pursuing freedom and education.

He sets an example to us: Never give up on your dreams and always struggle to fulfil them despite obstacles.

All children from the BanglaKids program have been living inspiring stories. And we, together with you, are proud to be able to help them.

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