Background:
As
part of the Education and Social Justice Fellowship, in June 2014 student
Kendra Layton interviewed Reshma and Sugondhi, students at Bottomley Homes
Orphanage School (BHOS) in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Beginning in 1946 for orphan
children of World War II, BHOS now serves over 1,600 female students from first
through tenth grade. Around 140 of those students live in the orphanage next to
the school which results in a mixture of socio-economic and ethnic diversity.
Reshma and Sugondhi are both students living in the orphanage. In this
interview they reflect on how they came to the orphanage, their aspirations for
the future, and what they love most about Bangladesh.
Tell me
about when you came to Bottomley Homes Orphanage.
Reshma: 2009.
Sugondhi: I came in 2006.
How did you find Bottomley Homes Orphanage?
Reshma: When my father died, my mother brought me here.
Sugondhi: When my mother died my father could not take care of me, so he brought me here.
When you first came how was the transition?
Reshma: At first, I was nervous, but it was a very nice place for me. We all learn together.
How is it to be in a classroom with some students from the orphanage and some from outside?
Reshma: We stay all together here. We play together and read together.
After class 10, what will you do next?
Reshma: I want to be a nurse.
Sugondhi: I also want to be a nurse.
Reshma: Same!
What about Bangladesh? What do you love most about Bangladesh?
Reshma: I love Bangladesh because I was born in this country. This country is so beautiful. I feel very comfortable.
Sugondhi: It is a very nice country. It got its independence after the War of Liberation in 1971.
What about something you would change about Bangladesh?
Reshma: I like everything! I love the cultural programs and the life of the people.
Is there anything else you would like to share?
Reshma: This school is so good because all the teachers love us. They take care of us like a mother, like a father. They teach us properly. When we cannot understand what they are saying, they ask us, “Do you understand?”
Sugondhi: Every year we have a cultural function.
What do you do at the cultural function?
Sugondhi: Dance, sing, draw, action, sports. We also celebrate Teachers’ Day, other festivals, and Bengali New Year.
Reshma: 2009.
Sugondhi: I came in 2006.
How did you find Bottomley Homes Orphanage?
Reshma: When my father died, my mother brought me here.
Sugondhi: When my mother died my father could not take care of me, so he brought me here.
When you first came how was the transition?
Reshma: At first, I was nervous, but it was a very nice place for me. We all learn together.
How is it to be in a classroom with some students from the orphanage and some from outside?
Reshma: We stay all together here. We play together and read together.
After class 10, what will you do next?
Reshma: I want to be a nurse.
Sugondhi: I also want to be a nurse.
Reshma: Same!
What about Bangladesh? What do you love most about Bangladesh?
Reshma: I love Bangladesh because I was born in this country. This country is so beautiful. I feel very comfortable.
Sugondhi: It is a very nice country. It got its independence after the War of Liberation in 1971.
What about something you would change about Bangladesh?
Reshma: I like everything! I love the cultural programs and the life of the people.
Is there anything else you would like to share?
Reshma: This school is so good because all the teachers love us. They take care of us like a mother, like a father. They teach us properly. When we cannot understand what they are saying, they ask us, “Do you understand?”
Sugondhi: Every year we have a cultural function.
What do you do at the cultural function?
Sugondhi: Dance, sing, draw, action, sports. We also celebrate Teachers’ Day, other festivals, and Bengali New Year.
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