A weekend with SEVA in Sirajganj

The train was set to leave at 10:20am. In the Kamalapur railway station, spotting a fellow volunteer was easy in the crowd. I just kept an eye for the SEVA t-shirt.

There were 16 of us, all in matching SEVA t-shirts. We greeted each other, took photos and climbed aboard. I had joined the trip as a volunteer, so for the next two days I was one of the t-shirts.

SEVA, short for Social Empowerment & Value Advancement, is a young civic group founded by Abdul Mutaquabbir Lasker, Mahiyat Siddiquee and Rubayat Hassan Eshan. The initiative was strategically aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Quality Education (SDG 4), Gender Equality (SDG 5), Climate Action (SDG 13), and Life on Land (SDG 15).

Their first project, “SEVA for Sirajganj,” ran from November 6 to 7 and had a simple plan: plant seeds, meet schoolchildren and learn something along the way.

As always the train was overcrowded. We shouldered through the carriages, found our seats and spent the first stretch chatting and gossiping. Then the train left Gazipur and the group's mood changed. It was time to get to work.

We went to the gap where two carriages connect and one by one each of us threw a handful out into the passing countryside. A few volunteers preferred the windows. Nobody could say where each seed would land, which was rather the point.

SEVA’s founder Lasker said that more than 12,000 seeds were planted over the two days, along the Dhaka–Sirajganj railway line and at selected spots in Sirajganj. The campaign went by the motto “Seeds Today, Greener Tomorrow.”

We reached Ullapara station at around 3:30pm and headed straight to the home of Mahiyat, one of the co-founders. His family had cooked for us and calling it lunch would be an understatement. It was a feast. Afterwards, full and a little sleepy, we explored the area.

The next morning we went to Nabogram Government Primary School. The group organised a workshop, held under the principle “Learn Today, Lead Tomorrow.”

The workshop was conducted by Mahiyat and Sami Hossain. They started opened with a simple question: what do you want to be when you grow up?

The answers were a pleasant surprise. One child wanted to be a pilot, another a footballer, another a police officer, and another an Army officer.

The session conductors listened to each child. Then they explained, step by step, what it would take to get there and introduced some professions the children had never heard of.

The reasoning was simple. The students come from working-class families and the village is quite remote. Ideas about what is possible for the future haven't always reached them. They wanted to show the kids how much they could achieve.

The conductors also spoke about women's empowerment and raised awareness about domestic violence. SEVA also held awareness discussions with local women in Ullapara and the school session put special emphasis on encouraging the girls to take part confidently.

Then came the part the kids had been waiting for. Sami ran a game show in which contestants had to land a ball in a basket. It got everyone involved, including some teachers who cheered on for the students. Every student went home with chocolates and the five winners got a set of colour pencils.

After the game came the meal. Biryani was served to the students, the teachers and the parents who were there that day. The teachers and parents seemed happy with the visit. We took that as a good sign, though I suspect the biryani helped.

Around 1pm, with plates empty and the workshop done, the three founders handed us certificates of appreciation for our contribution.

Between the train ride, the feast and the school, there had also been time for team-building and a bit of cultural exploration. Several of us who barely knew each other on Friday were swapping jokes by Saturday.

Then we headed back to Dhaka, tired but a lot happier. Whether the seeds will grow into trees, nobody can say yet. But the volunteers got to see a village school full of children with big dreams. For a first project, that was a good place to start.