“I did not get an opportunity to live with my mother. Whenever I was ill, I longed for her so much, but there was nothing we could do. After completing my education I will get a job so that I can rescue my mother from garments work and stay close with her.”

—Ibrahim Hossain


In this world it is difficult to imagine a situation more miserable than a child losing their mother. But perhaps even more ill-fated are those children who have a mother but are deprived of her contact through force of circumstance. The main cause of such circumstances is poverty. 11+ years old Ibrahim Hossain is a representative of this unfortunate population. He currently lives with his 60+ years old grandmother. When Ibrahim was two months old, his father abandoned their family. During that day his grandmother was very hopeless with her sick daughter and her kids. They had no income source to feed and provide treatment for Ibrahim’s mother. “Having no alternative I had to sell my only arable land,” says Ibrahim’s grandmother. “After losing everything I was involved in begging for us to survive.” Ibrahim’s mother Runu Begum also sought work for income. But there was no opportunity in the village.

When Ibrahim and His Grandmother Ibrahim was 18 months old, she moved to the capital city of Dhaka and found work as a garments worker with the help of a relative. Ibrahim was left with his grandmother. Time passed with great difficulty for them. Ibrahim began work in the village as a cowboy when he was just 7 years old. The next year, DCI started its Sun Child Sponsorship Program in the nearby school, and after observing this family’s desperate condition, included him in the program.

From that point Ibrahim began his education, and has received essential support from DCI such as school and hygiene materials, a stipend, and after school tutoring. Now Ibrahim is a student in Grade 4 and “he has no need to go work and we have no tension regarding his future,” says his grandmother. Ibrahim can now realize the fullness of life and he is determined about his future. “I did not get any opportunity to live with my mother. Whenever I was ill, I longed for her so much, but there was nothing we could do,” Ibrahim expressed with regret. “After completing my education I will get a job so that I can rescue my mother from garments work and stay close with her,” he informed us with full confidence.

In Bangladesh, there are so many children like Ibrahim, who are growing up without parental care and in extreme poverty. They need to start work very early in their childhood and do not receive proper education. At present 10% of children never go to school due to poverty. They need our special attention.

We request all our DCI friends to take responsibility for the education of at least one child or orphan. They are our future leaders. We cannot conceive of a prosperous world while ignoring these vulnerable children. Together we can ensure the proper growth of such children and prepare them to be responsible and prosperous citizens.