BYLC Volunteer Awards: Pandemic Heroes 2021 was launched on Thursday, September 2. Winners were selected from over 800 individual and over 70 organisation submissions across 64 districts.

30-year-old Mugdha* a transgender woman of Rajshahi, still depends on traditional healers or dispensaries when she feels unwell, considering the disparities she faces at hospitals.

Founded in 2016, Dreamunteers is a social organisation that intends to create a platform for rural communities to have sustainable and self-reliant ways of living. The founder of the organisation, Nibrasul Alam, a student of Notre Dame College, was selected for the Sir Fazle Hasan Abed Ashoka Young Changemakers 2020.

Twenty-year-old Tanjim Tabassum Orthi won 11 national awards in singing from 2013 to 2019. Besides being a singer, she hopes to be a BCS cadre.

Prior to being scouted for the Olympics, she won a gold medal in recurve women’s singles in 2019 during the 3rd ISSF Solidarity Archery Championship.

Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF) organised a webinar themed around International Youth Day, titled “Role of Youth Workers in Preventing Violence”, on August 31, via Zoom. It was broadcast live from their Facebook page.

Ironman 70.3, a prestigious competition organised by World Triathlon Corporation, will be held on September 17, 2021, in St. George, Utah, USA. For the first time at the World Championship, triathlete Mohammad Shamsuzzaman Arafat will be representing Bangladesh.

In an effort to advocate positivity and social change, Shuvashish Bhowmick, founder of father-son singing duo Baap Ka Beta, started the campaign, “Mullobodh Er Paathshala". This campaign hosts live sessions with celebrities, influencers, and experts on the importance of morals and values. The fourth episode, titled "Can we value people’s faith properly?" was held yesterday, featuring Golam Murshed, Managing Director & CEO of Walton Hi-Tech Industries Ltd. and Ghulam Sumdany Don, Chief Inspirational Officer of Don Sumdany Facilitation & Consultancy.

Urmeeta Dutta completed her SSC and HSC examinations from Viqarunnisa Noon School and College. After sitting for the admission tests, she made it to both Dhaka Medical College (DMC) and Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). “According to my family’s choice, I decided to study in DMC. I completed my MBBS in 2015 and internship training in 2016,” she shared. She stood first in all three professional exams and for this result, she received the Prime Minister Gold Medal Award.

To curb the spread of Covid-19 infections, educational institutions have been shut all over the world. As a result, e-learning has become the preferred mode of education. Due to the socio-economic condition of JAAGO’s students, there is no alternative to conducting classes other than through mobile phones. JAAGOs Tel-Ed initiative, which started in June 2020, is one such programme that utilises mobile phones to conduct classes.

Freelance jobs have opened up an array of opportunities for young professionals in recent years, across different industries.

Muhammad Afjal Sultan Sufi is one of the nineteen Bangladeshi changemakers to receive the 2021 Diana Award. He founded Doorbin Foundation when he was just 19 years old, with a goal to help those in need.

Seventeen-year-old Tamanna Aktar Nura was born with no arms and only one leg. She earned the highest GPA in her high school graduation exams. She took the exams by holding a pen between her toes.

Footsteps Bangladesh, a social organisation, intends to address various challenges such as access to safe and clean drinkable water, sanitation, waste management and disaster response to create vital development tools for underprivileged communities. The organisation conducted a range of activities to support underprivileged communities during the pandemic.

Oman Jafar and Sneha Mahjabin, two Bangladeshi students, have bagged the first and second prizes in the World Quiz Competition of the International Virtual Debate Festival, held in Bangladesh.

Born and raised in Bangladesh, Labib Tazwar Rahman co-founded Neubility, a Seoul-based start-up that develops autonomous food-delivery robots using vision-based localisation and path planning technologies. The platform researches and develops camera-based self-driving solutions and robotics technology, and focuses on last-mile autonomous robot delivery service.

Seeking an equal and inclusive society, Brihonnola relentlessly works with the transgender community. The organisation intends to include transgender individuals in the mainstream society, while promoting gender equality in Bangladesh. Sadikul Islam started Brihonnola in 2018, along with an executive team of 15 members, amongst which most were transgender people.

Pursuing higher education at a foreign university is a dream for many, but the associated costs may be a hurdle. In this case, financial aid and scholarships are helpful.

Rakib Al Hasan from Bangladesh won the Outstanding Young Leader of Asia Award 2021 from the Asian Youth Council for his work in children’s and women’s rights, education, health, democracy, and peace. Youths around the world are doing important work during the coronavirus pandemic. For the first time, the Asian Youth Council, a well-known youth organisation in Asia, organised this award programme to provide such young leaders with opportunities.

Skipping is a playground staple for people of all ages. Rasel Islam, a teenager from Thakurgaon, has commandeered the sport with two Guinness World Records to his name.