MFJF has received the Mahatma Gandhi Peace Award

MFJF has received the Mahatma Gandhi Peace Award for outstanding contribution to social service. Mohsin-Fatema Siddiqui Youth Foundation, a social and voluntary organization in Sitakunda, has been nominated for the MFJF Mahatma Gandhi Peace Prize-2022. MFJF has been awarded this rare honor by the Asian Business Partnership Summit, an international organization, for its outstanding contribution to social service. The Mahatma Gandhi Peace Prize-2022 and the certificate were awarded on the afternoon of 28 February 2023 at the India-Bangladesh Friendship Festival organized at Rotary Sadan Auditorium, Chowrangi Road, Kolkata, India. The Chief Advisor, Founder Principal of MFJF and Executive Vice-President of Robi Axiata – Ahmed Armaan Siddiqui, received the award. Calcutta Press Club President Snehashish Sur presents Armaan Siddiqui with Northern and Crest. The Chairperson of the Minority Commission, Member of Parliament Professor Dr. Momtaz Sanhamita, and two dignitaries of Bengal were present.

MFJF established on 11th July 2022 at South Rahmatnagar of Sitakunda has aroused great response in Sitakunda through various social and humanitarian service activities including Spoken English, Clean Sitakunda, Knowledge Sharing Session, Road to Light, Clean Patenga. MFJF has started the first spoken English class with 22 students who now speak English fluently and run an English language club in Sitakunda. MFJF’s mission-1 “To impart education and skills in the respective fields most needed by the community”- Spoken English Course was launched in light of this. Now, this initiative has spread across Sitakunda. Also aims to bring the children under the scope of teaching spoken English to their mothers. In this way, mothers can teach their children English from childhood.

MFJF’s first major initiative was the Clean Sitakunda event. Mission II of the Foundation is “Serving the Earth through safe farming by ensuring soil protection.” In this light, ‘The Clean Sitakunda’ program was launched to maintain a clean environment. In the initial phase, MFJF conducted cleaning and plantation activities at the local beach (tourist center) of Sitakunda under the banner “Clean Guliyakhali”. More than three hundred students from 10 voluntary organizations and various schools participated in this program. More than 230 bags of waste were collected and 450 tamarind trees were planted on the beach. 20 dustbins have also been installed to ensure a clean environment. This massive event inspired MFJF volunteers to take up larger impact initiatives like the knowledge-sharing sessions on BD Apps.

The foundation’s third mission is to “ensure the right initiatives to improve the quality of life.” In light of this mission “Knowledge Sharing Sessions” were initiated. This is the second mega initiative under this mission. A two-hour workshop conducted by BD Apps – through which participants can acquire app development skills and secure a source of income to improve their lives and families. The session was conducted by experts to impart app development knowledge to the youth of Sitakunda and will be part of the National App Store. 600 participants participated in the session by pre-registration by filling out a Google form, of which 50% were women. It is a matter of great joy and pride that more than 20 participants have already started earning from this initiative.

MFJF’s Road to Light program has made a great impression on everyone, especially the students of schools and colleges in Sitakunda. During public exams like SSC here candidates struggle to reach the exam center on time. Besides, three-wheelers plying on highways are not only illegal but extremely dangerous – which the authorities have to allow the test takers on humanitarian grounds. MFJF launched “The Road to Light-SSC” program to facilitate the candidates with the help of BSA Group. On the day of the examination, 6 buses carrying the banner of MFJF were deployed on multiple routes to reach the examination center on time, and around 2000 examinees and their guardians enjoyed the service. Another unique part of MFJF is that they always encourage users to use digital media. Previously, registration for BD Apps events was done through Google Forms. Volunteers visit educational institutions and ensure awareness. As a result, 600 Google Forms were registered. The same happened with the Road to Light program where 115 students registered through Google Forms and were accompanied by a parent. Candidates take the service by showing their registration card. This initiative, which created a huge impact, became the Talk of the Sitakunda. MFJF has taken up the plan to provide a similar free bus service for HSC candidates.

Another program of MFJF is the CV writing workshop. This event is about how fresh graduates and unemployed youth can write good CVs to attract the attention of employers. CV writer Niaz Ahmed trained 120 participants in CV writing. After the session, HR Talent of GPH Ispat Limited Sajjad Hossain interviewed the participants. Through this, MFJF has started cooperation with an international NGO called COJEP Asia. The NGO funded knowledge-sharing sessions and agreed to organize a health camp for freedom fighters at Sitakunda.

Like Clean Sitakunda, MFJF has organized a cleanliness drive on 7th December 2022 at Patenga beach in Chittagong. About 400 university students and MFJF members participated, wearing a T-shirt with “COMMON SENSE” on the front and “Clean Patenga” on the back. A different atmosphere was created with the participation of musicians Partha Barua and Nishita Barua, the film Made in Chittagong made in Chittagong’s regional language, the popular song ‘O Kalachan Galar Mala, Pet Purede Torlai’ and the beautiful dance rhythms of the university students. In the beach area. Organized under the patronage of Ravi Aziata and in collaboration with Chittagong Tourist Police and BD Clean, 400 volunteers participated in this beach cleaning drive and several dustbins were installed. MFJF is now working on setting up a satellite organic farming bed at Sitakunda as well as setting up BPO and IT labs and necessary training centers on its own land.

Armaan Siddiqui, the chief advisor of MFJF, who was awarded this honor, said, I am overwhelmed! Such international recognition in just 6 months increases the responsibility and this recognition is the result of the hard work of our Sitakunda MFJF youth. This award is dedicated to our MFJF Tigers. I seek the forgiveness of my late parents.

EXTENSIVE CULTIVATION OF MUSTARD SEEDS IN CHITTAGONG

I still think it’s possible to make our life least poisonous and safe based on cultivation. I have experienced practical conventional farming and get upset to notice how insects and soil have mutations like Covid 19 with the improper usage of insecticides and fertilizers but still, our farmers are magnificent and most interestingly our soil is the grace of Allah’s amazing outcome with efforts it’s a miracle that we are self-sufficient on food supply…… and our agricultural wing of the nation has done their job.

But what makes me paranoid is the distribution of food even if you don’t compromise food safety during cultivation it gets haywire once it’s gone out from the farmers…… we all know the mangoes are mixed with carbide to protect quick ripen, and the papayas, the bananas even the rice is transformed into Nazirshail which is to thin the rice with machine mixing some chemicals to ensure look and feel is great. I can bet none of the Kalojaam you see in the market is safe since it’s a quick ripen fruit….none of the honey sold in the market within the range of 1,000 kg is without sugar, we are unsafe on the oil ecosystem, the demand of acidity pills and usage is pandemic; we can’t produce soyabean oil but we forgot last time when we enjoyed a proper natural pure mustard oil. it’s easier to make ghee out of butter but to enjoy pure mustard oil is a somewhat fairy tale story.

We have been trying to contribute to food safety through organic fishing……. all fishes are fed metals and scraps nowadays……. chicken we failed (cause it’s very tough near to impossible what you feed your children now is full of antibiotics and hormones that is making your son transforming into feminine), livestock is manageable but expensive still manageable. we have been trying for quite some time with honey that costs us four times the regular market price but great to see people understand the meaning of food safety and they are fine to spend more for organic produce……. fortunately, our produce is not huge so no pressure whoever takes honey from us are regular customers.

With the same spirit of food safety, we donated Mustard seeds to the farmers of Sitakundo who were concerned about not going for it because of the uncertainty of selling the seeds not getting a good price and the desired results because they mostly rely on vegetable production during the gap between two paddy harvests. It was heart-rending to see that they sell cabbage at 2 taka piece and tomato at 5 taka kilo in winter so it was easier to convince them to try out mustard this time and Alhumdulillah it has been successful and I am proud to see it’s covered as national news.

Now MFJF will buy seeds from them and will make oil under the strict supervision of MFJF soldiers and people can buy mustard oil without any chemicals. the best part will be if things go right we will expand it and make the basin a source of pure mustard oil.

People want to change and they always follow good if they are guided well. But most of the time we still see these changes are done casually I was telling one of my villagers to feed their children pure juice once every three months rather than concentrated chemical unhealthy juice once a week/ month. This consumer behaviour is important not to compromise food safety over affordability……….this realization is important else we will end up eating our own poison and make a further unhealthy population. I wish this feed business will come under strict supervision and licensing.

Thanks again to our upazila officials and MFJF tigers they are Alhumdulillah working towards a positive change across the ecosystem.

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