Young changemaker Jahirul Islam dreams to fly higher

Patuakhali District Correspondent:

Md.Jahirul Islam,  eldest son of Zakir Hossain and Matwara was born on October 15, 1996 in his paternal house, located in a remote area of ​​Charbalaikathi village of Kamalapur Union under Patuakhali Sadar Upazila. He is the first of four children of his parents. The leadership of this 27-year-old youth has been praised in various circles.

Daisaku Ikeda said, ‘History has always been shaped by the power of youth.’ And to shape this history, young Jahirul Islam of Patuakhali had a strong desire to build the country since his early age. He had incredible plans for the youth of the country. This young man showed excellence not only in planning, but also in implementing those.

Jahirul studied in 5th and 6th standard in Charbaleikathi Government Primary School and Madrasa in 2005. Jahirul was admitted to Kotkhali Fazil Madrasa in Galachipa Upazila in 2007 and passed the SSC exam in 2011 from there. Then he completed Diploma Engineering in Civil Technology from Patuakhali Government Polytechnic Institute. Currently studying BSc Engineering in University of Global Village, Barisal.

His main vow was to work for the welfare of the people especially for the youth of his area and country as well.  So, in 2011, his organization-centric volunteering life began by joining national and international networks on a personal initiative. In the beginning, the story of advancing to a place like the district town was not so easy for Jahirul but he managed to reach the peak of his personal competence. he moved forward at a rapid pace with conducting one after another activities under his leadership.

Jahirul Islam’s work speed was increasing step by step by being appreciated in all fields. In 2014, after the British Council’s Active Citizen Youth Leadership training, young Jahir started working with them. During this time, Jahirul worked with the district administration and government offices. Then in 2015, he started working more actively by creating an organization called ‘Patuakhali Youth Forum’. Let his thoughts about the youth of Patuakhali grow a little more.

In Bangladesh in 2016, when the Citizen Journalist Program was started by the Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary for SDG Affairs, Abul Kalam Azad, the aim was to highlight various problems and possibilities through social media, solve the problems through local administration and present the information of government services to the people through wide dissemination of the possibilities. The emerging young Jahirul played an important role in the medium. Meanwhile, the diploma course of Jahir Polytechnic was completed in February 2017.

Since 2017, he has worked to improve, revitalize and sustain the existing service standards of the government of adolescent sexual reproductive health care in the district by performing the duties of the district coordinator of the Tarunner Kanthoswar platform of Naripokkho. Currently leading the National Advisory Council of This Platform.

Jahirul represented Bangladesh at the Asia Pacific Forum for Sustainable Development Youth Forum organized by the Asia Pacific Resource and Recharge Center for Women in Bangkok, Thailand, on March 18-23, following the success of the activities through the “Right Here, Right Now” (RHRN) project funded by the government of the Netherlands.

Meanwhile, Jahirul Islam has played a role in taking welfare programs for children and youth in different regions of the country by serving in Barisal division and national level of youth advisory panel of Plan International Bangladesh from 2016 to 2021.

In 2020, Jahirul was selected as a member of the Patuakhali District Anti-Corruption Committee by the Anti-Corruption Commission due to his sincerity towards duty and organizational skills and experience.

But Jahir was uncompromising in the process and moving forward. He ran to success without getting stuck in any obstacles. Therefore, in October 2019, Jahir’s ‘Patuakhali Youth Forum’ received registration from the Directorate of Youth Development-0012/2019 Patuakhali. He is serving as the executive director of the organization founded by himself.

What did Jahirul do? How is the indomitable youth? Youth skill development, climate change, sexual reproductive healthcare and adolescent healthcare, child rights, addressing gender inequality, free eye treatment and cataract surgery to prevent blindness for the marginalized population were the main areas of work. Also worked strategically on democracy and good governance, human rights, right to information, greater promotion of government services, anti-corruption campaign, end of child labor and protection of child rights, communal harmony, diverse and inclusive society.

In 2016, Bangladesh Fire Service community volunteer training and working as a regular volunteer of Bangladesh Red Crescent Society to stand by the people in disaster.

In 2016  played a strong role as a Member of Parliament for Patuakhali-01 Constituency Bangladesh Youth Mock parliament. Elected as Speaker of Barisal Divisional Session in 2023, proposed formation of regional government for sustainable and balanced development of Bangladesh.

The action of this indomitable young man to combat the climate change threat &  has touched hearts of everyone. He has worked to adapt the local youth by making them efficient through the proper use of his local and personal resources. He has conducted several activities including training, campaigns, fairs, movements, meetings, seminars, climate strikes, school orientations.

This energetic young man works on the impact of climate change on the reproductive health, child health and mental health of ordinary people. He has taken various exceptional initiatives around Kalapara, Rangabali and Galachipa upazilas, the most vulnerable areas of Patuakhali.

Jahirul has not gone back even 12 years in thinking about the country, instead he is constantly running after the indomitable, building social civilization. Currently, Jahirul Islam is the Patuakhali district representative of SA-TV and BanglaNews24.com, which are among the top listed media houses of the country, and plays the role of  news editor of local popular News Paper daily Sathee. Patuakhali District Press Club is the largest organization of media workers in the district and Jahir is serving as the office secretary of that organisation. He won the Plan International Bangladesh Media Award in 2021 based on his informative and researched related report on public importance and child marriage. Selected for the fellowship program of Atrical-19 for good writing.

This young man wants to move forward with new and unique initiatives in the future. Seeks opportunities to exchange experience with youth and policy makers of other countries to improve their skills. Want to spread his experience and thoughts across the world.