Arafat completed the TFB Fellowship in 2017 and received the prestigious Chevening Scholarship this year. Arafat is working to ensure that people in Bangladesh are no longer deprived of quality life choices.
I joined the Teach For Bangladesh Fellowship program after I graduated from Jahangirnagar University to understand the widespread educational inequity at the grassroots level. The Teach For Bangladesh Fellowship helped me develop some pivotal skills, such as understanding the context of an issue using multiple lenses, creating effective relations with key stakeholders, developing community leadership, etc., that I am still leveraging today. Most importantly, I learned that the rapid GDP growth rate does not necessarily guarantee quality education for low-income communities in countries like Bangladesh. After completing the Fellowship, I joined as a researcher at Jeeon Bangladesh Limited. I observed first-hand how underserved communities in rural Bangladesh struggle to access primary healthcare services due to the absence of pro-poor decision-making. Economic growth and development are undeniably important. It is also crucial to introduce and implement policies that include the voices of people from all strata of society in the development process and ensure equal opportunities in life for everyone.
The Chevening Scholarship provides the opportunity of a lifetime to meet the world’s most talented leaders from diverse fields, exchange ideas, and collectively envision positive change. Applying for this prestigious scholarship is an arduous task that stretches over a year of preparation. After being selected as a Chevening Scholar, I feel truly honored and excited to be a part of a global network of 50,000 alumni from more than 160 countries. My joy became twofold when I realized that I would be studying at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), a renowned global institution for social science with a fully-funded scholarship. After finishing my Master’s degree in International Political Economy, I see myself influencing the future decision-makers of Bangladesh to bring positive change with my research and expertise.
I look forward to improving my knowledge and skills and learning about world cultures during my time in the UK. My future goals involve connecting my fellow idea partners from the alumni networks of Teach For Bangladesh and Chevening to build an interdisciplinary research platform. I envision that this institution will provide critical feedback on state policies while addressing the interests of underprivileged communities. I look forward to when people will no longer be deprived of quality life choices in Bangladesh.