Presenting: The Planning Officer

‘Perhaps you will not always get what you want but if you try hard enough, you will find unexpected results,’ says Lelung Khumi, in a conversation with Ahmed Shatil Alam

I grew up in a remote area of Bandarban, located beside the Keokradong. There was no school in a four-kilometre radius of my home. My family had to send me to a relative’s house in Ruma, an upazilla of Bandarban Hill Tracts, to attend a school. That family belonged to the Marma community, where I learnt a great deal about overcoming the many obstacles in life. The language barrier was a big problem as I did not know the Marma language and knew only the Khumi language. But I didn’t feel alienated, as the family loved me dearly as their own child but sometimes I felt worried when I couldn’t mix with the other children. The language was the main reason behind this and sometimes other children felt the same way with me.

It is true that I was a victim of a very awkward circumstance, but I should also mention that my family was not very wealthy and both my parents were illiterate. That is probably why they wanted me to get married and start working to generate the income for the family. I guess what they really wanted me to do was take up the responsibility of the family. But I chose not to do what they wanted and left for Chittagong, where I got myself admitted into the Baro Aulia Degree College in pursuit of HSC studies.

Yet, life was not any easier, as I couldn’t afford college and couldn’t attend for two months. Consequently, my results suffered and in 2001 I sat for the exams again and managed to pass. During this time, Professor David Peterson, who was an American professor, came to the country to work on the Khumi language and a friend of mine introduced me to him. As I was the only person who belonged to the Khumi community and had managed to complete HSC, I was asked to help him as an interpreter. Professor Peterson gave me an allowance of Tk.200 per day, and at the time that amount helped me greatly, as I was now able to manage the expenses of my entire family.

Another friend of mine later advised me to take admission in Dhaka University. I decided that I would take his advice, but as fate would have it, the Vice Chancellor Professor Anwarullah Chowdhury denied me an admission. I was very disappointed with this news and almost gave up on my dreams of getting a good education. But upon getting admission from Sheikh Borhanuddin College at Dhaka, it seemed maybe I still had a chance. After a few years, in 2005, Professor Peterson helped me attain a transfer into Dartmouth College at USA in 2005 and after my graduation, I decided to come back home and get married. Upon returning, I joined with UNDP’s CHT development project as a Planning Officer, which was run jointly with Bandarban Hill District Council.

In my life there has been many people who have helped me get to where I am; namely my father Hoking Khumi, my mother Paitleng Khumi, Prof. Peterson, Journalist Buddhajyoti Chakma, the recent Bandarban Hill District Council Chairman Kyaw Shwe Hla, and many others. I would like to say to those of the many who face difficulties in life that everybody needs determination and the will to tackle problems in life. Perhaps you will not always get what you want but if you try hard enough, you will find unexpected results, which in my case was more than I could ever dream of.

Photo: Courtesy
Source from http://newagebd.com/supliment.php?sid=68&id=266