Coming Together: Reflections on Our Webinar Experience

[Adila Karim]

On 3^rd September, I had an incredible experience at a webinar, where Grow your Reader in collaboration with Asia Pacific Evaluation Association (APEA), Global Fund for Children, and Rural Aid focused on the topic: Community & Youth Role in Dissemination of Baseline Findings. It brought together voices from various organizations and showcased the incredible potential of our youth.

The webinar was attended by a diverse audience. One of the most special moments was seeing school adolescents from our project location Byaspur, Gopalganj join the webinar. Grow Your Reader Foundation has conducted a baseline survey at Byaspur and disseminated the findings among the community. And the adolescents were presented the findings through a performance. It was their first time ever in such an event, and they did an amazing job answering questions about the Jarigan performances in their village focusing on our project. Their confidence and enthusiasm were truly inspiring and made me realize how important it is to give young people opportunities to shine.

I’m really thankful for the support we received from our facilitators Manira apa and Prokash bhai. They helped make everything run smoothly. My colleague Mariam did a great job translating, and Mihsan was a huge help in getting people connected to the seminar. Sadia apu’s presentation was a highlight—she explained our baseline findings so well and made it clear why our work is so important.

As the person responsible for writing the translations, I felt proud to be part of this event. The positive feedback we received made me feel even more confident in my team and in myself. It wasn’t just the words of praise that touched me, but the genuine sense of appreciation and respect for the unity and teamwork that our GYRF family demonstrated. This experience has not only boosted my confidence in my team but also in myself. I realized that when we come together with a shared purpose, we can achieve anything and everything. A very big thanks to Rituu and Nawaz Bhai for all their time and support.

Even though the event felt perfect to me, I believe there’s always room for improvement. One thing that could have made it even better would have been giving the speakers, especially the children, more time to share their thoughts. These young participants have a unique understanding that could have allowed them to explain things in greater detail. Their insights are invaluable, and I feel they could have shared even more if given the opportunity.

Looking back, I feel really happy and fulfilled. This webinar wasn’t just an event; it was a moment where we all came together, worked as one, and showed what we’re capable of. I’m excited for what’s to come and grateful to be on this journey with such a wonderful team.

[Shahrukh Atpade]

What a powerful reflection on the role of youth in community projects! It's inspiring to see how engaged the adolescents were in sharing their findings. They truly are the future leaders...!

[Sadia Jafrin]

Thank you so much for your support Adila.