Welfare

Zero Gap Fund

Impact

  • Supports 132 students now, and will help more in the next phases.

  • September 2025 - November 2025

  • SDG 4

  • Dhaka, Bangladesh

How This Fund Works

The Zero Gap Fund is BacharLorai’s grassroots infrastructure initiative, designed to close critical gaps in education for underserved and climate-vulnerable communities in Bangladesh. In partnership with the It’s Humanity Foundation (IHF) and the Disabled Welfare Society (DWS), the Fund is equipping schools with essential resources, including digital tools, classroom supplies, sanitation facilities, and safe, vibrant learning environments.

By combining small but impactful interventions—painting classrooms, rebuilding sanitation blocks, and enhancing digital learning—we aim to create spaces where children can thrive, no matter their background. With the first phase now underway, the Fund is transforming assessment into action, step by step.

Contributions

$1,025 raised of $1,000 goal

Private Donors

Efaz Chowdhury, Taylor Hirschberg, Ricardo Chejfec, Fyruz Elma, Khan Azad, Atiq Rahman, Jacqueline Beckford, Neil Mendes 

Our partners

Logo of the Humanity Foundation featuring a stylized human figure and a leaf with the letter 'h' in the center, surrounded by the words 'It's Humanity Foundation' in a circular design.
IDOL logo with blue, green, and light blue segments and the slogan "Together For Tomorrow."

Phase 1: Needs Assessment (August 2025)

Phase 1 launched at IHF Primary School in Panchkhola, Dhaka, where 128 students and 4 teachers from marginalized and minority communities are building a unique learning environment against difficult odds.

This stage focused on assessing the school’s most urgent needs: classroom infrastructure, sanitation/WASH facilities, and overall learning conditions. From broken furniture to limited access to hygiene, the assessment revealed the hidden barriers that prevent students from reaching their potential. By mapping what needs to be upgraded, Phase 1 laid the foundation for targeted, high-impact action.

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Phase 2 – Procurement & Delivery (September 2025)

With the needs assessment complete, Phase 2 transitions from planning to procurement. This stage involves sourcing and delivering essential supplies, including:

  • Stationery kits for all students

  • Whiteboards for classrooms

  • Hygiene kits (soap, sanitizer, masks, menstrual supplies

The procurement process will be coordinated with IHF to ensure efficiency and accountability.

Phase 3 – Painting & Beautification (October, 2025)

Phase 3 will focus on transforming the learning environment through painting and beautification. This includes interior and exterior upgrades to make classrooms more welcoming, vibrant, and conducive to learning. Both IHF and BL teams will participate, and we plan to invite the Canadian Embassy to join the site visit. This will be a milestone moment to showcase visible, community-driven change.

Phase 4 – Inclusive Learning Exchange with DWS (November, 2025)

The final stage of the Zero Gap Fund pilot will focus on building inclusive educational linkages in partnership with the Disabled Welfare Society (DWS). This phase will introduce an immersive learning exchange, where differently abled individuals will conduct interactive sessions with students, sharing their lived experiences and demonstrating adaptive skills.

A key highlight will be DWS showcasing their braille book production capacity, providing students with an opportunity to learn about accessibility tools and the importance of inclusive education systems. These engagements are designed not only to raise awareness but also to foster empathy, broaden perspectives, and connect young learners to diverse forms of knowledge-building.

This stage will also serve as the formal close of the pilot implementation, accompanied by comprehensive monitoring, documentation, and impact reporting. The insights generated will inform a scalable model for replication in future schools, ensuring that the Zero Gap Fund evolves as a sustainable, community-anchored intervention within Bangladesh’s broader education ecosystem.

Project Team

  • Tahmid Khan, Director of Communications, BacharLorai

  • Talha Khan, Director of Social Welfare, BacharLorai

SDG Alignment

Icon representing quality education as part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, with a book and pen on a red background.

Target 4.1

By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes.

Target 4.a:
Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all.
Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.