Bhalo Kajer Hotel: Continuing to reward 'good work' in Dhaka
This unique restaurant was established in December 2019 by an organisation called Youth for Bangladesh. The idea was to begin a philanthropic journey where paying for food will not require money, but one will ‘pay’ with a good deed
It is not anything fancy. No tables or chairs, just a shaded pavement in the capital's Tejgaon FDC mor area, where at least 60 people are sitting on the ground, waiting for a van.
The pavement is clean and the adjacent wall says 'Bhalo Kajer Hotel' or a hotel for good work - meaning you do not need money to eat here, all you will need is at least one good deed for the day.
At 2:30pm, a covered van arrives and parks beside the pavement. Just like the wall, 'Bhalo Kajer Hotel' is also written on it in Bangla. The people who are waiting do not seem to be in any hurry; they seem calm and assured.
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Two young men, Rubel Ahmed Himel and Moniruzzaman Monir, get out from the van and open its back door. There are large vessels containing khichuri, egg curry, melamine plates and water cans inside.
Another young man approaches those who are waiting and one by one starts taking note of their name, age and what good deed they performed that day.
Then they start distributing the food - khichuri with egg curry.
Roman, a young boy with hazel eyes, caught our attention. We went to him and learnt that he works in the Moghbazar kitchen market and for the last three to four months, he has been having lunch here.
Roman cannot manage to do a good deed everyday, understandably, but that day, he had one in his pocket.
"I saw a loaded cycle van crossing the rail line with so much weight that the driver was struggling to cross the line. So I went and helped him," he said, gorging down the khichuri.
For many, it was their first meal of the day.
Jahura Begum is a day-labourer who lives on the streets. "Everything is so pricey now. Even a banana costs Tk10, earlier it cost Tk8. Eating here saves me some money," she said.
"If you come here everyday at 2:30pm in the afternoon, you will find these people waiting for us. They know that no one will leave hungry. So, they create no fuss and are very disciplined," said Rubel, one of the founding members and volunteers.
This unique restaurant was established in December 2019 - just before the Covid-19 pandemic hit Bangladesh - by an organisation called Youth for Bangladesh.
It was mainly designed to feed the rootless and helpless, along with street children. The idea was to begin a philanthropic journey where paying for food will not require money but will not be free as well. One will 'pay' with a good deed.
And even if one fails to perform a good deed on that particular day, s/he will not be made to return empty-handed. The hotel will still feed them, but they must do two good deeds the next day.
Starting with 150 people a day, the organisation has come a long way, now feeding more than 600-700 people per day. It now has three hotels or feeding places in the capital, and one in Chattogram.
According to team members, the initiative now has 1,600 members and almost 4,000 volunteers.
In Dhaka, they serve food in the Korail slum area from 12pm to 2pm, in Tejgaon Shatrasta from 2:30pm to 4:00pm and in Kamalapur Railway area, from 7:30pm to 9pm.
"But we do not have enough to feed people every day of the month. We can provide food for around 24 days. Sometimes a donor may come forward to pay for another extra day's food, but that is rare," Moniruzzaman Monir, another member and volunteer said.
How is it financed?
"To feed more than 13,000 people a month, we need approximately Tk7 lakh a month. And two-third of the amount comes from our daily ten member group," Rubel informed us. The rest is collected from our well-wishers.
So, what is this daily ten member group?
Anyone can be a part of it and start donating money. But first, you have to register your name with this Facebook group as a member for a Tk300 fee. Subsequently, you either save Tk10 everyday in a bank at the hotels if you happen to be a volunteer, or donate another Tk300 to the organisation at the start of the next month.
The group now has 1,600 members but roughly 1000 members donate money every month.
"Our kitchen is in Basabo and usually we buy ingredients for a week or 10 days, and keep them in our store house," Rubel said.
He added that cooking starts at six in the morning everyday for the Korail and Hatirjheel hotels. Around 10am or 11am, they load the van and start for the zones. Then at around 3pm, the cooks start preparing the evening meal, which they serve in Kamalapur.
What is in the menu?
Mainly rice dishes like khichuri, polao or white rice with egg curry, vegetables and meat. "We try to alter the menu every other day. For example, if we serve khichuri today, we will serve white rice with daal and vegetables the next day," Monir said.
On Fridays, they have special items like chicken roast with polao. This type of food is most liked by guests but as Rubel shared with us, they cannot afford to serve meat everyday and it is also not healthy for the eaters.
Why this trade in good deeds?
"Why do some people steal, or even pickpocket? Only for food! If we can provide them with food this way, they might think twice before doing something wrong," Rubel said.
In the last three years, the organisation has fed almost 10 lakh people and they love that at least half of them performed something good.
But what if someone lies about doing a good deed to get free food? To this, Rubel replied, "Maybe on the first day s/he will lie, and then again on the second day, then perhaps on the third. But we believe human beings cannot keep lying like this everyday for food."
"Sooner or later, they will develop a conscience and actually start doing something good," he added.
About Youth for Bangladesh
Starting in 2009, this youth organisation first started fundraising for the treatments of heart patients. Since then, the organisation has aided heart treatment for 300 children, the founding volunteer Md Arifur Rahman told us.
He, along with six of his friends, have been involved in charity work since their university days in 2009. According to Arifur, it was author Humayun Ahmed's work that inspired them to initiate this project.
He said, "In one of his (Humayun Ahmed) TV dramas 'Sobuj Chaya', there was a character played by Zahid Hasan, who made an agreement with himself to do at least one good thing every day. It made him happy. And I realised helping people made me happy."
Arifur and his friends wanted to carry out charitable work in a more organised way. That was why they created the Facebook group named 'Youth for Bangladesh'.
The organisation runs three schools for the homeless, marginalised children - two in Dhaka and another one in Madaripur.
Apart from this, they also have an old-age home in Merul Badda named 'Rashmona Aponghor'.
"We wanted to do something that will leave a significant impact on society. That was when the idea of giving food in exchange for good work came to our mind," said Arifur.
He also said poverty often plays a role in increased criminal activities. So, he felt if people do not have to worry about food, perhaps they will not be manipulated easily to commit crimes.
