Dr. Shahid Ahmed

Shahid Ahmed, Ph.D.

Chairman, DoPeace

President, PITC Institute

I grew up in Dhaka and Karachi, and have worked in Dar-es-Salaam. I have first-hand knowledge of the challenges that perpetuate poverty in the slums. The major cause being the lack of education. I formed DoPeace in 2014 in the USA and started grassroots campaigns for preschool education in the slums of Bangladesh. DoPeace began with one school in Rangpur with 22 students.

Now there are about 12,000 students enrolled every year in 51 Learning Centers in seven slums. The rapid growth and successful outcome are due to a very low-cost and innovative model that DoPeace has pioneered. I am seeking support from those who strongly feel that little children in the slums deserve an education, like children everywhere else.

Why I wrote this book?

I must make it clear that I did not write this book for personal profit. All proceeds from the sale of the book go directly to DoPeace, a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit in the USA since 2014 with EIN 26-4314228. Further, the money you spend to buy the book is a tax-deductible donation.

Many have asked me about the five years of work in the slums of Bangladesh. It was suggested that I write a book sharing my experience and how we achieved our success. The recurring question is: How could we achieve high quality at such low costs resulting in about 50,000 student-years of education in just five years?

Our implementation of the school system is the result of trial and error until we found the optimum solution that produced results. Further, the approach turned out to be multidimensional, involving not only the children, but equally the parents, and the community. We have worked hard to create a vision that will carry the torch to the finish line. I have seen the mindset of the slum dwellers change as a result of their interaction with us.

I wrote the book so others can emulate the methods without reinventing the wheel. The book provides a unique and systematic approach to solving complex problems. The story details a case study for business leaders, organizations, and policymakers who are looking for a solution to get the biggest bang for the buck.