In the Wake of Tragedy:
Our Response to the Milestone Crash
| The full story
A week ago in Dhaka, a Bangladesh Air Force training jet crashed into the Milestone School building, triggering a catastrophic explosion that killed 37+ people, mostly children, and left hundreds seriously injured.
As Executive Director of the Shirin Sajmila International Foundation, over the last week, I have spent several sleepless days leading our team’s ground response. We coordinated evacuation efforts with the Bangladesh Army, identified unlisted victims in the ICU, and provided trauma care, medical aid, and long-term rehabilitation mechanisms to vulnerable survivors. Most of the adult victims were women teachers and the cleaning and support staff who worked in the school, silent pillars of the institution who came from deeply marginalized communities.
Our team’s immediate documentation and advocacy brought national attention to unsung figures like Shabuja Begum, who rushed into the burning building to save children and now lies in critical condition at the Dhaka Medical College, and Masuma Begum, who was severely injured while helping others escape. Their stories, told by our foundation, have since reached over 200,000+ shares across social media, and we were able to collaborate with major national media to feature the efforts of these great figures.
| The unsung heroes
Unfortunately, despite our efforts, four days after the crash, Masuma Begum passed away. We appreciate Tarique Rahman, the chairperson of the largest political party in Bangladesh, who joined our collaboration and has taken full responsibility for the education of Masuma Begum’s orphaned children. We are currently partnering with digital startups to provide employment opportunities for the family members of deceased and critically injured victims, who were the primary breadwinners for their households. In the aftermath of such incidents, the survivors and their families are usually ignored. We are committed to supporting them in the most effective and compassionate manner by inducting them into our long-term support program for survivors of tragedies and their families. If our donors and supporters are able to offer any resources, referrals, or avenues for amplification in this regard, we would greatly appreciate their contributions.
SSIF is a transnational humanitarian organization focused on disability rehabilitation, disaster response, indigenous art preservation, and digitized female healthcare across the Global South. In this tragedy, we have tried to turn our collective grief into a call for systemic dignity and setting new benchmarks for equity-driven, grassroots-led crisis response. We welcome and appreciate all forms of support for our initiatives, particularly from institutions in the Global North, whom we believe bear a moral responsibility to contribute to the equitable redistribution of resources
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