Just a month into his freshman year, Thabit Pulak is already quite the celebrity in Alspaugh. Walking into the common room he’s hailed with, “Thabit, my man!” and “Come out with us this weekend!” He greets everyone by name and with a smile, taking a few minutes to chat despite his heavy workload—he’s pre-med, a member of the Genomes focus, and working toward a public policy major.
At the ripe age of 13, when most of us were writing embarrassing AIM statuses and praying we’d get our braces off, Thabit had bigger aspirations. He had already started iKormi, a nonprofit dedicated to providing Internet jobs for the underprivileged population of Bangladesh. “I saw people in Bangladesh that knew how to use computers, and were in need of supplementary income,” he modestly recalls, which inspired him to connect Bengali people with basic data entry jobs for large corporations.
He now hopes that iKormi will become self-sustainable, and cease to rely on outside companies to provide jobs. iKormi’s newest project will provide both local jobs and affordable clean water to the people of Bangladesh.
Four years ago while visiting his grandparents, Thabit noticed that many of his grandparents’ neighbors were affected by water contamination. Access to clean water solves many serious health issues, such as cancers caused by arsenic poisoning. But because of patents on the many parts of the filter, they are priced extremely high. As Thabit explains, “Buying a water filter in Bangladesh is the equivalent of a middle class family buying a Mercedes.”
Refusing to accept this, Thabit set out to design a water filter that was both effective and affordable. He spent close to three years researching and designing this filter, and then began to present his design to various organizations.
Thabit returned from Bangladesh just before Duke orientation, where he set up a factory to manufacture his more affordable water filters. The whole operation uses entirely Bengali parts and labor. He plans to sell them in the city, and then use those profits to subsidize the price of the filter in more rural areas, which he compares to Toms’ “one-for-one” business model.
Thabit has big plans for iKormi and Bangladesh as a whole. “Right now we’re building water filters, but down the road I want us to build other consumer products that can benefit people, for cheap. I can envision that one day Bangladesh can build its own products that are synonymous with quality and affordability.”
After finishing his studies, Thabit plans to return to Bangladesh, where he hopes to work in politics to create powerful social change. His passion and integrity are clear in his every pursuit; at multiple times in our chat, he mentions just wanting to help people. Wherever he goes in life, Thabit Pulak is guaranteed to make a difference.