I’m Debbie Anderson, and I run a project at UC Berkeley that helps get unencoded scripts into the Unicode Standard so they can, eventually, be used on computers and devices.

I set up this GoFundMe to support Bivuti Chakma (also known as Suz Moriz), who has been working since 2010 to make the script of his language community, the Chakma script, accessible to others through fonts, keyboards, instructional videos, a website , and other materials. Bivuti is a member of the Chakma people, based in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of southeastern Bangladesh. Most of his work described below has been as a volunteer, with no pay. This GoFundMe is one small way to reimburse him, thank him for his tireless work. and contribute to his future work on Chakma.

I first was contacted by Bivuti in 2016, when he co-authored a successful proposal to add a few Chakma characters to Unicode. Since then, I have learned more about Bivuti and his dedication to making Chakma accessible to others. My colleague at Microsoft, Andrew Glass, related that already in 2012 Bivuti contacted Microsoft, asking how to make his Chakma font Unicode-compliant. Bivuti then worked with Andrew and others at Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and Keyman (SIL) to learn about Unicode, the fundamentals of OpenType, keyboards for complex scripts, and Common Locale Data Repository (CLDR). Using what he learned, Bivuti successfully developed a Unicode-based version of his font and keyboard, which he maintains and makes available for free. He also actively contributed to the Noto Sans Chakma font and submits feedback to Microsoft on their Chakma font. In addition, he has submitted CLDR data on Chakma and contributed to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Chakma . His comments on fonts, submissions for locale data, and the UDHR translation are all work done without pay.

In sum, because of the extensive standards work and promotion by Bivuti, the Chakma community in Bangladesh and the diaspora can actively communicate in their language online on both desktop and mobile devices.

Bivuti has also written and published two volumes of his book, Chakma Language Developing in Technology, which he paid for himself. These volumes chronicle his path of getting Chakma supported on computers and applications. He has written a third volume, which will cost 80,000 tk for 500 copies ($930USD), but he has not been able to publish it yet.

Additionally, Bivuti has a YouTube channel with instructional videos on the Chakma language and script, as well as tutorials for users on how to get the script working on their devices, all of which are accessible for free. (Links to some of these are also accessible from his Facebook page . )

Bivuti also has long-range plans, including establishing a digital archive for Chakma language materials.

I hope you will join me in contributing to this GoFundMe for Bivuti. It will serve to support his past work and allow him to continue his work into the future.