Living in central Japan's Niigata Prefecture, 52-year-old Md Nurul Elahi and his wife Misako, 69, find nothing more fulfilling in life than seeing the shining eyes of children who have discovered the joy of learning.

The Bangladeshi-Japanese couple's desire to give children in Elahi's hometown access to education, and contribute to the development of the South Asian nation, spurred them to open an elementary school in 2017 in the small farming village of Namaputia, using about 6 million yen ($56,000) they gathered in donations in Japan.

Their achievement was recognized on June 15 by Niigata authorities who congratulated them for their contribution to developing future talent.

Namaputia is located around 100 kilometers from the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, and originally had no school. Most children in the village were put work on a farm from an early age or tasked with looking after their siblings.

The Bangladeshi came to Japan in 1989 and worked as a metal molder in the city of Mitsuke in Niigata, subsequently meeting Misako at a poetry club.

After marrying, Misako visited her husband's hometown for the first time. While there, she was amazed that the local children dreamed of becoming doctors or teachers despite not being able to go to school themselves.

It left a deep impression on her.

(Misako in Namaputia in August 2018.)

Diagnosed with cancer in 2009, Misako beat the disease and decided to make the most of her second chance in life by working with her husband to build a school in the village.

In 2011, they set up a fund in Japan for construction costs, collecting donations from citizens, elementary schools and other sources. A two-story school was completed in 2016 and around 160 children enrolled at the institution upon its opening the following year.

There are no tuition fees, with textbooks provided by the government free of charge due to the school being designated as a model to be replicated elsewhere in the country. Even parents who were initially reluctant to lose working hands to the school now come to events, such as a test or graduation ceremony, to witness their children's achievements.

As of 2016, Bangladesh's literacy rate was estimated to be roughly 72 percent, but there remains a huge gap between cities and villages. In the hopes of bringing Namaputia's literacy rate up to 100 percent, the couple is now also seeing to it that after-hours classes for adults are offered at the school.

They received the "Kome Hyappyo" award from the city of Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture. The award draws its name from the tale of the "one hundred bags of rice," in which the Nagaoka domain espoused the importance of education in the early Meiji Era (1868-1912).

The legend tells the story of how an impoverished clan received 100 sacks of relief rice and, instead of consuming it right away, sold the rice to use the proceeds to build a school.

"It is a joy for our efforts to be recognized by the people of Niigata," Elahi said at the award ceremony. "I hope to continue to act as a bridge between Japan and Bangladesh."