Ven. Shaddhammaditya Jnanashree Mahathera was born in 1925 at Uttar Gujra Domekhali village in Raozan Upazila of Chittagong District. He is now the Deputy Head of the Sangha in Bangladesh. At present he lives in Nandankanon Bouddha Vihar in Chittagong. He entered the Sangha as a novice in 1944. In 1949 he was ordained as a monk. He completed entrance level of education. In 1958 he came to the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) from Chittagong. Following the construction of the Kaptai Hydroelectric Dam in 1961, he moved to Dighinala (now under Khagrachari Hill District).
When he came here, he was struck by seeing the very deplorable social, economic and religious condition of the people there. Under these circumstances, he could not confine himself to religious pursuit only. He thought of engaging community people to spread education along with religious education. He took a step to set up Parbatya Chattal Bouddha Anath Ashram (CHT Buddhist Orphanage) in 1963 (now this institution is defunct due to conflict situation). First he started giving shelter and education to the orphaned and destitute children in this institution. Under his guidance and overall support Moanoghar was established in Rangapani of Rangamati in 1974.
Over the years, Moanoghar now has turned into one of the most desired educational institutions for indigenous children in CHT. It provides free or highly subsidized education to the orphaned and poor children from all over the CHT region. Beyond the CHT region, Ven. Jnanashree Mahathera also established many educational institutions in Chittagong, Joypurhat and Rangpur in the plain region of Bangladesh.
In recognition of his outstanding social service, he was awarded with the Ekushey Padak 2022, a prestigious national award, by the government of Bangladesh.
Ven. Bimal Tissa Mahathera was born in 1945 at the village of Udal Bagan in Dighinala Upazila of Khagrachari Hill District. In 1963 he took ordination as Shramana (novice) and later higher ordination (monk) with Ven. Shaddhammaditya Jnanashree Mahathera. He did BA (Hons.) and MA in Philosophy at the University of Dhaka. Being inducted by his guru Ven. Jnanashree Mahathera, he assumed the position of the President of the Parbatya Chattal Bouddha Anath Ashram in 1975. Still he was a University student. He was the founding president of Moanoghar (in 1974) and the Moanoghar Residential School (in 1980).
He played a pioneering role to establish the Parbatya Boudha Sangha - PBS (Chittagong Hill Tracts Buddhist Association) in 1976 and subsequently the Shakya Muni Bouddha Vihara in Dhaka. He was the founding General Secretary of PBS. When the Parbatya Chattal Bouddha Anath Ashram got destroyed due to the conflict situation, he had to flee the country. Now he lives in Kolkata in India. There he established a child charity called Shish Karuna Sangha (SKS) and Bodhicariya Senior Secondary School. By this time, the School has gained well reputation in Kolkata.
Ven. Prajnananda Mahathera was born in 1952 at Babuchara in Dighinala Upazila (sub-district). His lay name was Balendra Dev Chakma. He completed SSC from Dighinala High School in 1967 and HSC in 1972 from Hathazari College. He did BA (Hons.) and MA in Bengali literature from Chittagong University. Later he did another MA in Pali from Dhaka University. After HSC, he took ordination as Shramana (novice) in 1968 and subsequently higher ordination with Ven. Shaddhammaditya Jnanashree Mahathera.
Being inspired by his guru, he has dedicated himself to the service of orphaned and destitute children in CHT. He assumed the position of General Secretary of Parbatya Chattal Anath Ashram (PBCAA) while he was studying in University. He was the founding General Secretary of Moanoghar. Subsequently he also played role as President of the School Managing Committee of the Moanoghar Residential School for a long time. Now he lives in Dhaka and is the Chair of Banophool Adibashi Greenheart School and College in Dhaka.
Ven. Shraddhalankar Mahathera was born in 1951 in Longadu. In 1966 he took ordination as Shramana (novice) in 1951 and higher ordination (monk) in 1966 with Ven. Shaddhammaditya Jnanashree Mahathera. In 1973, after HSC he assumed the role of Director of the Parbatya Chattal Anath Ashram (now defunct). Later he got admitted in Chittagong University. From there he completed his BA (Hons.) and MA in Pali. In 1978 he was appointed as the Director of Moanoghar. Simultaneously he continued his studies in the University. From 1978 to 1998, he worked for Moanoghar in the position of Director. He played roles in different positions in Moanoghar.
Now he is the President of the Managing Committee of the Moanoghar Residential School. For a long time, he has been working to teach and spread Chakma scripts to the students. He is an author of Chakma primer. He is the Principal of Moanoghar Pali College, and also Head monk of Sangharam Vihar at Vedvedi in Rangamati.
He hailed from Baghaichari Mukh in Dighinala Upazila of Khagrachari Hill District. His lay name was Sajjan Chakma. As a novice (Shramana) he got admitted in Parbattya Chattal Boudha Anath Ashram (PCBAA) in Dighinala in 1964. He took higher ordination (monkhood) with Ven. Shaddhammaditya Jnanashree Mahathera. For a few years, Ven. Priya Tisshya worked for PCBAA in the position of Director. Later he came to Rangapani village in Rangamati.
He was the founding abbot of Rangapani Milan Vihar as well as Director of Moanoghar. Later he disrobed to lead a lay life. Now he is permanently settled in Kolkata, India with his family.
He was born in Dighinala Upazila in Khagrachari Hill District. His lay name was Suvash Chakma. He became a novice (Shramana) and got admitted in Parbattya Chattal Boudha Anath Ashram in Dighinala (PCBAA) in 1968. After higher ordination (monkhood) with Ven. Shaddhammaditya Jnanashree Mahathera, he was named Jina Pal Bhikkhu.
For a long time he worked for both PCBAA and Moanoghar. He was one of the founding members of Moanoghar. Later he gave up monkhood and joined Bangladesh Krishi Bank. After a long career in the bank, he retired from his job. He passed away on 15 July 2009.