Learning for Life – Delta Wetland, NE of Dhaka, Bangladesh (120 Girls)
Learning for Life aims to help South Asia’s most marginalised populations gain access to education, health and employment – the basic human rights that form the first, essential step in overcoming poverty. They provide local partners who understand local issues with the skills and support to help communities set up and manage practical and sustainable projects that meet their real needs.
This project was established in 2017, working with POPI, its local, partner charity and aims to provide education for desperately poor, marginalised communities living in the river basin areas of Bangladesh aboard a specially designed boat. The school enrolment rate of children across the river basin area of Kishoreganj in Bangladesh is 37% and the literacy rate of the adult population is a staggeringly low 16%. During the monsoon and post-monsoon seasons, the surrounding area floods and villages are forced into tiny islands cut off by 30-40 feet of water. This leaves more than 90% of children and youths living in this area without access to any form of education. In addition to the poor education provision, ill health, malnutrition and social exploitation form a part of their daily lives and they often have to work in very dangerous environments.
Since PAWA’s support began in 2019, over 240 annual vocational placements have been funded. A second boat was added in 2023, and this year, the afternoon floating school program has expanded to 4 boats, providing 120 adolescent girls with quality education and life skills training to prepare them for government-accredited exams. PAWA’s support covers annual sports events, boat drivers, fuel and maintenance, learning resources, project management, and the Songlap teacher.
‘Songlap’—a Bengali word meaning ‘dialogue’—is an accredited 12-month program for adolescent girls that covers topics such as primary health care, puberty, reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, women’s and children’s rights, gender equality, life skills, well-being (physical, emotional, and mental), and income-generating activities. The final phase of the program also equips girls with practical occupational skills.
This work remains even more important as income within the community has decreased and domestic violence and child marriage increased due to the pandemic.
