Bangladesh project profile

Sariakandi ADP

Education
Many schools lack furniture or other basic equipment. Some children drop out of school because of their families’ financial situation. Only one-third of parents are literate.

Sariakandi ADP repairs classrooms, provides school supplies and holds workshops for teachers. It assists primary, secondary and tertiary students with fees, books and uniforms. Awards for top students, sports and cultural activities encourage students to attend school.

World Vision runs coaching classes for children who need extra tuition, non-formal schools for preschool children and those who cannot attend state schools, and adult literacy classes.

Health
There is a shortage of safe tubewells and hygienic latrines. Diarrhoea and skin diseases are common. The nearest clinic is 25 kilometres away, so pregnant women rely on untrained traditional birth attendants. It is estimated that two-thirds of children under 5 are malnourished.

The ADP educates community members about health and hygiene and increases access to water and sanitation. It trains health volunteers and birth attendants to provide first aid and preventative healthcare in their villages. The ADP also organises regular health check-ups for children and their families.

Agriculture and income generation
More than three-quarters of families depend on agriculture, but many do not own land, and have to lease fields from others at the cost of half of their produce. Most families also have vegetable gardens and some raise poultry, cattle or goats. Few families can survive on farming alone, so men take additional jobs as casual labourers or rickshaw pullers.

Sariakandi ADP organises farmers’ field schools to introduce soil conservation, new crop varieties, animal raising and fish farming. It distributes good quality seeds, establishes tree nurseries and vaccinates livestock.

The ADP teaches people different ways of earning income, such as handcrafts and tailoring, and provides low-interest loans for people to establish or expand their income-generating ventures.

Disaster mitigation
Because the location is low lying, large areas of land floods each year. As the river erodes its banks, families lose their homes and land.

World Vision forms committees to mitigate disasters and protect the river bank. These committees assess risk and train the community to prepare for and respond to disasters.

Community leadership
World Vision forms community groups including children’s forums, development groups of 15-20 people and community-wide development forums. Members learn child and human rights, literacy, management, leadership and book-keeping. Development group members regularly contribute a small amount of money to a pooled fund from which they can later borrow for personal or business needs.

Sustainable development
World Vision started Sariakandi ADP in 1992, and is empowering the community to drive the development work so it is sustainable. World Vision helps local groups to manage this work until they are able to do it themselves.