Jannatul, “The Garden of Heaven,” is the name of a girl who possesses the same transcendent glow in her life, pursuing her dreams despite social and sex limitations of her culture.
Continue reading Supporting A Young Bangladeshi Girl’s Ambition
[ ‘SHARE’ Jul-Aug 2014 ] JOIN HANDS JOIN HEARTS
Dropping out of school after a few short years, child labour and early marriage seem to be the only options for many Bangladeshi girls.
With little access to birth control, Bangladeshi families are large, so it is already hard to feed the household, let alone provide education for the children. Because of the male-dominant culture, girls, especially the older ones, are usually forced to give up school. Further, a dowry is obligatory, the amount of which increases as the bride gets older, and hence impoverished families try to marry off their girls young so to ease their financial burden.
Trisna is the second oldest child in her family – the eldest sister is already married and her younger siblings are at school. The whole family’s livelihood depends on the father’s meagre income as a security guard.
The parents do want education for Trisna but they lack the means – they even considered marrying off Trisna to alleviate the family burden.
In places like India, Nepal and Bangladesh, many girls drop out of school and earn income by sewing. Trisna belongs to a girls group in a youth development program of CEDAR’s partner, PARI. Through regular meetings, members learn about legal protections for underage girls and the shortcomings of early marriage; members also enhance their sewing skills there.
Yet Trisna’s biggest wish is to return to school. Encouraged by her group members, Trisna has started to save up money from her sewing for her own school fees. Her parents gladly let Trisna continue school if fees are not a problem, because they know that education leads to a better life.
Trisna’s father says, “I never imagine that anyone would help my daughter like this. Trisna has learned a lot from the group and I am very grateful for PARI’s help that Trisna can have a brighter future.”
‘Join Hands Join Hearts’ Children Ministry Scheme
[ePrayer – Pray for Children Ministry in Bangladesh]
Tanjila Akter, aged 19, is living in a village of Netrokona district, Bangladesh. With limited access of transportation, the literacy rate is relatively low in this area. Though Tanjila’s parents understood the importance of education, her father wanted to pull her out from school after she completed her secondary school education due to tight financial resources in their family. With the help of CEDAR partner PARI, Tanjila successfully convinced her father to allow her for higher education. Under PARI’s Community Adolescent Development Programme (CADP), Tanjila continued her study, sat for the Higher Secondary Certificate Exam, and obtained the highest score GPA 5 (A+) in the examination. She is the only student scored A+ in the college. Everyone is excited and happy with her results.
Tanjila was just one of the successful stories in the villages of Bangladesh. PARI has spent much efforts in the last few years in promoting civil education and it is very encouraging to see some solid change in the mindset of parents, religious leaders and those living in the remote villages. More adolescents including girls are now able to receive education. Through education, adolescents are more aware of the negative impact of early marriage. PARI witnesses a noticeable drop in early marriage cases and thank God for this improving situation.
CEDAR is also concerned about the kids in the slum areas of Dhaka. As families living in the urban slum areas cannot afford to pay for the educational expenses of their children, many kids become illiterate and end up as child labour or street children, being forced into a poverty cycle forever. To tackle this issue, CEDAR supported another partner World Concern Bangladesh to run 20 schools including primary and pre-school education in slum areas and to provide trainings to teachers. The aim is to let these schools self-sustain in the long-run so more children will be benefited.
In early this year many schools in the slum areas of Dhaka were suspended due to political instability before the country election. The political situation has become more stable after the election and schools have restored to normal. To enable more children in Dhaka to receive education, CEDAR has doubled the funding for the slum project this year. We look forward to seeing a better living condition for the kids and their families in the near future.
Pray for Children Ministry in Bangladesh:
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Please send a completed Donation Form, enclosing with cheque or pay-in slip, to CEDAR FUND, G.P.O. BOX 3212, HONG KONG.
[1] CEDAR is an approved charitable institutions and trusts of a public character under section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance. Please click Inland Revenue Department website to check for details.
[2] Donations over $100 are tax deductible in Hong Kong with our receipts.
[3] Please DO NOT fax any donation information.
[ePrayer – Pray for Bangladesh’s youth project]
In Bangladesh, many adolescents drop out from schools due to poverty. They are ‘nobody’ in the eyes of adults and are ignorant about their own rights. This is particularly true among the teenage girls. The poor families tend to marry off their daughters as young as 13-14 years old in order to lower family expenditure and dowry price. However, it is difficult for these adolescent girls who are not yet mature to adapt to new lives staying with a new family. Moreover, early marriage and early pregnancy can be very harmful to their lives.
To tackle with this problem, CEDAR’s partner PARI Development Trust has formed many community groups to teach the boys and girls about their rights. It has also created platforms for youth, parents, community leaders to meet and exchange ideas. Teenagers have been empowered and adults are made known of the developmental needs and potentials of the youth. Praise the Lord that the project has Pinky from early marriage after lobbying to her father. It has also assisted a girl named Happy who can continue to study in higher grades of school and perform well.
Pray for Bangladesh’s youth project:
Other Methods of Payment
Download Donation Form
Please send a completed Donation Form, enclosing with cheque or pay-in slip, to CEDAR FUND, G.P.O. BOX 3212, HONG KONG.
[1] CEDAR is an approved charitable institutions and trusts of a public character under section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance. Please click Inland Revenue Department website to check for details.
[2] Donations over $100 are tax deductible in Hong Kong with our receipts.
[3] Please DO NOT fax any donation information.
[ePrayer – Pray for the child brides in Yemen]
Yemen’s rights minister will press for the minimum age of marriage to be raised to 18, after the reported death of a young girl on her wedding night. Rawan, aged eight, was said to have died earlier this month from internal bleeding after sexual intercourse, following her marriage to a man in his 40s. Activists have claimed the bill was shelved when ultra-conservative legislators from the Islamist Al-Islah party blocked it.
The local activist has been involved in a campaign against child brides in Yemen, a nation ravaged by years of strife and widespread poverty. Many impoverished families arranged their girls married in early age to relieve the financial burden and made the bride gift as a source of income. There is no clear definition in the country of what constitutes a child, making it difficult to battle the practice. It said that 14 per cent of girls in Yemen were married before the age of 15, and 52 per cent before 18, citing Yemeni and 2006 data from the UN. In some rural areas, girls as young as eight are sometimes given in marriage to much older men. [AFP]
Pray for the Child Brides in Yemen:
[ePrayer – Pray for women vulnerable to violence]
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, is often described as an international bill of rights for women. However, worldwide today, 603 million women live in countries where domestic violence is not yet considered a crime; up to 70% of women in the world report having experienced physical and/or sexual violence; up to 50% of sexual assaults are committed against girls under the age of 16; over 60 million girls worldwide are married before the age of 18….
The theme of this year International Women’s Day (8 March) ’A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women’ seeks to strengthen international community’s commitment to put an end to violence against women. The UN also organizes UNiTE campaign, calling on all governments, civil society, women’s organisations, men, young people, the private sector, the media, etc. to join forces in addressing this global issue. [UN]
Pray for women vulnerable to violence:
CEDAR will organise a sharing on ‘Walking with Women in South Asia’ on 28 March night. Please come and join us.
