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Bangladesh - Exciting news from Uttara
(March 2010)

Uttara gives hope

Uttara Girls' Home is situated in the north part of Dhaka, the capital city of BANGLADESH. 30 girls live in this hostel and they come from all over Bangladesh. About 30% come from the most neglected tribal areas of Chittagong Hill Tracts. The hostel was opened to help young girls from very poor families and from communities where their lives are at risk. A place at the hostel enables these girls to live in safety whilst attending local schools. The girls stay at the hostel until they have completed their higher secondary education. They are given the skills needed to compete for suitable jobs after graduation. Girls who choose to continue into higher education have the opportunity to continue living at the hostel until they complete their studies.

Encouragement and exam success

Our ROPEholder reports: "There is a great movement of the Lord in our Uttara Girls' Home. Ten of our girls took water baptism on 30th October." What an encouragement! There was also exam success for the girls.
One of them, Shathi, came out first in the whole class in her exam. Her mother works as a street sweeper which is considered to be a very low profession. It is unlikely that this beautiful and intelligent girl would have had the opportunity to achieve so much without the existence of the girls' home.

Slum dwellers not forgotten

Currently the children of slum-dwellers are educated outside the slums. It is hoped that with effect from 2010 these schools, supported by ROPE, will relocate into the slums so that the whole community can be encouraged to become involved in their welfare. This is a new initiative that will require appropriate accommodation to be found and will also need the co-operation of the slum dwellers.

Speculate to accumulate

Extra funding will be needed to install the schools in new accommodation and to train the teachers to take on a new role as community helpers, but the potential benefits are clear. Our ROPEholders see this as a participatory community initiative which will make it possible to provide guidance for slum-dwellers in their efforts to generate income for their families. Some food and medical needs will be provided as well as teaching on health and hygiene for the whole family.