In recent years, education in Bangladesh has greatly improved. Poverty rates have decreased, and with it, hunger. But the nation faces many challenges.

Ready to meet these challenges are the members of Volunteer for Bangladesh (VBD). It is a branch of the JAAGO Foundation, a larger organization which works to provide all children in Bangladesh with access to a quality education. Both have strong ties to and receive financial support from the U.S. Embassy in Dhaka.

There is much work to be done, so the VBD mission is broad; to end poverty and hunger and to protect children’s rights, including their right to an education. The organization promotes gender equality, works to improve nutrition, educates on sustainability and aids in local development projects. Its projects are as varied as its mission tenets.

VBD awareness campaigns fall on holidays like Universal Children’s Day, when they “spread consciousness among mass people about children’s education.” On World Water Day, they raise awareness of freshwater resources, and on Income Tax Day, they speak on the importance of paying taxes.

Last year in Dhaka, Gazipur, Chittagong, Narayanganj, Khulna and Rajshahi, Universal Children’s Day VBD workers, four corporate partners and five local media groups built carnivals for underprivileged children. There were sporting events, visits to the zoo, merry-go-round rides and introductions to Mickey Mouse. For several hundred destitute children, it was a day on which they could enjoy being a child.

The theme for World Environment Day of this year was “more care for the environment, lessen the rise of the sea level.” It is a poignant message for Bangladeshi citizens, 15 million of who stand to lose their homes to rising ocean waters.

On June 5, 1,150 volunteers in bright yellow VBD t-shirts rode bicycles to 12 districts. They planted over 400 saplings to further their goal of “reversing the greenhouse effect.”

All VBD efforts are truly community endeavors. More than 12,000 people are now working in VBD projects. Volunteer for Bangladesh hopes to establish Action Groups in all of Bangladesh’s 64 districts by 2016.

– Olivia Kostreva

Sources: Volunteer for Bangladesh 1, Volunteer for Bangladesh 2, Volunteer for Bangladesh 3, JAAGO
Photo: The Daily Star