Overview
The Bangladesh Bible Society is seeking to reach children with the word of God through a literacy course designed especially for preschool-aged children in the rural and remote areas of Bangladesh. These children are prevented in beginning their education by poverty and distance. When they are older and able to travel, their lack of familiarity with the national Bengali language means attaining literacy is challenging.
There are more than 165 million people in Bangladesh, and 40% of the population are children. A large percentage of people live in rural areas and do not have the opportunity to go to school and learn to read, because of distance. Furthermore, children are prevented from attending distant schools while still young, so early opportunities to introduce an education are missed.
In Bangladesh, tribal children (including those in the Garo, Santali, Chakma, Marma, and Tripura tribes) all start school in the Bengali language even though they speak in their mother tongue. Some of these tribes do not even have their language in written form, so learning literacy in Bengali is the only option.
There is a need for these students to be taught at a younger age, so that they can gain a basis in education which will help them when they begin their primary school education, or catch up on the studies they have missed due to language difficulties at national schools.
Statistics
- More than 165 million people in Bangladesh
- Only 56% of people in these languages are literate
- 40% of the population are children
If the appeal is oversubscribed or the project changes due to unforeseen reasons, we will reallocate remaining funds to similar projects.
