Now it is fixed! The first NGO we will cooperate with is called LEEDO. They focus on the well-being of street children in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka. The orginasation operates different programs from mobile schools to temporary shelters to an orphanage named “Peace Home” – we are excited to travel there and work with them!
Many tourist visit Asia but Bangladesh is usually not at the top of the list. Many will not know that Bangladesh is the eighth most populated country in the world. Our first flight will take us to Dhaka. The capital has over 17 million inhabitants – that’s more than the Netherlands. The first organisation we will work with is LEEDO (Local Education and Economic Development Organization). LEEDO is predominantly working with street children because they are vulnerable and in constant danger of abuse. Forhad Hossain, the founder and executive director, kindly invited us to spend six weeks with this small organisation to help street children in Dhaka.
In the School under the Sky a LEEDO teacher and a volunteer teach English, Math, Bangala and Life Values.
Why did we choose Bangladesh?
As one of the most densely populated countries in the world poverty is widespread throughout the country. With a literacy rate of just over 70% many people, especially in rural regions, have to survive with just about a dollar a day. Bangladesh, formally East Pakistan, was under British rule for many decades, so that the English language is still widely spread throughout the country. This will help us in our work as we will not be reliant on a translator.
Why did we select this organisation?
In our search for organisations to cooperate with we stumbled upon LEEDO. A simple website and posts on Facebook gave us a first impression of how important their work is. There are hundreds of young children sleeping on the streets, exploited to drugs, violence and hunger. LEEDO helps these children in many ways. The first priority is reintegrating the children with their families. In case this is not possible, LEEDO cooperates with the government to find a solution. Addiotionally LEEDO operates a home for children that do not have a family or find accommodation in an orphanage, its called “Peace Home”.
Cover of the Concept we pitched to LEEDO.
How are we going to help LEEDO?
We have developed a concept on how we want to utilize a better online presence to secure more donations for LEEDO. We want to focus on implrementing the tools to create a base of long term donors to help LEEDO increase its planning safety. Regular donations can pay for the salaries of the social workers and the rent to run the Shelter and Peace Home. For this reason we want to make sure that donors are more involved in the work LEEDO does. By telling stories of the children and focussing on the positive side, we want donors to understand that their donation is making a big change. A fresh website will inform potential new donors about the work LEEDO does. An E-Mail newsletter will be set up to transform one time donors to regular donors by keeping them informed about achievements.
These are ideas we need to fill with details as soon as we are in Dhaka. Forhad invited us to stay in the office so we can vividly experience how LEEDO is working to improve the street childrens situation.
Our trip will start on the third of May. Our Social Media channels will keep you up to date with our exciting journey! If you have any suggestions or if you have been to Bangladesh and can give us some advice send us a message!