Educating the slums

Autumn is finally here and we are hoping it will bring some much-needed relief from monsoon rains for Bangladesh. The country has been very heavily hit this year with people losing their lives and livelihoods in the floods. Thousands of students throughout South Asia missed out on school, because their schools were flooded or roads were simply washed away.

The rains did not leave our community unaffected. The students really struggled to get to school with the lack of school transport; some homes were destroyed in the floods and families’ possessions were badly damaged.

We are hoping to raise enough funds to cover the cost of three school buses, so that all students can get to and from school on a bus. We also desperately need funds to cover school meals six times a week. Students cannot concentrate without a meal, some are unable to have breakfast before school. We have had two reports of our students fainting at school from malnutrition. We appeal to you to help us better this situation to prevent students’ results from wavering.

At the same time I want to thank everyone, who has made a donation in the past few months. I also want to thank those, who have decided to continue to sponsor a student for another year, who have set up monthly payments; and those, who have volunteered and given us their precious time.

There are still a number of students in need of a sponsor to cover their fees. If you would like to sponsor a student and help them continue going to school for another year, please get in touch with us at marketing@mariactistinafoundation.org. Sponsoring a student is easy, transparent and a great way of making a long-lasting change in someone's life.

Our founder, Maria Conceicao, has just been awarded the 'Barbie' award by Mattel Portugal. This award recognises women, who are distinguished in their area of activtiy by creating a Barbie doll in their image to inspire future generations. 

It's a wonderful commendation of everything Maria has done for our 101 families in the past 12 years and continues to do daily, giving her life to the community. But, as always, none of our work would be possible without the generostity of our supporters. 

Thank you.

Dear friends,

I have good news: we have manged to secure school fees payment for all our children for the current year (January 2017 - December 2017). We are incredibly humbled by your support and thank you for helping us make this happen. 

I would like to say a special thanks for HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, the Vice President of the UAE and the ruler of Dubai, and Dubai Cares for granting us $25k towards the school fees for the current year. 

We now continue to raise funds for the next year and hope to be ahead of schedule. This will allow us to give some much-needed attention to issues other than fundraising for school fees. Our students need school transport, meals and uniforms. They also need our time and guidance, especially those on the brink of graduating. Many wonderful volunteers have visited recently and given workshops on CV writing, held mock-interviews and given the students more ideas about different career paths. 

I completed another challenge: 6 Ironmans on 6 continents in 56 days. It was a gruelling couple of months, but I got through it and raised nearly $25k. This also got us some much-needed media exposure. Thanks to everyone for your generous donations and encouragement. 

In Dhaka, we are as busy as ever. The older students are tutoring the younger ones and an English language study group for parents has been opened. We have had 40+ visitors in the past 3 months, who have all contributed to school transport and meals. 

Two students graduated this May and are now looking to go to university. I could not be prouder of their achievement For the children we help in Dhaka, graduating from high school is an incredible achievement and something that nobody in their families has achieved before.

I am so grateful to each and every sponsor. No matter the amount, you are all contributing to changing lives. 

Thank you.

Links:

• http://theirworld.org/news/maria-conceicao-mission-to-educate-bangladesh-slum-children
• Experience life in the slum through virtual reality