Reporting on the progress at St Marcellin School, Moulovibazar, north-eastern Bangladesh.
The Tea Gardens of Bangladesh are home to plantation workers who are some of the most neglected human groups in Bangladesh. They work 8-10 hours a day collecting the tea leaves, one by one. They get 69 Taka a day (88 cents of a US$) per 23 kg of leaves. They live in houses in deplorable conditions within the plantations. Only one member per family is allowed to work. When he/she dies, another member of the family has to replace this person. If not, the family is expelled from the house in which they live.
In practice this means to trap families in the plantations so that they cannot move on. The laws of Parliament and the Government’s decisions on workers’ rights (minimum wage, etc.) don’t apply in tea plantations, which enjoy a special status since the days of the British colony. There are primary schools, scattered through the plantations, usually consisting of a classroom in which a teacher has children of all levels together. In many schools, there are no desks, no books, no resources. Most of the children don’t complete primary school, and most of those who do so, cannot afford to go to secondary school.
St Marcellin School, Moulovibazar opened its doors on January 2nd, 2017 and facilitates secondary education for the children of Moulovibazar and Sreemangal districts, north-eastern Bangladesh, addressing in particular boys and girls from the tea plantation areas. The school also offers boarding for its students in what has been described as a move to improve the health and sanitation for those most vulnerable. Specifically, AMS has contributed to an important component of this project, namely a hostel for girls, making it possible for the female students to live and study in a safe, clean and supportive environment. AMS is also partnered with Lenity Australia to provide 75 full scholarships per year to girls from tea plantations.
The property upon which the school and hostel sits is bordered by a small creek that during the rainy season becomes a powerful stream that threatens the buildings on the property, especially the girls hostel, and causes severe erosion to the banks nearby. There is the added concern of privacy of the girl’s hostel as the neighbours on the other side of the creek have an open line of site into the building. Now, thanks to the generous support of the Diocese of Koln working in partnership with AMS, the school is able to commence works on a protective retaining wall measuring 300 feet in length, 15 feet deep and 7 feet tall.
St Marcellin School, Moulovibazar aims to strengthen the education system in the Tea Gardens as well as the individual abilities, knowledge, attitudes and skills of the students. The school requires additional donations to continue their vital work in the community. To find out more about our work in Bangladesh or to donate please visit our website: Bangladesh