River Gypsy Children's' Education in Bangladesh

Hi, my name is Matthew Becker and I'm raising funds funds for the Subornogram Foundation, a grassroots human rights and education organization based in Sonargaon, Bangladesh. The Subornogram Foundation works to educate and empower some of Bangladesh's most marginalized populations. Since 2003, the Foundation has relied on the hard work of a wide network of volunteers, small donations, and occasional grants from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), to help hundreds of children, who would otherwise never have access to early education, attend school. In 2012, I spent the summer in Bangladesh and worked with the Foundation as part of a human rights fellowship through the Advocacy Project. I can personally vouch for founder and executive director Shahed Kayes and the positive impact his organization has had on the communities they serve.

Through a system of unique schools, the Foundation has helped provide primary education (Kindergarten through 5th grade) for children from the Dalit community and deprived children of the river gypsy, cobbler, fishermen, and indigenous communities in rural Bangladesh. Unfortunately in recent years, the Foundation's capacity has been greatly diminished. Founder Shahed Kayes faced a series of politically-motivated legal charges related to his years-long campaign against illegal sand dredging on the Meghna River around Mayadip Island and related human rights abuses and violations. The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic since March 2020 in Bangladesh has also exacerbated the challenges the Foundation faces. The Subornogram Foundation and the communities it serves are in need of your help.

Our goal is to raise $5,505 USD, which will provide enough funding to pay 15 teachers, provide school-day breakfast, and purchase light study materials (notebooks, pens, and pencils) for approximately 270 students for six months. This effort will allow the Foundation to keep its schools open through at least summer 2022 and give them some breathing room as they work on securing longer-term funding. Your donations, even in small amounts, will go a long way to supporting children and families in need. We'd like to try and reach this goal within a month. For a more detailed budget breakdown, please see further below. Thank you for your help!

Subornogram Rishipara Pathshala (Cobbler Community Children's School)

Subornogram School for the Indigenous Mro children in the Chittagong Hill Tracts

Subornogram Mayadip Jeleshishu Pathshala (Mayadip Fisherfolk Community Children's School)

You can see the video below to learn more about the Shahed Kayes, the Subornogram Foundation, and the communities they support.

Breakdown of the mount for the 6 months of support for the 4 non-privileged community children schools (estimate based on recent exchange rates):

1. Teachers' Salary (15 Teachers): 15 x 3,000 Bangladeshi Taka (BDT.) = 45,000 BDT. for 1 month.

45,000 x 6 = 270,000 BDT. ($3,088.65)

2. Morning Breakfast (270 Students): 270 x 15 (per student 15 BDT. for one day) = 4050 x 2 = 8100 (for 2 days a week)

8100 x 4 = 32,400 (for 1 month)

32,400 x 6 = 194,400 BDT. ($2,223.83) for 6 months. (January - June 2022).

3. month Light Study Materials (Notebooks, Pens, Pencils): 16,845 BDT. ($200 USD)

Total Amount for 6 months: 270,000 + 194,400 + 16,845 = 481,245 BDT. (5,505 USD )