A Day in the Life in Bangladesh

Bangladesh

A Day in the Life: Esther

Praying for this

Head over with us to Bangladesh for the next instalment of our ‘Day in the Life’ series, and discover how BMS World Mission-supported teacher trainer Esther Sarker goes the extra mile for the schools she supports – quite literally!

8 am

My day starts at 8 am, when I get ready for my work. The Bangladesh Baptist Church Sangha (BBCS) office is not very far away, so it takes me ten minutes to walk there. Our office day starts at 9 am. First we worship together – both the BBCS and Social, Health and Educational Development Board (SHED Board) teams. It refreshes our minds and is a chance to have a little catch up with our colleagues. After finishing prayers, we all go to our desks. Mine’s in a separate room, and we start our daily work with a cup of tea.

9.30 am

In the morning, I check my paperwork and keep it up to date. I often speak with my supervisor to check in on how the schools I support are doing. Sometimes, I set up a video call to meet with the children from my schools. It makes me happy – it’s a great time when I can ‘feel’ the classroom from the office and feel that I’m present there. After that we get some time for lunch.

2 pm

When we are back from lunch, I start preparing the upcoming training that we need to do for the teachers – focussing on what is important for them. We look at what their needs are and make a list of repair work that needs doing in the schools so that the children can have a better environment to learn in. There is a lot to do with drawing up reports, budgets and organising workflow.

An image displaying statistics about education in Bangladesh.

On the road

9.30 am – 2.30 pm

That was a general day, but I wanted to also share a special moment from one of my school visits to Dinajpur. We set off in the morning after our collective worship in the office, around 9.30 am. On the way, we visit Sirajganj Goyarea preschool – arriving there around 2.30 pm. We spend nearly an hour with the school, and after visiting the area we set off again for Dinajpur. It’s 333km from Dhaka and it takes about 10 to 12 hours to reach when the roads are good and everything is okay. If not, it takes more time!

A child at preschool in Bangladesh.
Only 13 per cent of children in Bangladesh attend early years education.
A teacher at Bethgram preschool in Bangladesh.
Esther supports teachers in Bangladesh to provide vital education for children in rural communities.

3 am

Though we don’t spend much time stopping for food or any other breaks, we still arrive at 3 am, take a little rest, and then set off again in the early morning at 6 am for two more school visits: Bondanga and then Jagannathpur. In total, we spend about five days visiting the schools, making about eight preschool visits in that time.

8 pm

When we get back to Dhaka, we don’t feel too great! We’re very tired, and my body feels numb. It’s not easy personally for me to do these journeys: I experience travel sickness but I also need to travel a lot. And I really enjoy it when I visit the schools and get to spend time with the children. When I was younger the travel sickness was much more challenging, but now I can manage it. It’s why I always take the car’s front seat!

Esther asks you to pray for her work:
“Please remember in your prayers all of the staff and students who are enrolled in the BMS project. And give thanks to God for his blessing upon us.”
Why not commit to praying for Esther and her work as you sit down with your morning cup of tea? Or you could take a moment to pray when you’re on a long journey, like the ones Esther regularly makes to visit her schools. And you could even go one step further to become a 24:7 Partner and give regularly to support education work like Esther’s across the world. Click here to find out more!

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Singing for joy – and success!

Singing for joy – and success!

Supporting this

Christian children in Bangladesh are being set up to fail. But with your support, BMS World Mission can help them to change their futures. It all starts with a song.

A rickety bus winds its way around Bangladesh. It started the journey in Dhaka, the country’s restless capital. Many hours later it reaches a village, where a little girl called Ariysha is singing a rhyme:

Boys and girls come to pick flowers
Make a garland of flowers
Place it around your neck
And go to Uncle’s house

Ariysha is at preschool. For children like her, singing songs at school is a novelty. She is used to memorising for her primary school entrance exam. If she fails, she has little chance to continue her education. Doors of opportunity will swing shut. Her world will shrink. The pressure is on for Ariysha and her classmates. And it’s a wonder they’re in preschool at all.

With cramped classes and repetitive learning, many children don’t want to attend school – especially in poor, rural areas. Instead of going to school, children from the age of four collect heavy firewood or work out in the fields. Parents are also afraid that if their children don’t get into primary school, they will need to send them away to work and support the family. Girls as young as eight can be sent to work as live-in housekeepers, whilst boys can be hired out as manual labour.

Christian children, especially, are falling behind. Christian preschools in Bangladesh lack the most funding as Christians are a minority group in the country. There are simply not enough Christians to fund the preschools. This means children like Ariysha are often in large classes, don’t have the materials they need, and don’t pass the primary school entrance exam.

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Christian children are a minority and not a priority. Without the education they need, it’s harder for them to gain further education and therefore, stable jobs, in a country where they already face persecution for their faith. But BMS is changing that.

A Bangladeshi teacher stands in front of children wearing green school uniform.
Teacher Asio Kubi now teaches his class using songs and games.

Back on the rickety bus we find BMS educational consultant, Louise Proctor. Thanks to your support, she trains teachers in 25 Christian schools across the poorest, most rural parts of Bangladesh. Travelling for more than 15 hours to reach some schools, Louise shows teachers how to use games and songs in their teaching. Research has repeatedly shown that learning through play is much more effective than by rote.

“The very small children didn’t want to come to school before because they were scared…now they come every day. They are much more eager to learn than before!” teacher Asio Kubi says. Now parents are happy, seeing their children flourish. “I learnt to teach with joy, love and encouragement,” describes Asio. When a teacher enjoys teaching, children enjoy learning.

Children who enjoy going to school and learning are more likely to succeed.

Louise’s vision for the future is to coach local trainers. With their increased insight, they will be able to apply what they’ve been taught specifically to their villages. It’s a method of multiplication, meaning more schools will provide better quality education.

A man in a blue shirt and a woman in a pink top sit together and talk about education.
Louise Proctor and Asio work together to discuss the best ways to teach the class.

Thanks to BMS supporters, Ariysha now attends school with a smile. She learns by singing, by having fun and by understanding what she’s taught. But there are still children who are being left behind. Help to make Christian children in Bangladesh a priority. Help to give them a future that doesn’t include child labour or being sent away to work. Give what you can and pray for Bangladeshi children today. You may just give them the chance to succeed where no-one else could.

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Words by Melanie Webb