This part is introductory information on the Foundation Youth Help Bangladesh.

Objectives:

The primary objective is to make sure boys and girls finish school. A group of boys and girls do not go to school. Another group does not finish school. The following are the causes:

In most cases poverty belies the reason why children do not go to school. Parents are often illiterates or can hardly read and write. Parents are mostly busy earning a living in order to meet their basic needs. Children are often the victims of such situations. This applies to boys who have to help their parents earn an income. Education for these parents is unimportant.
For girls it is forced marriages. They are often forced into marriage since they are considered inferior in society. This view of education begins with parents. On the bright side, these girls learn to cook and keep the home. Sometimes these girls work in the homes of other people in return for food and clothing. Some boys work as well in other people’s home as domestics in return for food and clothing.

Another group of children continue to attend school until their parents cannot make ends meet. They then stop going to school. The children are also victims in such cases. The boys have to work to generate an income for the family. Or they will marry at a young age of 13 to 17 years. When they marry their parents (mostly the father of the boy) receive an amount of money as dowry of the family (mostly the father) of the girl. Since the family or the father quickly spends the money, the new married couples face financial difficulties. They have to deal with the harsh reality. Moreover, they may have a child, in most cases, a year after their wedding.

The girls often stop going to school because of their parents financial difficulties. That is why the girls are forced into marriage from a young age of 13. Although the law forbids it (yet this works differently in the society), in certain cases this also concerns girls of 11 and 12 years old. Where there are food shortages, parents prefer to have few mouths at home to feed. Nevertheless, food is sometimes available for these girls but they do not have money for clothes and learning materials.

The foundation helps against child marriages and facilitates schooling.

In addition, its two secondary objectives are:
First, help the elderly (and women) who can no longer work and rely on others for their daily bread. Normally an elderly person lives with his children (mostly the son). The children take care of his upkeep (food and clothes). At least that is what society thinks. But reality is totally different. Most quarrels happen between in-laws. Daughters-in-law quarrel with their mother-in-law and fathers quarrel with their sons. As a result the elderly do not receive the care they need. They have no food, no clothing and no shelter. In certain cases the elderly person could be thrown out of the house. These people have only one choice open to them. That is death. But death does not come that quickly. That is why they go a-begging. These people are often famished and do not have any place to even stand.

Another secondary objective is medicine and health services. This help is meant for everybody in and in thethe village Bhatra. No Medical Care exists in the surroundings of Bhatra (a radius of 20km). Neither are there qualified doctors (generalists), nurses, Health Services, nor pharmacy. One can buy cheap medicines on the weekly market or in somebody’s house. Since care is one of the first essential needs of human life, the foundation wishes to bring changes to people’s lives to enable them afford basic health treatment.

Where

Bhatra is a village and a local government in the police region Nondighram, in the Bofra province, about 225km north of Dhaka. Bhatra is situated in the South east of Bogra. Bhatra village has a regional function. In the local government 56 villages rely on Bhatra for the marketing of their products. Bhatra is divided into 5 districts (para’s), which cover an area of three and half kilometers and has 1,300 residents. Among the residents are refugees who had fled to Bhatra because of floods caused by rivers that inundated their lands in the past years.

The economy of the village is dependent on farming. Farmers grow rice and vegetables. Rice is traded for cash, but the vegetables are partly sold on the local market and partly kept for personal consumption. Demographic structure: 390 men, 467 women: 857 adults and 200 children between the ages of 1 and 10 years; and 161 children between ages of 11 and 17 years. The number of children attending school is still low. This is because of the lack of food, clothing electricity and motivation.

Women have a fairly good position in the village in comparison with the south east of Bangladesh. Yet most of them are illiterates, which makes them dependent on men for earning an income. As a result they do not have much a say.

However they are not the only ones living in poverty. Above age 12, 700 women are unemployed while above age 18, 500 do not have work.

In the village about 30 to 40 families live on farming. That is about 200 persons in addition to their servants like washmen and house cleaners. They are about 200 people who enjoy the relative riches of their employers. That adds up to 400 people within a population of 3,000 residents with a certain good level of livelihood.

Geographic aspects.
Bhatra is situated, as its called in Indian English, in the deep countryside. A canal flows through the village. Yet because of inundations, the canal is usually full of water. The land is fruitful and there are no big rivers, which could be of danger because of floods in the neighbouring villages. Trees demarcate the boundaries between the villages but no jungles remain.

The village has a supply of electricity. It also has a commercial and agricultural bank. The latter has a commercial function. It operates in the village. Furthermore there is a big weekly market. In reality the market thrives twice a week.

Also, Bhatra has a club called Eleven Stars club where sport activities (indoor games) and theatre shows take place. Once a year, the club organises theatre performances and picknicks for the youth. Unfortunately, due to lack of money and leadership, the club does not function anymore. In the past, the club organised football and volleyball competitions among villages. These activities matter to maintain and create social cohesion.

With respect to portable water, the village relies on hand pump wells. One or two quality wells have been dug in every neighborhood. Fortunately, no arsenic has been found in the portable water in this part of Bangladesh. Still sanitary amenities here are primitive. For instance the makeshift toilet is built in a secluded corner of a garden. This structure is covered with cloth or bamboo mats. More should be done about these sanitary conditions.

In the beginning the foundation will only operate in the Bhatra region. Later, if its activities are successful, it will expand its activities to other regions.