World Vision - Building a better world for children
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Welcome to Mongla, Bangladesh

 

About Mongla Area Development Program, Bangladesh

World Vision’s Mongla program is home to some of the poorest of the poor. Here, shacks are made with bamboo poles and a thatched roof. Many people here are carriers in the port where foreign ships arrive with various goods. They work unloading and loading goods. Other people work as boatmen or as deckhands on fishing boats.

There are many children sponsored here. This gives them access to formal education and better living conditions. These elements have been found to bring about a positive change in their traditional lifestyle.

  

   
Bangladesh
 
Progress In Mongla
The Mongla Area Development Program (ADP) was started in 1984 and currently serves approximately 3,400 children, along with their families and community.  

Recent accomplishments include:
Education
  • Subsidizing the education of over 3,500 students, enabling the children to continue their education.
  • Supporting 12 schools with supplies and infrastructure, enhancing the learning environment.
Health
  • Immunizing more than 3,100 children, protecting them from disease.
  • Providing daily meals to nearly 1,900 children and 350 pregnant and nursing women, improving their health.
Food and Agriculture
  • Providing agricultural materials to 2,100 farmers, improving production and food security.
Water and Sanitation
  • Constructing 100 latrines and installing 300 drinking water facilities, improving sanitation and increasing access to safe water.
Economic Development
  • Constructing and repairing roads and bridges, improving transportation to community services like markets and schools.

Bangladesh and its people

Bangladesh, formerly East Pakistan, is located in the northeastern portion of the Indian subcontinent on the Ganges River delta and is bordered by the Bay of Bengal, India, and Burma.

Agriculture employs 63 percent of the labor force. Crops grown include rice, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, jute, tea, oilseeds, spices, and fruit. Natural resources include arable land, coal, natural gas, and timber. Severe overpopulation has resulted in inadequate crop production.

 In Bangladesh culture, parents often arrange for their daughter to marry when she is very young. She will then live with her husband’s family as she grows up. Typically, her husband is older, and she will never address him by name. Many people in Bangladesh do not know their exact birthday, only an estimate of the date.

Letter writing is not a common practice in Bangladesh. Your sponsored child is probably not used to writing letters, so he or she may require the assistance of a World Vision staff person. If you write a letter, ask your child about household chores or favorite games your child enjoys playing.

Challenges in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated and fastest growing countries yet one of the most disaster-prone areas of the world. The country suffers from frequent cyclones and floods that have slowed economic growth for the past three decades.

Currently, 45 percent of people throughout Bangladesh live below the poverty line and 41 percent live on less than $1 per day. Frequent flooding and cyclones, inadequate port facilities, and mismanaged government programs contribute to slow economic growth. The 5-inch rise in sea levels predicted due to global warming has the potential to displace millions of people and place half of the country underwater by 2030.

Through sponsorship, World Vision is partnering with families and communities to help meet immediate needs and promote lasting changes that will strengthen communities and move families toward self-reliance.