School of Hope, primary school for the neediest in Dhaka: Outing, daily snack, literacy class, secondary school

The School of Hope is a primary school in one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The school was founded by foreign volunteers for (street) children who would not go to school at all if this possibility did not exist. The school is almost free of charge. (Parents are asked to pay 5 taka, the equivalent of 8 eurocent, per month to show their commitment).  The school now has 125 children. They follow the official curriculum of the state, but also get English, Art and Music. And - very special for Bangladesh - the teachers do not hit the children.  All students get a free daily snack. Free medical and dental care is also offered if needed. 

The school is a big success. Parents and students are very motivated and not many students drop out.. The school is funded entirely by donations. The annual budget is 12.000 Euro. So far, the school board has succeeded in raising the necessary funds. But it has not been easy and the board has to be economical with its funds.
Moments of Joy donated funds to pay for musical instruments last year. When we recently visited the school, we saw an amazingly professional music programme.




Art and craft
When we visited the school in October 2003, the whole school was still buzzing with excitement due to their annual outing the day before: a visit to a local museum. The children were all making essays and drawings of what they had seen. (Very moving to hear that new students do not at first dare to use a white sheet of paper: such a valuable thing can surely not be used for a drawing!).
A lot of recycled materials are used for the arts and craft lessons. The remaining materials needed cost 265 Euro a year.

Outing
The annual outing is a very special happening for children that do not normally leave their neighbourhood. It is only possible because one of the sponsors has expressly stipulated that his money should be used for an outing. It would be great if the children could have a second outing. This can be realised for 325 Euro.

Snack
The daily snack is a very important "service"of the school. For some kids this is the only meal they will get in a day. The snack programme - one snack a day for every student - costs 740 Euro a year. An extension of this programme to one meal a day would be even better.

And then there are two projects that are somewhat outside the core business of the school but are nonetheless essential for the students:

Literacy Class
Older children who have never attended school and are now "too late" to start at the school have often asked if they could at least learn to read and write. Since 2001, the school has a Literary Class for these children outside school hours. This class costs 700 Euro a year. That is a lot of money if it has to be come from the normal school funds and this means that the school board will understandably cancel this class if it has to economize.

High School
Another issue that cannot be financed by the funds of the school is secondary school. Children who finish their primary school education with ease and would be good students at secondary school do not have the funds to pay for it. This year, 13 children are earmarked as having the ability to go on to secondary education. The costs of secondary school - school fees, uniform, books - are 150 Euro per child per year. A secondary school education takes five years, so this would take the amount per child to 750 Euros.

TOTAL € 12000,-- PER YEAR OR:
ART AND CRAFT: € 265,-- P.Y.
OUTING: € 325,--
FREE SNACK/MEAL: € 740,-- PYJ. FOR ALL CHILDREN DAILY
LITERARY CLASS: € 700 P.J.
HIGH SCHOOL PER CHILD: € 150,-- PER YEAR OR  € 750,-- ENTIRE SECONDARY SCHOOL

PARTIALLY REALIZED:
LITERARY CLASS AND OUTING: ADOPTED BY MAARTEN EN IRENE ROL AND FRIENDS
FREE SNACK AND ART AND CRAFT: ADOPTED BY FRIENDS OF MOMENTS OF JOY, MONACO
LITERARY CLASS: ADOPTED BY FRED FOUNDATION