Project Information

‘We are people too’ - Supporting Pavement Dwellers to transform their lives in Dhaka, Bangladesh

The Big Idea

Each night, around 20,000 people – both adults and children - make the streets of Dhaka their home. Living amongst the noise, rubbish and traffic, thousands of families walk the streets of Dhaka, looking for a safe place to rest for just a few hours each night. Over the next four years, Concern Worldwide’s goal is to support 10,000 pavement dwellers through dedicated pavement dweller centres, providing them with the opportunity to make their own choices for a better future.

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Details

Trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty, the pavement dwellers are amongst the most vulnerable people in Bangladesh. Concern’s response to this immense challenge is the Amrao Manush project – a Bangla phrase which poignantly translates as ‘we are people too’. Created with and named by the pavement dwellers themselves, this project is focused on empowering them to create real and lasting change for their families.

Concern’s Project:

Concern will set up a total of 11 dedicated day centres in Dhaka, supporting 10,000 pavement dwellers over the next four years. This project offers a crucial lifeline, somewhere thousands of people can access their most basic needs. Established in locations where large numbers of pavement dwellers are based, the centres provide a safe space during the day where they can access healthcare, start a savings account, keep their possessions safe in their own locker and learn new skills to help build a better future for themselves. Crucially it is also a place where their children can learn and play in a safe and protected environment.
Please take a moment to watch this short film which shows the real impact this project has already made to one family:
http://www.concern.net/en/blogs/posts/pavement-dwellers-bangladesh-video

Concern urgently needs to raise £200,000 to maintain these life-changing centres for 2010 and develop two vital new initiatives:
Dedicated night shelters – With your support, our team in Dhaka can establish 4 night shelters for the pavement dwellers. This will provide the shelter and safety that they so desperately lack, sleeping on the streets.
Mobile health clinics – Concern will pilot mobile health clinics on the streets, providing emergency healthcare and linking the most vulnerable pavement dwellers with existing healthcare providers

How your donation could help:

£600 could allow 100 school age children, who have never had opportunities to access formal schooling, to learn the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic

£2000 could provide women and children with a safe place to sleep each night. Concern can start to find unused buildings, renovate them and arrange sleeping facilities

£5000 will provide day care services for 250 children – providing nutritious food, warm clothes during winter, games and learning facilities. These day care services will allow working mothers to earn additional income during the day.

More about the charity running this project
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Ways to Give

Project Contact Details x

Sumitra Saha

Tel: 0207 801 1873
Email: sumitra.saha@concern.net

Registered Charity No: 1092236

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