Running the FFC Dhaka, Bangladesh, homes costs from $15,000 to $20,000 Canadian per month. Expenses are for food, rent, salaries for local staff, education and medical, and all other related expenses for the 143 children living in the homes.

We have two "baby homes" in Dhaka. All the children in these two homes have been completely abandoned and are considered to have no families. Most were brought in as tiny, high risk babies, and they are mostly girls. FFC has opened a school on the premises for the Baby home children. This is expensive, but necessary. FFC wants the children to learn English and computers, along with academic subjects, so their future will be brighter, and the staff benefit as much as the children. Many staff came to FFC as destitute mothers and had no place to go; most of the rest of the staff are poor or are needy and are supporting large extended families with their FFC wages. All staff are paid a fair local rate for their work. Families for Children has been the recipient of several generous grants from the Sompan Foundation.

We have 32 children with special needs. We have children with all different needs both mental and physical. We provide the children with physiotherapy 2 times a week to those who require it. We have a therapy room within the home. We have one nurse in the special care floor taking care of their needs as well as the other children. We also have another nurse in our other house on the floor of the babies and the infants. There are very few places in Dhaka that cater for the needs or well being of special care children. We have two teachers specially trained in special needs children who teach the children at the home.

We recently received funding for coaching five of our students attending class 9 at a local coaching center. We have a deaf girl who is studying in the National Deaf Institution, at Bijoynagar, Dhaka. There are two teachers specifically trained in the area of special needs to teach our special care kids, and we have the special care school in the new house.

One of their favorite activities in the early days was to sing the Continent song and to work on making maps of the continents. They seem to enjoy it so much that when it was time to go, many would protest that they wanted more work time. The first Montessori classroom in Bangladesh has also attracted interest from the community, and recently two outside students were enrolled.

Education In Dhaka

We have a school within the home that caters for nursery to class 4, and children in Class 5 to Class 9 attend outside school. The school provides computer training for all of our children. We have 3 children currently attending BKSP where they are training in gymnastics along with their normal education. This is mainly a Bangla medium School but they also learn English.

Thanks to a funding grant from the Retired Teachers Association, FFC has been able to set up a Montessori classroom for about 20 students. The children from the orphanage have learned to respect the order and routines of the class, to take turns, and to trust that they would have a chance to do what other children were doing.

The school children at FFC Dhaka wrote their first term exams during April of this year. The exams are held in the newly renovated and painted school floor. The occasion is quite official, and the students are provided with exam hall entry cards and carry in their own exam accessories like all the other schools in Dhaka.

At right, the students can be seen in the new classroom writing their exams.

As the students are usually very tired at the end of the exams, they are lucky to be able to spend a day enjoying some happy moments and playing at the American School in Dhaka. Our kids regularly visit the American International School. They interact with the students there, and games and programs are organized for them.

Click on the photo below to see some more photos from the Dhaka school.

Four of our students, who are doing extremely well in school in Dhaka, are shown in the photo at left. Anita is about to take the university admission test, and hopes to specialize in sports. Zia is also writing the admission exam, and his aim is to study accounting and become a CA. Ratul is studying computer science, and Liton is planning to be an electrical technician.

Recently, one of the local visitors to the school, Ms. Kafia, provided the students and staff with tiffin, a mid-morning snack. The children, shown below, were delighted to have some of their favourite foods, including burgers, juice and sweet deserts.

The photo at left came in to us last year, and shows some of the Dhaka students proudly displaying their first term test scores (with the possible exception of the boy on the far left).

Shown above is Howah, one of the eight deaf students at the college supported by FFC. Howah has 3 sisters and 2 brothers. Her father is not well enough to work and the brothers are rickshaw pullers, but her mother was determined her daughter would attend college and fought hard for her to do so. Howah is also very accomplished.

At right, some examples of their work. (Click for larger picture)

The Art Students

Mowshamy was one of our FFC girls who came to us when she was a toddler. She is profoundly deaf, and a very smart and determined young lady. She discovered she was very artistic early on in life, and we steered her towards the jewelry-making course and art. When she graduated from grade 10 at the school for the deaf in Dhaka, we found a small art college for her to attend. Mowshamy is now married and living with her husband and family. While registering Mowshamy, we were told that other deaf art students would love to attend the college, but did not have the money for the fees. It was decided that FFC would pay their fees plus the cost of their art supplies, and try to sponsor the school with books and perhaps a translator for sign language. We also purchase some of their work for resale.

Lions Club Visit

Eliza Rahman reports that January 26 was a special day for the children of the FFC school at Dhaka. Four representatives from the Lions Clubs International, District 315B3, Bangladesh of Rajbari Crescent, visited the school.

The visitors were greeted with a dance demonstration performed by the students. The Lions Club representatives were on site to donate some very nice school bags to the children, and the FFC school was very appreciative of the generous gift. In Eliza's words, "Let there be light for all the children of the world."

FFC provides schooling for a certain number of other outside students. There are currently seven outside students at the school. Aside from Arian, three other outside students are Anik, whose mother works very hard as an ayah; Sazal, whose father is a day laborer; and Neharika, a girl from a tribal family whose mother is also an ayah. The final three students in this group are children of FFC staff members, such as the son of our driver Shipon.

Prizes for Students

There was a nice surprise for the students at the Dhaka school. A former teacher, Ms. Rumy, supplied the tiffin, as well as gifts for the deserving students, such as water bottles, note books and shirts. Arian, the boy shown at left, is one of our tuition-free students who stood first in the kindergarten class. He is a very bright child. Arian's family was poor, and his parents were unable to pay school fees. So FFC decided to waive the school and exam fees for him, and the other outside students.

Christmas in Dhaka

The staff and students at the FFC Dhaka project have once again celebrated the Christmas season by sending along their holiday greetings and best wishes for the New Year to all their supporters, sponsors, volunteers and friends around the world.

As usual, this means that the students and children were very busy working on all sorts of art projects to mark the occasion of the Christmas and New Year events. In the photos above and at left, they can be seen displaying their holiday messages. Happy New Year from FFC Dhaka!

The photos, above and right, show the children displaying some of the art work they produced for the holiday occasion.

Click on the photo above for more pictures of the children's work.

Eid Holiday

The staff and children at the FFC project in Dhaka have once again celebrated Eid, the Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan.

Summer Talent Show

Eliza Rahman has sent word that the Dhaka FFC school has held a summer 2011 talent show. The aim was to help the students understand more about the challenge of life, and to learn to try hard and not give up. She was encouraged by the enthusiasm of the students, and would like to thank the teaching staff for their efforts in planning the event. The event consisted of a number of categories, including:

Poetry Recital: A specific Bangla or English poem was selected and recited by a teacher. The students then had to practice several times before performing a recital on stage in front of the jury.

Hand Writing: The students had to write several paragraphs in English and Bangla within a given period of time, concentrating on correct spelling and neatness, and then turn in a hard copy for the jury to to examine.

Spot Speech: The students selected pieces of paper at random, each of which was marked with a topic. They then had to deliver a speech on that topic on the spot in front of the jury.

According to Eliza, the students had fun, but also took the competition quite seriously. For example, Rayhan came back after class to work on his pronunciation, and announced that he intended to be first in the next recital event. Seema has problems with her legs, but did her best to walk fast and insisted that she would win the next Chocolate Run. Nasima, Arian and Anju came to their teachers to check their handwriting and promised that next time no one would beat them for the first prize. Sokhina declared that next time she would win on all the board games. Several students asked their math teacher to provide them with more math puzzles after class, while others have began making impromptu speeches during their breaks. As Eliza said, "the idea was to give them a break and make them more attentive, and it worked."

Click on photo at left for more pictures from the talent show.

Scarf Weaving Project

Another project has been started at the FFC site in Dhaka. We are proud to tell you that our new weaving project which was started to train and employ a small number of our older special needs girls has now come into being and is a great success.A master weaver has been hired to teach four of the special needs girls to weave scarves and embroider the ends.

The photo above shows the master weaver instructing two of the girls in the operation of the weaving loom.

We have started with scarves and will branch into other items as they become more proficient. They are learning to weave with silk and cotton and Minara is the star!

The photo above shows Minara working with the loom. The weaving is done with regular cotton warp and silk thread as the weft.

The photo above shows the finished product, and the picture at left shows Minara with the first scarf that she made and embroidered. The scarves are 6 inches wide and approximately 62 inches long and will be sold abroad. The girls all get a small training salary which will soon be raised to a regular salary. This has given all four a wonderful sense of self worth and independence.

Click on the photo above for more pictures of the Special Care girls and the scarf weaving process.

Ratul spent his time at the pond, learning to swim with Shujon. They were very careful and enjoyed the experience very much. The trip was orderly and everyone helped with the chores, according to the timetable. They arrived back at FFC safely at 7 pm.

Click on photo at right for more pictures

A Day At The Camp

The Special Care kids from Dhaka FFC went out to the camp for the day. The entire trip was fabulous. All the teachers, ayahs, supporting girls, the driver and especially the special care children were very happy and had a lot of fun.

Special Care Montessori

A new special care Montessori classroom has just been started this month at the Dhaka project. The classroom was set up by Muriel Hemmes and Linda Rosas. It is already having quite an amazing effect on the children.

Below, Linda Rosas is shown with one of the children, Redwan.

While they were there, Linda and Muriel also conducted several Montessori training sessions with the Dhaka school teachers and the house supervisors. They covered topics such as the Montessori philosophy, using and designing materials, language steps and child behaviour. The teachers thought the sessions were very effective, and demonstrated how to involve the students in these activities.

Above, Sujon, the senior teacher, is seen helping Redwan to do the movements with his hands.

In future, the teachers will be able to present these topics to their students in class in a more lively manner. Eliza Rahman reported that she attended two of the special education sessions, and noted that Linda and Muriel did excellent work showing how to work in class with the students. She commented that she felt "lucky to be their student."

For more photos of Linda and Muriel with the teachers and students in Dhaka, click on the photo at left.

The students were very happy as they met there the ex-captain of the Bangladesh cricket team, Mr. Habibul Bashar Sumon. Thanks to Marilou for making our moments more memorable.

Click on the photo at right for more photos of the Book Fair visit.

Visiting The Book Fair

Eliza Rahman has sent an email describing another school outing:

Last Wednesday after school, with a group of students and Marilou, we paid a visit to the National Book Fair and collected Bangla books with the money Muriel left for the Library. We went to different stalls and the children were excited having so many books together.

International Mother Language Day

International Mother Language Day is held every year on February 21 in recognition of linguistic and cultural diversity around the world. It grew out of Language Movement Day which was first observed in East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, following protests in support of the Bengali language.

The FFC school in Dhaka celebrated International Mother Language Day this year with an art contest and cultural event. The photos show two of the students working on their drawings.

In the photograph at right, Anise is shown teaching Ambia, one of our students, who is very bright. Ambia is the small girl who was found abandoned with her brother and sister and brought to FFC. There are photos of Ambia and her siblings on the Children page.

For more photos of Anise with the Montessori students, click on the photo at right.

Anise and Ambia

The FFC projects have often benefited from the timely help provided by volunteers to the sites. Anise is a retired Montessori teacher from British Columbia. She recently sold the Montessori school she owned, and accompanied Muriel Hemmes to Dhaka for a five week visit to the Families for Children project. They took in hundreds of pounds of supplies for the school. Anise is shown at left teaching the Montessori class.

Pizza Party

Eliza Rahman has sent word of a special event:

Hello there! Today, the Montessori students from the FFC school had a celebration pizza party with Ms. Anise. After school we went to Pizza Inn - the party spot which was well decorated for the celebration. The children had a very enjoyable time at Kids Corner. When the food was ready, they went to the snack table where the staff and the manager, Mr. Sumon, welcomed us with pizza and apple drink. Mr.Sumon and the staff were so caring and friendly with us. After the pizza we went again to Kids Corner and had great fun. There were surprise gifts for the children. With those we left taking (may be) the most enjoyable memories in our life.

Special thanks to Mr. Sumon and all the staff of Pizza Inn. Endless love to Ms.Anise and Ms.Muriel for making our day so special.

Muriel Hemmes added:

We adults got very emotional seeing the children so happy and our kids at home take everything for granted. They were well behaved. We were there for at least 2 hours and the manager was grinning from ear to ear. This was a highlight! I wish we could afford to take the others in small groups through the year.

At the Taj Mahal site, the entry fee was quite costly, but the owner allowed the students free admission and a snack after hearing about the FFC school. When they got back to the school, the students were expected to do a presentation for the rest of the class. Special thanks are due to the FFC staff, including Mr. Harun for the logistical support.

Taj Mahal Trip

Twenty students at the Dhaka school who did well on their second term exams were rewarded with a trip to a couple of sites outside Dhaka. First was the Folk Culture and Handicraft Museum, followed by a stop at the replica of the Taj Mahal that has been built in Sonargaon, near Dhaka. On the way the students had a recitation program and a brainstorming session, and at each stop they took part in answering questions about the site.

Police Visit

A Victim Support Center has opened in Dhaka, where the police can place the homeless children they encounter. The program is run with the assistance of the UNDP. After the children have been placed in the center, they can be kept for five days or so, while the staff attempts to locate their families in order to reunite them with the children. If no family can be found, then the center will try to place the children with shelters and homes such as BNWLA or FFC. FFC has already taken in a few children from the center. Recently, the support center decided to expand its relationship with a few core organizations that they can best work with. FFC was one of those organizations they want to be involved with, in part because they have to handle many disabled children, and only FFC has the facilities to give shelter and aid to those children.

They appreciate this assistance very much, and this week a delegation from the Victim Support program paid a visit to the FFC Dhaka site. The visitors included the Deputy Commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, a specialist form the Victim Support Center, and a representative from the BNWLA. They toured the FFC project, to see what type of facilities were available, and what kind of support could be offered to children in need. For its part, FFC welcomed the opportunity to establish closer ties with the local authorities. The children too, enjoyed the visit. They were especially surprised to see a female police officer, and they asked the deputy commissioner many questions such as how he came to be a police officer. Children are often afraid of the police, but after meeting the officers in person they began to see them as good people like themselves.

Hi Sandra, here is my report of the day. Class was interesting today. I made the girls "fill in the blanks" and they really enjoyed it since they found that a little challenging. I wrote a few words with letters missing and they just had to add the letters. Then, we did some mathematics. Rezia and I wrote a number then drew an item a certain number of times and the students had to erase or add the item drawn. For example: we wrote; 4 $$$$$$$ (the students would remove 3 $$$ to make 4). They really enjoyed it and were totally concentrating on the work.

Canadian Volunteer

Rehana, a Canadian living in Uganda, was planning a trip to Dhaka and learned about FFC from our website. She had studied at York University, likes working with children, and wanted to do something to help. She was going to be in Dhaka for two months, so we arranged to have her volunteer with the Special Care children at the FFC school.

In the photo at left, Rehana is seen working with the Special Care children, and below Rehana and the children pose for a group photo. Rehana's emails from Dhaka tell the story:

Outside of my class, I attended a martial arts class given to the 6th floor girls and I think this is really a great idea. The girls really loved it and I myself learnt quite a bit. I think I should take some martial arts classes when I go to Toronto. Take care Sandra. Rehana

Hi Sandra, Here at FFC, everything is fine. Class went well. My students told me not to leave. :( It's sad because I got so attached to them and a lot of people here and they are already sad to know that I will most probably leave next week. They have become like my family and I am sure to come and visit again, to see how everyone is doing and all that. Being here at FFC has taught me a lot and opened my eyes to different aspects of life. I have become another person, more appreciative of what I have. I came here to teach and I can tell you that the children here taught me a lot.

Kantha Embroidery

Kantha is a type of embroidery which is basically a minute running stitch that has been sewn for hundreds of years in the area that is now called Bangladesh. Five of the more advanced girls in our Special Care section took a course in this art, and they are now doing some amazing work as you can see from the photos.

Our next project will be to turn the completed embroidery over to our sewers in the co-op, and they will make purses which we will sell. The girls will be given a commission so they will be able to save and have some spending money.