Room to Read Bangladesh focuses on literacy and girls’ education where literacy rates are among the lowest in Southeast Asia. Our Literacy Program encourages fluency and informs national curriculum, while our Girls’ Education Program uses acting to help girls graduate and negotiate key decisions.
Bangladesh
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Room to Read Helps Overhaul National Curriculum
After launching our programs in Bangladesh, literacy education improved at primary schools across the country. The national government took notice, and in 2010 it invited Room to Read to join a national curriculum overhaul committee. This was the first time nonprofit organizations were invited to join the government curriculum revision process and influence national literacy textbooks and teachers’ guides. In 2011, we led a national round-table discussion on how to best teach early grade literacy skills in Bangladesh. Our findings and recommendations were submitted to the Bangladesh National Curriculum and Textbooks Board and published in newspaper articles, blogs and official reports.
Girls Advocate for Education through Theater
Bangladesh has one of the highest early marriage rates in the world. About 66% of girls marry by age 18, and over one-third are married by age 15. This illegal but common practice often leads to girls dropping out of school. To combat this trend, students from our program in Bangladesh often use acting and performance art to advocate for prioritizing girls’ education over early marriage. Performing in front of their peers, families, community members and government officials, girls build their confidence and teach the value of delaying marriage to keep girls in school.
Urban Realities
Meet Shahin, a child from the urban slums who hopes to go to school.
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More than 600 schools across Bangladesh have partnered with Room to Read through our Literacy Program.
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Less than 1% of girls supported by our Girls’ Education Program in Bangladesh dropped out of school in 2015
In 2017, 400,000 Rohingya Muslims fled Myanmar to escape genocide. Since then, one million Rohingya refugees have settled into Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Nearly 500,000 of them are children and they – like all children – deserve access to quality education. Watch our video to see how Room to Read is partnering with other organizations to bring education to the children of Cox's Bazar.The Children of Cox's Bazar: Education Inside and Out of the Rohingya Refugee Camp
By the Numbers: Room to Read's Cox's Bazar Project with Rohingya Refugees
2,500 - learning centers visited in the refugee camp
4,000 - local teachers to be assessed
180,000 - Rohingya refugee children surveyed to understand their needs
Learn about our work with children outside the refugee camps
“We just want all children to have access to quality education. That's what drives us all the time.”
Bangladesh Country Director
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Helping Some of the Most Vulnerable Girls in Bangladesh Do the Impossible
