02/2026 Support for poor, young students in rural village communities in Bangladesh

In cooperation with Netz e.V. Gießen, we would like to cover the costs for a school class at an Anandalok primary school in Bangladesh for one year.

Education creates equal opportunities for all children. It is a central cornerstone for development and social cohesion. However, in Bangladesh, a combination of factors prevents millions of girls and boys from attending school.

Especially in structurally weak rural regions, excessively high teacher absenteeism and discrimination against children from minority groups are the root causes of inadequate educational offerings with high dropout rates and poor learning outcomes.

One-sided, teacher-centered instruction is the norm and contributes to low teaching quality in many regions (passive learning, low motivation). Furthermore, many poorer parents cannot afford the costs of preschool and primary school attendance for their children, or even the necessary education to gain access to higher secondary school. Often, children and young people have to help with fieldwork at home and miss school, sometimes also because they lack access to clean water due to groundwater pollution and become ill.

In a grant application to our foundation, Ms. Paula Steinhäuser, project manager of the association - Netz Partnerschaft for development and justice e.V. - explained how they help there, what they have achieved so far and where further help is urgently needed to enable the poorest and disadvantaged children there to access preschools and primary schools with high-quality education.

Over ten years ago, NETZ, together with local partners, established the first Anandalok primary schools – run by the respective village communities and funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Today, there are 34 schools, considered exemplary models for modern education in Bangladesh. Learning concepts and plans are developed by the local people and effectively combine content from the national curriculum with extracurricular activities.

Creativity is fostered, democratic values ??are taught, and social skills are strengthened. During seasonal floods, the buildings and schoolyard serve as vital refuges for the people, as they are protected from the floods by land reclamation. Currently, over 5,500 girls and boys from preschool to grade 5 are educated in the Anandalok schools.

Funding project:

For an Anandalok Primary School in northern Bangladesh, funding for school lessons for 2 classes with 60 children from the poorest or most disadvantaged families is not yet secured for the new school year.

Our foundation would like to cover the annual costs for one school class.

The funding covers the costs of teaching materials, pedagogical instruction, school uniforms, and health measures for the children, including medical examinations and, if necessary, the provision of required medication. It also includes instruction in practical rules of conduct for disease prevention and nutritional advice for the children and their parents.

(Photos: Netz e.V. Gießen, published with kind permission)