In Bangladesh poverty is a serious problem! The Maryknoll Sisters have long believed that education is one of the greatest keys to improving people’s lives. Immediate support is important, but much greater and longer-lasting benefits result from helping people get the tools they need to improve their own lives and the lives of their families and neighbors.
BACHA—Bangladesh Alternative Course for Human Advancement—is the name of an extraordinary school in Dhaka, Bangladesh, founded in the early 2000s by Maryknoll Sisters Miriam Francis Perlewitz and Joan Westhues. BACHA now has about 900 students from Nursery to Grade 12 levels, teaching students to think and discover for themselves, using their intelligence and creativity in a values-driven setting.
The school grew out of a values program the Sisters had created called “Education for Life.” This program aimed to prevent drug use among high school students—especially girls, since there were no drug rehab facilities for women in the region. The program was enthusiastically received by the Christian, Muslim and Hindu communities of Bangladesh, and prompted the Sisters to open BACHA to help finance the program.
Unlike the system of rote learning that is prevalent in most Bangladeshi schools, BACHA teaches students to think and discover for themselves, using their intelligence and creativity in a values-driven setting. In Bengali the word bacha also means “to rise up” or “to live again,” which makes the English acronym especially appropriate for the school which offers an innovative curriculum emphasizing human values.
YOUR GIFT will help provide education to those in need in Bangladesh and around the world!
You can be sure that real lives will be improved as a direct result of your gift.
900 students at BACHA are depending on YOUR HELP to continue to receive an education and expand the program so more students in Bangladesh can benefit from it! Even a small donation can change a life, and your generosity can literally work miracles—please give what you can!
May God bless you for your kindness, generosity and willingness to help create the “ripples of good” that will change the world! We truly thank you for joining our mission to protect human dignity and care for God’s creation in our “One Earth Community”.