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| Education is key for the next generation. |
The hand weaving machines machines have fallen silent in countries such as Bangladesh. Fierce price competition from China has hit these traditional income-generating sources hard. There are drastic losses in sales which means that some of the weavers have been made redundant, even on the meager wages they receive. The sound of hand powered looms has nearly fallen silent now as Chinese industrial production threatens all of Bangladesh’s cotton weaving industry. Even the mechanized high powered looms do not have the same confident cacophony of sound.
In former days, loom workers used hands and feet simultaneously, working long hours to meet impossible deadlines. Nowadays, unemployment is rising, and the need for work at any cost forces weavers to continue working longer hours under very cramped conditions, rejoining threads that snap and fray without warning. When there is work, weavers sit for hours working, weaving, watching the rise of the shuttle, supervising the weaving of many goods in the making –including clothing that is sold in the markets of Europe.
Nearby, the river is quite low because of recent drought conditions. The villagers fetch water, wash in it, then dry out the hanks of brightly colored threads that had been dyed. Balancing on the edges of the paddy fields, past groves of trees where bananas and nuts would yield their fruit later in the year, goats nibble at the weeds between the wheat, as small children walk around with babies on their hips.
The nearby small village school is a new purpose-built construction, comprising of six concrete poles, wrapped in corrugated iron on two sides and on top. Across the entrance stretches a red ribbon, awaiting the grand opening. There is the Bangladeshi flag waiting to be raised. The teacher was dressed in a glorious bright red sari, and welcomed guests with flowers and garlands.
The school was opened with the cutting of the ribbon. The flag was raised and the school officially held classes. Inside, were predominantly girls who had never received any schooling because they had not been considered suitable educational material. Each child had its own woven bag where they kept their books – whether at school or at home – their homes have no such suitable storage for such treasures.
The children sit inside on the floor on a tarpaulin, with their bags in front of them, all ready for the day. The children worked their way through the alphabet and counted for the first time! They drew numbers on their slates, which they pulled out of their bags. The teacher drew the letters on the board, and the children came up to draw their first one. Many of the villagers peered in to watch this exciting new event.
These children in this remote Bengali village now have the opportunity to begin a life of learning. The door has begun to open for them that would under no other circumstances be accessible. The school aims to help children catch up on their education in order to be able to enter into the normal school program within three years period.
In former days, loom workers used hands and feet simultaneously, working long hours to meet impossible deadlines. Nowadays, unemployment is rising, and the need for work at any cost forces weavers to continue working longer hours under very cramped conditions, rejoining threads that snap and fray without warning. When there is work, weavers sit for hours working, weaving, watching the rise of the shuttle, supervising the weaving of many goods in the making –including clothing that is sold in the markets of Europe.
Nearby, the river is quite low because of recent drought conditions. The villagers fetch water, wash in it, then dry out the hanks of brightly colored threads that had been dyed. Balancing on the edges of the paddy fields, past groves of trees where bananas and nuts would yield their fruit later in the year, goats nibble at the weeds between the wheat, as small children walk around with babies on their hips.
The nearby small village school is a new purpose-built construction, comprising of six concrete poles, wrapped in corrugated iron on two sides and on top. Across the entrance stretches a red ribbon, awaiting the grand opening. There is the Bangladeshi flag waiting to be raised. The teacher was dressed in a glorious bright red sari, and welcomed guests with flowers and garlands.
The school was opened with the cutting of the ribbon. The flag was raised and the school officially held classes. Inside, were predominantly girls who had never received any schooling because they had not been considered suitable educational material. Each child had its own woven bag where they kept their books – whether at school or at home – their homes have no such suitable storage for such treasures.
The children sit inside on the floor on a tarpaulin, with their bags in front of them, all ready for the day. The children worked their way through the alphabet and counted for the first time! They drew numbers on their slates, which they pulled out of their bags. The teacher drew the letters on the board, and the children came up to draw their first one. Many of the villagers peered in to watch this exciting new event.
These children in this remote Bengali village now have the opportunity to begin a life of learning. The door has begun to open for them that would under no other circumstances be accessible. The school aims to help children catch up on their education in order to be able to enter into the normal school program within three years period. 
