FIRST GIRLS ACCOMMODATION 2017

 FIRST GIRLS ACCOMMODATION 2017

Primarily, a few villagers were not not agreed to keep girls but our perception was different from them in that girls are more vulnerable in public school in Bangladesh.  Institute like us could give them a better protections and facilities, which they may not get it in other places. Girls are generally deprived of being femineity by cultural perception. On the other hand, a boy has more opportunities in terms of accommodation, such as accommodation like monasteries, community centres or even any renting places securely. These are not suitable for girls and not secured even in a renting house or in a generation accommodation in Bangladesh. So this argument was accepted by the local people. So we securely accommodated 15 girls at the hostel in 2017. A group of dedicated volunteer workers led by Venerable Dr Nagasena Bhikkhu manage the day-to-day running of this girls welfares. A governing committee (group of Trustees) looks after the management of the Lotus Children’s Home.  

Due to lack of accommodation, we did not accept girls for the first four years. We accepted 15 girls in 2017 for the first time. This added to 48 children in 2017 along with one new cook and one new woman's teacher, who can look after the girls. Previously, there were two teachers and one cook but this became three teachers and two cooks in 2017. This increases our budget. Our budget in 2016 was about 30000 – 35000 (thirty to thirty five thousand) taka per month, which is equivalent between 375 and 430 to US dollars depending on the items of food or other necessities. (Please read the expenditure report here).​​

We have already roughly estimated for each month in 2017. It will become 60000 to 65000 (sixty to sixty five thousand taka) in a month for 51 residents, 3 teachers and 2 cooks. This estimate is calculated for a minimum expenditure i.e. two simple meals a day.  This figure does not include clothes, such as shirts and school uniform, shower soaps, or unexpected expenditure, such as medical health. We will report the accurate expenditure for 2017 in early 2018.

Funded Projects for girls hostel in 2016

We were privileged to have received support from different well-wishers, perhaps quicker than we have expected. We have managed to build two buildings in the same years with the help of two funders. The first of these was started in January 2016 and was donated by the Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board. Although the building is small, about 22 feet long and 20 feet wide, we are very grateful to the Minister of Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board, U Shwe Shing Marma.  It was very meaningful support when our children were not properly protected from the winter and monsoons. All our 40 children were accommodated in this newly built building by the end of March 2016. However, the number of children who receive help from our project is not limited to 40. We continued to search for funders to increase our capacity to cater more students. 

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BOY HOSTEL DONATED BY FIREFLY MISSION IN 2016:

The Firefly Mission donated our next project that started in the same year. We are thankful to Venerable Khemasara Bhante, the founder of Bangalhalia Buddhist Orphanage, who introduced us to the Firefly Mission. Firefly Mission is a well-known humanitarian organisation based in Singapore. The organisation has been genuinely helping in different parts of South and Southeast Asian countries for many years without any demand and without any political or ideological influence.

They first visited us on 27 December in 2015 during the Christmas and New Year holiday. They saw us in first-handed experience when we had only two bamboos' houses.  After briefing our current project, plans and regular activities, their response was positive to our approach of teaching and educating children. They asked us to write a proposal, which they accepted in June and agreed to fund us immediately. Venerable Dr. Nagasena Bhikkhu dealt with the whole project with the help of Venerable Khemasara Bhante and Brother Mong. 

The building work started in 28 July and was fully completed by the end of December 2016, as you see first two photos above. This building has two storey foundations with three rooms. Each room is 20 feet long and 18 feet wide.  We can add another storey in the future, probably in 2020.  They have also provided furniture for 30 children. All the boys have moved to this building and the previous building is dedicated for girls. So we now have two small buildings in 2017, one for girls and the other for boys, funded by Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board and by Firefly Mission respectively. We are very much thankful to both CHT Development board and Firefly Mission for their contribution.  

Plan for School Building:
The old house, where the Lotus Children used to live in, is now converted to a temporary study room. It can be used for a couple of months, at least leading up to the monsoon season. We have already planned to build another bamboo and tin house in April just before the monsoon. We estimated the cost of this house to be two and half lakhs in Bengali currency for materials with volunteer builders. This amount could change slightly depending on the changes in the market rate. A few volunteers who are expert in building bamboo houses have already offered their time free of charge. We gratefully welcome any donor to fund this temporary building. From our experience, houses like this (with tin and bamboo) lasts only three to five years, mainly because of adverse weathers i.e. heavy rain during monsoon.

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Our next plan is to build a permanent school building for LOTUS CHILDREN’S HOME to be used for both a primary and junior school in the same building. The area of this building has already been selected two years ago by the side of the road but more work is still needed to be done; firstly to make a wall to protect against the effect of an adverse weather during the monsoon without which the ground-soil could be washed away by monsoon rains, and secondly to level a bigger area as this land is uneven and hilly. We hired a bulldozer digger at a cost of about one hundred and fifty thousands TAKA to make it appropriate for a school area. Venerable Dr Nagasena Bhante looked after all required items for this school project. Please see the photos below. A permanent school plot is now ready but we do not know when the fully completed school will emerge.  Depending on the conditions and donors, we are hoping to complete it within 2018-2020. ​

The school will be a two-storey building with ten rooms. The first storey will serve for the primary school; with a room each for classes one to five while the second storey will be for the junior school and classes six to eight. Two extra rooms will be used for offices. Each room will be 16 feet long and 14 feet wide. The total dimensions will be 80 feet long by 70 feet wide. This school will be Lotus Children’s Model School from which both residential boarding students and children from the village will benefit.  As we mentioned above, when we built the boys hostel in 2016, (only three room with each 20 feet long and 24 feet wide with veranda) it cost more than 27 lakhs for a one storey building plus 6 toilets which cost about 6 lakhs in Bangladeshi currency.  Based on this experience we estimate the expenditure for these two storeys’ complete with ten rooms would go up to 40-45 lakhs Bangladeshi currency. However, the actual estimate will be carried out by our engineer.  As we have noted above, long term and secure accommodation is ready for children who are now protected from adverse weather during the cold winter and the monsoon rainy season.  It was completely different when we first started four years ago.  Then it was only two bamboos houses, one for accommodation and one for the kitchen.  There was only one toilet for 15 children but now we have a one-storey building and three toilets for the girls and a one-storey building with six toilets for the boys.

Academic Achievement: 
LCH development is not limited to the construction of the complex; most importantly the development should be measured by academic achievement and the children’s ability to understand their environment and their relationship with the wider world. On the top of the academic subjects that are usual in general school, LCH children are taught how to improve their critical skills, self- understanding on the interdependency and interconnectedness of the world and how they depend on others and how they in turn contribute to the larger development of world. In other words, what they have achieved can be used for the sake of others: how they need to depend on others and how others will depend on them one day. Please see the success rate in the exams. While understanding the meaning of interconnection and development, we emphasise how they should behave and contribute for the society in terms of effective participation in the development process. We teach children to improve their kindness, respect, integration and compassion. Children should be ready to contribute to their world not only in terms of kindness to other human beings but importantly in terms of kindness in sustaining the environment and wild life.  ​

In our involvement in Kukimara, we have managed to encourage the villagers to send their children to our school. The number of children, who received our tuition, has been increased to more than 60% in 2018.  Previously many children were neglected by their parents but now because of our efforts parents are more enthusiastic and are willing to send their children to school.  As you see from the photos below, we have