WHY BANGLADESH AND WHY LEF?
Increasing social mobility
Human Development Index ranked Bangladesh at place 133 out of over 180 in 2019, which is comparable to e.g. Venezuela.
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Its largest employment sector is agriculture, which is very labour-intensive.
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Bangladesh has a heavily flawed education system, with a low literacy rate of 74.7% percent as of 2019: 77.4% for males and 71.9% for females.
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Over 90% of the population follows Islam. The constitution grants freedom of religion and there is also a significant number of followers of Hinduism, as well as various forms of paganism can be found in difficult to reach areas of the country.
Although as of 2015, several women occupied major political offices in Bangladesh, its women continue to live under a patriarchal social regime where violence is common. Whereas in India and Pakistan women participate less in the workforce as their education increases, the reverse is the case in Bangladesh.
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LEF takes care of over 100 residual children in Bangladesh and approximately 200 more living in surrounding slums. The aim of the help is to provide the neediest with housing, and as many as possible with food and education. You can learn more about the initiative on the site of the foundation: https://www.lefforlife.org/
Many of the children are sent there by single mothers who cannot afford to bring them up on their own at home. The majority of children sent are females.
