Bangladesh

Bangladesh is a country in South Asia, sharing borders with India, Myanmar and the Bay of Bengal. Bangladesh is one of the most densely-populated countries in the world, and it’s the third largest Muslim-majority country.

Hear from girls in Bangladesh

Sabuka, 18

Sabuka arrived in Cox’s Bazar, the world’s largest refugee settlement, in 2018, when she was just 13 years old. Her mother was killed as they made the journey from Myanmar, leaving her in the care of her aunt.

“I don’t like anything here. I want to go back to my own country,” Sabuka said.

Life is extremely difficult in the refugee camp, especially for adolescent girls. One of the biggest worries is staying warm when the temperatures drop.

Sabuka collects firewood every few days, making the three-hour walk each way. She goes with a group of girls around her age for safety. But she’s still scared. And she has good reason to be.

“I am scared of the men, that’s why we all go together,” she said. “Nothing has happened to us yet because we stick together. I cut the wood myself and carry it back with me.”

Plan has been working in Cox’s Bazar for years now — building toilets, protecting girls from violence and exploitation, providing education and much more. Refugee girls like Sabuka are vulnerable, but they’re also tough. With the right support, they can still build a better future.

Learn more about our humanitarian response work

Sazeda has been an activist since she was 10 years old. As a member of Plan youth groups, she fights child marriage — and even stopped her own.

Child marriage is a complex issue in Bangladesh — there are social, cultural and economic forces at play. But Sazeda learned about the dangers of marrying too young. When her parents said she would have a wedding soon, she stood her ground. She was able to convince them that her education was more important.

Sazeda didn’t stop there. She continued to advocate for young people in her community. The Plan youth group fights exploitation, stops child marriages, returns students to school and reports cases of abuse.

"We organize workshops to draw attention to youth problems,” she said. “We also discuss issues with village leaders and government organizations."

As a youth leader, Sazeda represents children and adolescents like her at local and even national meetings. Her message: Support children, don’t silence them.

"My goal is to create a better environment for all children,” she said. “More attention needs to be paid to the protection of children. They also need to have a voice and think about important topics. All children deserve a chance to change something."

Protect girls today

Sohagi is fighting so her city — and girls like her — will survive.

Dhaka is one of the fastest growing cities in the world, but it can’t accommodate its exploding population, so many people are forced to live in slums. That’s where Sohagi lives.

Sohagi’s slum is surrounded by a man-made, polluted lake, and the entire area floods with dirty water when monsoon season arrives. And things are getting worse because of climate change.

“The monsoon season comes every year, but it’s falling earlier, lasts longer and is more unpredictable,” said Sohagi. “Our community is getting waterlogged, sometimes for weeks.”

Who is the hardest hit when it comes to effects from climate change? It’s girls.

Climate change can mean a shortage of food, and often girls are the ones who go hungry. And if their parents pull them out of school to help find food and water, girls are more likely to never return to the classroom. Climate change causes more poverty, which means more girls have to start working early or get married too young.

Sohagi is determined to create change. She’s a youth advocate with Plan, and has been involved in several projects aimed at improving conditions in the slums.

“We, the next generation, are part of the solution,” Sohagi said. “The future depends on us. Let’s get to work - for us, for Dhaka, for the planet.”

Plan International has been working to improve children’s lives in Bangladesh since 1994.

My name is Antora. I am 10 years old. I live in Bangladesh. :15 I have been a sponsored child for 5 years. This is my family. Welcome! :21 This is my home. :23 This is our bathroom. :24 This is our kitchen. We cook here. :28 This is our fishpond. :36 My father is a farmer. :39 My mother is a housewife. :43 I wake up at 5am in the morning. :49 I wash myself and then I study for a bit. :55 I have breakfast and then give my grandmother her medicine. 1:01 I like going to school. 1:04 Two. 1:06 Three. 1:07 This is my school. Here, Plan International supports our pre and primary schools. 1:17 Today, I am demonstrating hand washing techniques. 1:20 First step, pour water on the hands. Second step, make foam with the soap. 1:29 Dirty hands carry germs. If we eat with dirty hands, we can get diseases. 1:40 This is our children’s club. 1:43 We receive training on child protection, child marriage and disaster risk management. 1:52 Child marriage is a big problem in our community. 1:58 I don’t think I will be married early. 2:03 We raise awareness of these issues in our community. 2:08 If we get married early, no one will trust us. 2:14 I communicate with my sponsor through letters. 2:18 I like receiving letters from my sponsor. 2:21 I want to be a doctor when I grow up. 2:39 I’m happy to be a sponsored child. Good bye!

Plan stats in Bangladesh

Offices & operations

Plan’s country office is located in Dhaka, with program unit offices in Barishal, Cox’s Bazar and Rangpur. Plan operates in all 64 districts in Bangladesh.

Technical areas

Plan Bangladesh focuses on the following program areas: health, education, child protection, disaster risk management, youth agency, gender equality and skills and work.

Number of sponsored children

As of June 2020, people like you sponsor 27,431 children in Bangladesh through Plan International.

Our projects in Bangladesh

Bangladesh: Advancing Adolescent Health (A2H)

Many young people in Bangladesh have a lack of knowledge and access to adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) services, putting them at risk of unintended pregnancies and high maternal mortality. The Advancing Adolescent Health (A2H) project was designed to improve ASRH and family planning knowledge, while increasing access to and use of related health services in Bangladesh.

View the Project

Bangladesh: Advancing Adolescent Health (A2H)

View the Project

When you sponsor a child through through Plan, you form an incredible friendship.

You can exchange letters with your sponsored child

Send Sunny Days magazine to your sponsored child

Sponsor a child with Plan International USA

But that’s just the beginning. With Plan, you also have the unique opportunity to:

Send her birthday gifts and cards.

Give her special holiday presents called Little Treasures.

Subscribe her to Plan’s educational kids’ magazine, Sunny Days.

— Visit her (when travel restrictions are lifted), with individual travel assistance from us.

Each gift offering is safely hand-delivered by us, and given to your child with personalized cards from you. It’s likely that the child you sponsor will have never seen anything like these gifts, and they’re available year-round to make the bond between you and your sponsored child even stronger.

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