News

As today marks the start of Volunteers Week, this is not just an opportunity for us to thank all of our volunteers but it is also a chance for us to share with you some of the stories of how our volunteers have got involved and helped The Sreepur Village charity.

Dorothy has supported The Sreepur Village, Bangladesh almost from it' s inception. As a British Airways long haul stewardess she was aware of Pat Kerr’s vision for a new village where mothers and children could live together and babies could not be taken away from their mothers to go into an orphanage, which would leave both parties damaged.

The holy month of Ramadan started a week ago in Bangladesh which witnesses, for one month, devout Muslims observing, dawn-to-dusk, a fast for self-purification and divine blessings. The scenery of Ramadan in Sreepur Village is distinguished. The mothers and children are dedicated to their fasting and while the mothers training hour has changed a little due to prayer, everyone still attends all the regular activities.

At regular intervals, and for three months, a group (12-15) of our mothers and their families move to a pre-rehabilitation centre, known as the half-way house as a reintegration step into the community. Earlier this month, 15 mothers went to the half-way house and the local community. They began their lives in a new and independent way.

The mothers are also currently completing their training in sewing, garment training, small business shop and bamboo weaving and various other training schemes. We recruit our mothers in such training schemes so that they can earn a livelihood immediately after leaving The Sreepur Village and completing their three-month period in the rehabilitation centre

As part of #FosterFortnight, The Sreepur Village is a mother and child-focused organisation, in which every activity that is carried out is for the development of the 500 children and 200 mothers. At The Sreepur Village, whilst the vast majority of children have mothers, some have been abandoned or come from a life of trafficking.

Childhood is a period where parents are essential firstly, for the child’s survival and existence and then later for their full physical and mental growth. Emotionally, a child needs love and affection and the feeling and knowing that they are wanted and accepted in the family and community where they can have some sense of security and continuity.

As part of #NationalVegetarianWeek we are delighted to share with you one of Tommy Miah's fantastic vegetarian recipes.

Not only is Tommy Miah a Bangladeshi-born British chef and owner of the Raj restaurant in Edinburgh but he is also ambassador of The Sreepur Village charity.

In celebration of International Women’s Day 2018, the mothers’ association of the Sreepur Village arranged a cultural programme and led a discussion which focussed on this year’s theme of #PressforProgress. It was an opportunity for the Sreepur mothers to celebrate womanhood in all its form and during the two-hour long discussion, the mothers primarily discussed the importance of self-reliance, training and development, they also thanked The Sreepur Village for supporting them and their children.

Today is International Women's Day and The Sreepur Village would like to share with you a story of hope and empowerment:

After the death of her husband, Khadija and her three children were evicted from their home by her husband’s elder brother. Abandoned and alone the only option for Khadija and her children was to move to Dhaka. 

It was whilst living in a park that Khadija’s children met an organisation that offered to refer them all to The Sreepur Village (Shishu Polli Plus), the only residential mother and child project in Bangladesh. Without The Sreepur Village Khadija would have had to place her children in institutional care and spend the rest of her life alone on the streets of Dhaka.

“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home -- so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world” Eleanor Roosevelt (The Chair of the drafting committee of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights).

Today, the world will be observing Human Rights Day, and if you follow The Sreepur Village, you will see how we wholly support this declaration.