Chalantika is an educational centre situated in the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka.

It provides free pre-school preparation to children from the slum Chalantika prior to their admission to the first grade. The Centre supports the children even after they leave for the state school and motivates them to complete their education successfully.

It also works with parents of the children, for example, it offers courses in literacy and sewing.

The Centre was established in the year 2013 by the organisation ADRA thanks to the donors of contributions. In 2015, the school is attended by 80 children from the age of 5 to 12 with the same number of parents.

We provide to children:

• Pre-school preparation and the basics of literacy - children learn to read and write in the local Bengali language, they learn the basics of Maths, English and general knowledge.
• Education in health-hygiene, nutrition and disease prevention.
• Interest and leisure activities, which they lack in slums environment.
• Nutritious hot meals and snacks.
• Regular medical care, medical treatment and medications, respectively.
• Support them by doing homework, tutoring and further support during their education in the normal school where staff of the centre do the monitoring on how the children are doing in a public school, and encourage them and their parents to attend the school regularly.

We provide to parents:

• Literacy courses for adults, (mostly for mothers who cannot read or write).
• Cooking classes (preparation of nutritious meals made from affordable raw materials, mainly for pregnant women and mothers with children up to 5 years old).
• Access to regular medical care and basic health treatment with the possibility of having doctor’s consultations.
• Sewing courses, tailoring and handicrafts in order to offer better working skills and new opportunities of making a living.
• Monthly seminars on various topics: health, hygiene, disease prevention, rights of children and women, the importance of education, the issue of child brides, etc.
• Regular visits to families and social advice.

We believe that investment in education is the best way to alleviate poverty permanently and to enable children and their families to live a better life. Education is the only real chance on how the children of the Chalantika can have a childhood which they deserve. May be one day they would be able to move beyond the boundaries of the slum to be able to find work which would feed them and their families.