Announcing a New Project in Bangladesh

Global Playground is pleased to collaborate with the non-profit MATI Bangladesh to fund the expansion of MATI Primary School in Mymensingh, Bangladesh. This marks the 14th school construction project funded by Global Playground. Our $37,000 contribution will expand the school to house three new classrooms. Construction for the project began in February 2020.

MATI Primary School was founded after the advocacy of women in the village of Huzurikanda, and seeks to equip children from poor backgrounds with the skills necessary to succeed in a formal education system. MATI’s students emerge from largely agricultural backgrounds in 10-12 surrounding villages. The school provides free lunch for students daily, and, unlike the next closest schools for children in the area, does not ask for tuition fees. Currently, the school serves 170 students from preschool to fifth grade. 

Two of the MATI Primary School’s classrooms that were damaged after an earthquake in 2015 will be remodeled. The third classroom will serve as a classroom for the sciences and creative studies and host classes in woodwork, agriculture, and biology. Construction will be completed in September 2020.

Bangladesh has made recent strides in improving education, increasing enrollment of primary school students to 97.9%. Yet the quality of education in the country remains a challenge. An assessment conducted by Save the Children and USAID found that 44% of students who complete the first grade cannot read, and 20% of students drop out before the fifth grade. 

For more information, check out the Global Playground Bangladesh project page here.

Global Playground has contributed more than $375,000 to support the construction of 14 school projects in underprivileged areas providing access to education for more than 20,000 students. With your help, Global Playground can continue to increase access to education worldwide.