Background:
Bangladesh is a country where the literacy rate is low compared to other developing countries. Primary education consists of a five-year course for the 6-10 years old age group. However, a number of serious problem such as: low retention, high drop out rate and low competition limits the quality of education. The main causes are poverty, limited interactions between the school authority and the community people, low community involvement, and non-stimulating teaching styles. Adolescents and adults are also overlooked.

Education:
Since 1987, SUS has set up Non-Formal Primary Education (NFPE) schools for the 7-11 years old. SUS has come up with a new implementation policy, using alternative teaching methods. Complimentary, SUS started the Sustainable Approach for Quality Education (SAQE) in Mohanganj Upazila with 4 schools as a pilot basis. SUS is working together with the government primary schools to increase the student attendance and to ensure quality education. This approach aims to revitalize the teachers and parents and to avoid overlapping school coverage if a government school is existing. Now, SUS is running SAQE in 36 schools in all its working areas.

Empowerment:
The adult literacy program was initiated in 1992 to encourage people, especially poor women, to act for their own sustainable development. In 1996, SUS adopted the REFLECT method (Regenerated Freirian Literacy Through Empowering Community Technique) for a participatory development. At present, we run 80 adults and 50 adolescent REFLECT circles. As this method has proved to be very successful, we now share our experience with other NGOs and thus act as a Technical Assistance Provider (TAP).

Reflect

What is a REFLECT circle?
REFLECT literally means "Regenerated Freirian Literacy through enhanced Community Techniques." Education is not only based on input from a teacher, but also evolves from creative activities. Trainers will prepare the daily lesson plan for the circle and discuss literacy, counting and social issues. However, the learning itself evolves from the ideas, that are contributed by the adolescents, i.e. their imagination of what marriage is all about. It is a step to enlightenment, to become aware and thus responsible of their life. Our trainers facilitate this process additionally, guiding the adolescents to a visualization of their analysis, i.e. with posters. By this method, adolescents develop problem-solving strategies and can identify action points to overcome social grievances like child marriage. Our circles represent a continuing education for two years. They are generally operated six days a week for two hours daily (except Friday). In the second year, the activities will be split into continued learning and practical application of the knowledge. This means for example, that they get into contact with government organizations to coordinate the implementation of action points.

Health:
SUS provides Comprehensive Healthcare packages including personal and domestic hygiene, nutrition, immunization, family planning as well as reproductive healthcare. This also includes a Disability Rehabilitation program to support handicapped children and adults who are incidentally disabled. Related to health care, we help people to access safe Water and Sanitation (WATSAN). The arsenic problematic is very acute in our District, so we install deeptubewells and help with alternative filtering methods. Regarding the high incidence of malnutrition in the Netrakona District, we collect data about the common patterns of malnutition in the Nutritional Surveillance project (NSP).

Shelter Home

The Sabalamby Shelter Home was established in 1998. It is situated in the village Malni about 1 km away from Netrakona Town and offers space for 8 girls or women.

There are two rooms with attached bathroom and a cooking place. Aim of the Shelter Home is it firstly to give distressed women who are in any kind of emergency or crisis a secure place to come and stay and to provide food and services like Health Service or Legal Aid. The second goal is to offer them a future perspective outside the Shelter Home. The girls should be able to see a sense in their lives again. Therefore Sabalamby offers them to take part in its skill training program where they can learn tailoring and also get some numeracy, literacy and awareness training. As part of the skill training they get a small allowance from which they are saving one part to buy a sewing machine after finishing the course. But often the reintegration into society is very difficult. Illegitimated children, rape and divorce the most frequent problems of the Shelter Home residents, are the main causes for lifelong stigmatization of women in Bangladesh. Therefore many planned future visions discussed in the weekly counseling session might always stay a dream. Nevertheless Sabalamby tries with focused work together with the woman and with her community and with a one year follow-up to raise awareness for her situation and to make the reintegration successful.

Shiuli is 18 years old. She comes from a village called Betali near Netrakona. She never went to school. Her father left the family when she was stilla baby. For the
family's survival her mother started to work bari-bari which means that she goes from house to house and offers her service. Shiuli's older brother works in a small shop.
They have no own house and mostly

sleep on some neighbor's veranda.As her mother lives without a husband, is poor, has no own place to live and works bari-bari her reputation is very bad.Shiuli was often alone when her mother went to find work. Then she was harassed and insulted and her mother became afraid about her security. Therefore she asked Sabalamby if Shiuli could stay in their Shelter Home. Shiuli is now 3 month living there, she still feels shy, but she likes her new surroundings and also the skill training. After finishing her 1-year tailoring course Shiuli wants to buy a own sewing machine and hopes to save so much money that she can build one day a small house for her family.