GENKIプログラム、バングラデシュ全国展開に向けた大きな一歩
【2018年2月の活動報告 】
By February, we distributed approximately 1.92 million meals (progress rate: 96%) against Euglena
1. A big step towards nationwide expansion in Bangladesh
Since the program started in April 2014, the GENKI program Euglena cookies mainly to schools in the city of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. In February of this year, the fourth year, we took a big step toward the nationwide expansion of the program. We have signed a contract with one of the big NGOs in Bangladesh, JAAGO Foundation (JAAGO), and started distributing cookies to schools run by JAAGO. Under this agreement, of the 64 provinces in Bangladesh, 5 provinces and 8 provinces (Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Dinajpur, Gazipur, Habiganj, Madaripur) (Fig. 1) I was able to expand.
JAAGO operates 6 schools and targets approximately 1,200 students. A major feature of JAAGO's schools is the introduction of online education in rural areas for the first time in Bangladesh. In rural Bangladesh, there is a problem that children cannot receive education because they cannot build a school due to a shortage of teachers. To bridge the educational gap between urban and rural children, JAAGO has set up an internet environment in local schools and offers online lessons with teachers living in Dhaka.
Due to budget constraints, JAAGO-run schools do not distribute cookies daily, but three times a week, every other day. Previously, JAAGO once distributed bananas and boiled eggs to children for breakfast. However, it was canceled due to problems such as food being damaged during transportation and long-term storage failure. When I was considering whether it would be possible to get children to get enough nutrition with a monthly food budget of 70 yen per person including the fare, I found that Euglena cookies are nutritious and easy to distribute and store. JAAGO will bear part of the program activity costs as a GENKI program supporter. In addition, Euglena Euglena cookies on trucks when transporting its products to local distributors and transports them to JAAGO management schools free of charge. With the cooperation.
When we talked to JAAGO's school children and their mothers, we found that there were more farming families than slum families living in Dhaka. The household income of Dhaka's slums is about 20,000 yen, while their household income is about 13,000 yen, so even in rural areas where living expenses are cheaper than in cities, daily life is difficult. The diet is simple, such as rice and small fish, and there are few opportunities to eat meat, and nutrition is biased. Starting with the JAAGO-operated school, we will continue to strive to contribute to improving the nutrition of malnourished children throughout Bangladesh.
Photo-1: Online class
Photo-2: Children eating Euglena
Photo-3: Mothers listening to the explanation of the program
2. Introduction of the athletic meet held at Urban Sea School
The new semester begins in January in Bangladesh. As a result, many schools have an event to welcome new students in February. Even at the schools covered by the GENKI program, welcome parties were held at each school, with older children playing musical instruments and singing to new students. This time, we would like to introduce the athletic meet held at Urban C School.
Urban Sea School holds an athletic meet in February as an annual event. The purpose is for older children to play sports with new students and deepen exchanges. Children are also looking forward to the athletic meet every year, and parents also come to school to support them. The athletic meet is divided into men and women, and various competitions are held. The most exciting part was the boys' frog jumping and the hemp bag race. The frog jump imitates the appearance of a frog, and the hemp bag race puts both feet in the hemp bag and aims at the goal while jumping each. Since the jute industry has been thriving in Bangladesh for a long time, hemp bag racing is a familiar play in Bangladesh. Among the children who jumped out vigorously at the same time as the teacher's "start" shout, there were children who couldn't jump the frog well, or who couldn't move forward because they stumbled on the jute bag.
In addition, since many mothers of children gathered at school on the day of the event, we took some time after the athletic meet to hold a hand-washing and hygiene seminar. Specifically, we usually encourage children to wash their hands with soap, but in order for mothers to understand its importance, we thoroughly boil water at home before drinking and washing our hands. We introduced the cases of children whose diarrhea symptoms were alleviated by doing so. Many mothers of new students this year also participated, and he said, "I want to thoroughly wash my hands with my family so that my child will go to school every day."
Photo-4: Children's hemp bag race
Photo-5: Hand washing and hygiene seminar
3. Introduction of Mr. Sultana, Executive Officer of Overt Helpers NGO
The OBAT English Medium School has conducted four blood tests and physical measurements to measure the effectiveness of Euglena cookies on children's health. This time, I would like to introduce Mr. Sultana, an Executive Officer of OBAT Helpers (OBAT), an NGO that operates the OBAT English School.
OBAT provides vocational training services to people in need of employment and builds schools to educate children. OBAT operates 36 schools throughout Bangladesh, of which 5 are in Dhaka and distribute Euglena cookies to 1,721 students. One of them is the Bad English School, which measures the effectiveness of cookies.
Mr. Sultana is mainly in charge of OBAT's education business and is involved in school management. Previously, he worked for a United Nations agency and was involved in raising funds to conduct an education project. She likes to interact with children, so she wanted to work in an educational setting closer to her children, so she changed jobs to OBAT. Mr. Sultana participated in a briefing session held to gain the understanding of parents during the blood test in November last year and the anthropometry in February this year, and local staff to families who could not attend the briefing session. I visited with him. The fact that her own Executive Officer visited her home was quickly spread among local residents, and her parents realized that blood tests and physical measurements were important for measuring anemia and physical growth of children. I was able to understand. With the cooperation of Mr. Sultana, we have been able to continue measuring the effect of Euglena cookies four times.
Photo-6: Mr. Sultana and his children
Thank you for your continued support.
Euglena Co., Ltd.
Overseas Business Development Department / Bangladesh Office