Parulia Para, Bangladesh

This is Parulia Para

Barefoot children in tattered clothes trudge through piles of garbage and mud puddles that line the pathways of the community of Parulia Para in rural Bangladesh. The nearly 150 families that live here occupy rusting tin huts where up to six people often share one bed. Families here are constantly sick from contaminated water and food.

Considered some of the poorest people in their country, residents of Parulia Para are in desperate need of help. Most families cannot afford to send their children to school and instead are forced to marry their daughters off at a young age. Women, whose job it is to care for the family, are left to fend for themselves while their husbands travel to find even two or three days’ worth of work. Unable to provide enough food for their families, most people eat only a handful of rice and vegetables a day. Their situation is dire and the people of Parulia Para need your help.

Parulia Para Needs

Clean Water: You’ll empower villagers to find and build innovative solutions to the water crisis.
Economic Empowerment: Parents will learn job skills, join savings groups, and be empowered to support their children.
Education: A village classroom, supplies, and teacher training will educate children.
Food & Nutrition: Farming and livestock training will enable families to have ample nutritious food year-round.

Local Story

Serena's Story

Serena was just 15-years-old when she had her oldest daughter, Lija, who was born with severe physical disabilities that prohibit her from using her arms or her legs. For the past eleven years, Serena has not only literally carried her sweet daughter on her back with her wherever she goes, but she’s managed to raise two other children as well. Exhausted, Serena is unable to help her husband earn any additional income since her entire life revolves around caring for Lija.

“We don’t have any money,” Serena expresses, as she points to the room that she and her family of five share with three other families. “No matter what,” she says, “my children will always bring me joy.” It’s impossible to imagine how Serena makes it through a single day. With a four-month old baby to care for, a 6-year-old who is no longer able to attend school because her family cannot afford it, a husband who barely earns enough to feed his family once a day and Lija, Serena is not sure how her family will continue to survive.

“We don’t have a toilet and our water is not clean,” Serena explains after mentioning that her six-year-old son suffers from frequent stomach aches and water-related illnesses.

Serena and her family are certainly among ‘the least of these,’ however, God has not forgotten about them or the community of Parulia Para. And with your partnership, they will experience true transformation and realize their full potential.

Parulia Para

Bangladesh

This is Parulia Para

Parulia Para Needs

Local Story

Serena's Story

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