May I send letters and packages to my student?

The children love to get mail from you.   Pictures of you, their sponsor, are a special treasure and even the older students enjoy stickers from the families who support them.  We wish we could promise your letters always reach their destination.  Unfortunately, according to a recent study, Bangladesh was identified as the most corrupt government in the world.  If your letters are thick or appear to contain something of value, they may be searched and may never reach your child.   But we know that many letters do get through.

Packages are even more likely to be searched and possibly stolen. When they arrive at the mail facility, personnel from the Bangla Hope office in Bangladesh go get them. "Getting them" can include long waits and will include paying additional fees--the larger the package, the greater the fee.   Bangla Hope America personnel have seen piles of packages in the Bangla Hope office in Bangladesh waiting for delivery to students, so we know that many of the packages do get through.

Letters and packages that survive the inspection process are delivered to your student after appropriate translation of letters, removal of addresses to protect your privacy, and when Bangla Hope personnel in Bangladesh travel to the school your student attends.

The process is long and tedious, but communication is an important part of our sponsorship program.   The address to mail correspondence to your student is:

Bangla Hope
Student name & number
Village: Hazrapur
Post Office: Mazina (Uchai)
Upozila: Panchbibi
District: Joypurhat
Bangladesh

Be sure to include your student's name and number in your letter.

Can I send Pocket Money to my student?

Our sponsored children often have needs that tuition money does not cover.  The families of the children are asked to send money for this purpose, but they seldom do.  Their poverty is so great that they are doing all they can to provide the bare necessities for themselves and the family still at home.

Money sent by a sponsor for their specific student, beyond the tuition, is considered "pocket money."  Some sponsors are unable to send additional funds.  To eliminate the disappointment when some students receive no pocket money, we divide the donation in half.  Half goes directly to your sponsored student and half is divided between other students in the same school.  Each will receive at least a few takas.

Students use their money for a variety of personal needs and sometimes to help their families.  The majority of these students come from impoverished homes--they know what hunger is.  They do not waste their money on nonessentials.

My student changed his birthday. What's going on?

Imagine a country where there are no birth certificates and in the villages, no calendars.  Even if these things were available, a high percentage of the people are illiterate.  When the children come to school, most have no idea when they were born.  During registration, school personnel quiz the parent(s) or guardian(s) about the season the child was born--was it hot, cold, or rainy? About how many years ago was it?  From the information they glean, a birth date is assigned.  The student is encouraged to always use the same birth date which often happens, but not always.

At the end of tenth grade, students are required to take government exams.   When they pass, the students are given a card with their birth date printed on it.  From that point, birth dates should remain the same.

How much of my donation really reaches the children?

100% of donations designated for specific projects go directly to Bangladesh.  A few examples of projects include:

Orphanage, Village Schools, Feeding Program, Education Fund, Medical Fund, Clothing Fund, Pocket Money.

Funding for U.S expenses is taken from donations designated for "office expense" and supplemented with 15% of tuition for boarding and college students and a portion of the "use as needed" donations.   This is possible in part because of the generosity of our volunteers.

For more details CLICK HERE to see Financial Information

Will I receive a receipt I can use for tax purposes?

Yes. We are a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization in the U.S.   Receipts are mailed each January for the previous calendar year.

CLICK HERE to find out how to sponsor.