Press Release

OPEC Fund supports skills development and education for adolescents in Bangladesh

85/2005 August 10, 2005, Vienna, Austria
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The OPEC Fund for International Development today approved a grant of US$15,000 in support of a project to provide basic education and skills training to poor adolescent girls in Bangladesh. Spearheaded by PROTISHRUTI, a non-profit, voluntary development organization, the project will benefit some 600 girls in the southwestern Jessore district.

As a group, adolescents have been mostly neglected in Bangladesh’s development efforts. Large numbers of 11-17 year-olds are denied any kind of formal, or even non-formal, education and are forced to turn to petty labor in order to survive.

The PROTISHRUTI project focuses on literacy and social awareness, while seeking to reduce gender discrimination and encourage greater participation by adolescents in Bangladesh’s social and economic development.

Specifically, the project will set up 20 non-formal education groups in 15 villages, where participants will receive technical and vocational training, over a 12-18 month period, in areas such as tailoring, handicrafts and food processing, together with awareness education in health and human rights. The project will also cover the cost of teacher training courses for 20 trainers. At the end of the course, participants will be equipped to earn a basic income and improve their quality of life.