In Bangladesh, there are no public educational services available for children with disabilities. Just 11% of children with disabilities attend (mainstream) school and for those with particularly complex needs, there are no educational opportunities at all.

Since 2012, Carers Worldwide has been working in Nepal, India and Bangladesh to ensure the needs of unpaid family carers are recognised and met, and that the physical, emotional, economic and social wellbeing of carers and those they care for are improved.

In partnership with local NGO, Centre for Disability in Development, this project will establish two Community Caring Centres (CCCs) in the Savar District of Bangladesh. Each centre will provide early intervention, therapeutic and educational activities for children with disabilities, as well as providing mothers the chance to socialise, take time off from caring and earn income.

Each centre will operate six hours a day, five days a week. A physiotherapist will attend each centre once a month to work with the children and provide basic physiotherapy training to their mothers. Currently, most children with disabilities in the area have no access to such simple yet transformative care.

Around 30 children of preschool and primary age and their carers (typically mothers) and other family members will benefit directly from the services provided through the two centres (at least 60). The project will therefore benefit a total of 120 beneficiaries.

Long-term, Carers Worldwide hope that the impact of this funding will have a knock on effect to many more children and carers as the service becomes a proven model that could be funded by the government and rolled out across Bangladesh.

Funding will cover teachers’ salaries, physiotherapy costs, transport and equipment costs, learning materials and a contrbution to each centre’s running costs.