COVID-19 Relief in Bangladesh: Learning materials

The time of COVID-19 was a time of fear of death and frustration—there was no one beside us and there was no help initially. We were just waiting for when this dreadful time would be over.

The support that we received from Compassion during the pandemic is unimaginable—even beyond what our relatives could do for us. When one loses self-confidence, it becomes difficult to bring it back, but Compassion made it possible. I have learned that awareness can lead to a fruitful life. We received other support from the organization as well, such as food, medical supports and information. Together, all these supporting inputs made us get through the pandemic.

This intervention has made our family survive the pandemic. The learning from this pandemic and Compassion’s intervention have made us capable to stand strong for any future crisis upon my family. I used to think that people only need food, medicine, shelter, clothing and entertainment to live, but now I have realized that awareness on any issue is crucial for humankind to survive and thrive. So, I think awareness is a basic need for humankind.

I am very much grateful to you, my big-hearted friends, who have provided for this intervention. For this great support, I have been surviving with my family in good health and high morale. I pray for your good health, safety and prosperity. May God give you abundant life as you have shared your fortune with others.

Your gift of educational materials has helped vulnerable children in Bangladesh survive and thrive during the pandemic in several critical ways.

Reducing infection rates and death: The greatest achievement of this intervention is that from the beginning of COVID-19 until February 2022, only 5 out of 40,000 children were infected with the coronavirus—and there have been no deaths among the registered beneficiaries! The nutrition and health booklets you funded have proven to be a powerful weapon in the fight against COVID-19, malnutrition and other illnesses.

Creating a culture of reporting abuse: Children received stickers highlighting the rights of children and a hotline number to call in case of emergency—like an imminent child marriage. Many cases were reported to the hotline number, and some parents also called to ask for help for urgent needs with their children. Since the stickers also included the contact number for their local church and the national office, many children also reached out to ask for help on their own. Praise God that these young boys and girls knew who to call for help in their time of need! This initiated a new culture among the communities in which children and caregivers felt comfortable and confident enough to ask their local churches for support.

Preventing abuse through play: Six- to eight-year old beneficiaries across 174 frontline church partners received board games to play at home with their parents. While also providing a fun way to beat boredom during the lockdowns, the board games taught how to prevent violence against children. Through play, caregivers learned how to develop loving and respectful parenting skills so their children can grow up in a safe environment.

Inspiring hope and purpose in youth: The National Leadership Team created video documentaries and booklets specifically for youth to help motivate them to become proactive in shaping their future careers, serving in their communities and avoiding risky behaviours. Young people have received these materials quite positively. Due to COVID-19 regulations, in-person youth activities have been limited, but these materials have reminded them that they are not forgotten—and that God has a good purpose for their lives.

Indeed, your investment has saved the lives of precious boys and girls in Bangladesh from disease, malnutrition, child abuse and child marriage, and has inspired teens to hold onto hope for the future. Thank you for truly seeing these children and youth, and for taking action to help release them from poverty in Jesus’ name.

The way the COVID-19 pandemic emerged in front of this whole world, people worldwide became scared and frustrated. The death toll was rising each passing day. We started to see only darkness and uncertainty in front of us. In such a dreadful time of hopelessness, how Compassion stood beside the children, beneficiary parents, church and community and encouraged us, inspired us and gave us hope by providing appropriate guidelines, information and a lot of learning materials regarding health and hygiene practices, child protection and youth development is really praiseworthy.

The unpredictable situation put every one of us in a hopeless state. These learning materials not only gave us guidance but also made us hopeful for life and sometimes we even think that it has made a way for a new life. A lot of people became aware about COVID-19 in our area and though a lot of people were infected with the virus, no one died in our community.

The awareness and the hope that were instilled by using these materials were not only impactful for individual people, but also brought great impact at the community level, favouring my ministry work to them. People who were feeling low spiritually and who were unable to join physical church services became cheerful by learning from these materials and by joining online church services from their home. The materials were helpful to strengthen the morale of the people and for this reason they are grateful to Compassion.

I do not have adequate words to explain how these materials have increased my ability to minister among these people. People were clueless about the COVID-19 disease. These materials provided a guideline and brought new hope and they became more faithful to the church. Standing beside them in such a bad time with help has made them grateful and this feeling of gratitude is still an asset for me to minister to them.

I am thankful to you, my friends, who are kind enough to stand beside us in need. I thank God for your lives and pray for your prosperity, safety and peace.