How Child Sponsorship Helps a Girl Named Delwara in Bangladesh

Delwara dreams of becoming a teacher and helping other girls in Bangladesh escape the cycle of poverty.

Eleven-year-old Delwara dreams of becoming an educator one day — just like her teacher at a Save the Children elementary school program in Bangladesh.

Delwara’s father is a struggling farmer who works hard to support his wife and two kids.

Life is difficult for families in Bangladesh. The country is riddled with malnutrition, illiteracy and infectious diseases — due in great part to abject poverty among about half of the country’s 150 million people.

Delwara is determined to study hard and create a brighter future for herself and her family. For the past three years, Delwara has attended Save the Children’s school and participated in other sponsorship-funded programs.

“I love Save the Children because they work for children and love them with their whole hearts,” she says.

In addition to dedicated teachers and safe classrooms, Save the Children’s sponsor-supported schools serve as a one-stop-shop for programs that can help her grow up healthy and strong. To help boost school attendance and learning capabilities of children like Delwara, Save the Children provides medicine, vitamins, health screening, clean water and much more.

Delwara is happy she has health care, nutritious food, safe drinking water and education on personal hygiene. But what brings her the most joy is reading.

“I like to read story books very much,” says Delwara. “Save the Children has given many story books for Reading Buddy library in our school, I borrowed lots of books from there.”

At home, Delwara helps her mother, cook and clean. As an aspiring teacher, her favorite activity is, not surprisingly, helping brother with his homework.

Last Updated November 2011