Mother Teresa Home (Farmgate)

Ms. Karen Margrethe sent an email to the Welfare Committee, asking for our support to the Mother Teresa Home for elderly and homeless people.  According to her email, Mother Teresa Home had been suffering from a scarcity of water for a long time and finally came to the conclusion that they had no choice but to install a new strong water pump to suck water from the main water line. The new pump worked well and they had enough water for taking care of their patients and elderly people.

But one problem was left unsolved. Who would pay the bill of the new water pump? Karen has been personally involved in helping the Mother Teresa Home and she told the sisters that she would find the funds.

On 8 November, Karen accompanied us to Mother Teresa Home. Sister Rene Mary took us to see the pump and explained the whole story.

The bill for a new pump (Tk.11,000) had to be paid before 15 November. So we decided to use the Little Miracle Fund (which has a limit of Tk.10,000) without delay. Karen paid the balance. This water pump benefits not only the people who stay in the home, but also the street girls who come to the home and take a bath every Friday.

Health Clinic for Garment Workers

Through UN Ball fundraising, UNWA received a donation of Tk.25, 000 from a garment company. This company requested us to donate the money specifically to a Health Clinic for Garment Workers to improve the health of women in garment factories. After the UN Ball, we contacted Sister Julienne Hayes-Smith who runs the project and handed over the cheque.

This project had been funded by Solidarity Bangladesh until March 2001, but Solidarity Bangladesh was obliged to drastically cut its funding for Bangladesh Independent Garment workers Union Federation (BIGUF) under whose auspices the clinics for garment workers were being run. In June, Solidarity Bangladesh opened the Working Women’s Education Centre (WWEC) in Banani and the health clinics are now run under the auspices of this organization. The advantage of the new system is that any worker may come without becoming a union member.

The clinics are held on Tuesday 5pm to 9pm and on Friday 4pm to 9pm. Most patients are young girls or married young women with their children. The most commonly seen conditions are various skin diseases, respiratory, gastro-intestinal and urinary tract infections.

Every Wednesday evening, a health seminar is held for 40 garment workers on the functions of the different organs, dental care, and nutrition and sex education. To date 1000 young people have attended these seminars.

Sister Julienne said that the UNWA funds will be used to help the people with serious conditions such as asthma, tuberculosis, emphysema and cardiac conditions procure the ongoing medication which they need and which is financially beyond their capability.

ASHA Project

UNWA has decided to support the ASHA Project, an NGO that helps illiterate teenage children in Nyanagar slums, with a donation for educational materials, food, and emergency equipment. ASHA was started by Mr. Mike Whittles from UK. Mr. Whittles and his wife, Rosie, are both teachers. Because of the need that Mr. Whittles found around him, he cut his work to a part-time job so he could give more time teaching deprived kids.