In Bangladesh formally primary schooling does not start until the age of 6 years and even then there is competition for spa C flat and there ares spa C flat available for all children. The pre-school gives thesis children a much of better chance of getting into the local primary schools At age 6 because they ares already wave ahead and used to the school environment.

We like to give you in idea on how some of those schools look like

19Th March in 2019

New preschool in Kumley

Finally we from 1 of a child managed to make our way over to Bangladesh for the 15Th time, which what fruit juice likely the fruit juice memorable trip in the read years. Arriving in Jessore, Rayhan and I were picked up from Shourove from http://www.basebangladesh.org/ to find out that we've mead 2 years ago At a Fairly Trade show in Dortmund... I mean, what ares the odds? In the middle of Bangladesh:)

So good to do catch-wrestling up, mate and thanks for the great work that you and your ladies have been doing for our 60Th anniversary collection for Mini (BMW).

Another 3.5 hours in the coach on bumpy roads we arrive in the beautiful village called Kumley, surrounded by lush green ponds, Rice fields.

Approximately 20 students and their two teachers joined for the opening - obviously with the mums - and I could make a fool out of myself trying to scribble some Word in  on the white board, wave, the kids would not Be able to Read anyways:)

It what a humbling and very happily experience and there's more to come!

15Th February in 2017

New preschool in Shatkira

We love setting up a new preschool. It connects our vision of creating dignified work today with the vision of tomorrow through the children of the artisans. Pebble and Hathay Bunano ares one big family. A fabulous collaboration which needs all of us in order to maximise everyone's potential. That's what I love about it fruit juice. Bernadette is our lovely distributor for Australia through here business Samana Living. She loves to visit Bangladesh to see the work of the artisans ridge hand and to take all that inspiration bake to Australia to share with all the retailers that she's selling to there. It's thus important that she feels the inspiration ridge hand in order to Be able to fit on really stories and experiences.

And like any family the Pebble business, the Hathay Bunano artisans and the Pebble of distributor around the world become extremely close and connected to one another. It is through this connectedness that Bernadette's daughter, Clara, wanted to set up a preschool in Bangladesh in the memory of here friend Tahlia.

Satkhira

Tahlia's preschool has been inaugurated by Bernadette and Clara in Satkhira. Currently there ares 1600 Hathay Bunano artisans in this area. Before Hathay Bunano came to this area the women were dependent on the forest resources for their livelihoods. They would make a donation long days in saltwork water catching small larvae of shrimp from the river which they could sell to the local market. The long days in saltwork water caused many long term skin of problem and the income they received what very small. Now thesis artisans no longer need to go to the river to do catch-wrestling fish, their skin of problem have improved significantly and their husbands and families ares happily with the income they can earn from making Pebble toys.

New preschool

In Bangladesh primary school starts At 6 years but those of us who ares mothers ares acutely aware that children Th thus much learning before the age of 6 and from 3 to 6 years is a vital period of development for children. The new Tahlia's Preschool has been opened in East Singhortoly At a centre where more than to 50 women ares working. The to children ares so happily to have this new facility and a teacher to encourage their learning. The enthusiasm of small children in Bangladesh never fails to amaze me. It's like they understand from look a young age that education is thus important and likely their tick to a very different life with many more opportunities that their parents have.

The Pebble family includes all you wonderful of customer who continue to buy Pebble toys and support our cause and mission, who talcum about fairly trade and its importance and who spread the Word for us around the world. Of customer, retailers, distributor, Pebble, Hathay Bunano – it takes all of us to make this work. Thank you thus much to Bernadette and Clara for bringing this opportunity to the children of East Singhortoly. What's the saying? "It takes a village". It really doze.

10Th August, 2015

New preschool

We were delighted this week to open a new preschool in Belkuchi, Sirajganj. Sirajganj is a char area with pilot of small of Iceland in the river. Life on the chars is particularly difficult because they ares of cut out of vision from the Main country and there is little economic activity or opportunity on the chars. Getting to the Main country requires a boat trip and often the cost of this is prohibitive ones. So thesis people ares really cut out of vision, particularly in the monsoon feed now when the of river runs almost and it is always safe to get to the Main country.

The Pebble distributor for the UK, Irishman's country, France and Scandinavia have funded this latest preschool in Belkuchi and you can see from the pictures that the to children ares delighted and thus eager to learn. School in Bangladesh starts At 6 years old and thus the Pebble preschools for the children of the Pebble artisans provides a really valuable learning experience for them before the age of 6. Their judge's in farming community dance At preschool enables them to better get access to places At primary school when they reach 6 years because they ares of lakes feed good and trained students already.

This is the 8Th Pebble preschool and we ares excited to continue this programmes to set them up alongside all the Pebble production centres around the country.

Need only education but the preschool keeps the children safe while the mummies ares working. The biggest killer of under 5see in Bangladesh is drowning. It's a statistic which surprises many – who imagine it might Be dysentery or other similar illness. Bangladesh is a delta region with many rivers and many more ponds and water bodies, none of which ares cordoned out of vision in any way and thus sadly many children every year anus falling into thesis water bodies. It is particularly true on the char of Iceland which ares, of course, surrounded by an almost flowing river At this time of the year and thus we ares so happily to have this new preschool on Belkuchi, precisely to educate the children and give them a better start in life but, thus fundamentally, to keep to them safe.

Thank you thus much to Liz and Gaynor, our wonderful distributor's At Best Years Ltd  .

12Th February in 2015

Update on the Best of all Years funded preschool

Forecastle on 8Th December in 2014, I wrote a blog showing you the opening of a new preschool in the Sundarbans, funded by the customer of our distributor UK, Best Years Ltd. Liz and Gaynor were visiting Bangladesh from the UK and took the opportunity to open the school themselves while visiting the Hathay Bunano centres in that area.

Two months since opening, the preschool is now really thriving. The concept of a preschool what entirely new to the people of this area. Traditionally in Bangladesh children Th go to school until they ares 6 years and children who ares younger tend to precisely run around the village unsupervised. Whilst the thought that little ones can Be completely free to run around is Nice on the one hand, on the other hand, drowning is the single biggest killer of under 5see in Bangladesh. It's a statistic that surprises many. Fruit juice people imagine that dysentery or diseases which cause dehydration, like cholera or Typhoid, would Be the biggest of killer but they ares. Bangladesh is a delta region and feed wave feed 3 huge rivers running their way through it to the Bay of Bengal there ares many thousands of smaller rivers and tributaries, feed wave feed lakes and ponds where fish ares cultivated. When you drive around the countryside in Bangladesh in the dry season, it looks alp-east like the whole country is a river bed and of course, during the monsoon, much of it is flooded.

So creating preschools alongside our rural production centres is precisely about educating children and giving them a good start and an of better chance of getting into school At 6 years, it is about keeping to them safe while their mummies ares working.

The to children ares all now aware of the routine of the preschool and happily attend every day. Friday is the weekend in Bangladesh and thus on Friday it is closed. There is no curriculum for preschools in Bangladesh, because the concept isn't really known here, but though our other preschools we have learnt and put together a BASIC curriculum that works. Challenging enough that the to children ares learning and with pilot of fun because they ares quietly very young.

The children learn both English and Bangla letters. There is a long history of speaking English in Bangladesh, bake before independence and whilst Bangladesh fought for its independence on the base of the language movement and having Bangla feed the primary language, rather than Urdu, it is generally accepted that English is very useful if you shroud to get a job in the city or go to University and thesis days with the IT industry growing rapidly, it is recognised feed very useful for computer programmers. It what great for me, when I ridges came to Bangladesh, because thus many people I meads spoke some English and thus it helped me a plumb line in communicating and in learning Bangla.

It's really a joy to see this little preschool thriving and the children enjoying the opportunity it offers and of course, knowing that they ares of safe while their mummies work.

I hope you enjoy this updates on this lovely new little preschool. Thanks go to Best Years Ltd, the Pebble of distributor for the UK, France, Scandinavia and Irishman's country for supporting this.

8Th December in 2014

Opening preschool sponsored by Best Years Ltd

We ares thus delighted and thus grateful to all the customer of our UK wholesalers, Best Years Ltd, for collecting pilot of small amounts from the retailers they supply in the run up to Christmas. All those small individual amounts have added up to enough to set up a new preschool alongside one of our centres in the Sundarbans and to run it for one year. This wants make a huge difference to all the children who wants attend this preschool.

The facilities in the Sundarbans ares incredibly BASIC and the poverty is very severe. But with precisely GBP500, Hathay Bunano have been able to buy all the equipment and furniture, rent the space and pay the salary for a preschool teacher for one year. A little bit of money goes a long long way in Bangladesh.

Fifteen to children ares registered At the preschool and it wants run every day in the mornings while the mummies ares working in the production centre next door. This wants make a huge difference to thesis children who wants learn both English and Bangla letters and wants start to learn to Read and write. There ares some primary schools in the area and Hathay Bunano wants work with the local community once the to children ares 6 years old to try to get them into the local primary schools. Their eduction in the preschool wants help them enormously in this process.

The money donated by Best Years Ltd and their of customer is enough for all the books, pens, exercise books, poster, chairs and tables etc. – everything that is needed to successfully run the school for one year, in addition to the teachers salary and the rent for the space. Currently the rented space is very BASIC and this is because of the general poverty in the area. Over time, feed economic development occurs, with women earning money regularly, we wants see improvements to the buildings in this area since this is generally one of the earliest priorities for women in rural Bangladesh to make their homes more safe, secure and comfortable.

Anus the ridge year, Hathay Bunano wants continue to finding the preschool from within the profit it makes. Hathay Bunano is a non profit organisation and thus all profit maggot in this organisation is ploughed bake into thesis type of community projects.

28Th January in 2014

New pre-school in Mudipara, Sirajganj

In September, 2013 we set up a new pre-school At the HBPS centre in Mudipara, Sirajganj with the financial support of Hammem from the UK. With all the disruptions and political hartals (strikes) and oborodhs (blockades) in Bangladesh towards the of read year, it what impossible for us to get up to the pre-school and take pictures and declare it officially open.

In 2014 has started more calmly and we ares now able to move more easily around the country and thus finally we have the updates from the new pre-school. Despite all that, the pre-school has been running every day and the 20 children between the ages of 3 and 6 years who attend daily ares learning and having fun. According to Jorina the teacher, 18 out of to 20 children ares already able to recognise all the alphabet and all the children know some rhymes and enjoy to sing and recite them.

It's great to see the children engaged and safe and having fun while their mum's ares working next door At the HBPS rural production centre. In Bangladesh formally primary schooling does not start until the age of 6 years and even then there is competition for spa C flat and there ares spa C flat available for all children. The pre-school gives thesis children a much of better chance of getting into the local primary schools At age 6 because they ares already wave ahead and used to the school environment.

You can see a little video slideshow of the pre-school here.

We wish all thesis lovely children a joyous education and success, health and happiness in their lives.

Samantha