Special Features
Dhaka Project Calendar
The Dhaka Project Calendar, initiated by CSPR Group and Pink Pepper Photography, aims to raise funds for the children of the slums of Dhaka by breaking the cycle of poverty and giving them a foundation, a base from which to build a better life.This calendar was put together in the summer of 2010 where children from Dhaka were asked what they aspire to be in their futures; their ambitions ranged from teachers and doctors, to various other professions such as architects and army officers.
The Calendar will be available at Virgin stores* for Dhs 75 from the beginning of December 2010 to the end of January 2011. All the proceeds from the calendars will go directly to the Dhaka Project thus facilitating the education for these ambitious children. Investing in this calendar will merely remind you of how you have helped in changing the lives of those in need.
The Dhaka Project, a non-profit charity that works to shine a light for the poverty stricken slum dwellers of Dhaka, is a deeply passionate labour of kindness and hope started by Emirates Airline flight attendant Maria Conceicao in 2005. The children’s education is a key focus but the charity also has 2 other important areas it works on: women skills development and men skills development through the Catalyst arm of the project. While The Dhaka Project focuses on children, Catalyst addresses the needs of the parents.
Some of the amazing accomplishments already achieved include:
• A school has been setup and 600 children (aged 4 and above) are attending.
• The Catalista school is utilized for adults to teach basic reading & writing English courses as well as general knowledge, hygiene, family planning and etiquette classes in evenings.
• A day care centre and pre-school has been setup and has 50 young children attending.
• All the children have been vaccinated against Hepatitis, Polio and Typhoid and Measles.
• A sewing/handcrafts training centre has been set up and successfully trained 80 women.
The Dhaka Project and Catalista aim to achieve some of the following in the coming years:
• Raise enough money [$1 million US] to buy a plot of land and build a school in Dhaka for 1000 children for primary / secondary / pre-university education + vocational skills training.
• Continue to provide food, shelter, clothing, education and medical care to the children under the care of The Dhaka Project and Catalista.
• Find ways and means to generate revenue so that The Dhaka Project and Catalista can, over time, become financially self-sufficient e.g. retail shop selling used donated clothes, catering of lunch meals to office workers, sell dresses/handbags/ladies purse made by sewing school
• Inculcate in the children at a young age a caring concern for the environment through programmes like neighbourhood clean-up day, installing water wells for the community, setting up public lavatories for the community, shower facilities, tree-planting, solar panels, clean up the lakes.
• Open a Medical Centre for the slums.
*The Dhaka Project Calendar will be available at Virgin stores at Abu Dhabi Mall, Burjuman, Deira City Centre, Jumeira Beach Residences, Mall of the Emirates, Mercato Mall and Mirdiff City Centre.
For more information please contact:
Neeru Kundvani, Account Manager CS PR Group, City Shopping FZ LLC –
neeru@csprgroup.com – tel. +9714 3445029
To find out more about The Dhaka Project please visit www.thedhakaproject.org
