Thanks to the Chalantika project, ADRA France was selected among 260 candidates and received a special mention in the 2021 edition of the Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.

Here is the CNCDH (The French National Consultative Commission on Human Rights) special mention of ADRA France for its Chalantika project: "ADRA France was awarded a special mention for the Chalantika Project, which aims to enable children living in the Chalantika slum in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, to return to school. The project has three components: education of children, monitoring of children's health, and support for parents.”

The Adventist NGO (non-governmental organization) press office publicly thanked the CNCDH for the mention: "Thank you to the #CNCDH for this award which encourages us to continue our actions for the promotion and protection of human rights."

Chalantika is an educational center located in a slum of the same name in Dhaka, Bangladesh, helping children and their families living in poverty. Every day, the center welcomes 80 children, ages five to twelve. In addition to helping and supporting the children, the center is also active with the parents.

The activities carried out at Chalantika include the distribution of school supplies, school support for the children of the center, linking with secondary schools and high schools for further education, excursions outside the slum, preparation of nutritional meals for the children, health care, growth monitoring, literacy classes for parents, and workshops based on social and health topics for parents (e.g., pregnancy and children's rights).

The agency’s statement on its website about this project: 

"As we celebrate World Human Rights Day each year, let us remember that every child has the right to go to school and receive an education. Unfortunately, 262 million children, adolescents, and young people are currently denied this right.

“ADRA is committed to ensuring that all children in the world go to school and complete their education so they can reach their full potential and develop and participate in society, especially through the Chalantika project.”

More about ADRA

ADRA France is part of a global humanitarian organization, ADRA International, run by the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, that delivers relief and development to individuals in more than 118 countries. ADRA is globally known for changing the world through health, education, livelihood, and emergency response efforts.

This article was originally published on the Inter-European Division’s news site