Khagrachari

Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh

Our Mission was begun in 1983 with the opening of a new temple dedicated to teaching the Buddha-Dhamma among the Hill People of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) and the opening of an orphanage to provide homes for children orphaned through the on-going conflict in the CHT. This expresses our intention to combine religious and social work. Our fonder, Ven. Sumanalanker Mahathero continues to supervise our activities, along with a membership board of local people.

The orphanage began with 16 boys housed in simple bamboo structures. These and later structures have been destroyed by flood and cyclone more than once, each time rebuilt with difficulty but promptly. Finally, in more recent years, with the help of local & foreign friends, we have been able to afford more permanent and weather tolerant structures made of brick and concrete.

Currently the orphanage houses 124 boys and 60 girls (up from 104 boys and 42 girls in 1997). The majority lost their fathers through violence (armed conflict, riots, massacres); many also lost their mothers to the same causes. A minority were orphaned through natural causes. (In Bangladesh, loss of ones father makes one legally an orphan as the primary means of material support is gone.)

In 1995, we opened our own school due to dissatisfaction with the local school that most of our students attended. Unfortunately, the teachers there are not highly motivated. Further, we feel that we can provide more religious instruction in our own schools, especially as many of our teachers are monks. We can provide both primary (classes 1 through 5) and lower secondary (6 through 8) education. Some of the children are able to continue their studies in town and on up through university, with support. While most of the students are from our orphanage, some also come from nearby villages. We are seeking government approval to extend our secondary classes through class 10.

We currently (March 1997) have 11 teachers and 3 other staff. Most of our teachers are volunteers as we can only provide them with pocket money.

We don't have a proper class building yet and so are temporarily using one of the hostels (dormitories) for classrooms. We hope to build a school building in the near future.

Funding

The above-mentioned projects are not going on well due to financial problem. Our organization has not been financed by any foreign or local donor agencies. Only the Govt. of Bangladesh & a few friends extend their hands, but it is not sufficient at all.

Our land has been donated by local Buddhist people, although they are quite poor and many hill people have lost their farm land to "settlers" from the lowlands. Most of our construction has been funded by supporters, some foreign, including a Bangladeshi artists' group, Fr. Luigi Luppi and the Italian Red Cross, Caritas Bangladesh, and the Bangladesh government through the Local Government Council, the Canadian High Commission in Dhaka, and some anonymous donors from Germany.

We grow about four months supply of rice, most of the vegetables, and some fruits. We also raise goats, cattle, and bees.

Nonetheless, we continue to struggle to make ends meet, let alone expand our facilities and services.

Dhaka mailing address:

Parbatya Bouddha Mission
House # 421/3 (Ground Floor), Senpara Parbata
P. O. Box # 8075
Mirpur-10, Dhaka-1216
Bangladesh

Khagrachari location:

Parbatya Bouddha Mission
Pilotpara, Kamalchari
Khagrachari-4400
Khagrachari Hill Tracts (CHT)
Bangladesh

Dhaka contacts: 

attention Ven. Uttamalankar Bhikkhu ...
Tel: 880-2-801 2686 
Fax: 880-2-9008772 
E-mail: PBM@assist-net.com

Khagrachari Tel: 

 0088-0371-84