Foster Children Care Centre

Project Period: March 2024 – Present
Donor: Foster Care BD Inc. (Individual donors)
Location: Niamatpur Upazila, Naogaon District
Target Beneficiaries: 15 foster children (orphaned, abandoned, or vulnerable children due to parental death or abandonment after remarriage)

Background:
The Foster Children Care Centre provides a safe, nurturing, and supportive environment for orphaned, abandoned, and vulnerable children in Bangladesh. Instead of the traditional orphanage model, this initiative embraces a foster care approach, where children are placed in family-based environments that better meet their physical, emotional, and educational needs. Foster care offers stability, love, and individualized attention, enabling children to thrive, form meaningful bonds, and integrate more effectively into society. This model also helps reduce stigma, improves developmental outcomes, and aligns with Bangladesh’s commitment to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which prioritizes family-based care.

Objectives:

The project aims to ensure that orphaned and vulnerable children in Naogaon grow up in a safe, loving, and family-like environment where their basic needs, education, and emotional well-being are fully supported. It seeks to pilot a sustainable foster care model that can be replicated in other areas of Bangladesh.

Key Outputs and Activities:

Output 1: Foster Care Implementation

• Conduct needs assessments in Niamatpur to identify gaps and challenges.
• Select and train foster parents with the necessary skills and compassion.
• Match children to suitable foster families, keeping siblings together where possible.
• Assign dedicated field workers to provide continuous support to foster families.

Output 2: Education and Development

• Enroll all foster children in local schools and arrange tutoring/mentoring for additional academic support.
• Facilitate participation in extracurricular activities such as sports and arts.

Output 3: Child Health and Safety

• Provide annual physical health check-ups for all foster children.
• Ensure occupational safety and implement child protection protocols.

Output 4: Community Engagement and Advocacy

• Conduct awareness campaigns to highlight the benefits of foster care.
• Partner with organizations to strengthen advocacy for child welfare reforms.
• Encourage community volunteering and charitable donations, including Zakat contributions.

Output 5: Program Expansion

• Use lessons learned from the Naogaon pilot to expand the program to Dhaka and other major cities.
• Collaborate with established organizations in new areas to scale the model effectively.

About the donor:

The program is the brainchild of Nezbath Maswood, a distinguished development worker and philanthropist, former VP at JPM Morgan Chase US. With a strong background in BRAC and a passion for social development, Nezbath also serves as a life coach and mentor through his free Rocket Career project. His commitment to philanthropic initiatives and social causes aligns seamlessly with our vision for creating a positive impact on the lives of vulnerable children. Inspired by the success of similar programs in other countries, Mr. Maswood believes that the Foster Children Care Centre can make a real difference in the lives of children in Bangladesh.