Responding to Disaster with Alternative Education: A Case Study of a Post-disaster Education Project in Bangladesh

Abstract

The paper presents a case study and lessons learnt from an alternative education project implemented in two cyclone-devastated districts of Bangladesh as a post-disaster response and recovery initiative after the massive cyclone ‘Sidr' in November 2007. A survey revealed that the shattered financial condition of local families along with other problems in the formal education system was causing dropouts and non-attendance. Based on the needs assessment the NGO Islamic Relief Worldwide implemented an alternative education project named ‘Anondo Biddaloy-Alternative Education for ‘Sidr’ Affected Children’. In an effort of creating access to the formal education for the drop-out and nonenrolled children, the project focused on regaining and augmenting their interest towards education by offering a learner friendly, joyful education scheme that combined life skills and livelihood skills education with health and wellbeing aspects. Implementation of the project resulted into introducing and retaining a significant number i.e. almost 80% of its target group in mainstream education. The project thus brought about a major lesson that education with an alternative nature (to the mainstream) can effectively contribute towards ensuring education for vulnerable target groups in a crisis. With an aim of contributing to the academic and practitioner’s knowledge of the community relevant to providing education in post-disaster situation, the paper has specific purposes of sharing the concept and contents of the particular alternative education initiative as well as lessons learnt from it.