How you could help create a better world for children

Caroline Donald

Senior Supporter Engagement Manager, UNICEF UK

Support children like Tawhida to have good healthcare and education, bringing hope for a brighter future. Create a lasting impact by including UNICEF UK in your Will.

UNICEF responds for children in emergencies and works every day with communities and families to support better healthcare, education and protection for children around the world. Every child has the right to learn, attend school and make friends. Yet, too many children face barriers in getting to school and completing their education, losing pivotal opportunities for shaping their own lives.

How education transforms lives

Tawhida enrolled at a UNICEF-supported learning centre in Sunamganj, Bangladesh, last year. At age 12, it was her first experience in education due to the distance of schools from her village. Initially, she struggled to say her name.  

In class, Tawhida met Tania, also 12, and new to school. They quickly became best friends, studying and playing together. Now, Tawhida speaks up confidently, is learning to read, write and solve maths problems. Her favourite story is The Lying Shepherd. Tania loves poetry. 

In Bangladesh, one in three families
cannot send children to school due
to long distances and disasters that
make the journeys even harder.

Supporting community resilience

Last year, flash floods hit their village four times. “I couldn’t go to my learning centre. “When I couldn’t meet Tania, I felt really sad,” says Tawhida, showing that school – a vital place for learning – is also where friendships are made and nurtured.

UNICEF supports community plans to keep children learning despite fierce climate challenges. Learning centres are set up to be climate-resilient, with communities trained in disaster-coping skills.   

Husna Begum, the girls’ teacher, undertook the training. She says: “I try to make my students happy and cope with the situation.” A carpenter opened his courtyard as a refuge, and villagers helped relocate the learning materials, allowing Husna to resume teaching.   

A global community for children

In Bangladesh, one in three families cannot send children to school due to long distances and disasters that make the journeys even harder. “I was afraid of sending my daughter to school. I am very glad that I could enrol her in this project,” says Sufia, Tawhida’s mother.  

Learning centres are part of the ‘Let Us Learn’ programme run by UNICEF and partners, transforming the lives of 35,550 children in Sunamganj since 2019. It’s just one example of our work with communities to uphold the rights of children to be healthy, protected and educated.

Your Will, their tomorrow We bring together a global community determined to create a better world for children like Tawhida and Tania. With a gift in your Will to UNICEF, you can be part of that community always.