DHAKA, Bangladesh \u2014 As Lent calls Catholics around the world to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, many faithful in Bangladesh are embracing a fourth practice this year: serving the country\u2019s street children.<\/p>\n
On a recent Sunday at Tejgaon Church in Dhaka, Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) missionary Brother Lucio Beninati invited parishioners to join Potho Shishu Sheba Sangathon, a volunteer-run ministry he founded nearly 20 years ago to accompany children who sleep in rail stations, bus terminals, and city sidewalks. His appeal moved dozens. In the weeks that followed, more than 50 Catholics submitted their names to begin weekly service.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can almost see children lying on the sidewalks everywhere in Dhaka,\u201d said Catholic volunteer Mukta Rozario, who joined the ministry for the first time this Lent. \u201cI always wished I could do something for them. Today, I finally played with them, talked with them, and felt so much joy. I hope to return every week.\u201d<\/p>\n The ministry works with some of the most vulnerable children in Bangladesh \u2014 girls and boys who have fled violence at home, been abandoned by parents, or migrated alone to the city in search of work. With no guardians, many end up sleeping beside train tracks or market stalls, surviving through begging, carrying loads, or becoming entangled in petty crime, drug trafficking, or exploitation.<\/p>\n Teacher Maria Baroi, another new volunteer, said her time with the children transformed her Lenten journey. \u201cThese are not \u2018street children\u2019 to me. They are children living in helplessness,\u201d she said. \u201cIf even one of them returns to a stable life because someone cared, that is a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n Volunteers gather at railway stations \u2014 especially Dhaka\u2019s Kamalapur \u2014 to offer informal lessons, games, art activities, storytelling, and emotional support. They also provide basic health care, accompany sick children to hospitals, and help reunite those who want to return home. If returning home is not possible, the team arranges shelter in orphanages or rehabilitation centers.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the eyes of society, these children are often rejected,\u201d said volunteer Samuel Mondol. \u201cBut serving them is pure joy. This is selfless service, and I want to continue it long after Lent.\u201d<\/p>\n Beninati, a 70-year-old Italian missionary, has spent decades working with abandoned children. Before coming to Bangladesh, he served seven years in Brazil, where he first learned street-child outreach. He later spent 24 years in Bangladesh before relocating again in 2022. From Jan. 6 to March 3 this year, he returned to Dhaka to strengthen the volunteer network.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen parents abandon them, there is no one left to care,\u201d he said. \u201cBut love can change a life. Good behavior, compassion, and accompaniment \u2014 these are the tools that bring a child back to normal life. Without love, no one can return.\u201d<\/p>\n The organization operates without foreign funding. Every cost \u2014 from medical emergencies to sports equipment to educational materials \u2014 is covered by the volunteers themselves.<\/p>\n One of the most moving testimonies involves Tamim, a young Muslim who once worked as a porter at Kamalapur Railway Station. He lost contact with his family and suffered a severe accident while getting off a train, leading to the amputation of one leg. Volunteers helped him receive treatment at the Center for Rehabilitation of the Paralyzed, where he also received a prosthetic limb and enrolled in mobile phone repair training. Last year, he played with his team in the National Wheelchair Basketball Championship \u2014 and they won.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it weren\u2019t for Brother Lucio and the other volunteers, I would still be sleeping at the station,\u201d Tamim said.<\/p>\n Another child, Muslim Rakib, fled home at age 8 after being beaten by his stepmother. Now 10, he regularly meets volunteers at the station. \u201cHere we play and draw,\u201d he said. \u201cWe get medicine. As long as they are here, we feel safe.\u201d He hopes to go home soon.<\/p>\n Although the ministry was founded by a Catholic missionary, nearly 90% of its volunteers are Muslim. The service has become a bridge of harmony in a country where Christians are a small minority.<\/p>\n Muslim volunteer Shafiqul Islam said the interreligious unity is one of the group\u2019s greatest strengths. \u201cServing these children feels like serving God,\u201d he said. \u201cHere we are Muslims, Hindus, and Christians. We respect each other\u2019s faith and work together for the welfare of children. Our harmony has grown through this service.\u201d<\/p>\n Catholic teacher Bridget Corraya, who joined the ministry 20 years ago, said her motivation comes from her own story. \u201cI grew up in an orphanage run by the Congregation of Our Lady of the Missions [RNDM Sisters],\u201d she said. \u201cI received so much love. Serving street children is how I repay that gift.\u201d<\/p>\n For many Catholics in Dhaka, this Lent has taken on new meaning through their encounters with the children. Playing, teaching, and simply listening have become acts of penance, charity, and spiritual renewal.<\/p>\n \u201cLent is not only about sacrifice or fasting,\u201d Beninati reminded the faithful. \u201cIt is also about serving \u2014 especially those who have no one.\u201d<\/p>\n As more volunteers join the mission, the ministry hopes to expand its work across Dhaka. But its heart remains simple: one encounter at a time, one child at a time, offering dignity to those the world often overlooks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" DHAKA, Bangladesh \u2014 As Lent calls Catholics around the world to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, many faithful in Bangladesh are embracing a fourth practice this year: serving the country\u2019s street children. On a recent Sunday at Tejgaon Church in Dhaka, Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) missionary Brother Lucio Beninati invited parishioners to join Potho […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":43407,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"bron":[41],"class_list":["post-43406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nieuws","bron-cna"],"acf":[],"featured_image_urls":{"medium":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/43406-how-catholic-volunteers-serve-bangladeshs-forgotten-children-this-lent-300x225.jpg","large":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/43406-how-catholic-volunteers-serve-bangladeshs-forgotten-children-this-lent-1024x768.jpg","thumbnail":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/43406-how-catholic-volunteers-serve-bangladeshs-forgotten-children-this-lent-150x150.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/43406-how-catholic-volunteers-serve-bangladeshs-forgotten-children-this-lent-768x576.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/43406-how-catholic-volunteers-serve-bangladeshs-forgotten-children-this-lent-1536x1152.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/43406-how-catholic-volunteers-serve-bangladeshs-forgotten-children-this-lent-2048x1536.jpg","Inhoud breed":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/43406-how-catholic-volunteers-serve-bangladeshs-forgotten-children-this-lent-860x645.jpg","echo_preview_image":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/43406-how-catholic-volunteers-serve-bangladeshs-forgotten-children-this-lent-195x146.jpg"},"appp_media":null,"yoast_head":"\n
\nin Dhaka, Bangladesh, on March 14, 2026. | Credit: Sumon Corraya<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nA mission rooted in love<\/h2>\n
A ministry for all religions<\/h2>\n
Transforming Lent through service<\/h2>\n