Matthew Silvester

Having qualified as a teacher in 1998, Matthew spent 15 years working as a class teacher and school leader in Inner London, developing expertise with early years education multilingualism, inclusion and safeguarding. In 2013, Matthew moved to Bangladesh. He spent a year working at multiple sites across Dhaka, supporting children in street situations to laugh, learn and live. Following this, Matthew worked at The Sreepur Village, supporting staff at the project to establish an evidence-informed approach to pre-school education and safeguarding systems that promote mothers’ responsive caregiving for their children. Matthew returned to London in 2020 with his wife, who he met and married whilst in Bangladesh, and their son. He worked for a commercial education company and, in this role, designed an award-winning early years curriculum that is now used by 480 schools in 65 countries. Since returning, Matthew and his wife have been blessed with another son, both British-Bangladeshis. Matthew is now a full-time father as his wife returns to her career as a teacher.

I have been involved with The Sreepur Village since it began. I remember attending craft fairs with my mother, Trisha, who was the founding Chair of Trustees, in the late 70s and early 80s, selling products made in Bangladesh to raise funds. Over time our home become filled with handmade cards rather than these jute products. I was lucky enough to work at the village with the resident families, the staff and Pat. I was lucky enough to work directly with the mothers and their children and was continually inspired by their resilience, adaptability and perseverance. Most have had severely challenging adverse experiences and the village gives them with a safe space to reduce these stresses and build their confidence, providing them with the foundations on which to build a better future. The project itself is an oasis of calm within a country that, whilst making significant economic progress, still has many extreme challenges for some of its citizens. It is for these families that The Sreepur Village works. From my time at the village, I have seen first hand how it supports some of the world’s most disadvantaged citizens to realise and recover their fundamental rights. I am committed to the organisation; its size enables it to make a difference for thousands but it is also agile enough to be able to respond quickly to challenges and issues that can emerge within Bangladesh. A little money to The Sreepur Village can have life changing impacts for many.