Children is going to school. Children are very happy having schools bags and uniforms. The unfortunate children at his work place. Children are at SOHAY Urban Development Center. Children are listening how they are jeopardizing their bright future by joining the job. Parents are listening how their decision could change the future of their children and the benefit of education in future.
Education:
SOHAY believes education is the right of every child and they should go to school wherever they live and their parents’ economic situation.
This is important:
- for a different future of a child and to create an educated nation
- to read and gather knowledge about the value and importance of education, health and nutrition in life
- prevent children joining the hazardous jobs
- breaking the present poverty trap and cycle
- enhance capacity of thinking what is right and what to do for a better future
- enhance the capacity of reading and writing
- a good weapon of self defense
- breaking the present illiteracy trend of the family
Challenges faced by children:
We are all aware education is the way forward of understanding the world, self realization on what to do and not to do. It is a way to come out of poverty and poverty trap. According to UNICEF estimation around 264 million children and adolescents around the world do not have the opportunity to enter or complete school. These numbers are due to poverty, discrimination, many emergencies and climate change.
SOHAY wants every child go for an education regardless of where they live or how much money their family has. SOHAY is providing learning opportunities that begin in early childhood and prepare every child with the knowledge and skills needed to thrive in its working areas in Dhaka Urban slums.
Bangladesh statistics:
Bangladesh Education Statistics: https://www.ceicdata.com/en/bangladesh/education-statistics
Bangladesh literacy rate: According to UNESCO, the adult literacy rate 72.89%. The male literacy rate is 75.7%, and the females is 70.09% ref: https://www.google.com/search?q=literacy+rate+of+bangladesh+2019&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjuzOvbv5DjAhVK6nMBHVbvCvYQ1QIoBnoECAoQBw&biw=1366&bih=657
The situation for a poor girl child is much more difficult
SOHAY is always searching for education fund for children living in difficult urban settings, remote rural areas, or climate vulnerable areas.
The other difficulties and dangers SOHAY has observed in its working areas,
SOHAY has observed if the 6-7 years old children are not engaged in education their parents send them to work. Many children join hazardous jobs.
Additional difficulties:
Once the children in job they get some money in their hands, and freewill to spend they like. Once money in hand it is more difficult to bring them back to education and send to school. Because they immediately see no money in hand. These type of children need continuous monitoring, supervision, psychological discussion, talks about future of a child with education and without education.
Unfortunate, but the fact is these children give less attention to their education, find it difficult and hard. Keeping them interested in education require additional effort and attention.
SOHAY therefore carefully designed its education program, strategically very important for all group of children and therefore getting benefit and good results.
THE EFFECTIVE WAY
Parents or Guardian play an important role in children education. They as guardian of children decide whether the children will go to school or to a factory for work. Hence to stop child labor this is vital to discuss with them first before entering into the household for children education in the impoverished slum communities in Dhaka.
The best way to stop child labor is to stop the present inflow of children to the factories from villages and other places such as urban slums. Until that happened the alternates are to send children to primary education, especially those children living in an impoverished slum situation. SOHAY uses six different techniques ending child labor.
A) Prevention – under this SOHAY identifies the pre-primary age children, give them pre-primary education in its development center, and show them the nearby government primary school for primary education.
B) Withdrawal – under this SOHAY identifies the children still in primary education age but engaged in hazardous child labor. SOHAY withdraw these children from their work, provide necessary support in its development center, and send them to the nearby government primary school for education.
C) Re-assignment – under this SOHAY identifies those children passed the primary school age but engaged in a hazardous job, SOHAY negotiate with the factory owners and re-assign these children to the non-hazardous jobs.
D) Re-skilling – under this SOHAY provides different skills training to the children so that they can move out of their present hazardous job and do different jobs in future, such as sewing, plumbing, mobile service, beautician, etc.
E) Job linkage – In addition to the above, such as providing new skills, the children expect the NGOs to introduce them with the potential organization could provide jobs to them. SOHAY did this so that these children after their new skill can use those and find a different way of living. SOHAY has seen the spreading of this message within the community play a very important role. And this message quickly accepted by the community when they see practical example available within them and or within their neighbor.
F) A quiet place to complete home work – The impoverished slum children are living in urban slums in crammed environment, they have no place to complete homework in quiet environment. SOHAY therefore offers these children a place called SOHAY Urban Development Center to complete their homework in a quiet and education friendly environment. Here SOHAY employees also tell and give necessary tips to the children about the importance of health and nutrition in life and how to stay healthy.
SOHAY run projects:
COLD – CHILDREN ORGANISED FOR LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
FUNDED BY : GLOBAL FUND FOR CHILDREN, (GFC) USA, https://globalfundforchildren.org/
SOHAY on GFC website: https://globalfundforchildren.org/our-partners/where-we-work/south-asia/south-asia-partners/#
Under COLD project SOHAY has supported 1,175 number of impoverished slum children in their pre-primary and primary education. They get admission into the government primary schools for primary level education. These children live in impoverished conditions in Dhaka Urban Slums and potential to child labor. SOHAY targeted these children to bring them to school and prevent child labor. SOHAY also stops them from engaging in hazardous child labor task in the locality and small industries.
Children are at SOHAY Urban Development Center. Children gathered in front of SOHAY UDC. Peer learning. Children are completing home work at SOHAY UDC. Children are taking picture with the ED of SOHAY after receiving school bags and uniforms. Children are happy with their uniforms.
SOHAY used its prevention strategies here, so SOHAY employees targeted these children in Dhaka urban slums, provided pre-primary level education in SOHAY Urban Development Centers (UDC), assisted their parents admitting their children in nearby Government Primary Schools for primary education. The Government of Bangladesh spend a lot of national budget for children education, hence, admitting the children in the government primary schools are the sustainable way of helping the children and their parents. Establishing new schools require funding and only continue if the fund is available.
In addition SOHAY allows the children to complete their home-work in an education friendly environment in SOHAY UDC, distributed school uniforms and bags, talked a lot about what will be their future if they continue education and make them educated. These children need the psychological discussion because the surrounding of their living area is completely non education friendly. SOHAY team created peer learning habits among the slum children, very much critical for children to continue education. SOHAY team also discuss with these children parents request them to send their children to school not to work.
SOHAY strongly believe, this type of programme is very much needed in Bangladesh to support the Bangladesh Government commitment under 7th five year plan and global commitments under SDG 4 – Quality Education.
SCL – STOP CHILD LABOR
FUNDED BY : Ms Wei Lee Quek
Children are happy getting the educational support. Children are learning in groups, helping each other. Children is showing what they have learned.
In this project, SOHAY used the prevention strategy so that these children do not join the hazardous jobs in local factories – A total of 100 children received pre-primay and primary level education support from this project for a year. Many of the children were dropped out students. SOHAY knew the uncertainly of the funding hence it used different strategies so that both the children and parents do not stop children education after SOHAY. SOHAY left the place but confident parents will continue children education because they know what will be the return if children are educated. So, in addition to its regular support here SOHAY gave emphasis on psycho-social change and inserted the idea in children mind that education is way and path to beat the vicious poverty cycle. SOHAY discussed a lot with these children parents in parents and community meeting that if they would like to see a different future of these children, they have no other option than sending their children to schools. The knowledge is embedded in the community and family.