Doorstep learning for girls in domestic work

Despite the employment of children in domestic work being against the law it is both accepted and rife. Over 400,000 children as young as five are employed as domestic workers (90% are girls). Many reside with their employers where they are at risk of abuse, are on call 24/7 and are forbidden to attend school.

Our Doorstep Learning model was developed from our pioneering work providing education centres and learning opportunities for boys doing hazardous work. We wanted to build on our learning about interventions with working children – and provide literacy, numeracy and life skills for working girls too. We realised children doing domestic work may not be allowed to travel to a local centre, so we designed this programme to take learning directly to the domestic settings where children work. Our specially trained community teachers support individual children or small groups who work near each other, with the employers’ permission, in their homes. At the same time, different awareness activities like one to one meeting, event at local Counsellor office with community people, meetings at neighbourhood of families of the working children are arranged to raise awareness on child labour, child right, child protection, child marriage etc.

 At this moment, our 18 community teachers are working with 248 children (90% girls) and their families.

 Story of Onjona ( Not real name)

 When Onjona ( Not real name), age 12, was asked about her work as a housemaid, her normally cheerful expression would turn somber. She said, "I'm not proud of what I do for a living but I've no other option." She has been employed as a domestic servant for the past nine months. The small business her father runs selling various kinds of chips doesn’t always do well. She and her father are the sole providers for their six-member household. In July of this year, our community teacher, Miss Nisa ( Not real name), included Onjona ( Not real name) in the Doorstep Learning Project of UKBET.

Miss Nisa ( Not real name) addressed her family's dire financial situation and gave her father a loan from UKBET to launch a more stable business. Her father used the loan to launch a small cosmetics business. As a mark of his gratitude to UKBET, he promised to remove Onjona ( Not real name) from her employment as a domestic worker and work to provide her with the life she deserves by sending her back to school.

 Story of Khadija (Not real name)

 13 years old Khadija's (Not real name) family consists of seven members. She has four siblings, with two brothers and two sisters. Her mother works as a domestic helper, and her father has been out of work for quite some time due to his sickness. Then, like her mother, she was forced to work as a domestic helper. Her aspiration to finish her education and be self-sufficient has not yet faded. A UKBET community teacher, Ms. Jhorna (Not real name), found Khadija(Not real name) through a UKBET survey in 2021. Fortunately, Khadija's(Not real name) employer was very co-operative. Ms. Jhorna(Not real name) was given permission to teach Khadija(Not real name) for 1:30 hours, four days a week. Ms. Jhorna's (Not real name)Khadija (Not real name) was one of the few pupils who never gave up on their dreams, no matter how difficult life became. With the support of UKBET, Ms. Jhorna (Not real name) has enrolled Khadija (Not real name) in a school. Khadija (Not real name) is overjoyed by this. Now she continuing her study.

 On a recent trustee visit to Bangladesh,  our Executive Director shows first-hand the impact of our Family Futures project to  our founder and Chair. Pplease see the video : https://www.instagram.com/reel/CnZYg_EhVUI/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet 

Providing stable sources of income for families as well as our Doorstep Learning programme can allow families a route out of child labour and importantly afford them choice. This means the freedom to keep their children in education and not feel forced to send them into labour.

 Please support us supporting the children.

Links:

• https://www.instagram.com/reel/CnZYg_EhVUI/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

It is estimated that 10% of Bangladesh’s population lives in extreme poverty and around 4 million children are taken out of school and sent to work, most often in horrendous conditions, in order to help provide for their families. Despite the employment of children in domestic work being against the law it is both accepted and rife. Employers consider themselves respectable law-abiding citizens rather than perpetrators of illegal child abuse. Over 400,000 children as young as five are employed as domestic workers (80% are girls). Many reside with their employers where they are at risk of abuse, are on call 24/7 and are forbidden to attend school.

Our Doorstep Learning model was developed from our pioneering work providing education centres and learning opportunities for boys doing hazardous work. We wanted to build on our learning about interventions with working children – and provide literacy, numeracy and life skills for working girls too. We realised children doing domestic work may not be allowed to travel to a local centre, so we designed this programme to take learning directly to the domestic settings where children work. Our specially trained community teachers support individual children or small groups who work near each other, with the employers’ permission, in their homes.

Impact of Doorstep Learning Project June 2021- May 2022

 292 children received up to 6 hours of education per week through our UKBET Doorstep Learning Project

121  children (40%) progressed in the following ways

- 57 children enrolled in formal school education

- 34 children joined vocational training

- 28 children completed vocational training in sewing and

- 6 students went on to get job in tailoring as a result

- 4 children completed vocational training in beauty therapy and 1 went on to work in a beauty salon

Case Study: Micro-grants

Samina Khatun(Not real name) , an UKBET student, has worked as a domestic helper since she was a child because her family has always struggled financially. Mrs Eli (Not real name), Saima’s (Not real name) community teacher became aware of her situation and after discussing with the UKBET team was able to offer her father Ali (Not real name) a business loan. Having previously struggled with employment, he accepted the financial help and established a dried fish business. The family is now able to earn a stable income and as a result Samina(Not real name) now no longer has to work as a domestic helper. Mr Ali (Not real name) is extremely grateful to UKBET.

Case Study: School readmission

Khadija (Not real name) is 13 years old and has four siblings; two brothers and two sisters. Her mother works as a domestic helper, and her father has been out of work for quite some time due to ill health. Like her mother, she was forced to work as a domestic helper to help support the family income. In 2021 Ms Jhorna (Not real name), an UKBET community teacher met Khadija(Not real name) through one of our outreach surveys. Fortunately, Khadija's (Not real name) employer was very co-operative and understood the need for her to have access to education through our UKBET Doorstep Learning Programme. Ms Jhorna (Not real name)was given permission to teach Khadija (Not real name) for 90 minutes, four days a week. Khadija (Not real name) loved her classes and the more time she spent on the programme the more her aspirations of going back to school grew. We’re delighted to share that with the support of UKBET, Ms Jhorna (Not real name) will soon enrol Khadija(Not real name) into a school and unsurprisingly, Khadija (Not real name) is overjoyed by the news!

Case Study: Vocational training and job placement

Rumaiya (Not real name), aged 15, was enrolled in our Doorstep Learning Project by UKBET's community teacher Ms Chompa Akhter Eli (Not real name) in October 2021. Like her mother, Rumaiya (Not real name) worked as a domestic helper, working long hours to help support her family. UKBET's mission has always been to not only remove children from dangerous jobs and help them transition to education or vocational training but also to offer them and their families with an alternative and stable source of income. With this in mind, UKBET launched the Women’s Empowerment Programme. The project's goal was to increase the selfsufficiency of females involved in child labour through training in activities like sewing and beauty therapy. Ms Eli (Not real name)saw a wonderful transformation in Rumaiya (Not real name) after just a few of her teaching sessions; she was keen and eager to learn. During one particular session, Ms Eli (Not real name) suggested Rumaiya (Not real name) join an UKBET beauty therapy training course, as part of the Women’s Empowerment Programme. Rumaiya accepted the offer immediately and left her domestic work to train with UKBET. She loved the training course and attended every single session of her three-month training course. UKBET DLP IMPACT REPORT 2021-22 After completing her course, Rumaiya (Not real name) accepted a job at Femme; a well known beauty parlour in Sylhet city that has long supported UKBET and our work. Rumaiya (Not real name) is delighted with her new job; she’s been there for over two weeks now and comes to work every day with a beaming smile! We’re very proud of Rumaiya (Not real name) for her perseverance and dedication to her training and delighted that she is enjoying her new work and the opportunities it will bring her.

 Thank You !

All donations make a profound impact to the futures of working children. No matter the amount, they are always much appreciated.

 *** No name in this report is real.

Links:

• UKBET's Doorstep learning impact report June 2021 - May 2022

Doorstep Learning brings basic education, healthcare and support to children forced to work as domestic servants due to family poverty. Our programme gives children access to education and support to move out of forced labour. It also helps end their family’s dependency on child labour.

Key information about the project:

-        204 young girls and 152 of the families of working children, which in total is over 900 children and adult beneficiaries Schools were closed for much of 2021 but in the short time they were open,

-        48 out of 204 girls left work for school 51 younger siblings of working children broke the pattern of following their sisters into work and went to school instead

-        32 young women enrolled into vocational training as an important step towards a new and better future

-        12 awareness-raising programmes were organised for families and other local stakeholders highlighting children’s rights and the importance of education

-        30 micro-grants were awarded to help families generate a secure income and reduce or stop dependency on their working children

-        343 family members were supported to get COVID-19 vaccinations and arrangements made with Sylhet Corporation for UKBET children to be vaccinated.

-        New clothe, food packs were provided to children at Eid Festival on May 2022

-        We have also provided emergency food, medicine to the families of the children who were affected by huge flood in Sylhet area.

Imrana ' s story

As a child, Imrana's mother left the family, leaving her unemployed, visually-impaired father to raise the children alone. From a very young age Imrana worked with both of her aunts who are domestic workers in different households. Given the desperate need for income to support her family, Imrana soon dropped out of primary school and became a full-time domestic worker. In 2021 Imrana met one of our UKBET teachers, Ms Bushra, and was inspired to get back into school. As part of our work with the families of working children, Ms Bushra convinced Imrana’s aunties to allow her to take part in UKBET’s Doorstep Learning Project. When she heard the news Imrana was delighted! Given a young life full of many struggles, Imrana had lost her hope of a good education. However, now through her classes with UKBET, she has started to feel like she finally has a choice about her life. She is now determined to complete her studies and become financially independent.

Thank you very much for all your generous supports!

Doorstep Learning brings basic education, healthcare, advice and guidance to children forced through family poverty to work as domestic servants instead of attending school. The programme supports parents and guardians in finding ways to increase family income with the ultimate aim of ending child labour.

Our Doorstep Learning model was developed from our pioneering work providing education centres and learning opportunities for boys doing hazardous work. We wanted to build on our learning about interventions with working children – and provide literacy, numeracy and life skills for working girls, too, so we adapted our model to use in domestic settings for children – girls and boys – doing domestic work. We realised children doing domestic work may not be allowed to travel to a local centre, so we designed this programme to take learning directly to the domestic settings where children work. Our specially trained community teachers support individual children or small groups who work near to each other, with the employers’ permission, in their homes.

 At present we are working with 176 children engaged in domestic work at 14 different locations of Sylhet. 90% of those children are girls. 16 community teachers supervised by 1 full time field coordinator and 1 part-time curriculum coordinator are directly working with these children. They are lead by the Project leader.

The impact of our work :

Child labourers develop literacy, numeracy and life skills

As planned, 176 working children are engaged (90%). Additional children are recruited as places became available. 

Covid safety measures were put in place. As child domestic workers mostly have 1:1 sessions in employers' homes, these continued throughout most of lockdown. The boys attend large group sessions at learning centres near to their work places. These temporarily stopped and resumed in September 2021 when lockdown measures were lifted. 

All engaged children have benefitted from basic literacy, numeracy and life skills sessions (6 hours/week) with progress measured by formative and summative assessment against baseline assessments. 86% children have made expected progress. Extra support was given to some children, where needed.

Individual tutorials support children’s progression out of child labour into school or training. To date:

-      67 working children enrolled in school and, in line with national policy, will join in January 2022.

-      5 children completed vocational training. 4 others will be progressing to vocational training early 2022.

-      11 children left their work places, returning to their homes. 

2. Increases in confidence, self-worth and wellbeing

All children developed awareness and agency on their rights, civic responsibilities, health, wellbeing and life choices and were signposted to services and support they can access. 

Increases in confidence, self-worth and wellbeing are supported by child-centred approaches, underpinned by the training and support for the community teacher team. This included a 15-day intensive teacher training course and a workshop programme including: Behaviour management; Managing and supporting learning; Pastoral support and signposting; Active Learning; Child-centred teaching methodology. 

3. Improved health and circumstances for families/no siblings enter the workplace

The impact of the project extends to the working children’s families who are regularly visited and/or contacted. Families suffered extreme financial hardship during the pandemic lockdowns. A micro-grant was given to the disabled father of one working child to enable him to keep his small business going. UKBET raised additional funds to provide each family with basic food packs, plus clothes and food for Eid.

 Additionally, 38 families were supported in the following ways:

-        21 families received interest-free small loans to start or expand a small business.

-        34 siblings enrolled at schools ( to start January 2022).

-        5 family members enrolled in vocational training.

-        9 family member received medical treatment.

-        With support from the Rotary Club, 110 people accessed basic medical services and medication.

-        Birth certificate applications for 17 siblings.

-        9 family members, identified as having a disability, accessed the Government disability allowance, a benefit they were unaware of.

4. Greater awareness of children's rights / decrease in child worker numbers

16 community awareness-raising programmes were held in four wards, averaging 30 participants at each, including Ward councillors, local community leaders, working children’s parents and neighbours. Subsequently, 27 families withdrew their children from work and sent them back to school. No siblings of engaged working children became child workers.

This project has enabled us to deepen our understanding of key issues affecting working children and their families and to further develop strategies to address these. 

1. Illegal employment of children: Despite it being illegal to employ children under the age of 14, it is clear the practise is still very widespread. Highlighting the issue, and challenging the practice, across all sectors of society, continues to be a priority.

2. The rights of children to an education: Education in Bangladesh is compulsory for five years of primary education plus the first three years of secondary education. Nevertheless, family poverty is a key reason why children become full time workers instead of attending school. While ensuring working children on our projects can develop basic literacy and numeracy skills, we will continue to support their transition back to school or progression onto training in order to ensure they can access their right to an education and improve their life chances.

3. Child marriage: Even though the Government has declared Sylhet Sub-district as a child-marriage-free area, the practice is still rampant, especially impacting on the most disadvantaged girls. We were made aware of three child marriages which we tried to stop, and were successful in two cases. We ran a huge awareness-raising campaign against child marriage through direct counselling with parents and children and as part of our wider awareness-raising programme with local people, including films and drama. We have widely publicised the Government’s toll free child marriage Hotline (109) which most potential victims had been unaware of.

4. Drug abuse: Working children can be particularly vulnerable to drug abuse and addiction. We cover the dangers of drugs as part of the children’s life skills programme, and wider awareness-raising.

5. Violence towards children: Some working children are regularly physically assaulted by parents and/or employers. We will continue to address this issue as part of our awareness-raising programmes for families, communities and employers.

6. Malnutrition: Most working children suffer from malnutrition.   We have signed an MOU with Euglena GG Ltd who supply special biscuits which we give to children attending our programmes. These biscuits contain 59 varieties of nutrients and provide 100% daily requirement of Vitamin A, Iron, Iodine and Zinc - the most required nutrients for Bangladeshi children. As a result, we have observed visible improvements in children’s health.

 To further build on this learning, in future projects we will:

-        continue to address key issues as a high priority directly with working children, their families, employers, local communities, as well as wider stakeholders

-        further build our networks with service providers to widen the impact and benefits of signposting working children and their families to benefits, support and advice

-        strengthen connections with schools and training providers to support successful progression out of child labour into formal education or training.

 Story of Pushpa (age 9 years) (Not her real name)

Her first Doorstep Learning session was also Pushpa’s first experience of education as she has never been to school. Pushpa always wanted to go to school like other children of her age but her father, a rickshaw puller, simply could not afford to let her go. She was sent to work rather than school when she was only 8 years old. One day UKBET’s community teacher, Yasmin Akther, visited Pushpa’s domestic employer and asked if she could meet Pushpa regularly in the employer’s house to teach her reading and writing. Now Pushpa recognises Bangla letters and a few words. She says she wants to be teacher like her own teacher, Yasmin, who has provided her first experience of learning. A micro-grant was provided to her father to start a mobile tea stall and enable the family to stop being financially dependent on their children’s labour. Pushpa and her sisters will start school in January 2022.

Our Doorstep Learning model was developed from our pioneering work providing education centres and learning opportunities for boys doing hazardous work. We wanted to build on our learning about interventions with working children – and provide literacy, numeracy and life skills for working girls, too, so we adapted our model to use in domestic settings for children – girls and boys – doing domestic work. We realised children doing domestic work may not be allowed to travel to a local centre, so we designed this programme to take learning directly to the domestic settings where children work. Our specially trained community teachers support individual children or small groups who work near to each other, with the employers’ permission, in their homes.

At present we are working with 176 children engaged in domestic work at 14 different locations of Sylhet. 90% of those children are girls. 16 community teachers supervised by 1 full time field coordinator and 1 part-time curriculum coordinator are directly working with these children. They are lead by the Project leader.

Here is the story of Ratna( not real name) a 10 years old girl who work in a home to earn for her family. Her father is a rickshaw puller earning very little and her mother is a beggar. She has a younger sister and a younger brother. His brother is handicapped ( crippled). Ratna's ( not real name) mother goes to beg every day with her cripple brother. Ratna ( not real name) never got a chance to go to school but she want her younger sister to go to school. The employer in the house where she works she is a police officer, so Ratna ( not real name) also wants to be a police officer when she grows up. Now she is studying in the pre-primary . She is very happy to be a student of this project because she think that this is a huge opportunity for disadvantaged children like them.

Please make a regular or one-off donation to UKBET today – this will enable us to continue giving transformative support to working children and their families, like Ratna ( not real name).