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=