Project for children collecting garbage in Sylhet

In Bangladesh's urban areas around 400,000 people, mostly women and children, survive by sorting and collecting waste materials at local garbage dumps. They work barehanded sorting paper, plastic, metal and glass and selling what they find to recycling centres. This work is horrible.

This project brings basic education to children working as waste collectors. Children are taught literacy, numeracy and life skills by specialist community teachers 3 times a week in education centres close to their workplace. At the same time their families are supported out of poverty enabling the children to enrol in school or vocational training instead of going to work.

- 58( 16 Girls, 45 boys) children are regularly attending sessions at local learning centres

- 9 children had started school

- 12 micro-grants had been given to family members.

-  2 awarness programmes were arranged 

Numerous small businesses were severely impacted by the devastating floods in Sylhet. 12-year-old Faiza Akhter (Not real name) attends UKBET's second standard. Due to the flood, her father's vegetable business was destroyed, and he used all of his savings to repair the damage the flood caused to their house and belongings. When he was about to send his daughter back to work as a housemaid to deal with these terrible financial circumstances, UKBET offered him interest free loan to help him restart his vegetable business.

Story of Fahim ( Not real name)

16-year-old Fahim ( Not real name) joined UKBET's Working Children Project in September 2021 and currently works in a garage. During one of UKBET's routine family visits, our community teacher, M A S ( Not real name), learned about his family's poor financial circumstances. Fahim ( Not real name) has seven siblings. His elder brother is currently unemployed. His father Kayes Miah ( Not real name) used to drive a rented rickshaw, and as a result, a significant portion of his entire earnings was spent to pay the rickshaw's rent.
Considering this situation, Mr. Salam ( Not real name) arranged a loan from UKBET last week for Fahim's ( Not real name) father to buy a rickshaw of his own.Mr. Miah ( Not real name) expressed his gratitude to Mr. Salam ( Not real name) and UKBET for their humanitarian act, and he promised to send two of his daughters—ages 10 and 12—to school next year.

The purpose of UKBET's family grants programme is to ensure that the family has a stable alternate source of income following the withdrawal of their children from hazardous employment like collecting garbage.

Your donations make a profound impact to the futures of working children. No matter the amount, they are always much appreciated. We request you to continue your support.

In Bangladesh's urban areas around 400,000 people, mostly women and children, survive by sorting and collecting waste materials at local garbage dumps. They work barehanded sorting paper, plastic, metal and glass and selling what they find to recycling centres. This work is horrible.

This project brings basic education to children working as waste collectors. Children are taught literacy, numeracy and life skills by specialist community teachers 3 times a week in education centres close to their workplace. At the same time their families are supported out of poverty enabling the children to enrol in school or vocational training instead of going to work.

61( 16 Girls, 45 boys) children were regularly attending sessions at local learning centres

9 children had started school

6 micro-grants had been given to family members

Sylhet region has experienced devastating flood recently. All families of the project were provided packs with essential groceries which were sufficient for a family of 5 members for 15 day.

Case study on family support :

16-year-old Fahim (Not real name) joined “UKBET's project for collecting garbage in Sylhet” in September 2021 and currently works in a garage. His father Kayes Miah (Not real name) used to drive a rented rickshaw, and as a result, a significant portion of his entire earnings was spent to pay the rickshaw's rent.

Considering this situation, our community teacher, Md. Abdus Salam (Not real name), arranged interest free loan from UKBET last week for Fahim's father to buy a rickshaw of his own.

Mr. Miah (Not real name) expressed his gratitude to Mr. Salam and UKBET for their humanitarian act, and he promised to send two of his daughters—ages 10 and 12—to school next year.

 Numerous small businesses were severely impacted by the devastating floods in Sylhet. 12-year-old Faiza Akhter (Not real name) attends UKBET's second standard. Due to the flood, her father's vegetable business was destroyed, and he used all of his savings to repair the damage the flood caused to their house and belongings. When he was about to send his daughter back to work as a housemaid to deal with these terrible financial circumstances, UKBET offered him interest free loan to help him restart his vegetable business.

The purpose of UKBET's family grants programme is to ensure that the family has a stable alternate source of income following the withdrawal of their children from hazardous employment like collecting garbage.

Your donations make a profound impact to the futures of working children. No matter the amount, they are always much appreciated. We request you to continue your support.

Links:

• http://www.ukbet-bd.org

The pandemic has led to rising levels of unemployment amongst the poorest families in Bangladesh. As a result, more children than ever were 2 sent to work instead of school to contribute to their family’s income. A recent joint study from the World Bank and United Nations agencies estimated that 1 out of every 10 girls in Bangladesh did not return to school as they reopened after the COVID-19 lock-downs. Instead, they worked long hours in high-risk physical occupations, often vulnerable to abuse.

UKBET’s purpose is to use education to radically change and improve the lives of working children and their families. UKBET teachers and fieldworkers bring teaching and learning to girls enslaved in domestic work, to boys in hazardous occupations as well as support for income generating to their families. In 2021 a new pilot programme was started teaching children found daily scouring rubbish tips as a way of earning money. The impact of UKBET’s programmes are significant. Working children learn to read, write, use numbers and take better care of themselves. Some return to school, others move into vocational training and safe employment. Families become self-sufficient or are referred to other agencies for support; all enjoy free healthcare. This report is a tribute to the participation and determination of these children and their families.

In Bangladesh's urban areas around 400,000 people, mostly women and children, survive by sorting and collecting waste materials at local garbage dumps. They work barehanded sorting paper, plastic, metal and glass and selling what they find to recycling centres. This work is horrible.

With support from the World Sylhet Sommelon (Convention), Jalalabad Association UK, Just Help Foundation UK, and local Bangladeshi philanthropists, UKBET has piloted a project with children working on dumps in Sylhet. The programme provides numeracy, literacy and life skills sessions at learning centres near waste hotspots. Fieldworkers liaise with the parents and encourage children to attend classes three times a week.

55( 16 Girls, 39 boys) children were regularly attending sessions at local learning centres

9 children had started school

3 micro-grants had been given to family members

Eid festival clothing and food packs were distributed to children and families.

Your donations make a profound impact to the futures of working children. No matter the amount, they are always much appreciated. We request you to continue your support.

In Bangladesh's urban areas there are around 400,000 people, mostly women and children, who survive by collecting, storing and selling solid waste materials. They work with their bare hands sorting material for recycling - paper, plastic, metal and glass - and selling what they find to recycling factories. Childhood days are spent in the worst kind of labour where a range of illnesses - typhoid, diarrhea, dysentery, tuberculosis, hepatitis, are common.

This project aims to provide numeracy, literacy and life skills sessions with specialist teachers at learning centres near waste dumping hotspots. The Community teachers do the necessary liaise with their parents and encourage children to attend classes 3 times a week. Many of the children are identified as malnourished and have illnesses and injuries, so we are providing nutritious food and healthcare. The ultimate goal is to enroll the children into school or vocational training whilst helping parents generate a sustainable income.

The children's literacy, numeracy and life skills are tested at the outset. Their progress will be assessed through formative and summative assessment. The Community teachers will also visit the families of the children to identify their needs. We will gradually provide necessary support to the families for their economic and overall wellbeing. It is anticipated that the improvements will be life-changing for adults and children alike, allowing families to be lifted out of extreme poverty and children to attend school and vocational training.

The project activities had started from October 2021. Here are a few key points of our work so far:

-        We have engaged 45 children so far – 31 boys and 14 girls

-        The average age of the children is 13 years. There are 8 children who are 8/9 years old.

-        We have taken the baseline assessment of their literacy, numeracy skill.

-        We have customized curriculum in line with the national standard. Based on their baseline assessment, 20 children are enrolled in pre-primary level, 12 in level 1, 10 in level 2, and 3 in level 3.

-        All of them are attending 3 sessions per week.

-        The sessions include necessary life skills like washing hands properly, personal hygiene, awareness on drug, child trafficking and other issues related to their context

-        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.

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

-        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. They will be supported by micro grant, referrals, vocational training etc.

Thank you for your kindness in supporting Project for children collecting garbage in Sylhet. Your donation helps ensure that we can continue our work with these vulnerable, poorest of the poor children!

Please continue your support which will enable us to continue giving transformative support to working children and their families.

Links:

• UKBET website