By Mohammed Asaduzzman Sayem | Project leader
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.
By Mohammed Sayem | Project leader
By Mohammed Sayem | Project leader
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