Doorstep learning for girls in domestic work

Project: Doorstep learning for girls in domestic work.

Title of the report: Report on Doorstep learning for girls in domestic work.

In Bangladesh, it is illegal for children under 14 to work. Despite this, an estimated 4.8 million children are employed full time, many doing labour in domestic settings. Many poor families depend on their children’s labour to enable them to survive financially.

The age at which children are to be raised in the care of their families and are expected to be built up as the future of the country, some of them need to remain away from family with a view to earning livelihood for the family. That is exactly what happened in the life of Tania (11). The village home of Tania is in Habiganj, Sylhet. They are 2 brothers and 3 sisters. Tania's elder brother is a rickshaw puller and a married person. One of her younger brothers is engaged in seasonal agro-based farming. Tania studied in her village home up to class one. When her elder sister was married off after she passed the S.S.C exams, they needed to take a loan to cover the expenditure of the wedding. In addition, they needed to assist with the bride’s family by providing hand cash. So their financial condition continued to deteriorate. Her mother started working in other people's house with a view to alleviating poverty to some extent. Tania is also employed by her father at a house where he had been working as a caretaker. Then an UKBET teacher at Ward No. 5 in this area, found Tania through a survey and gave her an opportunity to study at UKBET. Now she reads in class 2 at UKBET. At present, her father has quit his job as a caretaker because of a financial crisis and has managed another job at a different place. Due to problems on his one hand, he is unable to do all types of work. Tania suffers from emotional distress at this young age, being alone away from family. Previously he had her father with her but now he has also left her. So her pain is even greater now. From this mental turmoil she occasionally becomes ill. An UKBET teacher took her to a doctor and tried to give her a mental support so that she could continue with her studies.

Predictions by CAMPE, Bangladesh indicate that one third children will be forced to leave school and many of them become child workers due to the devastating impact of the pandemic on the health and poverty of the poorest families in Bangladesh.

UKBET's interventions in the lives of working children and their families have been an outstanding success as the siblings of the working children in our programme has not followed their brother or sister into work. We believe this achievement is significant. It demonstrates how a small charity that understands and has close connections with beneficiaries can support a change in behaviour of a particular target group.

However all this is about to change. A survey of the 263 families known so well to UKBET reveals that their suffering during the COVID/19 lockdown is extreme. 124 families have told UKBET's fieldworkers that their lack of money is so desperate they have no alternative but to seek

work for as many of their children as possible as soon as the lockdown ends. This can be a huge step backwards towards the goal of ending of hazardous child labour if we don’t take preventive action. UKBET intends to continue talking with all 124 parents and guardians to better understand what individual support each family needs to generate income so that their 1,138 children can start or continue school when they re-open.

At present, Doorstep learning project is supporting 85 girls to get basis education, literacy and like skills. We also support interested, eligible girls to join vocational training.

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 Tania, during this difficult time.