In the brick field in the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, 11-year-old
Aleya is chipping bricks together with her mother, elder sister and
little brother. Depending on the amount of bricks she breaks, she
earns between 20 to 40 Taka a day (US 30 to 60 cents). Two months
ago, a small splinter got into her eyes and caused her vision problems
for weeks. Now she is back at work to help her family survive.
Aleya
is one of the estimated 4.9 million Bangladeshi working children
aged 5 to 15. They perform in many different capacities - as domestic
workers, garage helpers, factory workers, porters in railway stations
and markets, workers in small foundries -- many for little or no
pay, and some of them in hazardous conditions. Many boys and girls
who work do not have access to education and become trapped in
low-skilled, low-pay work that further binds them into the cycle
of poverty. The
picture is especially bleak for children living in urban slums.
There
is growing international recognition of the plight of working children,
their poverty, vulnerabilities and deprivations. While
in many countries there has been a movement for the ban on child
labour, this has not always been accompanied by an analysis or
understanding of the reasons for the prevalence of child labour.
Also lacking is
an acknowledgement of the needs of working children and their families
so that they can break out of poverty. Experience shows that children
with no access to education have little alternative but to enter
the labour market and are often forced to perform dangerous or
exploitative work.
A better future for children in poverty
Providing children with a quality education, life and income-generating
skills is now seen as a means of increasing the options available
to working children and their families. It will enable them to
escape poverty and the need to work in hazardous or exploitative
occupations.
To enhance the life possibilities for children like
Aleya, UNICEF Bangladesh developed the Basic Education for
Urban Working Children
project for 200,000 children, especially girls and their families,
to access their rights to education, protection and development.
In six cities, working children aged 10 to 14 are provided a non-formal
basic education that includes reading, writing, math and life skills
lessons using participatory teaching methods specifically designed
for the needs of this group. Additionally, 20,000 working children
aged 13 years and older will have access to support systems to
ensure they can optimize their education, thus improving their life
chances.
The project started in 2004 and is supported by the Swedish International
Development Cooperation Agency and several UNICEF National Committees.
UNICEF
Bangladesh also actively advocates for educational, social and
economic policies in favour of working children and their families
and supports the progressive elimination of child labour.
“
My mother never had an opportunity to go to school. A teacher came
to talk to her last year, to ask if we were allowed to come to the
learning center close by,” says Aleya. “Since the school
is in the early morning I could combine earning and learning, therefore
she immediately agreed. I love to go to school; I have so many friends
there. When I had my eye injury, some of them came to see me at home
and told me nice stories about school. My teacher also came twice!
“
When our boss is paying us at the end of each day, he used to take
advantage of the fact that we couldn’t count. Now I know how
much he should pay us and make sure it never happens again!” she
adds. “The school also offers livelihood training. I started
with a course in bookbinding but after a week I swapped to the tailoring
course. I hope I become the best tailor in the neighbourhood and
leave my brick-chipping job. When I am big I will be a nice boss,
never beating my staff and not cheating them when I pay their salaries.”
