Needs and Problems of Children and Youth


Children and youth living in the remote rural areas across northern region of Bangladesh still have the tendency of dropping out of formal Education process because of poverty, child labour, early marriage, having no facilities of extra-curricular activities at school, lack of supplementary books, unawareness of parents, inactive School Management Committee (SMC) and so on. Moreover, children and youth hardly have opportunity in decision making process at family, school of social level, especially about the affairs relevant to child rights. On the other hand, children lack necessary information regarding child rights, personal health and hygiene, HIV/AIDS etc. Many of them are at the risk of drug addiction and addiction to vulgar video on cell-phone screen. Even youth of poor families nowadays can avail cell phone for cheap rate. In spite of several progress in education of Bangladesh, the curriculum is still requires reformation to provide better help to children empowerment.  

A NGO Initiatives of Empowering Children and Youth

To address the above mentioned major problems A NGO has planned following actions aiming at empowering them to improve fulfillment of their basic rights:

·        Involving children in Community Monitoring Forum for their participation in developing   quality of primary education

·       Children will be given responsibility of managing school library

·   Parents, members of SMC, representatives of community, teachers and selected children will visit best education institute/s and utilize the learning in developing the quality of their own school/s

·   Children of school and youth groups under social organizations (CBOs) will get necessary supports of games and sports and cultural activities

·  Youth groups’ training/orientation on preventing early marriage, child labour, drug addiction etc

·         Rural cinema show and popular theater show for mass awareness about child rights

·      Sharing workshop on child rights convention, national policy and A NGO policy with children, parents and all respective duty bearers

·         Radio programme through A NGO established Community Radio

·   Public Hearing session to make duty bearers and community sensitized and responsivechild rights

Number of Children and Youth Targeted

The units of Social Organization, Education and Women Rights will implement the plan.
Social Organization will cover 1050 youth.
Education will cover 3000 children aged 6 to 12.
Women Rights will cover 1800 youth of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Institutes.
Beyond the direct target of children and youth, the action will include the parents, teachers, religious leaders, Management Committee of educational institutes and representatives of communities and government officials.