Education for Slum Dwelling Children in Bangladesh | Donate Today

In the slums of Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, extreme poverty forces thousands of children to work to support their families. As a result, they face financial and practical barriers to attending school.

In the Doharazi Enclaves, Rohingya refugees from Myanmar who have moved away from the larger crowded camps are cut off from education and basic services.

Children on the Edge offer education for 1,700 children in Cox's Bazar and the Doharazi Enclaves through 34 Community Schools. Flexible classes allow access to quality learning, creativity and play for those who face practical and financial barriers to attending school.

1,700 SLUM DWELLING CHILDREN IN SCHOOL

34 COLOURFUL COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

28 TRAINED ROHINGYA AND BANGLADESHI TEACHERS

MUKIYA attends one of our community schools in Cox's Bazar and is very happy there. She really enjoys the extra-curricular activities and loves to sing, draw and dance.

She says that the school has a positive impact on her life and she is so pleased to be learning new things.

Mukiya has learnt to add, subract and multiply, which helps her to calculate money when she is working. She told us: "I can attend school in the morning or afternoon and work in the other so that I can go and sell wood to help support my family’s income.”

WORKING ON 'THE EDGE' IN BANGLADESH

In Bangladesh, poverty is at a level where there are as many as 3.45 million working children.
Slum dwelling children in Cox’s Bazar face financial and practical barriers to attending mainstream school and commonly have to work to contribute to the income of their families.
The magnitude, longevity and escalation of the Rohingya refugee crisis has also placed an additional burden on host communities.
Faced with harassment, lack of opportunities, and the threat of deportation, many Rohingya refugees have moved inland from the heavily-monitored border to ‘enclave communities’ in the Doharazi area.
Children in both Cox's Bazar and the Doharazi enclaves are in danger of exploitation, trafficking and growing up without any chance of an education.

Scene of Doharazi enclave community which shows a line of huts and then the river bank full of rubbish. There is a button that invites you to click to read more.

Doharazi Enclaves, Bangladesh.

WHAT WE DO TO HELP

Working with our partner organisation, Mukti Cox’s Bazar, we offer flexible education and support for slum dwelling children in Cox's Bazar and Doharazi Enclave communities, who cannot access mainstream education. 34 Community Schools (24 in Cox’s Bazar and 10 in the Doharazi Enclaves) enable 1,700 children to benefit from a quality curriculum, taught in colourful classrooms, with a focus on rights and creativity.

Over a hundred children each year progress to Grade 5, take national exams and are awarded with Primary Education Certificates, enabling them to progress in mainstream education. A day a week is set aside for play, self expression and the care of beautiful gardens that surround each centre. Importantly, classes are flexibly timed to enable access for working children.

Teachers are trained from within the community, so children are taught by trusted, familiar adults who understand their situation.

The school garden with a big show of yellow flowers at the front and a set of swings in the background.

The Community Schools have colourful gardens, which the students help to take care of

Daily digital lessons bring learning alive and the creation of ‘Moja Kids’ - an online platform where the children record video newsletters and share them back and forth with Rohingya children in the Kutupalong camp - has been an exciting addition.

In 2020’s AbilityNet Tech4Good awards, our digital education programme was chosen for the Lenovo Education Award, recognising outstanding digital achievement in education.

Children participate in Child Councils within the schools. These provide a space where children can give their opinions and suggestions about how the programme is being run, talk about issues that are affecting them, learn about their rights and communicate them to their friends and families.

The Community Schools are enthusiastically supported by local communities and government officials. Their development over ten years has led to the creation of a best practice model, which is used to maintain standards in our work with Rohingya refugee children.