There is a specific focus on issues of trafficking, child marriage and exploitation within the activities of the camp and host community Centres and teachers are trained to raise awareness with the children. They also work with parents to talk to them about the negative effects of child marriage and the value of girl’s education. We have seen positive results from this over the years, with parental attitudes changing both in the camps and the communities.

Safiya is studying Grade 3 at one of the Centres. She's also a member of the Child Council, and in one of their recent newsletters she wrote an article about her feelings about child marriage.
She says,  “If I leave the school my grandmother will marry me off, which I don’t like at my early age. I have decided to advocate against early marriage in my slum. If my neighbours don’t hear me I will bring my teacher to explain it to them, early marriage is a risk for health and life".

Child councils attached to the Learning Centres in both areas have extra activities focused on gender issues, and give girls a voice. In Cox’s Bazar they have become instrumental in campaigning against child marriage, and creating change within their communities.

Partnering with ‘Girl Determined’, the new Centres in the camps will be used to host weekly gatherings for adolescent girls, led by local trained facilitators. They will cover issues such as decision-making, self-confidence, girls’ rights and planning for the future.​

The current situation for Dalit women and girls living in Bihar State is desperate. Surviving as part of the lowest strata of a brutal caste system, with the added oppression that arises from being female, traps many women in poverty and abuse.

UN Women state that despite government efforts for reform, across the country they continue to face severe maltreatment, including acid attacks, child marriage, dowry-related violence, honour killings, rape, sexual harassment and trafficking.

Compounding this situation are pervading levels of caste discrimination which despite being outlawed, determine much of the structure of daily society. Dalits are considered the ‘lowest’ of the caste strata and face severe restrictions, exploitation and violence.

The work we support here focuses on supporting women and girls to realise their rights to education, health, income, protection and shelter. We encourage them to develop their confidence and self-esteem and to restore a sense of their inherent self-worth.
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We provide access to education for 1,200 Dalit children within 30 colourful and safe environments. Located on rooftops and canal-sides, under trees and inside homes, the Centres are accessible to all. Children learn maths, reading, writing and vital life skills and gain understanding of their inherent worth. They develop knowledge of their rights and will ultimately be resourced to access mainstream education opportunities.

There was no way the young couple could afford this. Weeks started to go by where they were separated from their son (he had been cared for in an orphanage since his rescue) and they could do nothing. The CPT stepped in again and accompanied them to negotiate with the police. For 24 hours the CPT members negotiated with the police, showing official letters and speaking to different departments. At the end of this time, the baby was finally returned to his parents.

It was later revealed that the woman who took the baby had lied to her partner who had been deployed in Somalia with the Uganda People’s Defence Force. She had told him she was pregnant so he would send her money, then when he came back a year later, expecting to see a child of around two months, she decided to try and steal a baby.

​Masese III community is largely made up of people from the Karamajong community, who come from the north of the country where the soldier was from. The woman had specifically targeted this area to find a baby that would look convincing.

On the day Agnes was reunited with her son she said  "I am very happy that I have finally found my son. The lady who stole him thought since am a young girl I would be easily fooled but I am very grateful to the CPT, because if it wasn't for them, trust me, we wouldn't have got this far in rescuing him."

The Child Protection Teams we support in the slum communities around Jinja describe themselves as ‘the eyes, ears and mouths of the children they work to protect’. This story is a great example of how they work to bring children to safety and build a bridge between the community and local services.
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Numbers in the Kutupalong camp soon swelled to over a million. In the ensuing chaos, scores of agencies descended to provide aid, often without adequate coordination or proper consultation with refugee communities. ​

​Numerous tube wells and latrines were placed badly or dug too shallow, resulting in facilities drying out or becoming prone to contamination. 

Having built up relationships over the years, we were uniquely placed to respond to the crisis. Our 45 refugee schools were doubled up as ‘safe spaces’ for newly arrived children and, working with the refugee community, we began a humanitarian response.

We delivered over 5,800 food parcels, 5,250 solar lights and built 200 latrines and 34 tube wells, establishing committees of local people in each area to maintain them

From February onwards Children on the Edge concentrated their efforts on preparing to support children in the longer term. With backing from hundreds of donors, they trained 150 teachers and constructed 150 classrooms in the camp to provide child friendly education for 7,500 newly arrived Rohingya children.

12 year old Aziz (pictured above) lost his mother in the violence as they fled Myanmar. “I don’t like to think about it” he says, “It was very sad when we came here. I cried every day. But now this is where I live. I can go to school. I am the only one in my family to ever to go to school”.

Aziz attends the Learning Centres every day and finds it a comfort that his teacher is from his village at home. 50% of the teachers are trained from within the refugee community and provide a sense of safety and familiarity.

The Centres are bright, colourful spaces focussing on creativity and self expression in addition to basic reading, writing, language and science. The curriculum is taught in a child friendly way and there are plants and flowers starting to grow outside, to create an oasis feel in the barren landscape of the camps.

Nurthza is one of the teachers here. She lost her husband in the attacks and escaped with her two children. She says “Over this time my life has changed so much. I have left everything behind. We all have. To be here and to help children is a great success after we all lost everything”.

​Currently there is no resolution in sight for Rohingya people trapped on the border, and a high chance that generations will spend their lives in Bangladesh as refugees. With this stalemate entrenched, the risk of the Rohingya being forgotten once more, as the news cycle moves on, is very real.

Roshida (below) is trying to survive whilst looking after seven children, describing how “We lost everything… It is very difficult to wake up every day with nothing. But we still try”.