UKBET Education for Change

UKBET Education for Change runs innovative education programmes for working children in Bangladesh, supporting them into school or vocational training and a brighter safer future. Building the capacity of their families prevents more children being sent to work, and we advocate for an end to child labour.

www.ukbet-bd.org Fundraise for us

fundraising@ukbet-bd.org

+44 795 177 1466

Registered charity no. 1027704

Member since October 2020

Latest News

The Power of Football

Last month we started the first of our new weekly sporting events for the young boys in our Working Children’s Project. One of these events was a football tournament, a great way for children to socialise and have fun, whilst learning important skills.

The first match took place between the children from our Beanibazar and Kodomtili learning centres. All of the players were given brand new football kits and the children were thrilled to see their names on the back of their jerseys!

Sport and in particular football can play a crucial role in improving the lives of the children we work with in our programmes. Importantly, it provides a sense of fun – something not often experienced by children being forced to work in hazardous labour. It also provides a greater sense of social inclusion and improves the physical and mental well-being of the children.

Read more in our blog here: https://www.ukbet-bd.org/.../the-power-of-football-to.../

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

We have chosen to align our vision for our core projects with the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Not only do these goals offer a comprehensive guide to solving the challenges facing our planet, but they act as a focal point for all of us to rally together to create a more equitable world.

We believe that many of the goals are simply a right and that all people should have access to but also that all of the goals are interconnected. Our primary goal is 'Goal 4 - Quality Education', however as a consequence of our work we know that children and their families have access to things like 'Goal 1 - No Poverty', Goal 3 - Good Health & Wellbeing' as well as 'Goal 8 - Decent Work & Economic Growth'.

Explore our project pages to learn which goals we are working towards: https://www.ukbet-bd.org/programmes/child-labour/

On Valentine's Day we can all recommit to the 17 Goals and show love to our planet and all its people

Women's Empowerment Project

A little update on our recent Women's Empowerment Project!

Last October, with the help of the World Sylhet Convention, Jalalabad Association UK and Just Help Foundation UK, UKBET started a sewing training programme as part of our ‘Women’s Empowerment Project’. The participants were the female relatives of our working children projects and our aim was to help enable them to have their own stable income streams and employment. We are pleased to report that 75% of the students enrolled on the course are now employed!

After our successful pilot, UKBET is now in the process of planning to continue and expand the programme’s topics. Training will now be available in beauty therapy, mushroom farming, poultry farming and Batik block printing. With one of our beauty therapy courses, the participants are also being taught Facebook marketing to help give them all the necessary equipment to launch their businesses and be self-employed.

You can read more about the project on our latest blog here: https://www.ukbet-bd.org/.../21/womens-empowerment-project/

About us

When children are sent to work instead of school their life chances are extremely limited without the ability to read or write. We run innovative programmes that give working children a foundation in education and support them to leave child labour and enrol in school or vocational training where they'll have opportunities for a brighter safer future. We also work with families and employers to prevent more children being sent to work, and advocate for an end to child labour.

Extreme poverty forces families to send their children to work to contribute to the household income, where many face abuse, long hours and harsh conditions for very little pay. They are also denied their right to an education and robbed of their childhood. Being an illegal workforce gives employers the freedom to exploit them without any recourse to labour rights or representation.

In 2013 UKBET took a strategic decision to tackle the profound widespread national issue of children doing hazardous work and being denied access to education. Despite it being against the law to employ children under-14 the practice remains rife. Of the estimated 3.45m working children, 1.7m are classified as doing child labour and 0.5m of are aged 5-13. In addition, around 4m children are not in school, either because they are working or because their families are unable to meet the associated costs such as the uniform and books.

We persuade families and employers to release their children for regular classes with specialist community teachers where they learn basic literacy, numeracy and life skills to a level that they can be enrolled in school or training. Many of the children are malnourished or have work-related injuries so we feed them and provide healthcare, and we include recreational activities in the curriculum to give them a window where they can have fun and experience the joy of childhood.

Over the last 8 years we have worked with over 1,500 boys working in hazardous jobs and girls working as domestic servants. Despite the majority of the children never having attended school previously, working long days doing hard jobs and with crowded homes in the slums of the city, up to 55% have progressed to school, vocational training and away from hazardous labour.

Key to the success of our programmes is the support we provide families to improve their situation so that their children can go to school instead of work. In consultation with each family we draw up an action plan that includes access to healthcare, civic engagement and – crucially – sustainable income generation opportunities. This is either assisting them into work or providing a micro grant to start a small business such as a tea stall, buying poultry to sell eggs or a rickshaw. In addition, not one sibling of the child workers on our programmes has entered the labour market due to the contact we have with families.

Another vital element of our work is awareness raising and local advocacy. We hold regular meetings, workshops and events with employers, families, local stakeholders, education providers and in the community on different issues related to child labour and children’s education rights. Our local surveys in areas where UKBET has a presence records a drop in the employment of children of 35%.