In Bangladesh, the plight of poor families is desperate and access to basic essentials is scarce. UNICEF estimates that over 5 million children between 5 and 14 years old are sent out to work, often in dangerous conditions, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Maisa is 12 years old and lives in a slum area of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Her father died when she was very young and she has to work to help with her family’s income. A few years back she was making garlands with her mother, but her mother has become increasingly ill with a heart problem and diabetes. Mow Maisa has to earn money working on the beach as tour guide and water seller. Because of her family’s situation there is great pressure on her. “I run the family with one of my sisters who also earns money this way”, says Maisa, “I’ve also grown a vegetable garden at the back of our hut”. Not only this, but as a girl, despite legislation from the government, there is still a cultural expectation that the best option for her is to be married young. One parent from the community described how “Unmarried girls are at risk of sexual advances, harassment, rape and kidnap. They are safe from this if they are married. In our country girls cannot earn, only boys can earn so girls have to marry. Girls just have to produce children.” Maisa has no desire to get married early. She explains “If I could change anything about my fate, then I would train to be a doctor. If I could do this it would change everything.” The Community Schools we support in Cox’s Bazar provide a free education in the afternoons for children like Maisa. Here they have a few hours to learn, rest and play with their friends. They are free from any adult responsibilities and given the chance to just be children. All the students follow a BRAC curriculum and are prepared to access government schools at a later stage to continue their education beyond Grade 3. They are also encouraged in creative art and expression. Alongside this, teachers and staff from the programme build relationship in the community with parents and raise awareness about the importance of girls remaining in education, as well as the dangers and damaging effects of child marriage. Maisa has been attending one of these schools for a few years now and has made great progress. She is also part of the child council so she can have her voice heard, influence the shaping of the project and represent the views of her friends. “Before I was in school, people looked down on me and used bad words.” says Maisa, “Now I am in school I don’t get this happening. I can read and write, so my neighbours and relatives praise me instead. I was spending time with bad people when I didn’t go to school. Now I study. I have hope now, that I will get a job which will change things for my family.” Find out more about the Community Schools for working children and read other stories about Bangladesh.
Consider a donation to this work, either at our donate page or by texting EDGE16 and your amount (£1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10) to 70070. Take on a challenge and fundraise for the project. Bahiya is a Syrian refugee, who fled with her family to Lebanon, in order to escape the violent conflict going on around them. She thinks she is 10 or 11 years old, but she's not sure. When she arrived at the tent school we support in Bekaa Valley, the teachers noticed she was stood off to the side, completely uninterested in the developments of the day. She held a girl of three in her arms and another girl of five was yanking on her skirt for attention. It became apparent that these were her siblings, and that she had a choice of staying at home to take care of them or bringing them to class with her. Throughout alphabet lessons and other activities, Bahiya would simply sit in a corner, wiping her little sister's face while she cradled the other in her arms. After time the teachers could not tell whether or not she was benefiting from the lessons at all. She would not speak in class, would never participate in a group or give any account of the last six months of her life. The staff decided to keep a closer eye on her and also, with permission from her mother, to find someone else in the camp to watch Bahiya’s sisters while she was at school. Something clicked, and the difference was loud and immediate. She walked in with a smile and seemed to learn all of her letters in one day. She made more friends than anyone else. Taking away the responsibilities of an adult instantly allowed her to be a child among children. In a recent evaluation with all the children, when asked who they thought had progressed the most the unanimous decision was Bahiya. The smile on her face was priceless. Her teacher said “I feel that while she used to believe that there was nothing more to life than taking care of house work and her sisters, now she knows that there is hope for something more. She recently came to me after class and said that she wanted lessons every day. She thanked us for coming to the camp. We both learned something. She has learned that she was still a child and that children are meant to live a different life than adults. I learned that a situation is only hopeless when you have no hope that it can be different”. Find out more about the Tent Schools we support for Syrian refugee children and read other stories about Lebanon.
Consider a donation to this work, either at our donate page or by texting EDGE16 and your amount (£1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10) to 70070. Take on a challenge and fundraise for the project. There are currently 28 Syrian refugee teachers at the tent schools we support for refugee children in Lebanon. These people are trained up from within the refugee camps and they not only teach, but are a source of help and advice for parents and the wider community. They are a force for good despite living in a situation completely out of their control.
“The teachers here speak the same dialect of Arabic as their students (often they're from the same or the neighbouring camp as the children), they get their culture, so nothing gets by them. The teachers are motivated to learn, motivated to be useful, and motivated to be a changing force in their communities.” Nadine - School’s Co-ordinator The teachers are creating a strong community atmosphere within the settlements and many are looked upon as leaders. These strong relationships between the parents, teachers and other adults in the communities are leading to higher than average attendance and retention rates within the schools. Teachers engage parents in education and to help them to understand the long term benefits for the children. We’d like to introduce you to four of these teachers, to give you an insight into their work and the amazing things they are achieving. Halima Halima is a teacher who has taught with us for two years now, and also works as a trainer. She describes her experience in the tent schools: “Our work is very focused. We work wholesomely, not just to educate the kids but to help them grow into better, more well rounded people. It’s also been really good to learn how to support our student’s growth in learning not to physically abuse each other, and learning about therapeutic methods to deal with what the kids have seen in war; learning about forgiveness. I’ve gained so much experience, and this job has encouraged me to grow not just as a teacher but also in my passions. I write stories and songs and poetry and use them to give the children more fun, creative resources to learn. As not just a teacher but also a mother to one of the students, I’m so glad that my son can read and write well, especially when I hear about other schools poor levels of education. I really like that we teach the children to make conclusions instead of pointing everything out to them". Mariam The teachers are regularly observed by our experienced teacher trainer whilst teaching a range of lessons and they receive constructive feedback. They are given time to meet and work with colleagues to plan and evaluate sessions and to share best practice. The class helper is also observed and they receive feedback to ensure they are able to enhance the teaching and learning and the overall classroom environment. One of the newer teachers from the third school, Mariam said: “It’s really amazing to see the change in our students compared to what they were like in the very beginning. Initially things were so rowdy, but now that some time has passed, they trust us more, they enjoy school and it’s made things better overall.” Hala Hala particularly likes the games and teaching methods used in the classes and the fact that the students have to discover the point of the lesson by themselves which gives them much more enjoyment. She likes that the teachers interact with the children and that the project and craft sessions regularly rotate, keeping the children interested. “The teaching style brings out the best in the teachers” she explains “it brings out qualities which are hidden in the Syrian teaching system and strengthens the children’s personalities. In this school environment the children have no fear, they are comfortable and talk a lot. They have the courage to speak and play. They are happy in school and they go home happy. I haven’t met a child who doesn't want to go to school, in fact many don’t want to go home at the end of the day”. All the teachers are provided with all the materials and resources they need; many they make themselves. Hala enjoys encouraging the children’s creative gifts and feels that through this the children become happy, encouraged and have motivation for life. “They gain courage to try new things. The children in my class want to be doctors and pilots and some of the girls want to be princesses!” she laughs, “We have some work to do on that one!”. Omad Omad finished his university degree in Syria and taught grade 9 science for a year before he had to leave for Lebanon. He has been in Lebanon for over 3 years and had found work in a factory. He now also works for the school 3 days a week, but has to continue working in the factory to support his income. He loves teaching and said that ‘if I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t do it!’. He has enjoyed learning the new child-friendly methods of teaching and use of resources. He described how learning to teach in the camp schools and teaching in Syria is very different, the Syrian schools he has worked in have a frozen style of teaching and use rote learning. He says, “At first when I was asked to attend the teacher training I was offended. I felt I did not need training as I already had my teaching qualifications. However I found the training really useful and learnt a lot of new things about how to involve the children and use resources to help them to learn in a fun way using games and jokes”. The Syrian refugees we train as teachers for our camp schools in Lebanon receive a regular, reliable income which allows them to care and provide for their families. They all receive training and support to build their knowledge and teaching skills, enabling them to excel in their field. They will also be able to use these transferable skills in the future and are constantly learning from each other and developing their practice. You can find out more about the schools we support in Lebanon by going to our project page, and if you can, consider a donation to the work here. We want to say a special thank you to our team of Ambassadors who are holding their 'Hope, Life, Colour, Fun' Ball this weekend, raising funds to help equip and run our tented schools for Syrian refugee children in Lebanon.
We’re delighted to be welcoming Douglas & Gordon as sponsors for the evening at Cowdray Park, Midhurst, whose support is enabling us to provide a tent school, and train and support four teachers to help educate a hundred refugee children for a year. This event is happening at an exciting time for the project, as the children have just started their new term. Over the summer the children took two weeks off over Ramadan and then did an extra two weeks of school to catch up on the learning time they lost when their camps were evacuated in December. Despite this, all 264 children in the schools last year completed their learning and passed their exams. To celebrate they enjoyed a graduation week with certificates, rewards and trips. James Evans, CEO at Douglas & Gordon, said “Children on the Edge is a fantastic charity that we, at Douglas & Gordon, are proud to support. We hope that with our ongoing partnership, Children on the Edge will be able to sustain and grow their projects in Lebanon.” This year sees an extra 160 children enrol, taking the number of children in the tent schools to over 400. We are excited to have the support of Douglas and Gordon as we begin the new term and see the progress it brings. Find out more about the project Consider a donation to the work here It’s been over a month since the flood waters in Bihar State rose to unprecedented levels causing damage, destruction and the death of over 200 people. Children on the Edge have been able to support our local partner, Navjeevan Education and Social Welfare Society in aiding some of the families hardest hit by the floods and from the start of September launched an appeal for donations.
Since this time, flood water has receded and people in Bihar are beginning to return to their villages. Most are repairing damage or rebuilding houses that have been completely washed away. A spokesman for the Bihar governments said "The real assessment of damages and losses will only take place after floodwaters recede fully by the second week of October.” Sister Veena Jacob who leads Navjeevan Education and Social Welfare Society says “The problem people are facing is building their huts again and getting clean drinking water. The ground water here has become mixed with flood water. There is no clean water”. With the support of your donations Navjeevan have provided food for 1000 families, including rice, dhal, beaten rice sugar, milk powder for children and biscuits. We are keeping the appeal open and ask for continuing donations to help people in the aftermath of the flood. Sister Veena says “We are grateful to you for the help given to the flood victims. What people really need now is clean water, hand pumps and help to rebuild or repair their houses”. You can donate to the appeal by visiting our Bihar Flood Justgiving page and find out more about our work with Dalit children in Bihar state by visiting our project page. Thank you. Last weekend, the Children on the Edge team were in Telford to join the jungle-themed Christmas (yes, you read that right) conference for The Body Shop At Home™, along with 1200 of their consultants!
These wonderful women, and a few wonderful men, are some of our biggest fundraisers and have raised a whopping £1.3 million for Children on the Edge over the past 22 years. Children on the Edge have a very close relationship and deep-rooted history with The Body Shop®️, who make a huge contribution to our work. The weekend conference is a chance for The Body Shop At Home™ consultants to get together, learn about new products and get ideas for building and growing their business, as well as finding out more about our work. They heard from our Head of UK, Ben Wilkes about how their efforts directly support our work in Uganda and also found out about how they can continue to support Children on the Edge with fundraising ideas. The Body Shop At Home™ consultants are divided into 10 different regions of the UK and each do their own fundraising. Enthusiastic Regional Managers and Children on the Edge Champions in each area do a fantastic job of encouraging their team members to support our work. The conference at the weekend gave us a chance to celebrate their successful fundraising so far this year, see just how much each team had raised and find out who was on track to meet their fundraising targets. Staff members Eloise, Amy and Ben were raising funds for Children on the Edge on the day too, all going towards The Body Shop At Home™ regional team totals. They did this by selling raffle tickets; wrapping paper; colourful new t-shirts and our favourite Montezuma’s chocolate - which proved very popular! In just one day, the generous delegates helped us raise an amazing £6,670. This joins the £39,732 already raised by The Body Shop At Home™ this year. We’d like to say a big thank you to everyone at The Body Shop At Home™ for their amazing fundraising efforts and continued support. If you’d like to support our work by making a donation, you can do that here. PS. If you like the look of our beautiful new wrapping paper - themed as ‘A Season of Hope’ - we’re delighted to say that it will be available to buy soon. If you’re interested in stocking this in your shop or business, or would like to find out how you can help fundraise for Children on the Edge by selling it in your community, please get in touch with Amy Rook our Fundraising and Communications Officer – [email protected] | 01243 538530. Recent monsoon floods in India's Ganges river have created unprecedented water levels at four locations in northern India causing damage, destruction and loss of life.
Bihar state, where we support education projects for Dalit children, is one of the worst flood-hit states in India with at least 150 deaths and nearly half a million people evacuated. The highest water level record was in Patna, the state capital of Bihar where flood waters reached 50.52m. Sister Veena Jacob who leads Navjeevan Education and Social Welfare Society, one of our partner organisations in Bihar, describes the situation. “The most affected areas are six Panchayathsin Manner Block, Kitha Chwarthar Madhay and Haldi Chapara which consist of 12 villages and are completely under water. There are 50,000 people affected by this flood very badly. Many people are staying back in the villages to safeguard their belongings. They are staying on the house tops. They are drinking the flood water, [there is] no fire wood to boil the water. Only a few are reaching out to them with relief because they are cut off from the main land. The relief camp is kept without basic facilities of food and clean drinking water. It is very heart breaking to see children crying for food to their mothers. Mothers have nothing to provide for the children.” Children on the Edge has made an immediate response to the crisis by sending payment for rice, dahl, beaten rice, sugar, candles and matches for 400 families in the immediate area. The flood situation remains very serious and it is expected their water levels may rise again. Hundreds of thousands of people are not being reached by government help. There is huge gap in food supplies, sanitary kits, clean drinking water, medicine and temporary shelters. We are making an emergency appeal to support the people of Bihar at this time. Sister Veena has asked “On the behalf of the flood victims in Bihar I make an urgent appeal to people of good will to generously contribute to this humanitarian call and express our solidarity and support in time of need. Your contribution will make a difference in the life these needy people” To donate simply visit our JustGiving Bihar Flood Appeal page. Thank you. This afternoon Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK is organising a demonstration in front of the Burmese (Myanmar) Embassy in London as part of a global day of action, organised by the US based Burma Task Force. Demonstrations are also being held in Chicago, Washington DC, New York, Los Angeles and Stockholm. Rohingya organisations in more than 10 European countries are supporting the day of action, along with other organisations including Burma Campaign UK and Burmese Muslim Association UK. Four months after coming to power, the NLD led government has still not lifted severe restrictions on humanitarian aid delivery in Rakhine State. Government restrictions on aid are causing death and suffering for Rohingya and Kaman people living in squalid camps after being forced from their homes in 2012. Ethnic Rakhine, Rohingya, Kaman and all people in the State suffer because of the restrictions. Since increased violence and repression in 2012, Rohingya people have faced a worsening humanitarian situation. Restrictions on travel and lack of security have made growing and buying food much more difficult for Rohingya people. Restrictions on international humanitarian assistance to those in IDP Camps and the rest of Rakhine State also make the humanitarian crisis much worse. Since 2012, 140,000 internally displaced people have been trapped in camps which UN officials have described as having some of the worst conditions in the world. These restrictions and lack of security force Rohingya people to make long and sometimes dangerous journeys to find food. More than ten percent of the Rohingya population have fled Myanmar since 2012. Tun Khin, President of Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK said "Our people are dying in the camps where they fled to four years ago after they fled mobs burning their homes and villages. They are dying in part because the new government has kept in place severe restrictions on delivery of aid. The NLD-led government should immediately lift all restrictions on international humanitarian aid in Arakan State, and ensure security for aid workers.” Protestors are also calling on the international community, including the British government, to apply pressure on the NLD led government to lift restrictions on aid. You can add your voice by signing Burma Campaign's petition which calls on the NLD-led government to implement four steps to help end the repression against the Rohingya. Children on the Edge have supported the plight of the Rohingya for over 5 years, and are currently providing education to refugee Rohingya children living in enclave communities in Bangladesh.
The Dalit people or ‘untouchables’ are India’s lowest caste. Despite being outlawed, the caste system still dictates the order of modern life for millions of people here. The Dalits are shunned by society and suffer from exclusion, discrimination and exploitation. The Musahar are the lowest strata of the Dalit caste.
Government primary schools in Dalit majority areas are scarce, and those that do exist are so poorly staffed and equipped that children rarely attend. A parent’s perspective On a recent visit to a Musahar village in Bihar State, one mother named Gita explained to us that, “My children are enrolled in a government school, but the teachers do not teach. They come and take the register in the morning and then leave”. If they do manage to enrol in schools, Dalit children are frequently discriminated against, being made to sit at the back of the class and restricted from touching or interacting with children of other castes. As a result, those who do make it into school feel isolated and often drop out at an early age. Gita goes on to say how, “There is lunch given at the school, but, because my children are from a lower caste, they must bring their own dishes and are served last. If the food runs out, lower caste children do not eat. I complained to the teacher about this once, and he threatened to have me beaten”. Other parents reported that their children do not attend government school as it is too far away and barely functions. Kana, aged 12 explained, “I look after my siblings while my mother works in the fields. My father has died. I cook, clean and do housework. I would like to learn to read and write, and I did enrol at school. But the teachers do not teach at that school”. A teacher’s perspective Pramod is the only Musahar teacher on the project. In this culture it is very unusual that he managed to complete up to grade 10 in government school. “I was on the verge of moving to the city to pull rickshaws or find a factory job to support my parents” he explains, “then the opportunity came up for me to be trained to be a teacher in this programme, and I decided I wanted to stay and help other Musahar children become educated”. Pramod says that most children from his community work in the fields with their parents as the government schools either don’t function or exclude Dalit children. Some children have little choice as the landlords demand both adults and children work for their keep. Rohit, age 13, reports, “The owner of the land we work demands that I collect grass for his cattle. This can take 3-4 hours a day. Right now I do not have time to go to a government school.” Once inside one of the programme’s classrooms, Pramod describes how Dalit children face additional challenges; “Parents are very supportive of their children receiving education, but learning can be difficult for many of the children as they are often hungry. Many of them only eat once or twice a day and their minds are not accustomed to concentrating on things like school work. They have only known working in the fields”. Health issues are the next biggest challenge facing Dalit children. Many of the children miss significant time at school because they are sick from poor drinking water or skin rashes. Pramod explains, “If it rains too much the surface water becomes mixed with the well water. The colour turns brown. But we have nothing else to drink. At this time, many of the children become sick”. How we are helping Children on the Edge are currently working to bring together three small, active and engaged local partners to provide quality education for Dalit children aged 6-12. Community Learning Centres offer education up to grade 3, which enables children to achieve basic literacy and numeracy as well as provide them a stronger foothold when integrating into mainstream, government schools. The most important element is that the centres are places where the children feel safe and happy, without fear of intimidation, discrimination or abuse. The Community Learning Centres also serve as hubs for civic activities in the Dalit communities. Each centre hosts a Women’s Self-Help Group which meets weekly to discuss issues facing the community and organise efforts to bring out about change. The centres also maintain a communal library which is open to all adults and children; the literature has a focus on promoting health, hygiene and human rights. The Hindi name of the centres actually translates as “Education Change Centres”. Varsha Jawalgekar, director of the programme’s rural centres, explains, “The goal of the centres is not just to provide education to children, though that is important. These centres will also bring Dalit people together and change communities from the inside.” Teachers are trained specifically to adapt to their resource-scare surroundings, using simple, available objects creatively and generously. Trees outside are not only used to provide shade for the classes on hot days, but instructors hang lesson cards from the branches to create numeracy and literacy games. Sticks and rocks are employed as tangible learning aids for maths lessons. Turning the tide of a system which has discriminated against Dalit castes in Bihar for hundreds of years is not a quick process, yet our local partners have a track record of successfully bringing change to marginalised communities through educating residents and lobbying the government for the provision of rights and services. Through our efforts Children on the Edge believes there is a real opportunity for this programme to change the lives of thousands of Dalits in Bihar. Find out more about the project Consider donating to this work. We are recruiting a full time position at our Chichester office.
Are you someone with fantastic energy, ideas and a pro-active way of working that can help support our fantastic fundraisers and help us maximise income from challenge events, community fundraising and our regular donors. If so, you might be the right person to be our Fundraising and Communications Officer and help bring change to vulnerable children across the globe. We are a small but very relational team so the right candidate wont be fazed by pitching in across our fundraising and communications team; picking up the phone to supporters , helping craft compelling communication that inspires our fundraisers and generous donors, but equally wont mind posting out collecting tins and t-shirts. This is a great time to join Children on the Edge, our projects are bringing significant change to some incredibly needy situations and we are looking for the right person to be part of this. If you are interested or know someone who might be, please download our job pack to find out more. Closing date for applications is 1pm Thursday 4th August 2016. |
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