Month: July 2013

Mr. Jahangir Hossain

Programme Manager

Ahsania Mission Children City (AMCC)

Cell Phone: + 88-01758-666888, 01758-555777

Email: jahangirsrg@gmail.com

Mr. Tariq Masud

Programme Coordinator

Ahsania Mission Children City (AMCC)

Cell Phone: + 88-01731396289

Email: tariq_dam@yahoo.com

Opening of AMCC

Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM) formally opened its AMCC interventions at Panchagarh on 1 July 2012. In the opening ceremony, dignitaries and influential government officials were attended ..

In this occasion DAM opened its five-storied building  for residential accommodation of 300 street children at Panchagarh by its own fund. This five-storied building is one of the four buildings of a children village. The enrolled 50 students (street children) were shifted to the newly constructed building from a rented house.

Visit by KNH Germany Representative

Mr. Maruf Momtaz Rumi, Country Coordinator-Bangladesh, Kindernothilfe (KNH-Germany) visited AMCC activities at Panchagarh from 7-8 June 2013. He was very much impressed by the progress of 50 enrolled street children they have made within a very brief period of time. Ms. Saroja Ajja Gouder, Master Trainer, KNH Asia and Ms. Matilda Tina Baidya, National Coordinator, SHA Bangladesh, KNH visited AMCC activities at Panchagarh on 28 May 2013. They commented that ‘AMCC program for street children’s development is really great and wonderful’.

Round Table Conference on AMCC  

A round table conference on  “Street Children and their Rehabilitation in Bangladesh” held at the conference room of Alokito Bangladesh Office (a popular Bangla daily newspaper) at Dhaka on 6 July 2013. Many dignitaries and national level influential persons were participated in the round table.Recommendations of the  round table are  as follows:

• A separate government policy and budget are particularly needed for the street children.

The government should be prepared specific guideline for protection of street children in addition to registered child birth within 44 days after taking birth as because they are deprived of Voter ID Card and opening of Bank Account.

They estimated the number of street children would be six million in 2025 if measures are not taken.

Need to develop  street children for tomorrow’s potential citizen of the country.

The Ahsania Mission Children City will ensure integrated services and facilities for rehabilitation and potential growth through a complete residential support following enrolment until they are educated up to SSC (secondary school certificate) level. A variety of services are planned to be provided as given below:

• Provide full residential accommodation, food, clothes, social and legal protection, secured modern living with  communication network at each village of AMCC..
• Provide basic education up to SSC level.
• Impart vocational training for life-skills development enabling them to enter into the gainful employment or self-employment.
• Provide healthcare, sanitation and hygiene education.
• Ensure personal guidance, counseling and rectification services to those children who have a past record of involvement in any crimes and other antisocial activities.
• Facilities will be created (Play ground, swimming pool and gymnasium )for sports and culture so that the children can build up their potentials and contribute at the national level.
• Impart hands on training on agriculture, livestock, poultry, fisheries including sustainable environment and agro-rural development through a team of professional cadres of agriculturists.
• Provide specialized education for learning about discipline, human rights and civic responsibilities.
• Arrange job placement and self-employment through linking program with potential job market, prospective employers and entrepreneurs.
• Provide micro-finance package support as initial seed money, for starting small businesses and self-employment.

Rehabilitation Facilities and Support Services

The Ahsania Mission Children City comprising Children Villages will be established on an area of about 100 acres of land and will be developed as a self-sufficient institution with necessary infrastructure and facilities to provide full time residential accommodation and production of total food requirement for the total enrolled children. Almost all land (except dormitories, school buildings, power & pump houses, swimming pond ,  internal roads and playgrounds) will be utilized for agricultural production viz. paddy, wheat, quick growing vegetable of both winter and summer seasons and also seasonal fruits in order to meet the everyday food requirement of the children. Besides mini dairy and poultry farms and pond fish culture will also be established to provide the daily food requirements. However, excess food (after meeting in house requirement) will be marketed by the students through market outlet as a part of self-sufficient program. Ahsania Mission already procured 100 acres of land in the project area for those purposes.

Background

In Bangladesh most of the cities and towns particularly the metropolitan cities, have been witnessing the phenomenal growth of the unfortunate slum children over the last three decades. The most vulnerable children (MVC) are mainly parentless or one parent due to broken families of either divorced/separated or abandoned by families and have become abandoned, homeless, shelter less, ill-fed, ill-clothed and devoid of parental care. They are often run-away from homes due to domestic violence, family conflict, poverty, over population, unemployment, family feud, divorced parents (either father or mother alive), river erosion, rural-urban migration due to chronic poverty, floods, droughts, cyclones, rosy dreams and lofty hopes of better job opportunities in the city centers.

An estimate shows that about 3.18 million children of age-range 5- 7 years are involved in works for their survival with meager income that is not enough for having two square meals a day. Having no shelter, food, education, healthcare, social security, parental care, they are subject to be involved into odd jobs like garbage collector, street vendor, porter, begging and other hazardous works for their mere survival. Some of them become victims for trafficking camel jockey in the Middle East countries, child pornography and such other social crimes and illegal activities. Because of such helpless and disadvantageous situation, they are sometimes being used as agents of unlawful political activities either forcefully or on monetary benefits, bomb-making & bomb-throwing, arsoning, looting and burning street vehicles and peoples properties.

Situation of working children in Bangladesh:

About 3.18 million children age-range 5-7 years in Bangladesh are involved in works for their survival. They haven’t two meals a day.  They are involved into odd jobs like garbage collector, street vendor, porter, begging and other hazardous works for their survival. According to an estimate, in 2004 number of street children was 679,728; in 2014 the number will grow up to 1,144,754 and in 2024 the number will be 1,615,330.

This unfortunate growth syndrome of street children is a major concern of the policy makers and planners of the national government at large and NGOs in particular.  Ahsania Mission Children City

Against this backdrop, Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM) with its long experience of working with working children and expertise in the development sector has initiated a project entitled “Establishment of Ahsania Mission Children City for Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Distressed Children” in the district of Panchagarh of the country.

The Ahsania Mission Children City will comprise 10 children villages with 10,000 destitute children. For each 1000 children, there will have one village. Each village will be developed as self-sufficient with necessary infrastructure, staff and facilities to provide full time residential accommodation and production of total food requirement for the total enrolled children. Ahsania Mission Children City will be governed by specific several committees in congruence with child right conventions and child right policies of Bangladesh government

Sponsorship is open to all, any person or organization can sponsor a residential building construction or academic building construction ‘either wholly or partly’ and ‘either a student (street children) or a group of student (street children)’ for single year or multiple years.  Any person or organization can sponsor one of the options (at least) listed below.

Options of Building Sponsorship

Options of Child Sponsorship  

AMCC will  greatly acknowledge contributions of all sponsors..

Construction of children city completed with 10 children villages;

Rehabilitation 10,000 children over a period of 10 years (boy and girl ratio 50 : 50);

Children gain basic knowledge through formal education and acquire life skills through vocational training (agro based, farm/non-farm skills);

Children become aware of child rights, civic responsibilities;

Contribute towards development of skilled human resource;

Impact on poverty reduction vis-à-vis attainment of  MGDs;

Contribute at the National level in arts, culture and fields of games & sports;

MIS established and used to monitor service delivery.

Network established with organizations working for street children;

Experiences documented, shared and disseminated;

SUPERVISION AND MONITORING

In the dormitory one caregiver will be appointed for each 20 – 25 children’s group. All AMCC staff will play role of caregiver. There will be special supervision for ensuring maximum academic performance and special guidance for sports and cultural activities. Qualitative and quantitative indicator based monitoring tools will be used in monitoring of AMCC activities. For this a special AMCC MIS will be developed.

NETWORKING

Close networking and information sharing will be maintained with government agencies, local law enforcing agencies ,local government, child rights activists and organizations, sports and cultural organizations, organizations having similar programmes;

ADVOCACYNational and local level advocacy will be done for ensuring child rights in cooperation with other agencies. AMCC model will be properly documented and disseminated in the national and international level for replication.

The Ahsania Mission Children City will ensure integrated services and facilities for rehabilitation and potential growth of the children through a complete residential support following enrolment until they are educated up to SSC (secondary school certificate) level. A variety of services are planned to be provided as given below:

• Provide full residential accommodation, food, clothes, social and legal protection, secured modern living , communication network at each village of AMCC until the children are 18 years old or secondary school certificate (SSC and Vocational), whichever is earlier.
• Provide basic education up to SSC level.
• Impart vocational training for life-skills development enabling them to enter into the gainful employment or self-employment.
• Provide healthcare, sanitation and hygiene education.
• Ensure personal guidance, counseling and rectification services to those children who have a past record of involvement in any crimes and other antisocial activities.
• Facilities will be created(Play ground, swimming pool and gymnasium) for sports and culture so that the children can build up their potentials and contribute at the national level.
• Impart hands on training on agriculture, livestock, poultry, fisheries including sustainable environment and agro-rural development through a team of professional cadres of agriculturists.
• Provide specialized education for learning about discipline, human rights and civic responsibilities.
• Arrange job placement and self-employment through linking program with potential job market, prospective employers and entrepreneurs.
• Provide micro-finance package support as initial seed money, for starting small businesses and self-employment.