Child Sensitive Social Protection (CSSP) in Bangladesh

Save the Children International, Bangladesh

Why Child Sensitive Social Protection in Bangladesh

CSSP Project in Bangladesh :The thrust of the CSSP project in Bangladesh is to bring child labourers back to mainstream school via a bridge course at a non-formal education centre combined with access to social protection for those who are eligible and sensitization on the needs of the child.

What we are doing :

At Mirco & Meso Level : Developed community level platform i.e Child club and

Community Watch Group (CWG) to sensitize various groups of villagers, leaders and government officials to consider children’s long-term development prospects.

At Macro Level : Influencing the government to design and deliver social

protection programmes that contribute to realizing the rights of children.

Save the Children Bangladesh has focused on :Child Labour & Education

Reason behind Child Labour and dropout rate :

Poverty

Lack of awareness of parents at the need of Child

Trend of Child Labour

Poor quality of services at formal education

Strategy for reducing Child labour :

Non-formal education (NFE) centres induced many parents to withdraw their children from labour and place them in the NFE for education.

NFE centre is set up as a three-year bridge course aimed at bringing children on par with grade 5 in regular school. The children are subsequently mainstreamed into formal school and ensure education stipends.

Assist ultra poor families to access a further 6 schemes under the UP- Community Base targeting

Ensuring social environment of formal schools that is conducive to learning and that standards of teaching should be maintained

Build child sensitivity of EGP (Employment Generation Program)

Strategy for reducing Child labour : CONT….

Our community base advocacy approach in CSSP project is working at three levels i.e micro- on the ground, meso-at sub-district and district level and macro- the national level.

With a view to establish rights of the extreme poor people in decision making process and to create an institutional environment that understands and responds to the rights of extreme poor people.The ways we do advocacy are- By ensuring rights holders’ participation through institution building (Community Watch Group-CWG and Child

Club)

Enhancing child sensitivity of parents and community through capacity of community people through (parenting sessions, Scheme Base sessions, Trainings)

Strengthening different local structures and committees under local government

Influencing in government institutions and influencing in developing child rights base policies by the government

Progress on Child Labour Reduction :

Rigorous monitoring system by Child club, CWG UP has adapted the Child friendly norms at the local level for benificiries

of social protection schemes. 100% success at Mainstreaming children from NFE to formal school. Few Union Parisad declared themselves as a child labour free.

“I myself engaged at the social activities to create mass awareness among the people on child labour, dowry, domestic violence, early marriage, child violence, schemes for the pro poor and sensitizes people to take care of their children .I myself thinks as a change agent to modify our society where each and every children will be treated with dignity.”-Soma Akter , Shib Parasdpur, Amtola, Netrokona,Bangladesh.

-Many Thanks