Jobs and education for children in Bangladesh, 4000 Euro

Vialisa is an organization that was established in Bangladesh by a Dutch woman, Lisa van Gerven. Vialisa's first project is the establishment of a "Social Employment Agency". This employment agency helps young people in the ages of 15 to 21 to find an appropriate part-time job or a place in a vocational training programme. By linking work with education they can be motivated to finish their education or to take further training. Many children are forced to choose income instead of education. This means not only that they do not develop as they should, but they only receive badly paid jobs in unfavourable working conditions. 

One of the problems of the homes and schools that Moments of Joy supports in Bangladesh is that their children, after they have reached a certain age or have completed primary school, find themselves back on the street if there is no further schooling and/or income for them. The social employment agency may offer some prospects for this seeming dead end.

Social employment agency
The social employment agency looks for jobs that meet the capabilities of the child, encourage the child's development and offer good working conditions as well as appropriate wages. The employment agency has made contacts with various other NGOs to realize its goals and to provide the children with education that can be offered outside of working hours. 'Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee' (BRAC) and 'Ain-O-Salish Kendra'(ASK), for example, offer primary education to children and young people that can be taken at flexible hours and can fill up the "holes" in their training. English lessons are also given and there are courses in such things as personal hygiene and social behaviour. 

The social employment agency does not just help young people in finding a job, it also guides them with personal matters. It provides training in job applications, helps in finding housing and encourages saving. The young people who find work/training through this project receive intensive guidance for more than a year to assure that the agreements made by the various parties are met and to offer help in solving any problems that may crop up. Children sometimes find themselves turned out of shelters and back on the street once they have reached the maximum age, for example, or sometimes they are bullied at work because they come from the streets or the slums. 

Child labour? 
Vialisa realizes that organizations that lobby for the rights of children are of the opinion that child labour is always wrong, even if the child is given an education alongside of working. These "learn-and-earn programmes" complicate their fight against child labour and they believe that as long as there is any child labour there will be no solutions to the problems of poverty. 
The standpoint of Vialisa and the NGOs with which it works, however, is that child labour will never disappear in Bangladesh as long as there is great poverty, and children who find good work and at the same time can develop their capabilities have a better chance of a worthwhile and independent existence. Children who work without going to school at the same time have fewer job opportunities as they become older and are not paid well, with the result that they are doomed to remain poor and will probably also send their own children out to work. That is how an unsuitable system remains in place. 

The social employment agency has already established good contacts with many organizations, vocational training programmes and companies, both large and small, and has already helped a number of young people. 

Vialisa has the following goals for the current and following year 

2005

• Orientation interviews with 60 young people; 

• Sponsoring of 15 young people in vocational training programmes

• Jobs for longer than 3 months for 25 at a wage higher than 1000 tk a month

• Permanent work contracts for 7 young people

• Positions for 13 at a wage of more than 1500 tk

• Network with 12 potential employers

2006

• Orientation interviews with 80 young people; 

• Sponsoring of 26 young people in vocational training programmes 

• Jobs for longer than 3 months for 35 at a wage higher than 1000 tk a month

• Permanent work contracts for 9 young people 

• Positions for 16 at a wage of more than 1500 tk

• Network with 20 potential employers

To achieve these goals Vialisa needs money for courses and sponsoring of wages for the first months. 

Cost of training programmes
Vialisa has an admittance arrangement with the UCEP training centre for the young people in Vialisa's programme for which Vialisa must cover the tuition fees. The young people are very pleased with this chance, but have an additional problem, namely that they do not live around the corner. It is not just a matter of tuition, but also transport costs. Some other training centres ask for a contribution towards materials and a school uniform in addition to tuition.

In addition to courses in existing training centres, Vialisa organizes programmes in private settings. Vialisa has organized a gardener's programme and a programme for domestic help. Vialisa pays the transport costs, the necessary materials and supports the courses. 
Some of the young people who have been given a job and are receiving training also take daily English lessons during their work/study. Vialisa pays the salary of the instructor, the transport from their work/training to the school and the study materials. 

Vialasa makes use of an existing school for the education programme (15 illiterate young people learn reading, writing and arithmetic in 6 months). This school has made a classroom and a teacher available. Vialisa pays the school for the teacher's time; it also finances the necessary study materials recommended by the teacher.

There is an extra meeting for the young people who take part in the educational programme on Sunday afternoons which is held in the office of Vialisa. It is a participatory meeting in which various topics and skills are addressed, such as communications skills, discipline, personal hygiene and human rights. These meetings are led by Vialisa's social worker, volunteers and specialists from other organizations. 

First quarter wages 
By promising to pay the salary of the participants for a maximum of three months, it is possible for Vialsia to convince employers to give the youngsters a chance; it costs them nothing after all. And in the case of an employer who pays less than the normal wage during a trial period, which is often the case here, Vialisa adds to that sum to bring it up to the normal level. 

For 4000 Euro the social employment agency can cover the costs of sponsoring basic education and vocational training, as well as the financing of training materials and courses in personal hygiene, job application and communication. 

Vialisa Cases

Almas, office clerk
"Almas is 16 years old and lives with his father in a slum on the edge of Dhaka. Thanks to the School of Hope (a school that offers the poorest children from the slums the opportunity of basic education for a very small fee) he has now had 6 years of primary education. After successful completion of this programme, there was suddenly the question: what now? There was no money for secondary school and he had no work experience. To avoid falling into street crime, he helped his uncle in a tea stand. 

When the director of Triton Textile approached us with the request to find a good office clerk, a number of criteria were set. Given the fact that it is an international office, it was important that the candidate be older than 16, have some education and be able to speak a little English. 

We approached the School of Hope and asked them to send us a few boys who had just finished their schooling and who could not continue their studies. They selected a group of former pupils who, with the supervision of the director, chose 2 boys with the fewest chances and the most right to a job. We interviewed the 2 boys and helped the best candidate to Triton Textile. 

Now, Almas is completely at home in Triton Textiles. He has received his first pay check and we are looking, with his agreement, for some way to place a small portion of his wages in a good savings plan in a bank. To improve his chances of advancement, Vialisa has arranged, with the agreement of Triton Textiles for Almas to take an hour of English lessons everyday after work."

Lalon, gardner's training.
"Lalon is 16 years old and lives with his family (he has 4 brothers and a sister) in a slum on the edge of the diplomatic district of Dhaka. When he was a toddler there was an accident in which boiling water landed on him, resulting in permanent damage to his right hand and little hair growth on the right side of his head. He worked for a period in a hotel where he earned 25 taka (30 euro cent) a day. He abandoned that job because the working hours were long and he was unable to go to school. 

Lalon walked into our office because he wanted to go to school to improve his job opportunities. When there was a training spot as gardener, we offered him the chance to build some self-confidence and gain some practical experience. Under the guidance of a professional gardener, he is now planting a vegetable and flower garden at the office of Vialisa. He enjoys it so much that our office boy seizes every opportunity to go 'help' Lalon. Despite the handicap of his right hand, everything is going very well. The social worker makes sure that he washes everyday to clean off all the dirt so that he will not incur any infections on his head before he goes to school in the afternoon." 

Allaudin, dogkeeper
"Allaudin is also 16 years old. When his parents were still alive he was able to have a few years of primary education, so that he can read and write a little. His English is minimum. At the moment he is living with his sister and there are difficulties. His brother-in-law does not earn much and cannot or will not support him any longer. As a consequence, Allaudin wanders around outside. His ambition is to become an engineer to help rebuild Bangladesh. 

When an employer asked us to find someone to take care of his dog during the daytime, we were faced with a difficult job. In a Muslim country like Bangladesh, dogs are considered unclean animals. This became very clear to the dog owners because the household help were not at all happy with the animal. 

When our social worker Namita was visiting the slum areas, she came across Alloudin. He was sitting by himself throwing stones because his sister would not allow him in the house during the day. There was no money for school and he had no job. 
After Allaudin had walked smiling into our office a number of times in the hope that that day there might be a job for him, we gingerly approached the question of this job. To our great surprise, when he was asked to tell what his favourite animal was, he named first of all a dog and then, a cow…. During his first encounter with the dog, it was clear that Allaudin had found a friend. The employer was convinced within a few minutes and Allaudin was hired. To improve communication between Allaudin and his employer, he goes to school every afternoon for an hour to learn English, which will also increase his job opportunities. 

We made an agreement with Allaudin that if he does his work well for 6 months, we will find him a practical vocational training spot so that he can move closer to his dream of becoming an engineer."

Total € 4000,--

€ 2000 is paid for by the general fund of moments of joy and 
€ 2000 is sponsored marathonrunners in New York, F. reyl and friends.

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