Dhaka
Ahsania
Mission
WELCOME
to the Presentation on
Drop in Centre for Street & Working
Children in Dhaka City Project
Project Period
: January 2012 to June 2013
Funded by
: Comic Relief - UK
Supported by
:
DAM UK
Location of Project : Mohammadpur Thana,
Dhaka City, Bangladesh.
Background:
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Dhaka City has an influx of immigrants from rural areas who live in
slums;
Slum dwellers are illiterate which severely limits opportunity for viable
employment.
Their children engage in high risk and unregulated occupations where,
driven by ignorance of rights and a sense of powerlessness,
Become victims of exploitation and violence.
Families become disintegrated, the children left uncared for and
Many of these children have to find streets as their place to live, work
and survive.
They are excluded from any educational opportunities.
Their jobs are often hazardous,
These children often become victims of sexual exploitation, human
trafficking and drug abuse.
DAM DIC Program
DAM implemented a five year project “Urban
Community Learning Centers” with the financial
support of Comic Relief (UK) from 2006. During
selection of learners for UCLC, it was observed that a
significant number of children living and working on
the street who are known as street working children.
DAM made the plan to start with just one DIC as an
innovation and a real experiment to gain lessons
towards a wide-ranged longer term intervention in
future.
CR 18 Months Grants DIC Present Project
DAM undertaken this project for 18 months as interim
period to continue the DIC activities and learn more
lessons.
Overall Objective:
 200 street and working children both boys and girls will
be supported in regaining family care where possible,
acquire the skills to survive and flourish, free from fear,
protected from violence and abuse, with access to
education, health service, and with the ability to move
on confidently equipped with the skill to pursue a stable
potential career with regular income.
 A family centered awareness on child protection and
safety linked with institutional support developed to
address broader child rights and protection issues.
Specific Objectives:
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200 working and street children will be protected from
indignity sexual and physical abuse
Children withdrawn from hazardous job
Children will be imparted basic education, life skill and
vocational skill training
A child safety zone will be established in targeted (200)
families and community.
Communication and coordination will extended among
service providing organizations
Community capacity about child protection and safety will
be enhanced.
Capacity of the organizations working for under privileged
children will be enhanced.
Target Group:
Street and working children, aged 8 -14 in the target categories using The DIC.
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Children and youth doing hazardous work
Children employed as domestic workers having risk of exploitation
Street children and youth who are at risk of sexual abuse, exploitation and
trafficking
Major Activities of the Drop in Centre
Three dimensional activity run by DIC
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Community Outreach Activities
Drop in centre base activity
Linkage/Advocacy/Networking
Activities of the Drop in Center:
Community Outreach Activities Drop in center base activity
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Survey/ Identify Pocket area of
street & working Children
Collect baseline information of
children
Raising awareness (Family/
Community/ Service provider)
Court Yard Meeting
Meeting with employers
Advocacy meeting with
community people
Day Observance
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Enrollment in DIC
Profile documentation
Ensure personal hygiene
Food, Cooking facilities
Raising awareness
(Children/ Family/)
Counseling (Individual/
Group/ Family)
Multi grade Education
Recreation & Cultural
Activities
Savings
Case Study
Exposer Visit
Advocacy/ Networking
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Health Service
Vocational Training
Job Placement
Liaison with different
organization for
awareness raising
activities.
Legal Aid Support
Liaison with different
school for mainstreaming
Advocacy/ Networking
workshop with Go/NGO
Expected Results
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CHANGE ONE: Local street children especially girls, will have, immediately, a
safe and caring environment and community place to go for support, rest and
love, free from abuse and hazards.
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CHANGE TWO: Children will acquire skills towards non-hazardous employment.
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CHANGE THREE: Local street and working children's voices are heard and they
are active in the local decision-making processes in the DIC, in the community
and in their workplaces.
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CHANGE FOUR: Parents, guardians, employers are more aware of both the
hazards and the opportunities facing the children, more supportive and more
proactive in removing or reducing the hazards.
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CHANGE FIVE: The breakthroughs achieved by the DIC for street children will
be a key driver in the refinement of DAM's Theory of Change for work with
SWC and will inform the development of the wider programmatic approach to
work with SWC by DAM.
Staff Strength:
Sl.
No.
Position
01.
DIC Manager
01
02.
Counselor
01
03.
Admin & Account Assistant
01
04.
Care Giver
01
Tutor
02
06.
Service Staff
01
07.
Night guard
01
08. Outreach/ Community
09. Function
Community Mobilizer
01
Outreach Worker
01
05.
Center Function
Number of
Position
Total
10
Deputy Director from program division of DAM head office coordinates and monitors DIC
activities.
Achievement of the Project:
Activities
Target
Achievement
Remarks
8 pocket area
Collect information
about 360 SWCs
Community Outreach Activities
Find out the place of SWC &
collect basic information
Family selection & awareness
raising
200
239
Among 239 families
DIC children comes
from 140 families.
Courtyard meeting
100
nos.
98
477 participants
attended.
Familial conflict resolution
support / Counseling
Need
based
125 families
Awareness Raising meeting
with job provider about child
protection of SWC
18
17
Meetin
g
272 (average. 16
attended in a
meeting)
Achievement of the Project
Sl #
Activities
Target
Achievement
Remarks
Centre based activities
1
200
255
200
255
3
Children Enrollment
Opening personal file & Individual
Development Plan
Counseling
200 children
255
4
Prepare Case Study
200 children
255
5
Multi grade education
200 children
204
6
Leadership Life Skill Training for
Children
40 children
46
7
Vocational training to Children &
parents/family member
60 children
62
Among them 15 nos.
parents/family
member
8
Guardian Meeting
18 meeting
18
376 (ave. 20 Guardian
attend in a meeting)
2
Meeting of the Children group to raise 18 meeting 18
their voice
10 Food service for needy children &
Need based 13214
cooking facilities
9
Boy-125, Girl-130
511
A child may receive
services more than
one time
Achievement of the Project
Sl #
1
2
Activities
Target
Centre based
activities
Provide First Aid Need
based
Recreation/
Exposure visit
Need
based
Achievement
1526
250 children
Remarks
A child may receive
services more than
one time
A child may receive
services more than
one time
Achievement of the Project (continue……)
Sl #
Activities
Target Achievement Remarks
Networking/ Linkage
1
Advocacy Social
mobilization meeting
2
Mainstreaming to
other school
4
4
19 children
Key Lessons & Observations:
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Vocational training and job placements are considered the best way to protect the
adolescent girls from early marriage and abuse.
Most of the children of 8-14 years aged are found studying in class 1 and 2. Their level of
knowledge and literacy skills is very low.
88% children arrived dirty and not aware about personal hygiene. Most children are
unable to express themselves. Malnutrition, shyness, and fear about unknown place are
common observations of the children.
Parents are not aware of many child protection issues and child rights. Mothers are often
scared to take decisions about anything (child related or any matter) without the
husband’s permission.
The majority of children do not have birth registration and parents have no willingness to
maintain registration. However.
Though DIC through making linkage with Mary Stopes Clinic, but sometimes problem
occur suddenly from children as well as from their families.
DIC faces difficulties to provide health service to children and solve this kind of problem
instantly.
Some times the guardian and the employer have shown less importance to receive DIC
services rather than involving the children to continue in hazardous work to earn daily
income to supplement families.
Strength of DAM Approach to DIC
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Strategy and Guideline Document of DAM “Working with Children Living and
Working in the street of Metropolitan Cities (2012-2015).
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Theory of Change for the Street and Working Children in Bangladesh is a
significant document
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DIC emerged as a successful model for safe place as day shelter for the
Working and Street children where Street children who showed affiliation
and ownership towards the DIC.
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DIC has established an excellent working partnership with Community
people, employers and parents/guardians who have been involved actively
and directly with the DIC.
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A number of child focused organization have been involved actively with DIC
like INCIDIN, BTS, MS, NM, UPHCP and RSC as networking organization.
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Staffs of DIC have specific Job Description. DIC has a very specific
operational guideline which helps the staff to implement the project
activities smoothly.
Main Weakness:
 It become difficult for children to left hazardous work and
receive DIC service properly because their income
supplements daily family income .
Some Opportunities:
 Very positive attitude of community about drop in center
 Staff are experienced about the work with human rights
besides drop in
Some Threats:
 High mobility of the children
 Discontinuity of project support at this moment
 Slum eviction and children migration.
Recommendations
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Need for continuity and scaling up.
Family development approach is more effective and
sustainable.
DIC should have more capacity to increase the number of
children
Children should have an opportunity to raise their voice to the
duty bears through organizing dialogue with different duty
bearers including policy makers as well as government
officials and people’s representatives.
All of the children should have access to the health services.
A Community Based Child Protection Mechanism for the
entire children can be another aim of the project intervention in
future targeting street children. DIC should develop
Community Resource Person (CRP) from the youth group &
influential.
Out Reach Activities
Survey & Information Sharing with SWC
Meeting with Community
people
Courtyard meeting
Music teacher provide from
community
Meeting with employers
Market survey
In House Activities
Children registration
Personal Hygiene
Cocking & Food facilities
NFE
Awareness session
Recreation
Guardian meeting
Networking/ Linkage Activities
Health Service
Vocational Training
Provide life skill education
Job Placement
Right based awareness session
Art Film show