From Child Labor to School

“Every day I worked 10-12 hours in a local shop. I would deal with customers, serve them, and sometimes carry goods for the shop. During the long days, I was provided with very little food that was barely enough to fill my stomach,” recounted 12-year-old Syed.

Syed resides in the Rohingya refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar with his elderly mother and five siblings. His family was displaced from Myanmar during the 2017 influx, joining 700,000 others fleeing severe persecution. Just a year before their relocation, Syed lost his father to a chronic illness, leaving the family without its primary breadwinner. Unlike their homeland, the refugee camp offered no farmland; the family relied entirely on humanitarian aid to sustain their large household of seven.

In these dire circumstances, Syed had no option but to engage in child labor, while his older brother struggled to find daily work in the camp’s cash-for-work programs.

Syed was merely 8 years old when he started working as a laborer in a local shop outside the camp. For the next two years, he became the family’s breadwinner. At an age when he should have been carrying a school bag, he was instead burdened with heavy sacks of groceries. During brief moments of ease, he would dream wistfully of his short-lived days in school, playing with friends, and wandering freely around his village in Myanmar.

While sitting at the shop, Syed would watch other children and his friends heading to school and was left with no other choice but to sigh at his fate.

“In my husband’s absence, it was incredibly tough to sustain a family of seven on my own. We relied entirely on ration aid, which was never sufficient. As a result, I had to engage my children in earning a livelihood. Syed was very young at the time and passionate about his education. He aspired to become a teacher. But I believed, with their father gone, that as a boy, he should prioritize earning for the family over his education,” expressed his mother, Habiya, 46, reflecting on her decision to involve Syed in work.

Currently, Bangladesh hosts one million Rohingya refugees who reside in makeshift settlements on the hillsides of Cox’s Bazar. Despite the provision of basic needs in these camps, children still face malnutrition, inadequate educational opportunities, and various forms of neglect and abuse. A recent report by UNICEF revealed that 8% of Rohingya children are engaged in child labor, including carrying heavy loads. However, the actual number is believed to be significantly higher.

Food insecurity and limited access to livelihood opportunities at the household level, along with inadequate educational opportunities in the Rohingya camps, expose children to various protection risks. These include child labor, child trafficking, child marriage, and various forms of neglect, abuse, and violence. Adolescents like Syed, aged 11 to 19, are particularly at risk due to these issues.

Since 2022, World Vision Bangladesh, with funding support from the German Foreign Affairs Office (GFFO), has been implementing the project titled “Joining Forces for Children in Emergency” (JFCPiE) for the Rohingya Refugee camp and host community area in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.

The project aims to improve the protection of vulnerable children and adolescents by strengthening Child Protection mechanisms through access to quality child protection prevention, mitigation, and response services and supports.

Through the case management support of this project, Syed managed to escape the dark era of his life and resume his education. Leaving his job, Syed now attends a Child-Friendly Space (CFS) run by World Vision, where he participates in life skills sessions that encompass a comprehensive curriculum of 36 sessions.

At the center, Syed learns about child protection and risks, including child marriage, child labor, and child trafficking, while also engaging in various games with his friends. Equipped with this knowledge, he not only protects himself from the ongoing risks in the camp but also mobilizes the community by disseminating these critical messages, working as a child advocate.

In addition to the life skills sessions, Syed pursues his education at a learning center within the camp, striving to chase his dream of building a promising career.

Syed’s mother, Habiya, also benefited from the project by attending positive parenting sessions designed to ensure a safe home environment and enhance access to education for children at the household level.

“World Vision staff approached me and counseled me on the risks Syed might face if he continued as a child laborer. I attended sessions with other parents at the World Vision center. During these sessions, I learned about various child protection risks that children face in the camp, which we had previously overlooked due to a lack of awareness. As soon as I understood the protection risks to my child, I brought Syed back home and re-enrolled him in school. He is more joyful nowadays as he goes to school, which in turn makes me happy,” Habiya, Syed’s mother, reflects.

To strengthen child protection mechanisms, World Vision has provided 6,632 children with a complete life skills curriculum, and 24,233 children and adolescents with psychosocial support and psychological first aid through safe spaces, home visits, and other community-based activities. Additionally, 3,915 caregivers participated in positive parenting sessions under this project.

With a second chance at life, Syed is resolute in his ambition to become a teacher. He focuses intently on his education to achieve this goal.

“I want to be a teacher so that I can educate my fellow children at the camp and bring light into their lives,” Syed says with determination.

Despite the fact that 30,000 children are born every year in the camp and half a million children currently live in these makeshift settlements, educational opportunities remain woefully inadequate compared to the overwhelming demand.

“Although I’m fortunate to attend school now, many of my friends and other children my age are still forced into child labor. Many children are being abducted under the guise of job offers. It saddens me, and sometimes I feel scared that I might experience such horrors in my own life,” Syed expressed his genuine concern about the risks that children face in the camp.

“Education is the only thing that can save them from these risks,” Syed commented insightfully.

Amidst the adversity of camp life, Syed still finds hope. He dreams of securing a good job one day and building a large home for his family, reminiscent of the one they had back in Myanmar. He aspires to return to his homeland with rights and dignity intact. Syed loves to dream and remains hopeful for a better future.