EYE Program Brief 2013

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PROGRAM OVERVIEWSave the Children’s Education for Youth Empowerment

(EYE) program aims to transform the life outcomes of

working children and vulnerable youth in urban and rural

Bangladesh. EYE is a comprehensive education model for

getting working children and vulnerable youth into educa-

tion or decent employment, enabling them to influence

decisions that affect their lives and advocate for their rights.Save the Children’s EYE program consists of nine projects

that each provide basic education, vocational training, and

life skills education to young people in distinct life circum-

stances across the country.

BACKGROUNDSince the late 1980s, Bangladesh has been experiencing

rapid population growth. This growth, combined with un-

planned urbanization, has led to unregulated industrializa-

tion and a weak rural economy with limited, physical, eco-

nomic, and social resources. Too many struggling families

caught in this phenomena must send their children to work

to help meet daily needs.

In Bangladesh, more than half of all children drop out of

primary school before completing Grade 5, and more than

7.4 million are economically active. At least 93% of these

are employed in the informal sector, and nearly 1.3 million

work in hazardous conditions. Without basic education and

little access to quality vocational training, these young peo-ple can easily become caught in a trap of poverty. More-

over, more than 60 percent of young people who drop out

of school are currently unemployed.

Save the Children’s EYE projects seek to give out-of-

school children a second chance at education and decent

employment through access to non-formal education

(NFE), life skills training, and quality vocational training.

GOAL & OBJECTIVESGoal

That child and youth laborers in rural and urban areas are

economically, socially and politically empowered to build

better futures.

Objectives

1. Child laborers get out of hazardous work and into basiceducation relevant to their present and future life situa-

tion.

2. Youth laborers are economically empowered through

access to technical vocational skill development, ap-

prenticeship, and entrepreneurship training leading to

decent work.

3. Children and youth laborers are equipped and pro-

tected in their work places and society and are empow-

ered as active citizens taking part in decisions that af-fect their lives.

EYE PROGRAM COMPONENTS

Accelerated Basic Education

Since poor parents of child laborers are often unwilling or

unable to support their children’s long-term education,

EYE has developed a basic education course that con-

denses the government curriculum for Grades 1-8 into

three or four years. Students in EYE’s accelerated basic

education classes complete each grade in six months, ap-

propriate for working children, since they are usually more

mature than the children for which the material was origi-

nally intended.

Technical & Vocational Education & Training (TVET)

Children and young people who have completed Grade 5

or its equivalent may enroll in a 6-12 month vocational

skills training course. Training courses provide technical

skills for specific trades such as electronics, industrial sew-

ing and apparel, and screen-printing. Each training course is

operated by an industry professional with a child-friendly,

engaging, hands-on approach.

EYEEducation for Youth Empowerment

EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN BANGLADESH


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Apprenticeships & Entrepreneurship Trainings

Three months of the year-long EYE vocational training

course consists of an apprenticeship within the industry,

through which children gain practical skills and the valuable

experience they need to become competitive employees.

Apprenticeship managers must provide uniforms, keep a

logbook of specific learning targets, and dedicate a trained

supervisor for the trainees. In addition, young people whoprefer to launch their own businesses are provided entre-

preneurship training. After completion of either an appren-

ticeship or an entrepreneurship training course, graduated

youth are placed in decent jobs through self or wage em-

ployment.

Child and Youth Clubs

Child clubs are safe spaces where working children and vul-

nerable youth find social support while learning soft em-

ployability skills and life skills. Many working children have

not belonged to a group of peers since leaving school,

which can lead to feelings of isolation and hopelessness.

Child clubs give them an encouraging environment and

practical support as they seek better futures together. Child

club trainings including basic interviewing skills, resume

writing, and communication skills, as well as important life

skills, such as problem solving and overcoming violence,

exploitation and discrimination. Finally, they learn about

their rights as children and as employees and how to effec-

tively ensure that those rights are fulfilled.

Private Sector Engagement

Since child laborers are intrinsically linked to corporations,

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) provides a frame-

work through which EYE can engage meaningfully with

the corporate sector. In the context of EYE, CSR is an effi-

cient tool to persuade corporations to participate and con-

tribute to the child rights agenda by combating the most

harmful child labor practices. By supporting vocational

training and learning about existing labor laws, employers

and corporations move away from harmful child labor toproviding safe and decent work.

Employers in the informal sector increase their com-

petitive advantage by gaining access to skilled labor

through apprenticeships and job placements.

Trainees receive high-quality market relevant voca-

tional training and job experience through apprentice-

ships, after which more than 70% are able to secure

decent jobs in the formal private sector.

Corporations add value to their brands by ensuring

that suppliers comply with international child rights

standards and conventions.

Joint Program Development and Monitoring

Each EYE project has been developed and monitored

jointly by all stakeholders, including Save the Children, em-

ployers, working children, families, local NGOS, and the

government, to ensure the program is mutually beneficial to

all and is sustainable outside of project intervention.

EYE PROJECTS BY TARGET

GROUP

SUSTAIN - Slum Children

Most children living in slums must work to contribute to

household incomes. For those who do go to school, class-

rooms are over-crowded and under-equipped. The EU-

funded SUSTAIN project aims to increase access to quality

basic education in a safe learning environment for 38,988children in the urban slums of Dhaka and Chittagong, and

mainstream students into the mainstream education or vo-

cational training. The project provides education on sched-

ules that work for most working children and emphasizes

advocacy with families and employers to allow children

time for school.

Child Domestic Workers

It is estimated that over 421,000 children are employed as

child domestic workers (CDWs) in Bangladesh. MostCDWs are deprived of education, training, and recreation,

and are at high risk of exploitation and abuse. With funding

from Comic Relief, Save the Children currently serves

20,000 CDWs with comprehensive education – including

non-formal basic education, vocational skill training, and

life skills training through 150 child clubs or learning cen-

ters and 16 drop-in centers. Learning centers offer non-

formal education close to children’s place of work, and

drop-in centers provide training, support, and rest and rec-

reation for CDWs. The project also works directly withemployers to advocate for observation of child rights and

better working conditions. The project reaches full-time

CDWs who live 24 hours with their employers, part time

BASIC PROGRAM INFORMATIONProgram Dates January 2011 to December 2013

Total Direct Beneficiaries 180,000 children per year

Total Budget $14.52 million USD

Bilateral Donors Comic Relief, DANIDA, European Un-

ion, Save the Children Finland, Save the Children Ger-

many

Private Donors Bestseller, Varner Group, IKEA Founda-

tion, Princess Group, S.Oliver


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CDWs living with parents or relatives, as well as

children at risk of becoming CDWs.

CSR and Child Labor

EYE’s EU-funded CSR and Child Labor project

works to integrate CSR down the supply chain

by building partnerships between private formal

sector companies, informal sector suppliers, and

vocational training institutions to provide work-

ing children with safe working conditions, high

quality vocational training, and opportunities for

a better future. For example, formal sector em-

ployers can support vocational trainings or host

apprenticeships and job placements, while build-

ing a workforce that suits their needs. In the in-

formal sector, program staff, community volun-

teers, and child club members advocate for em-

ployers to improve working conditions and release child

laborers from hazardous conditions into education. At the

national level, a Multi Stakeholder CSR Forum is being de-

veloped to advocate for a national CSR policy for children.

Work 2 Learn - Garment Industry

Bangladesh’s economy relies heavily on textile and ready-

made garment exports, but fierce international competition

means increased quality standards, along with increased

demand for skilled workers. The Work 2 Learn project,

funded by S.Oliver, Dressman, and Bestseller, provides

education and technical training to children, while advocat-

ing for improved working conditions and compliance with

international child labor laws. Children may continue paid,

supervised apprenticeships in safe jobs that comply with

international labor standards until they turn 18.

Rural Children and Youth

Most rural Bangladeshis earn their living from agriculture.

However, low crop prices and high production costs force

rural farming families to seek cheap labor options; children

of farming families must often help. Therefore, in rural ar-eas, Danida-funded EYE projects focus on children and

youth involved in the agriculture sector. Through detailed

market surveys, the project identifies potential alternative

livelihood options for rural youth and provides technical

training services at various points along the supply chain.

Trades promoted include technology-based agriculture, art,

fashion design, and tourism. Community mobilization and

collective action also play a large role in the project.

Street Based Working Children

The Danida-funded “Social and Economic Empowerment

for Street-based Working Children” project serves children

in Dhaka city involved in various forms of street-based la-

bor. Because most of these children do not have fixed

working hours or locations, the project has established

community-based learning centers near places where they

tend to work, sleep, and gather. These centers provide three

years of non-formal education and life skills training, after

which children are eligible for six months of vocational

training and job placement services. The project’s key advo-

cacy initiative is to promote workplace codes of conduct

among local governments and companies.

Working Children with Disabilities

The IKEA-funded “Empowerment of Children with Dis-

abilities in Bangladesh” project targets the needs of working

children with disabilities who are engaged in hazardous la-

bour due to limited educational and vocational opportuni-

ties and harmful social perceptions. To work towards this

group, the project provides comprehensive services

through socio-economic empowerment, inclusive educa-

tion, and advocacy and policy change. As a result of project

interventions to date, more than 300 children with disabili-

ties have enrolled in formal schooling and study in safe,

protective and inclusive school environments, and 800 chil-

dren and their families have acquired vocational skills and

safe income generation knowledge to improve their socio-

economic situation.

Sea-Beach Working Children

More than 500 children are currently employed in Bangla-

desh’s beach resort area of Cox’s Bazar. Situated in an im-

poverished area with the lowest literacy rates in Bangladesh,

the beach offers attractive income earning prospects for

poor families. Children work making and selling food andsouvenirs, as well as collecting shrimp to sell to retailers.

The EYE project, with funding from Danida, operates two

drop-in centers where 200 children receive education and

Child and youth clubs provide practical soft skill trainings and social support to working children.

Photo/Jeff Holt


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vocational training, as well as a safe place for rest and rec-

reation. A large component of the project is raising aware-

ness among families of working children about the inherent

hazards of beach-based work, and encouraging them to

enroll their children in school.

Child-Sensitive Social Protection

Households in Bangladesh who struggle with poverty oftenresort to coping mechanisms that deprive children of ade-

quate education, nutrition, health, and safety, but well-

designed social protection measures have proven to im-

prove children’s lives and reduce child labor. Therefore, the

Finida-funded Child Sensitive Social Protection project

aims to improve access to social protection programs for

poor households with vulnerable children. In addition to

the standard EYE program interventions, we work with

parents, caregivers, community members, and service pro-

viders to increase child sensitivity in existing program deliv-ery, and to motivate policy makers to provide more child-

targeted programs. Communities work together to ensure

that services are delivered to households who need them

most, and that children are protected and nurtured within

communities.

PARTNERSHIP The success of the EYE program is due in large part to its

partnerships with a wide range of stakeholders: Local

NGOs, children’s clubs and networks, media, academicinstitutions, communities, private sector actors, government

bodies, and others. A key component of the program’s

partnerships is to build the capacity of 15 local NGOs on

technical aspects of EYE, as well as organizational manage-

ment and administration. Together, these NGOs form the

“Together with Working Children (TWC)” network, a plat-

form for technical learning, sharing, and external advocacy.

ADVOCACY TWC partners leverage grass roots evidence to encourage

government, corporations, and other institutions to im-

prove working children’s lives. Results of advocacy efforts

to date include a partnership with the Ministry of Labor

and Employment to draft the 2010 National Child Labor

Elimination Policy (NCLEP), and a Joint Child Labor

Working Group to develop the National Plan of Action on

NCLEP. EYE also advocates for private corporations to

promote apprenticeships and age-appropriate decent jobs

for young workers through CSR.

REACH The EYE program currently reaches over 180,000 children

in 3 city corporations and 17 dis-tricts through

partnerships

with NGOs,

corporations,

civil society

networks, and

government

ministries.

CONTACT

Save the Children in BangladeshShahida Begum, Program Director—EYE

House CWN (A) 35, Road # 43,

Gulshan-2, Dhaka-1212

t: +88 (0) 2 88 28 081

e: [email protected]

EYE Program Brief 2013

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