About
Dhaka, Capital of Bangladesh
As night falls on Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka, more than 200,000 children do not go home to a warm and cozy bed. Instead they roam the streets of the city, often barefooted and scantily clad, looking for a safe shelter to sleep.
Flag of Bangladesh
Located in South Asia, Bangladesh is one of the poorest nations in the world with a GDP per capita of about 525 USD (2009). Furthermore, the country suffers from corruption and over-population. One of the most vulnerable and unprotected groups within this vast population is the street children whose number, according to a government estimate, is about 380,000, of which 55% live in the capital Dhaka. Approximately every second child (49%) is under the age of ten and 74% of them are boys. It is expected that the number of children without minimum shelter and care will cross the mark of 930,000 by the year 2014.
Some of the major immediate threats these children face are physical and sexual abuse by the adults from within their close social environment, harassment by the security officials, insufficient or no access to education and lack of steady income.
A street kid with his mother in Dhaka
The Bangladeshi NGO Ekmattra is convinced that the key to a better future for these children is proper education. Only if they have an understanding of the world and learn to take care of themselves do they have a chance to a secure and independent life. The politicians also realize the need for immediate action and are trying to place emphasis on the implementation of Article 17 of the Bangladeshi constitution which states that all children have the right to free basic education. But when it comes to the forgotten and neglected children of the streets this remains a mere rhetoric.
Ekmattra is building a village for street children in northern Bangladesh. It will provide a safe and secure environment in which the children can flourish, express their talents and become individuals of their own accord. The children will be provided with shelter, medical assistance and basic education here.
