COUNTRY / PROBLEM
Bangladesh is located in South Asia, on the Bay of Bengal. As a country, it came into existence in 1971, when it won independence from Pakistan in Bangladesh Liberation War (also known as Bangladesh War of Independence). It is one of the most densely populated and poorest countries in the world.
At the same time, Bangladesh is one of the countries with the cheapest labour, where almost 13% of children aged 5–14 are working. This is not prevented by the fact that, as of 2006, only children over 14 years of age can be employed in Bangladesh. Children are employed illegally, and many factories, especially smaller ones, employ only minors. During the production of the “Domino Effect” episode, seven out of 42 million children aged 5–17 living in this country worked, and half of them could not attend school as a result.
ORGANISATION
The Spanish organisation Educo runs in Dhaka 5 schools for working children, where more than nine thousand pupils receive education. These schools operate in two shifts – children who work in the mornings start lessons at 1 p.m., whereas those who work afternoon shifts come to school at 8:30 a.m. Thanks to this, children do not have to give up work, which is sometimes the main source of income for the whole family.
PROJECTS
Kulczyk Foundation supported the Educo organisation by renovating and retrofitting five schools for working children.
