Challenge

According to the UN, one key to reach the Sustainable development goals is to ensure youth employment in healthy environments. About one third of the Bangladeshi population are children and youth. Dropout rates are 14%, 37% and 22% from primary, secondary and high school respectively19, and the unemployment rate (for youth aged 15-24) is around 15%23. Many children and youth work in hazardous environments that may cause health problems or are at risk of being recruited to youth gangs, illegal work or violence.

We need to ensure that our large human resource of children and youth get the chance to contribute towards sustainable development for themselves, their community and country.

Our response

One reason for the large school dropouts is that students feel alienated from school which emphasize memorizing facts often not related to the students’ reality. Therefore, we have vocational training where students acquire practical skills as electricity and agriculture.

We encourage them to learn useful skills and also to start income generating activities. They come up with ideas, make plans, budgets and present this to the Youth board and the Executive committee.

EDS gives the initial funding. The income generated goes back to the youth, EDS and to further invest in the activity.

The youth report on their income generating activities weekly to the Youth Board where we encourage critical reflection and learning from how to solve challenges that arise along the way.

Bellal… who worked in the Shonali jute mills as a child, got help with education through EDS. He has BSc in …. And worked for an electrical company…. He works as a volunteer and give straining to EDS youth in electrician work.

Cultivating rice in the fish farm as a team

Torikul got the full responsibility to make a plan and budget for buying and selling dresses, sports clothes and sports gear. He and ….(please fill in their names) went to Dhaka where they discussed their plans with our executive committee members Shahadot Hussein and Nurul Hassan. Shahadot managed a local businessman (please fill in his name) to go with the boys to the market and taught them what to look for, how to assess the quality and price of the products as well as how to negotiate with the shop owners. Nurul also provided valuable advice and invited the boys for lunch. Finally, the boys excitedly shared with us what they had learned. They felt so honoured that Shahodot Hussein, Nurul Hassan and ….(name of Shahadots friend) had given them time, paid for their lunch and treated them like their friends.  

Can you write Torikul’s comment here Hafiz?

Results

Our goal is that these students may start their own business and generate own income through providing their service as well as they give training to others.

The EDS youth

  • Sell sports clothes to encourage youth to form sports teams. They also sell dresses for celebrations.
  • Sustainably manage and develop the 6000m2 EDS farm about an hour by cycle from the EDS house. They cultivate fish, shrimp, vegetables and fruit trees. They are responsible for planning, budgets and accounting, cropping and harvesting. They focus on biodiversity and sustainable cropping methods and have brinjal, bitter gourd, guava, mango, … (can you fill in the English names Hafiz? Just write the ones you remember 😊  variety of fish and shrimp.
  • Crop the 2000 m2 roof garden
  • Teach their students in Ajax jute mills to cultivate a garden there so they learn how to grow vegetables and improve their nutrition and health.
  • Electrician training

Can you fill in the effect of the vocational training Hafiz? Have they gained interest in learning due to vocational training? Has it increased their interest in school?

Through this training, the youth develop character like willpower and perseverance to endure challenging situations like flood, thunder and lightning, snakes and draught. They learn to assess the environment and the market, to plan, and find innovative solutions when challenges arise. They become accountable, honest and responsible. They develop commitment and endurance to complete projects.

See references at Link to Publications