City Desk :
Father of eighth-grade student Arifa Begum, aged about 14 years, at Gangachara upazila in Rangpur died four years ago.
Arifa said, “Among the four siblings, we three sisters used to go to school. But, my brother and mother could not run our studies and family properly even after doing different kinds of work.”
Experts said special measures need to be taken to protect children so that they can bring positive changes in the society.
Children are the future leaders of the country. So, they should be given the opportunity to practice some constructive works alongside their regular studies. They should be given the opportunity to nurture their skills and lessons. With such ideas, Save the Children, Bangladesh is conducting some activities such as child friendly local governance.
Abdullah Al Mamun, director of child protection activities of the organization, said, “In few upazilas of Satkhira District, we are trying to bring changes with the cooperation of the local government. We are doing this work through forming a team of local children and teenagers of each union.”
He continued, “At the monthly union council or ward meetings, children raise their problems. The authorities of union council take measures to solve some problems immediately while they take long-term measure for addressing other problems. For example, someone may be a victim of eve-teasing, someone may have a child marriage or the road they are using to go to school may be flooded or there may be no street lights, no money for school admission, no safe water, lack of school benches or tube wells. “
Mamun said, “The local government can easily solve these types of
problems. Again, if it is found that the road they use to go to school may be in very poor condition, maybe there is a bridge problem somewhere, some of them may be physically challenged but they don’t get disability allowance, someone’s mother is a widow or she has some other problem. Immediate
solutions are not possible for these as it require development planning and time. The local government is working taking time for these.”
Abdullah Al Mamun said, “We prepare the children or guide them after discussion. As a result, they can easily and firmly address their problems.
