Regions: Africa   Asia   Latin America


Name of Organization: National Development Society (NDS)

Country: Bangladesh

Project Title: "Integrated Non-Formal Functional literacy, Semi Skill Training and Self-employment for Street Children in the Urban Informal Sector in Dhaka & Chittagong Cities"

Project Timeframe: 18 months (Starting in June 2005)

Location of Project: Dhaka

Budget Amount: $43,712

NGO contact and website:
House # 7, Road# 2/A, Pallabi, Mirpur-11½
Dhaka 1216, Bangladesh
Phone: 88-02-9012199, 9011976, Mobile 011-043663
Email: nds@bdonline.com

Project's Primary Objective: Strengthen formal and transitional education systems that encourage working children and those at risk of working to attend school.

Description of Organization: The National Development Society (NDS) has been working since 1991 in urban and rural areas of Bangladesh to develop and assist the poorest sections of society, alleviating poverty and child labor. The NGO aims to improve the socio-economic conditions of children and their families, working with them for a bright future with functional literacy, skills training, and scope to climb up the social and economic ladder on the road to an improved standard of living for themselves, their families, and a next generation free from child labor. A good number of beneficiaries of various services provided by NDS have moved towards self-sustainability in their economic life and are running businesses with their own resources generated from participation in NDS's programs. NDS has served people in 13 districts of Bangladesh: Feni, Chittagong, Cox's Bazar, Tangail, Jamalpur, Sherpur, Netrokona, Comilla, Sirajgonj, Mymensingh, Manikgonj, Gopalgonj and Dhaka, including 689,678 families.

Description of Project funded by CIRCLE: Under the CIRCLE Project, NDS will provide basic functional literacy through non-formal and transitional education, and cost-effective, marketable non-conventional skills training to street children. They will link their beneficiary groups with the mainstream formal education program. NDS will raise awareness among the community of the hazards of child labour and the importance of education for all children and involve them to this program. The primary development objective under CIRCLE is to raise the socio-economic status of the street children and their families through basic general education, vocational training, and sustainable development. The immediate objective of the program is to strengthen formal, non-formal, and transitional education system that encourage child laborers, and those at risk of working to attend school.

The NDS target group is street children of 8-15 years who work on the streets and/or in hazardous jobs like construction, leather tanning, begging, hawking, rag picking, shoe shinning, brick-breaking, head loading or attending to street-side shops or other informal professions.

NDS will use the following strategies:
  • Inclusive project management
  • Street-based approach (through Mobile Education Center)
  • Establish linkage and networking with the community, GOs, NGOs, media and parents
  • Mobilizing the community through social work with an emphasis on a rights-based approach
  • Advocating to take the responsibility of the centers for sustainability of the programs
The project will be monitored as per set targets on routine basis, and all findings documented. The following outcomes are expected:
  • High quality non-formal functional literacy training available for street boys and girls
  • Street children have access to non-formal basic vocational training
  • Educational program graduate linked with prospective employers or (self) employment promoters
  • Systematic linkage with stakeholders including community leaders, employers, philanthropists, GOs, NGOs to sensitize them to the rights of the child and child labor

Project Targets (Common Indicators):
Enrollment: 160
Persistence: 50%
Transition: 25% children moved to formal schools or like-minded NGO schools.
Completion: 25%