street children

May 11, 2015

Published by Saba El Kabir at May 11 2015

This is what happens when you give a kid a surfboard

Golap Shah is a 14-year-old student of class 8 at Kolatoli High School in Cox’s Bazar. She is somewhat hesitant when talking about her life – impeded in no small part by her having to abandon her dialect in order to communicate. But once the conversation turns towards the one passion of her life, her face lights up with an infectious smile, her apparent unease replaced by a sense of self-belief and an eagerness to let the world know what her life is really all about. Every day, between school, studies, and her daily chores, between 4pm and sunset, she takes to the waves of the Bay of Bengal, her and her surfing board ready for everything the sea has to offer.

April 13, 2015

Published by Shuprova Tasneem at Apr 13 2015

Safer pathways for urban street children

In Dhaka, it is a common sight to see street children running around, dodging vehicles, and weaving in and out of traffic jams. Some beg for money while others attempt to sell flowers, stickers or candy. It is also common to see street children carrying loads, often too heavy a burden for their little shoulders. But these are only a few examples of occupations street children are forced to take on. Many homeless boys and girls at BRAC’s children’s centres for the urban street children programme (USCP) were involved in similar jobs before being taken in, in 2013.

March 12, 2014

Published by Asif Imran Khan at Mar 12 2014

Finding forgotten children on Dhaka streets

Life had not been kind to 12-year-old Shohag. Living in a Dhaka slum, home to some of the worst forms of poverty and depravation in Bangladesh, Shohag lacked access to basic rights such as a secure shelter, food, drinking water and an education. His father died in a construction accident a year ago and when his mother remarried, he found it difficult to see eye to eye with his stepfather. Shohag preferred to face the harsh realities of Dhaka’s streets, looking to earn money any way he could to avoid sleeping hungry at night.