The Lets Children Speak (LCS)

Introduction
Bangladesh is a small country in the world but comparatively population is high. There are 1.40 million people in this country where 50% is children. A lion part of the children are engaged in different work to survive in the world. The children have been abused in different types at the working place, home, institutions and community. Most of the time it is unknown to the children, why they are being abused in one hand and on the other hand no proper awareness and guidance for them from the community, local elite, employers, parents, political leaders, local government, local administration and other stakeholders. Event the all stakeholders are not award on children and their rights issues though the government of Bangladesh signed the UN Convention on Child Rights as well as the Children Policy of our country. On those context continuously children are being abused and deprived in many ways like physical abused, mental abused, sexual abused, getting less wages and giving more working hour and hazardous labor etc. Considering those circumstances DISA and like other 15 NGOs in 8 districts are working for establishing and encouraging Child Rights under the project Let Children Speak (LCS) financed by Manusher Junno (MJ) supported by UCEP- Bangladesh. The project has been started since March 2004 and has been ended on May 2007. The project has been extended for another 3 years from 2008 – 2010 by UCEP Bangladesh with financial assistance by DFID.         

Goal   
The rights of the disadvantaged children will be promoted and protected in 8 districts through active participation of the children and community.

Participation of disadvantaged children will be enhanced to reduce violence, abuse and discriminations through capacity building of the organizations working on child rights.

Major objectives

• To build capacity of the children dealing with child right issues.
• To establish data banks/information center to collect and analyze data/information on child right issues with regard to disadvantaged children specially working children.
• To make networking framework with child focused NGOs and stakeholders at local level.
• To create parents, community leaders, employers and local government organizations aware on CRC and encourage them to allow the children to exercise their rights.
• To develop capacity in child rights programming.
• To raise voice of the children regarding their rights.
• To build capacity of the children to develop leadership qualities. 

Project activities
To achieve the outputs of the project different joyful and attractive activities were implemented with the active participation of all stakeholders of the project. However, DISA staff members facilitated the child groups and councils in order to build their capacity for community mobilization and raise their voice, dialogue with all stakeholders in advocacy at local level. The series of activities facilitated during the reporting year are as follows:   

Community children sat together within their living place and formed their groups. All groups selected a nice name for their group identity by ensuring participation of all members.10 numbers of Child Group (CG) formed among the targeted children within the community. Total 120 children formed 10 groups. All groups sit together weekly at their roaming places, identify their immediate problems and explore way to solve the problems smoothly with the assistance of the staff members (Advocacy officer and Assistant Advocacy Officer) of the organizations.

Two Zonal Child Councils formed by the participation of the child group members. One ZCC consists of 20 Child members where gender balanced was cross cutting issue. The ZCCs sit together for their meeting twice a month at their convenient place and select issue for advocacy. 46 numbers of meeting held during last year, the objective of the meeting was to make advocacy plan and identify strategy to reduce their problems in their community, working place and to make a child friendly environment in their community. The ZCCs worked to make an example/ model to other community people and their children. 

District Child Council (DCC)

One District Child Council (DCC) formed by the active participation of the Child Group members of two partner NGOs in each district. Child Group members of one partner NGOs select 8 members as their representative for DCC. 16 representatives all ZCC members guided by two partner NGOs formed a DCC. The DCC sit together for 6 times in the last year at their convenient place and select issue for advocacy.

The key person of the community participated in the meetings 5 times in the last year. The selected persons of the community activated as a gate-keeper to promote and protect child rights in their community.

Training for children

To build the capacity of the children (120) participated in the training course on Leadership quality and Advocacy. ZCC members played a vital role in organizing the training course by 10 batches and facilitated the training.

Dialogue meeting with stakeholders

Dialogue meeting in order to promote and protect child rights at different level with different stakeholders held twice in the last year. The separate meetings held with i) Parents, ii) employers iii) School teachers v) civil society and vi) media. The participants activated to create child friendly environment by ensuring all shorts of supports to the project to promote and protect child rights. A positive environment for children’s access to the stakeholders was made.

One Child Resource Centre (CRC) installed in the office of DISA. Child centered books, magazine, play materials is available in the CRC for the children to ensure children’s amusement. Child rights related data/ information kept in the CRC.      

The children encouraged to collect data/ information on their selected issues from their community, working and roaming places. The information kept in the Child Resource Center (CRC).

Like minded organizations who are working with the children were the participant of this meeting. The organization was more closed to work with the children and shared their experience and learning from each other to meet different needs of the children. All participant organizations were motivated to make networking among them for child rights issues.

Achievement of the year

• One of Community Hospital (Urban Health Care) is providing health facilities to LCS group children.
• A Doctor provides free treatment for oral / teeth to LCS children.
• One school authority committed to admit LCS children by minimum payment with half tuition fees.
• 2 children were removed from hazardous job and got admission at mainstreamed school with half tuition fees.
• 3 children were removed from risky job and got admission at vocational training.
• A Child marriage was stopped by the children.
• A family of a LCS child got Tk. 5000.00 as compensation from a bus company for an accident through protest by the LCS children.
• A cultural team was formed by the LCS children.
• 4 Children were invited and participated at the convention organized by Save the Children Alliance South Asia Region.
• A number of 12 (twelve) girl children were motivated to learn handicraft as they planned to replace themselves from hazardous job.

Major Challenges

• At the beginning Child Group meeting place could not be organized at community level.
• Employers were not supportive to allow their child employees to participate in group meeting.
• Ensure presence of targeted stakeholders, local administration and representatives of civil society at Dissemination meeting of survey findings, dialogue meetings and community meetings at local level.
• Ensure participation of ZCC members especially working children in 3 (three) days Leadership development and Advocacy training were difficult.
• Make the local government representatives to understand and realize CRC issue was very difficult.
• Unstable political situation of the country hampered the entire project activities.
• Difficult of getting permission from the local police station to organize any kind of child gathering such as rally, cultural function etc.
• Lack of interest of the employers on reducing working hours for Child workers.
• Make the parents and employees to understand about preventing torture and abuse children both in family and in working place.
• Difficult of getting permission from school authority for conducting discussion session with school students on UNCRC.