SOHAY also has sessions for parents and employers to discourage child labor and offers skills training to increase family income. “Getting working children into formal education is really very difficult,” says SOHAY’s program manager, Mohammed al-Mamun. “They are not like other children. After they leave work, they sometimes find it difficult to make friends and adapt to school.” It is also very difficult to make sure they stay in school – lots of these children don’t finish school.” Seven-year-old Zhorna Akter Sumayya has two older brothers – they are both in work (one at a restaurant, one at a local club). But, after her introduction to education at one of SOHAY’s centers, she now goes to a state primary school. Her parents can’t survive without the money their sons earn, but they wanted their daughter to go to school.
Why do Zhorna’s brothers both work instead of attending school?
Their family is reliant on their salaries to make ends meet They prefer helping their parents They found it too difficult to adapt to school The nearest school is too far to commute to daily