The term ‘street children’ is usually applied to children under the age of 18, who either live or make a living on the streets. Some may have family connections, but others are simply abandoned or choose to run away from home, often due to domestic violence. Street children are highly concentrated all over Bangladesh – especially in Dhaka city. Regardless of their location, they face hardships and exploitation. Street children are generally deprived of their right to education and have little or no access to the formal education system. The majority of them are illiterate and have either never been enrolled, or have dropped out of the formal education system, and it is difficult to secure funding for the kind of informal education which suits street children’s lives. The aim of 'Gorbo Bangladesh' is to make that possible. It is run by the juveniles of Bangladesh. We are striving for providing a non-formal street school to ensure that working children get at least a basic education. We are looking forward in opening a weekly school teaching basic subjects – Maths, Bengali, Science and English. To work all that out we will be needing volunteers. We will be organizing a workshop by the end of December to collect the fund needed for establishing the school. After collecting the money we will set up the school and hire teachers. So, join in and help this defenceless group of children discover more and build a better Bangladesh. The lack of education and educational opportunities makes street children particularly vulnerable to trafficking, child labour, sexual abuse, exposure to HIV/AIDS and other STIs, and police violence. These children remain one of the most overlooked and vulnerable groups of children. Education gives children a chance to have a better future - a better Bangladesh. In school, they learn to think independently, make their own choices and stand up for themselves. As a result, they are no longer so susceptible to abuse by others.
