It’s a Free Wrold…

Photo: Salman Saeed.

The plight of child workers in Bangladesh attracted the attention of quite a few philanthropists from both home and abroad. They initiated programs in the non-government sector to promote welfare of the working children. The most notable of them, a New Zealander, Mr. L.N. Cheyne, on his visit to war-ravaged Bangladesh in 1972,was particularly moved by the miseries of child workers in Dhaka, subsequently he founded an international NGO, underprivileged children’s educational Programs(UCEP),as a beacon hope for working children. UCEP, from a modest beginning as a provider of general education on a limited scale in Dhaka has by emerged as the leading national NGO promoting the cause of child workers in Bangladesh. UCEP pursues,” an integrated strategy of human resources development, incorporating general education, followed by skill training and employment placement services”. UCEP currently operates 3 general schools,3 technical schools,5 para-trade training centers and has total enrollment of around 22,000.each school operates three shifts, each of two and half hour’s duration to allow the working children to pursue education while working.