Executive Summary
Children and young people are the future of the world. Around the world, there are a large number of young people. Magic Bus works with poor children and young adults and hence focuses on helping them transition from a difficult childhood to a life filled with purpose. Magic Bus has been conducting a childhood to livelihood program with this topic in mind. To make the most of this immense demographic potential, we must combat poverty and unemployment, the two foes threatening to squander our demographic dividend. The struggle against poverty starts in the classroom. Allowing children to finish secondary school, imbuing them with life skills such as cooperation, problem-solving, and communication, and making them more robust to the effects of poverty, will start the process of eradicating poverty. Magic Bus accomplishes this with the support of its award-winning sports and activity-based curriculum. Magic Bus is increasing children’s self-efficacy and resilience, which means they will be able to postpone the age of marriage in their country. This also means that, with secondary education and hopes for a better future, most of these children will seek skill-based training to find work, furthering the cycle that will lift them out of poverty.
Magic Bus’s Livelihood program kicks in, assisting young people age 18 in developing the necessary skills to find work in the organized sector. The Childhood to Livelihood approach positively impacts the lives of 3,75,000 children and young adults in 22 Indian states. Since 2015, Magic Bus has expanded its working periphery in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Myanmar with the objective of a sustainable childhood to livelihood. In Bangladesh, Magic Bus is working on the program with its implementing partner Eco-Social Development Organization (ESDO), in the northern part of Bangladesh. ESDO is the local implementing partner that has been implementing this program in Thakurgaon and Panchagarh districts since its inception in Bangladesh. The current scenario is that ESDO is implementing this program in Atowary Upazila under the Panchagarh district. The program covers a vast number of students (children and adolescents) in 10 schools in the implementing area. However, this survey has tried to explore the level of awareness about education, nature of school systems and community for girls’ education, gender attitude and behaviour, and aspiration. A mixed approach has been used in this study, where the qualitative approach is dominant in nature. This survey has included 257 sample adolescents and children from 06 schools using the Child-Parent Registration Format (CPRF) of 1518 children in the project area. After collecting the field data, an excel sheet and SPSS software were used for data input and analysis. The analyzed data refer to the significant portion (24.9%) of the respondents belonging to Bolorampur High School who are studying in classes six and seven. It is also found that a considerable percentage of the students (89.9%) do not know their date of birth in the surveyed area. Survey also finds that the rate of school enrollment and attendance of the respondents are outstanding in number. At the same time, the majority of them go to school to increase their knowledge and develop a better future. It is seen that a significant portion come to school because they enjoy classes and they meet with their friends respectively in the surveyed area.
Interestingly, all respondents have argued that they come to school unintentionally or are compelled or pressured by parents or other reasons. Most of the children in this study said that illness and school are very far restraining their school enrollment. It is observed that a proper hygienic environment, good medical services, and awareness should be built to reduce child illness.
Most of the student’s inclination to study at home has been impacted (97.3%) by the COVID-19. In contrast, the majority of the family of the respondents have managed tuition teachers for the continuation of the study during the pandemic. Moreover, the survey finds the nature of menstrual hygiene and the girls’ care. In contrast, most girls go to school and use clothes, sanitary, napkins, and pad during the menstrual cycle in the study area. Most students have opined that the school environment is a better place in terms of getting time to play with my friends (before lockdown), practising rights to be in school, and using the toilets in the school to urinate and defecate. In addition, it can be summed up that a significant portion of the respondents (48.2%) can play three to four times a week in school and village playground as well as a homestead for playing different types of plays.
Survey also finds that gender-based perception about playing outdoor sports of the female person and talking to the opposite gender person is moderate where supportive and programmatic interventions can take place to change their understanding for a better and gender-sensitive and friendly environment in the study locations. Adolescents ponder that families should spend the same amount of money on the medical care of both boys and girls. If this kind of thinking state could exist in the society and the community, then gender-based equality in promoting sound health and well-being can be found for both males and females. It can be said that in the study area, there still exists patriarchal dominance in every sphere of society. Gender-based knowledge should be developed widely throughout the schools and study centres for the gender-sensitive and gender-responsive community. Data shows that some difficulties and influential factors force male members to the practical or outside work rather than practising art or similar act. The findings indicate that changes may occur during puberty; the girl should share about this kind of situation like hesitancy or shyness about playing or running to the trustworthy person like the teacher, parents, and others. It is also observed that a significant portion of the students think they should work to get something if they want it and make decisions to help them achieve their goals. They know how to organize a time to complete all responsibilities and school work.
In contrast, a dominant portion of the students get mad or angry quickly and yell at people, and they sometimes break or throw or drop things on purpose and occasionally hit the people when angry. Most respondents have said that education is much more important to them than other activities. The data trends show that the existing pattern of the resilience of adolescents should be increased for a better and enabled generation.
The study also finds that a portion of respondents gives a partial amount of pocket money to their mother or elder to keep it safe for further and periodic use who save their pocket money in the places mentioned above. It is found that only a few students have a bank account that has been opened their bank account with the help of their parents. Knowledge of COVID-19 and the behaviour of the respondents are at the nominal stage. In contrast, some of the respondents know covid-19 spreads by coming into contact with the infected person, an infected person sneezes on others, and one can be infected by touching hand, mouth, nose, and eyes. The knowledge of human trafficking of the respondents is feeble. At the same time, it is seen that a few of the respondents have heard about human trafficking and 161 respondents of the study know that human beings are trafficked through the border. Regrettably, it is found that only 2 of the respondents know about school as a trafficking preventive organization or child helpline working in the border areas to curtail human trafficking. Field data indicate that poverty and promising employment are the main reason behind human trafficking. At the same time, almost all adolescent has argued that adolescent is needed to be educated to prevent human trafficking in the study area.
