Bangladesh

Bangladesh is very vulnerable to natural disasters such as floods, cyclones, storm surge, earthquake and tsunami. Cyclones and floods in particular cause massive damage affecting millions of lives and livelihoods every year. Additionally, the country is home to one of the largest refugee populations, with more than 884,000 Rohingya people living in camps and shelters in Cox's Bazar. Many of these shelters and camps are extremely congested and located in dangerous flood and landslide-prone areas. Access to essential services, including protection, health and wash are major challenges. 

Education is crucial in a country with so much poverty. It offers children who must work the chance for a better life. That is why our main focus is getting children to school.

About 7.2 million children work in Bangladesh, notably in Dhaka and Chittagong. They are no older than 14. Almost one in six does dangerous work, which the government does not regulate. This so-called informal economy includes collecting waste, working in car factories and chemical workshops, hauling work in the harbour and serving as driver’s assistants.

We provide children the chance to learn professional skills. And we make sure that as many unemployed children as possible finish school. They have a right to.

We also work with companies to improve safety and education of children who do work there. In hopes that fewer children are exploited, our campaigns publicise the disadvantages of child labour.

Children in Bangladesh who roam the streets or are fleeing face great risk. They are often picked up by traffickers and sold. They do heavy, unhealthy and dangerous work – unpaid. 

We provide these children a safe place. We carry out a lot of actions, calling their situation to the attention of police, lawyers and judges so they better protect children.

We also have extensive contact with national government and other agencies. We urge them to modify their policies, pass laws against human trafficking and, specifically, child trafficking.  

Terre des Hommes works in the Cox's Bazar refugee camps, as well as with the host communities. We offer emergency aid to Rohingya children and their families fleeing violence in Myanmar.

Being one of the key emergency response actors, Terre des Hommes works  to enhance the safety and dignity of refugees and host communities in Cox's Bazar providing multi-sectoral humanitarian assistance including child protection and health. Key activities include strengthening access to quality Essential Package of Health Services at the public health centers for refugee and host communities, and ensuring critical access to the Fecal Sludge Management system; and strengthening access to quality, gender-sensitive Child Protection services for at-risk boys and girls, including Case Management and Psycho-Social Support services for refugee and host communities.

We do our humanitarian action through partnership and generous support from the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO).