Working with the development partners for a fixed term project to ensure long-term support for the street children can hardly bring expected development for them. However, complete development and successful rehabilitation of vulnerable street children entirely depends on long-term support from our part. AB’s working experience with street children has taught that their successful social rehabilitation is mostly depended on the support of their immediate community since they always remain available around us. Hence AB introduced the project “Community Support System to improve the life of Street Children in Sayedabad and Jatrabari area of Dhaka city” in 2009 which aims to establish a sustainable support system through community resource mobilization to protect & promote child rights for the children living on street.
The project intervenes through an outreach as well as centre-based approach with street children by introducing 2 open air street schools and one Drop-in Center cum club. It ensures safe shelter, nutritious food, non-formal & formal education, psychosocial support, recreation, skills/vocational training, healthcare services, participation, job placement/ family reunification, social integration etc for the street children. It also emphasizes on enhancing their knowledge/skills/capacity so that they can become aware of their rights, protect themselves and their peers from abuse and exploitation by influencing and involving local community people & public representatives. The immediate community not only being sensitized for protecting children from abuse but also committed to support their food, education, recreation, treatment and other services required for their development. Thus community ownership has been developed on the project which ensures a long term support from the community even if there is no financial support from the donor agency.
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