A journey towards school

Every morning Mukta Begum, 32, stands alone at the entrance of her house after seeing her daughter Shanta off to school, with a mixture of worry, hope, and uncertainty.

She starts praying to Allah for her daughter’s safe return, for her daughter’s future.

After, her worries cease. A smile crosses her face like an autumn breeze- her fear is replaced with hope. She imagines her daughter achieving realities that were impossible for her.

Because Mukta was forced to drop-out of school as a teen, because of marriage, her daughter’s future is defiantly going to be different. Shanta will not a traditional housewife.

Shanta is a Grade 5 and dreams of being a doctor.

“I had dream to go school but could not,” Mukta says. “We know it is challenging for us to make her a doctor, but we will not give up.”

In Shanta’s class, the majority of students are girls. A decade ago there were hardly any girls found in schools in Birol, an Upazila at northern Bangladesh.

Previously, Shanta’s parents and other families here were not aware of the value of education or why they should send their children to school.

For people with little income, education is often a luxury. For Shanta’s father, a rickshaw puller, it is quite challenging to send two children at school. After buying daily meals and other necessities, nothing remains. 

In 2008, World Vision first started working at Birol Upazila. At first Mukta and her husband Shayed took part in awareness programs. They attended parents’ gatherings, workshops, meetings and training sessions at World Vision. After understanding World Vision’s motive, the parents expressed their interest and agreed to enroll their daughter in the sponsorship programme. After completion of all the process, the project enrolled Shanta as registered child which was the “turning moment” for Shanta and her family, Mukta says.

Slowly, the scenario of the village started to change. Being members of a development group in the community, many parents have learned about the harmful effects of child marriage and the law about child marriage. World Vision, alongside the government, is advocating on this issue at the rural community also.

Mukta says, “Now we are well informed, understand a lot, protest against injustice. Even our children are also aware on things which we did not know!”

It’s a far cry from when Mukta was a child.

“Before, I could not speak in front of anybody. Even I did not even say ‘no’ to my parents when they gave my marriage at 13. What they decided I just agreed.”

Now, this mother is committed to ensure her daughter gets the education she deserves.

“I will never lead my daughter to early marriage,” Mukta says.

In the past, a girl from a poor family didn’t dare to dream of a future with a career. But that’s changing for Shanta.

“Last year she scored GPA 5 in the final examination,” her mother says with pride. “Everybody was wondering and saying how a daughter of Rickshaw puller scored GPA 5!”

And World Vision has helped the community put in place structures to further build up other families.

Mukta says, “We have Child Protection Committee. Being united we make all the families of our community aware. Now no child marriage can take place at our village.”

World Vision built the school here too. Community awareness about the value of education has led to increased enrollment, especially for girls.

Mukta again states, “You can buy everything but the knowledge cannot be bought by money. The knowledge I have gathered after World Vision training and seminars are more than enough for me and my family. If I could get friend like World Vision at my childhood may be my life could be different. “

All the initiatives are helping families to see the value of girls.

“There are many hands in between a marriage. Many of us merry and enjoy the wedding ceremony. But the consequences of early marriage had to be suffered by the bride and groom only. They only get the punishment in the long run,” Mukta says.   

Finding her mother a courageous and wise women, Shanta feels proud.

“I am proud of my mother who knows everything. She is very concern about my future. I believe she will never set my marriage before finishing my study,” says Shanta while watching her mother’s face.

Shanta then mentions about one of her friends, her sponsor from Japan, whom she never met but received letters and photograph from. Meanwhile her mother rushes to room and showing a photograph of middle aged Japanese woman and a bunch of letters with a handkerchief she says “this is the handkerchief she got from her friend. She cares for it a lot and uses it with special care.” 

“My Friend’s letters encourages me to study hard and I can think for bright days.”