Serving up an education
After his father passed away and his older brothers left home, 11-year-old Morsalin had to quit school and take a job in a local restaurant to support himself and his mother. But thanks to a World Vision Study Centre, he's now able to combine his job with an education, a combination his mother hopes will become his route out of poverty.
“When I grow up, I want to be a doctor to help the poor people in my village,” says 11-year-old Morsalin, who lives with his mother in a single-roomed house in northern Bangladesh.
“His father died three years ago, and after he died, I lost all hope," his mother, Mossamida, begins.
“There was nothing to eat in the house because my husband was the main breadwinner and we didn’t have any land to grow food. I didn’t know what to do for my three sons, who were crying for food. There was darkness all around me.”
Mossamida explains, “I got jobs for my two oldest sons in a local restaurant. Every day, they went there early in the morning and came home around midnight, but they didn’t earn much.” Morsalin’s older brothers have now moved to southern Bangladesh to search for better opportunities in the city, and Mossamida and Morsalin are trying to earn a living on their own.
“I was searching for a way to make a living when I realised that only education could change our lives, so I sent Morsalin to a state primary school. He finished Year Two there. But we were still poor and hungry. Morsalin would come home from school and ask for food, toys and other things that I couldn’t provide. I had to ask my neighbours for some food for him.”
Wiping her tears with her sari, Mossamida describes those days, "I was crying inside and prayed to God for help.”
Soon Mossamida’s meagre earnings working in a local household weren’t enough to support them, and after only a brief time at school, Morsalin had no choice but to leave school and get a job. Like his brothers, he was working in a nearby restaurant, and he worked from early morning until late at night, earning just 30p a day.
Mossamida remembers, “He gave me the money to buy food and other things we needed, but he was tired every day."
Two years before, World Vision had started a project to help child labourers in Mossamida’s community. The project included a non-formal education centre that Morsalin joined, and World Vision obtained written consent from the restaurant owner for Morsalin to attend the study centre.
Mossamida joined her son at the World Vision school and is now learning how to read and do basic arithmetic. “Sometimes I think if I were educated, I could get any job,” she says sadly. “Only education can save us.”
Sakila, a teacher at the school, explains the realities of life in the community. “We work with two groups of 50 children. Ten of the children have jobs, but it’s encouraging that they and their mothers are learning to read. Around here, there are many more from families like Morsalin's who aren’t in education.”
Morsalin describes how his life has changed since he got involved with World Vision. “I go to the restaurant at 6am to wash the dishes and serve bread and tea to the customers. My boss pays me and gives me breakfast. I finish work at 8am and then go to school.”
“Bengali, English and maths are my favourite subjects and I like to play with my friends there. School ends at 11am and then I go back to the restaurant before returning home at 5pm.
“Suvo is my best friend. He’s like me and we work at the same place. We share our bread and toys and when we have time, we go to the river to chat. I’m going to carry on working and studying, and if God is with me, I’ll become a doctor.”
Mossamida comments happily, “I don’t need anything else from World Vision because their school has opened my eyes. I just pray every day that my children and I will overcome our problems and that my children will achieve their dreams.”
World Vision has been working in Bangladesh to improve access to education and to create economic opportunities for the poorest sections of society. Thanks to sponsors and World Vision study centres, children like Morsalin can gain the essential skills they need to bring hope to their family and to their future.