Protect Vulnerable Children beyond the Classroom

Dear Sir,

For many children from underprivileged families, home is not a sanctuary but their greatest obstacle. Beyond poverty, family breakdown, domestic abuse, malnutrition and a lack of parental awareness are silently destroying their futures.

At the Centre for Zakat Management’s Lotus Kamal Granada School in Cumilla, many students come from broken families and are left with elderly grandparents after parental separation. One fifth-grade girl even fled her grandmother’s abuse, only to find her mother, a domestic worker, unable to continue her education. Despite teachers’ tireless efforts, malnutrition, neglect and the absence of a supportive home environment prevent many children like her from learning. After primary school, financial hardship also forces many to drop out, pushing girls into child marriage and boys into hazardous labour.

Alongside education, family counselling, nutritional support, guaranteed secondary education and economic assistance for single mothers are therefore essential to protect vulnerable children and secure the nation’s future.