In Pictures: In Bangladesh, a safety net for children at risk
| Dhaka, Bangladesh
Little Mohammad Rifat, who lost his home in a flood, doesn鈥檛 go to school.聽
His parents had to move from the coast to the capital, and they can鈥檛 afford to send him. Instead, he attends a program for vulnerable kids run by the government and supported by UNICEF in Dhaka. It鈥檚 one of thousands of initiatives by governments, United Nations agencies, and nongovernmental organizations aiming to protect children鈥檚 rights to education and safe and healthy environments.
When photographer Melanie Stetson Freeman and I traveled through Bangladesh last fall, we clearly saw children at risk from poverty, climate change, and the economic fallout from the pandemic. Yet meeting so many young people also reinforced our understanding that children around the world are the same; only the contexts are different.聽
Despite his nation鈥檚 big struggles, Mohammad is focused on the little things: the friends he misses and the dragon fruit he craves.
After showing off a drawing he made of the National Martyrs鈥� Memorial, Mohammad snatches another child鈥檚 drawing and tries to pose for a picture with it. He makes us laugh.
