‘Children’s village’ rehabilitates mothers; teaches them life skills to support their families

Sreepur/Gazipur, Bangladesh – Founded in 1989, the Shishu Polli Plus multipurpose village was established with an international initiative to support mothers and children to keep female-led families together.

The village offers rehabilitation services that include literacy, life skills, and income-generating skills in a safe environment.

Most training focus on homestead gardening, sack gardening, tailoring and garments, bamboo weaving, puffed rice making, grocery shop and tailoring shop management, hand-loom material decoration, jute products making, and livestock rearing.

Maya Halder, who is a coordinator at Shishu Palli Plus, said the earnings generated here are used for sustaining services and to keep them flowing for mothers and children, adding that there are both foreign and local clients.

The village offers a 3-year program for each participating mother. During this period, mothers are offered six-month training courses, for a total of 5-6 courses, according to Shohel Mahmood, a coordinator in Shishu Palli Plus.

Training is customized based on each mother’s circumstances regarding where they live, their needs, the number of children as well as their capabilities. The coordinator added that each mother is then evaluated through an IRP [Individual Rehabilitation Plan].

Meanwhile, trainer Nasrin Nipu said that the garments made during training sessions are used for the mothers and children living in the village.

Also, the village enrolls all mothers in a literacy program that helps them reach the training target more easily.

“Even if a mother comes here after SSC (Secondary School Certificate), we try to complete her HSC (Higher Secondary Certificate) through distance learning,” said Aslam Hossain Khan, Co-ordinator, Care & Education in Shishu Palli Plus.