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Job Placement Ltd and Bangladesh Protibondhi Foundation Overview

 
 
In 2000 the Managing Director of Job Placement Ltd was attending a meeting of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (UNESCAP) as a representative of National Disability Services. At that meeting the General Secretary of the Bangladesh Protibondhi Foundation (BPF) was requesting assistance to fund an inclusive school in Norshingdi, a rural region of Bangladesh. The funding would cover the rent of a building, teachers salaries, school books etc as well as lunch for all students. She was unsuccessful in her request as the funds had already been allocated. As the amount requested was $5,000US. Job Placement Ltd agreed to sponsor the school for one year with no guarantee of an ongoing commitment. In 2002 the Managing Director visited the school and was so impressed with the organisation that an undertaking was given that Job Placement Ltd would continue its involvement. Staff of Job Placement Ltd has set up a donation program and the Company matches their donations. One other Disability Employment Service contributes to the project however there is no formal Government funding.

Inclusive School
One of the important features of the school is that all students are given a nutritious meal each lunch time to give them every chance to retain the information they are receiving. The cost of feeding the children is as great as the teachers’ salaries however we believe this is a good investment. It is also a motivation to attend school as many of the children may only receive one other meal for the day. The school commenced with around 100 students in part of a rented house. As the enrolment increased to over 150 it was obvious that we had outgrown this accommodation and we agreed to purchase some land close to our present location and have a purpose built school constructed. The school was opened in February 2008. There are currently 170 children enrolled at the school. In addition to the school we have 32 children enrolled at our pre-school which is located approximately 1 kilometre away. We also provide lunch for the pre-schoolers as well as a school uniform.

Micro-credit Project
The Norshingdi region has little manufacturing industry and few opportunities for employment so it soon became obvious that once a student completed their school studies they had limited opportunities to enter the workforce in the traditional way. Most people are day labourers or farmers and earn around 100 to 150 taka ($1.40 - $2.00 AU) per day. To assist the families we commenced a zero interest micro-credit project targeted specifically to the Mothers and young adults with disability. After much research we agreed to purchase cattle with the option of the recipients either milking cows and selling the excess milk at the market or purchase an ox and sell it at a later date during a local festival. It was agreed that no repayments would be required for the first six months to allow the family to get into a routine and use 100% of the money earned to assist the family. After the initial repayment the loan was to be paid off over three years. To date there have been no defaults on the loans and, as money is repaid, more families are able to access the project. There are currently over 100 families involved in two rural regions. As an example of the success of the project we have seen total income for a family has increase from 1800 – 2500 taka per month rise to 8000 – 9000 taka per month. They also have 50,000 to 80,000 taka in equity.

Inclusive Employment
In November 2010 we hosted Dr Shamim Ferdous, Executive Director of BPF for 10 days for her to learn the processes Job Placement uses to assist people with disability into employment in the open labour market. She was very impressed with our operation and has adapted our procedures to fit the cultural and labour market demographics of her country. Job Placement has underwritten the costs of the project for the first 12 months at a cost of $5,000AU. To date two people have found employment in business in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. One young man is working in a computer monitor repair shop undertaking a six month traineeship and has been offered full time employment at the end of June. The other placement is a young man who has been offered a position as an administration assistant at Desh TV, the third most popular television station in Dhaka. The employers have agreed to employ more candidates over the next 12 months.

Education Program
Research by BPF has found a disturbing amount of sexual abuse against young people with disability. Most of the abuse is from relatives and close friends in the community. Job Placement Ltd has agreed, in principle, to fund a community based education program to reduce such abuse in two regions of Bangladesh. We are currently awaiting a work plan to map out the steps required to commence what is expected to be an ongoing program that can be rolled out across the country. In summary, Job Placement Ltd has been involved in assisting people with disability in Bangladesh for over 11 years, funding projects as diverse as pre-schools and an inclusive school, construction of a school, self employment projects, inclusive employment in metropolitan Dhaka and, soon, community based education program to reduce the incidences of sexual abuse in young people with a disability. All this has been possible through weekly donations by staff of Job Placement Ltd with matching donations by the organisation.

Contact Information:
Jason McKey, Managing Director, Job Placement Ltd, 0419 797 674,
E-mail:jason@jobplacement.com.au