Awareness meeting held in Amtoli to prevent child labor, child marriage and school dropout.

Staff Reporter,Amtoli (Barguna). An awareness meeting was held in Amtoli, Barguna with the participation of village police to raise public awareness on child labor, child marriage, malnutrition, hunger, prevention of child dropout from school and environmental cleanliness. The meeting was organized at the hall of Amtoli Police Station at 11 am on Wednesday at a joint initiative of Amtoli ADP, World Vision Bangladesh and NSS. Along with village police working in various unions of the upazila, members of law enforcement agencies, journalists, human rights activists and representatives of civil society participated in the meeting. Police Inspector (Investigation) of Amtoli Police Station Anwar Hossain was present as the chief guest at the meeting. Bibhudan Biswas, Area Program Manager of World Vision Bangladesh, Amtoli ADP, presided over the meeting. The program was moderated by Mridul Sarkar, Program Manager of NSS. Amtali Police Station Sub-Inspector Nasrin Sultana, World Vision Bangladesh Amtali ADP Child Protection and AP Sponsorship Officer Churchill Das and Sujan - Citizen for Good Governance, Amtali Upazila Branch General Secretary and Journalist Abu Jihad spoke as special guests. The speakers said that child labor, child marriage, malnutrition and hunger are not only one of the biggest obstacles to a family but also to national development. These social problems disrupt the normal physical and mental development of children and make their educational life uncertain. A child dropping out of school is not only a personal loss for him or her, but also a major challenge to the human resource development of the country. The meeting also said that since village police are directly involved with the people at the grassroots level, they can play an important role in ensuring child protection, preventing child marriage, preventing child labor, motivating students to ensure attendance at school and creating a clean environment. In his speech as the chief guest, Police Inspector (Investigation) Anwar Hossain said that ensuring a safe childhood for children is a joint responsibility of the state and society. Child labor and child marriage are punishable crimes. He urged the village police to inform the administration immediately if any information is received about such incidents. At the same time, he emphasized on playing an active role in preventing crimes by increasing social awareness. In his speech as the president, Bibhudan Biswas said that World Vision Bangladesh has been working for a long time to establish children's rights, ensure education, health, nutrition and a safe environment. Their goal is to build a safer and more discriminatory society for children in cooperation with various government departments, law enforcement agencies and local people. The village police present at the meeting were given detailed guidelines on child protection, prevention of child marriage, school-oriented child growth, combating malnutrition, building a hunger-free society and protecting environmental cleanliness. In addition, strategies to increase awareness in rural areas and inform the general public about the law were also discussed. The event was attended by officials and employees of Amtali Police Station, village police from various unions of the upazila, journalists from various media outlets, human rights activists, representatives of civil society, and members of various social organizations. At the end of the meeting, information-rich leaflets were distributed among the marginalized communities to raise awareness about child rights, prevention of child marriage, elimination of child labor, continuing education, hygiene and environmental cleanliness, and the prevailing laws and regulations of the country. The organizers expressed the hope that such awareness activities will play an important role in raising social awareness at the grassroots level and protecting children's rights.#