Longest Waiting Children

In Mpalo, children and families have limited to no access to clean water, quality education, healthcare, proper nutrition and child protection.

Wazirpur, Bangladesh is a district located in the Southern region of Bangladesh, about 114km away from Dhaka. The majority of the population are limited to labour-intensive and low-income occupations such as farmers, daily labourers or petty traders. As the district is also prone to earthquakes, water logging and arsenic poisoning, economic livelihood opportunities are further restricted. The prevalence of child labour and child marriage also contribute to high drop-out rates in school - limiting the opportunities for future growth and development.

In Funyula, 64% of the population lives in absolute poverty and children are also at severe risk of abuse and exploitation from negligence, inadequate protection and education. 

World Vision has been involved with Sri Lanka’s tea estate workers for many years and Lindula AP is an extension of this work. Tea plantation workers have been marginalised in Sri Lanka for a very long time. Originally brought in from South India over 150 years ago, they were eventually exploited for work and isolated from the rest of the country. World Vision’s interventions focus on the well-being of children to ensure that their health, nutrition, education and social needs are met.

In Lindula AP, the majority of the people work as pickers and labourers in the tea estates. They are paid daily, and when work is not available, they face a severe shortage of income.

Also, children lack proper education, and 45% of the population under 12 years old are illiterate. This is due to long travel distances, poor transport facilities and lack of finances for education resulting in a dropout rate of 14.5%, almost 10 times the national average.

In terms of healthcare and child protection challenges, 74% of people live in dismal housing. Whole families live in a single room that is linked to others to form a “line house”. There is little ventilation, and no privacy, and conditions are often unsanitary. Only 67.1% of households have their own latrines and the remaining families share common latrines or defecate in open areas.