The US foreign aid funding freeze is threatening the stability of community-based organizations and their vital work for children and young people worldwide.
Addressing the Root Causes of Exploitation in South Asia (ARC)
Global Fund for Children supports a cohort of grassroots organizations in South Asia that are addressing the root causes of the exploitation of children and youth.
Global Fund for Children supports a cohort of grassroots organizations in South Asia that are addressing the root causes of the exploitation of children and youth.
South Asia has one of the largest populations of young people in the world and is one of the regions with the highest prevalence of child labor and the highest number of children on the move. This initiative, with funding from WE Trust, Seamont Foundation, and People’s Postcode Lottery, shifts the focus to preventative approaches that go deeper into the root causes of exploitation within local communities.
The initiative began in Bangladesh, building on previous GFC initiatives combating child exploitation and hazardous labor in the country. A second cohort – comprising of community-based organizations from India and Nepal – joined the initiative in October 2024. This cohort goes by the collective group name “Pyaro Bandhan” which translates to loving connection, drawing words four languages – Bangla, Hindi, Marathi, and Nepali.
GFC’s partners in the ARC initiative are tackling complex and multifaceted issues including intergenerational poverty; harmful social and cultural norms; gender inequality; restricted access to education; and a lack of positive employment opportunities. In addition to addressing the root causes of exploitation, they are increasing the capacity of youth and communities to lead local interventions that reduce harm, as well as promoting children’s rights and empowerment.
GFC is providing these partner organizations with long-term flexible funding, alongside a wide range of capacity development services including partnership building and leadership training. Together, we are building a regional network of organizations that are playing an active role both in the reduction of exploitation and the promotion of children’s rights and empowerment. The initiative shifts power to communities by ensuring that the program design, implementation, and learning are participatory, inclusive, context-specific, and owned by youth and community members.
This is a funder collaborative, and there is room for additional funders to join. For more information, please contact Christine Burkhart.
Project Partners
Alokito Kori
Bangladesh | Dhaka
Alokito Kori is a youth-led organization that fosters the education and skill development of children, youth, and adolescents from marginalized communities. The organization promotes youth volunteerism and has a large network of youth volunteers in Bangladesh.
Arshirbad Mohila Unnayan Samity
Bangladesh | Mymensingh
Arshirbad Mohila Unnayan Samity is a women-led organization working for the betterment of women, children, adolescents, and youth in the historically marginalized Dalit communities in the Mymensingh District of Bangladesh.
Atoot
Nepal | Kapilvastu District and Lumbini Province
Atoot works in Kapilvastu district and Lumbini Province in Nepal to empower girls through sports and education. By using football as a tool for development, and in partnership with schools, Atoot creates opportunities for girls to build their confidence as well as leadership, team work, and social skills while working with families and community members to raise awareness about the importance of girls’ education.
Avani
India | Mumbai
Led by a former child laborer, Avani offers a range of programs and services to support children and youth who are at risk of being trafficked for labor or sexual exploitation. Its programs include a home for rescued child laborers, orphans, and other children in Kolhapur; and gender equity training for boys.
Bangladesh Rural Economic Development
Bangladesh | Pabna
Bangladesh Rural Economic Development (BRED) aims to improve the socio-economic and livelihood status of underprivileged people facing the impacts of climate change including adolescents, youth, and women by strengthening their capacity, creating scope of employment through income-generating activities, and establishing social rights.
Child Welfare Scheme Nepal
Nepal | Pokhara
Established in 1997, Child Welfare Scheme Nepal is a “child-centered” non-profit, non-religious and non-political NGO that aims to improve the lives of vulnerable and marginalized children, young people, and children with disability (CwDs), and persons with disabilities (PwDs) in urban areas of Kaski and Tanahun Districts through the interventions on education, child protection, health, rehabilitation, and social opportunities. CWSN works with families, communities, schools, caretakers, and government service-providing offices to improve the lives of children, young people, and children with disabilities to achieve lasting change.
Development Of Health And Agriculture Rehabilitation Advancement
Bangladesh | Jashore
Development of Health and Agriculture Rehabilitation Advancement (DHARA) is a women-led organization working to ensure health, education, and shelter for minority communities with a focus on underprivileged women, children, and youth. DHARA establishes partnerships to create community interventions that are financially, technologically, and environmentally efficient and thus contribute to achieving sustainable poverty reduction.
Ethnic Community Development Organization
Bangladesh | Sylhet
Ethnic Community Development Organization (ECDO) is an organization of Indigenous people working for the development of different Indigenous tea garden communities in Sylhet Division in northeastern Bangladesh.
Grow Your Reader Foundation
Bangladesh | Dhaka
Grow Your Reader Foundation (GYRF) is a women- and youth-led organization that uses creative learning methodologies to ensure access to quality education for children, adolescents, and youth.
Jeevika Development Society
India | West Bengal
Based in West Bengal, India, Jeevika works to further the social and economic rights of women by challenging patriarchal norms while ensuring environmental sustainability.
Kopila Nepal
Nepal | Pokhara
Kopila Nepal is a non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to empowering women, children, and individuals at risk of disability and psychological distress. Established in 2000, the organization operates with a community-driven approach, ensuring that vulnerable groups receive holistic support through education, healthcare, and livelihood opportunities. Kopila Nepal provides shelter, rehabilitation, and capacity-building programs for survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence, and mental health crises.
Peace for People
Nepal | Kathmandu
Established in 2009, Peace for People is a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering sustainable change and empowerment. Peace for People focuses on providing equal educational opportunities to youth, empowering them to utilize their talents for positive change in their lives and communities. They work tirelessly in rural Nepal, fostering individual talents, tackling social concerns, and advancing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through education, empowerment, equality, and environmental initiatives.
Rural Aid
India | Hamiltonganj
Rural Aid empowers people employed by the tea industry in West Bengal to advocate for their rights, while also providing their children with critical support to prevent child exploitation, trafficking, and sexual abuse. It offers child safety education in low-income schools; collaborates with local government and protection agencies to track and rescue missing children; and helps mobilize vulnerable workers in the tea industry to demand fair wages, access to healthcare, and education.
Safety Society
India | Uttar Pradesh
Safety society is committed to improving the lives of underprivileged children by ensuring their access to basic rights such as education, nutrition, and shelter. Its programs are focused on providing quality education, healthcare, and skill development opportunities for children living on the streets and engaged in labor to help break the cycle of poverty.
Shakhi: Friends of Women
Nepal | Bhaluhi
SHAKHI: Friends of Women is a young women-led, independent non-profit dedicated to empowering women, girls, and children from marginalized and vulnerable communities in the Terai/Madhesh region of Nepal. SHAKHI is committed to advancing the rights and development of women and girls. Governed by an all-female Executive Board and General Assembly, the organization upholds a policy of positive discrimination to promote gender equity and empowerment. With a strong focus on inclusion, SHAKHI prioritizes the recruitment of women and girls, ensuring their active leadership and participation in driving meaningful social change.
Suchana Uttor Chandipur Community Society
India | Birbhum
Through multilingual early learning, Suchana Uttor Chandipur Community Society supports basic literacy and numeracy for children from the Santal and Kora tribes through locally relevant arts, crafts, music, dance, story writing, and other skills.
United Community Nepal
Nepal | Pokhara
United Community Nepal is a youth-led, non-governmental, not-for-profit social organization founded in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. UniCoN is committed to a holistic community-led approach to development focusing on youth and women. Since its inception, UniCoN has been dedicated to serving communities that are economically disadvantaged, socially excluded, politically underrepresented, and culturally marginalized.
GFC’s ground-breaking initiative to improve lives in Bangladesh
Global Fund for Children worked on a ground-breaking initiative with organizations in Bangladesh that support at-risk youth. This phase of the Addressing Root Causes (ARC) initiative focused on personal growth, which rippled through organizations, cohort organizations, and communities to create sustainable locally driven change.
Applying the SALT approach in NGO development processes encourages a participatory and strengths-based approach, fostering sustainable development that is rooted in the community’s own resources and aspirations. It emphasizes collaboration, mutual learning and the empowerment of local communities.
Lakshmikanta Singh, ECDO, Bangladesh
I used to give directions to my community about ending early marriage, but no one listened. After engaging in SALT conversations, I shifted my approach to focus on listening and appreciating their strengths. As a result, two mothers recognized that they could take action for the future of their teenage daughters instead of marrying them off. They will be re-enrolling their daughters in school.
Parvez, Community Facilitator, Alokito Kori, Bangladesh
The ARC Initiative has opened my eyes to the value of working together to intensify our impact. We are not competing against each other but challenging ourselves to grow.
Project Partners
