Bangladesh Social Enterprise Project - Bangladesh Enterprise Institute

“Create a Harmonious Work Environment for
Women and Implement Child Care Programs”
“Phulki” meaning “spark” in Bengali is a non-profit organization, established in 1991, works to
improve the living conditions of working women, with special focus on child rights and women
empowerment. It envisages a future where children can grow in an environment that is not only secure
and healthy but also enables them to build a future with proper education. Phulki's mission is to
create a world where working women do not have to sacrifice their children's well-being in order to
achieve economic emancipation. Phulki has also been recognized and rewarded by the Schwab
Foundation as an outstanding social entrepreneur.
Phulki provides complete childcare program for children aged 6 weeks
to 5 years, prior to their enrollment in primary schools, with an aim to
aid working mothers who are unable to give the required time and care.
The childcare service program provides both work-based and
community based child care centers. As its capacity building initiative,
Phulki provides training on early childhood care and does advocacy
work on the issue as well.
Phulki also aims at developing a community level mechanism that will
help develop best practices to reduce violence against domestic girl
workers. The project started with building awareness, leading to
developing preventive measure in consultation with employing
households, parents, local leaders, and the children themselves.
Phulki was the first to implement the Child-to-Child (CTC) Approach in Bangladesh, in 1993. It is an
innovative educational methodology through which children learn by themselves to work together and
help each other. It is pertinent in creating awareness, promoting positive behavioral practices and in
changing harmful traditional practices, be it related to hygiene or child rights. Phulki is at present,
providing training on CTC to 250 child leaders and 2500 friends.
Phulki has now taken on a wide consultancy role ensuring that middle managers stick to the principles
of the Factory Act and their buyers. Now more companies are including Child Care Centers (crèches)
within their code of conduct and changing their policy on child care especially in garments sector. In
total 10,061 children from Phulkis child care, have been admitted to local primary schools. Phulki has
also ensured those within the child leader's communities have access to tube wells and water points,
communal latrines and systematic garbage collection & disposal.
Phulki Training centres have worked in entrusting and empowering local women with the latest
methods in child development to ensure high quality of care in the future. The new non-formal skilled
group trained by Phulki is able to sustain their own care facilities and spread the spark further.
Source: www.phulki.org
Data Source: Secondary Literature
Information Compiled by Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI). For further information, please contact Mr. Md. Rashedur
Rahman, Research Associate, BEI; Tel: +88 02 9892662-3 Ext: 120; Cell: +88 01712 193400; Email: rashed@bei-bd.org;
Weblink: www.bei-bd.org