Ashnir, 15 year old boy

Stories about children’s days

Bangladesh

Children supporting their families

Ashnir, 15 year old boy

children’s real names are protected

Ashnir, 15, combines work and studying. Although he feels he is in ‘good’ work, and his employer contributes to his school costs, by both working and going to school part time he is left with no free time and is exhausted. Ashnir’s work causes him to be in physical pain, his back aches constantly. His family are in a lot of debt and therefore depend on his income to cover their day to day living costs.

About Ashnir’s life

Ashnir works in printing and packaging after he attends school for two hours each morning. He lives in Gojmohol, Dhaka with his younger brother, mother, and father. They live on the ground floor of a four storied building, that is jointly owned by their extended family. Ashnir’s father took out a loan of 400,000 BDT (US $3,700) from the bank to contribute to the construction of the house, which generates a rental income for Ashnir’s family of 4,000 BDT (US $36) every month.

Ashnir’s father works as a driver, and he is rarely at home. Sometimes he stays out and returns after a few days, although it is not clear to the rest of the family what he has been doing during this time. Ashnir’s mother is a housewife, and Ashnir’s younger brother goes to playgroup.

At the tea stall

I have just printed 1,000 stickers. Today no one else came to work. I have another 1,000 to do. It is very difficult

Ashnir playing games on his phone

Ashnir went to school before the Covid-19 pandemic but when the schools closed and his father lost his job the family ran into financial problems and Ashnir could no longer go to school.

Now he attends school for a few hours a day and takes three classes, including English and maths, which costs 700 BDT (US $6.50) a month. Sometimes Ashnir pays the fees and sometimes his father does.

Ashnir recorded his movements on 13 March 2023, so we could understand what a day is like for him. Ashnir wakes up early in the morning and goes to school. After school he goes to work. After work he goes to ‘coaching’, to help him complete his schoolwork and prepare for exams. Ashnir explains that this day is not entirely typical because he has time to play his favourite mobile game, Free Fire, which doesn’t usually happen when he is rushing to work after school. He also had time to have his hair cut which he has been trying to do for a long time.

Ashnir likes to play football, but rarely goes to play, as his time is occupied by school and work. During the weekend, he prefers sleeping and playing games on his mobile phone.

Ashnir describes all his movements in his neighbourhood to be safe but classifies a tea stall as ‘unsafe’ because there are older people there who may get annoyed if they see him smoking. He is a little sceptical about smoking in the major tea stalls of his community.

Ashnir in his workplace

Ashnir has had quite a number of different jobs. He started working in a shoe factory, where he carried heavy loads, which led to him spraining his neck on several occasions. He also applied chemicals to the shoes, which made him sick. After leaving that first job, he moved to a rice shop, but again he had to carry heavy loads and the dust irritated his breathing. Ashnir then secured his current job in printing and packaging, through which he earns comparatively more than in his previous jobs. Ashnir’s manager at work gives him leave to go to school. He also provided the school admission fee and a gives Ashnir a small amount of money for breakfast.

Even though Ashnir considers his current job to be ‘decent’ work he suffers from blisters on his hands and pain in his back from spinning the machine he operates.

Illustration of blisters on a child's hands

Blisters on hands

Ashnir’s day

7am

At home

Ashnir’s experience

I like to wake up early in the morning. I wake up at 6.00 am and then after getting ready I read for an hour. Today I have a maths exam, so I sleep a little longer so that I will be able to solve the maths.

Researcher’s experience

Ashnir’s father left home early in the morning. Sometimes he doesn’t return home at night. Ashnir misses his father a lot but he has a good relationship with his mother

Extra tuition for working children

8:40am – 10:40am

At school

Ashnir’s experience

I get to school at 8.40 am. I like school because I can meet my friends and hang out. We have a lot of fun. Also, I like to take exams. I like the competition. I enjoy studying but I can’t study all the time because of work.

I had a maths exam today. I am good at maths, but I felt tense during the exam.

By 11 am I feel hungry, because I never eat breakfast.

Researcher’s experience

Ashnir studies as well as working. He wants to study full time but due to the financial problems of the family, he cannot leave his job.

11am

Getting a haircut

Ashnir’s experience

I walk past an old factory in Hazaribagh where boys gather to get drunk and smoke marijuana. Girls get hassled when they pass by here. I don’t like coming here.

I have been thinking of cutting my hair for a long time. But due to school exams and office work, I didn’t have time. Now I have a break between school and work so I’m getting a haircut.

Cutting my hair makes me look smarter. I also have time to go home and have a shower and play some games on my phone. I like to do this but normally don’t have time during the day except on holidays. So I was very happy today.

Researcher’s experience

I feel a lot of fear walking down one road in this neighbourhood. There are high walls on each side of the road and it is very narrow and does not feel safe.

Ashnir operating a printing machine

2pm – 7pm

At work

Ashnir’s experience

Every day I print thousands of logos on a machine. I have never done so much work as I did today though. None of the other employees have come to work so today is more difficult than usual. Other days don’t hurt so much.

I get very tired but feel better after drinking tea at the tea stall. Tea relieves my tension and keeps me cool.

By 5pm my neck is hurting after being behind the machine for so long.

By 6pm today my head is hanging and I am not doing any work properly. It would be better if I could take a little rest. Sometimes it feels like this. It feels bad to work continuously.

It feels good to leave work.

Researcher’s experience

Ashnir is working alone. His boss sits next to him, watching him work. Sometimes he points out a mistake. Ashnir’s father has taken out a large loan and all his father’s salary goes into paying that back. As such Ashnir’s earnings from this work are used for all the family’s other expenses. As a result, this job is very important to the family.

A coaching or tuition centre

7:30pm

Extra tuition

Ashnir’s experience

Who likes to do more studying after work? I have no time to study during the day though so if I don’t go to coaching I won’t understand and I won’t complete my education. So coaching is very important.

Then again, I don’t have much energy after working all day, so I am not in a good mood. My English exam is tomorrow. I am very tired and cannot seem to concentrate now.

Researcher’s experience

Ashnir works for a large part of the day and has no time to study. As a result, he tries to recover his studies by doing extra, private lessons in the evening. This is very important to him and he goes this evening despite feeling very tired.