From Brickfields to Classrooms: Renewing the Journey of Learning in Nawada

For brickfield children who have spent months away from their classrooms, returning home is more than a journey back to their villages. It is an opportunity to begin again, to reclaim their place in formal school and to dream beyond the uncertainty of seasonal migration. With this purpose, the Brickfield Schools Project continued its Source Area Intervention across Nawada from 19 to 27 August 2026.

During the week-long intervention, the team reached out to children, parents, schools and communities across several villages, working to ensure that children returning from brickfields could continue their education. Sixty-three children were mainstreamed into schools, while teaching-learning materials were distributed among 570 children, helping them return to their studies with greater confidence and support.

Awareness sessions in five schools reached 206 students, while community programmes across 11 villages engaged 513 participants. Conversations centred on child rights, child labour, early marriage, compulsory education and safe migration, encouraging families to recognise education as a pathway towards greater opportunities and a more secure future for their children.

The intervention also strengthened coordination with KGBV and NSCB institutions, schools, Panchayat representatives and education authorities. Community discussions revealed both progress and continuing challenges. At Steelnagar, for instance, the distance to a secondary school was identified as a factor contributing to dropout after Class V. Discussions with the school Headmaster and District Education representative explored the possibility of upgrading the local primary school to upper primary level.

At the Krishnanagar Resource Centre, preparations for tailoring and adult education continued through the arrangement of equipment and materials, participant mobilisation and practical demonstrations. These efforts reflect the project's wider commitment to supporting not only children, but also families and communities.

Step by step, classroom by classroom and community by community, the intervention is helping children move away from the cycle of brickfield migration and towards a future shaped by learning, dignity and hope.

“From the brickfields back to the classroom, every child deserves the chance to learn, dream and grow.”

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