Brick Field School Project

Brick Field School Project

Empowering Futures, Transforming Lives: KMWSC’s Journey in Educating and Nurturing Migrant Children in brickfields of West Bengal

In the 2023-24 session of the Brickfield School Project, KMWSC is making a profound impact by operating 37 brickfield schools and 4 Model Centres. These educational initiatives are dedicated to the children of migrant families engaged as labours within the brickfields of West Bengal. Originating mainly from states such as Bihar, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and even neighbouring Bangladesh, these families undergo seasonal migration for employment in the brickfields.

Our mission is centred around providing education to the underprivileged children of seasonal migrant families. Currently active in the brickfields of North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, and Nadia district in West Bengal, the project reaches out to over 1400 children from approximately 500 migrant families. Beyond education, we extend our support to the families and the brickfield community by offering preventive health care services, fostering a holistic approach to their development.

With a focus on families migrating from the district of Nawada in Bihar, known as the “Source Area,” our project places a special emphasis on main-streaming these children into government schools upon their return to their native villages at the end of the production season. This strategic move ensures the continuity of their education. In the source area, we enrol children in government residential homes, allowing them to pursue education even when their parents migrate back to the brickfields during the brick production season. Our commitment extends to continuous monitoring and support for main-streamed children, ensuring their successful completion of education up to high school level.

Since its inception in 2014, the project has successfully run 346 Brickfields in various brick kilns across West Bengal. A total of 24,250 children have benefited from quality education, with 3,800 children successfully transitioning to government schools and residential hostels in the Source Area. Additionally, we have organized 1,077 health check-up camps, reaching 70,005 patients with preventive health care services. The project has touched 162 villages in the source area, conducting visits to 153 ICDS centres and government schools where children have been main-streamed. A total of 524 advocacy meetings have been conducted in the Source Area, furthering our commitment to creating lasting positive change in the lives of these migrant families.