Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- Two of Bangladesh’s top celebrities – film actress Moushumi and magician Jewel Aich – has joined forces with UNICEF on Tuesday as ‘UNICEF Advocate for Child Rights’ pledging to support the children of Bangladesh.
Being the UNICEF Advocate for promoting Child Rights, Moushumi and Jewel Aich will work with UNICEF to step up to promote child rights and create mass awareness in the areas of child labour, birth registration, violence against children, child and maternal health, children and HIV/AIDS, situation of children living in the slum and child immunization.
“We are pleased that Ms. Arifa Zaman Moushumi and Mr. Jewel Aich have given their kind consent to join us as a Child Rights Advocate to promote children’s issues. Given their strong interest in children’s issues, I know that both of these national celebrities would be compelling and eloquent advocates to uphold fundamental rights for all children in Bangladesh” Carel de Rooy, Representative of UNICEF in Bangladesh, said.
Carel also added: “When they speak, the country listens. We are thankful to them for their willingness to use their voice for the betterment of children.”
Children in Bangladesh account for about 45 per cent of the total population amounting to some 66 million. Considering that 31 per cent of the population lives under the poverty threshold according to the latest Household Income and Expenditure Survey (2010) - a substantial reduction from the 40 percent of 2005 - that translates into some 20 million children today, 3.3 million of whom are growing up in slums.
Child poverty severely limits children’s opportunities to develop in a way that allows them to reach their full potential. If these children’s remain unattended, the country will not be able to break the inter-generational poverty cycle and these children could become a serious burden for their society and country.
Film Actress Moushumi started her career in motion picture in 1993 and since then she has been very popular among the mass people of Bangladesh. She has keen interest to work for the betterment of children and women and established Mousumi Welfare Foundation to materialize her vision.
Jewel Aich, possessing the ability of showmanship skills, was fascinated by the art of magic from a young age and started entertaining when he was a teenager. He has fought for the independence of Bangladesh by taking part in combat. When he became ill during the war, he took a non-combatant role teaching students in refugee camps, and inspiring the freedom fighters.
BBN/SSR/AD-16Aug11-4:52 pm (BST)
