The air is filled with the aroma of coffee and freshly made cheese sandwiches. Parents arrive, greet one another, and take their seats at the tables. They talk about everyday worries and dreams for the future—about children, school, setting boundaries, and the teenage years. The children play nearby. The atmosphere is relaxed, open, and unpretentious.

Café Framtid

From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Café Framtid activity takes place. The main focus here is to meet, talk, and support one another. When “ Föräldrakraft ” was launched, consideration was given to the fact that many families are in a financially vulnerable situation. Therefore, the program focuses on being accessible and costing as little as possible.

“We want to offer a wide range of support to parents,” says program coordinator Sarah Campbell. “This could be a study group, a place to get information, or simply a place where you can take a breather. We recommend activities that cost little or nothing at all, or we organize our own.”

Finding balance in a new country

Pinar has three children and has been a participant on * Föräldrakraft * since the show began. She and her family are from Turkey and have lived in Sweden for ten years. Pinar’s husband works as an electrician, and she herself completed her training as a childcare worker last year. She says that parenting sometimes feels like walking a tightrope between cultures. The children want to do what their friends do—for example, eat candy more often than just on Saturdays and start wearing makeup earlier than Pinar feels is appropriate.

“Being a parent here in Sweden is very different,” she says. “Religion, language, rules—everything is different.”

For Pinar, it’s important to meet other parents. Not least to get tips and advice from people who are going through similar experiences in their daily lives. That advice means more to her than advice from experts who don’t understand her reality.

“I feel like we understand each other better as a family now,” she says. “My kids listen to me more, and we’ve grown closer as a family.”

The Future Workshop as a Second Family

Amina is from Sudan and has no relatives in Sweden. She describes Erikshjälpen Framtidsverkstad a second family—a place where she feels a sense of belonging and receives support. At Café Framtid, she meets other parents, shares experiences, and makes new friends.

“Here, we can socialize and get information at the same time. I’ve become happier and feel more secure,” says Amina.

Future Plus – Language, Identity, and the Future

After lunch, the day shifts focus. From 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., it’s time for Framtid Plus. Today, librarian Joanna Meier is visiting. She reads aloud to the children and talks with the parents about language—about speaking multiple languages. About the meaning of words and how language carries both identity and the future. The children participate with curiosity, fascinated by Joanna’s energy and the fact that she speaks multiple languages and uses sign language.

When representatives from libraries, social services, or the police, for example, meet with families in the area, it lowers the barriers to engagement. Parents get to meet the people behind the professional roles and learn where to turn if they need help. This fosters a sense of security and inclusion—an important part of Föräldrakraft’s mission.

Intermission

Through “ Föräldrakraft ,” children and parents have the opportunity to come together through various activities. One example is “Mellansnack”—an activity aimed at children at an age when they sometimes pull away from their parents and test their independence. This is a time when many parents worry about losing touch with their children.

Sarah describes how wonderful it is to see fathers who are a bit reserved at first, but who, after a while, start joking around playing with their children. Because when parents dare to step in, be present, and show that they want to be part of their children’s world, trust is built, and moments like these can be crucial in preventing the relationship from drifting apart.

This is how we reach parents in the area

One of the biggest challenges for “ Erikshjälpen Framtidsverkstad ” is reaching out to parents. Information about activities is often shared through social media, posters, WhatsApp groups, and key individuals in the area. But collaboration with other organizations is also an important part of the effort. “ Föräldrakraft ” works in partnership with, among others, Lötenkyrkan, Gränby Allaktivitetshus, and Platssamverkan to strengthen the network supporting families.

One example of how “ Föräldrakraft ” reaches out to parents is the “Activity Cart.” When staff members go out into the neighborhood, they bring a cart filled with items that can make everyday life easier. There’s also a party box available to borrow for birthday parties, complete with plates, glasses, and a popcorn machine. This is a much-appreciated resource for families who can’t afford to buy everything themselves, but it’s also good for the environment.

“The cart was the first thing we bought,” says Sarah, proudly showing off the cart filled with essentials like toothpaste, reflectors, paper towels, and small hygiene items. These items were Corporate donated by Corporate purchased at a good price.

Author: Lena Elf

Photographer: Ronja Fagré

Together with the partner organization Friendship, Erikshjälpen works to strengthen children's right to education, health and safety and protection in northwestern and northern Bangladesh. Here it is far from obvious that the children who live in the remote areas in the countryside around all the river deltas have access to education. Most commonly, children attend school up to grade five. What happens after that depends on the family's economic situation and how close or far away the school is.

It is particularly difficult for girls. Instead of being given the opportunity to continue studying, many risk being married off. If one member of the family is married off, there is one less mouth to feed. Other girls risk missing large parts of their education because the road to school is long and dangerous, or because they prefer to stay at home rather than go to school due to a lack of sanitation and the possibility of good hygiene during periods.

Children can change society

Bangladesh is the land of many rivers. The islands in the river deltas are volatile and prone to recurrent floods and other natural disasters. Because of the islands' impermanence, it has not been possible to establish infrastructure in the form of electricity supply, roads, school buildings and clinics there.

portable schools have proven to be a successful way to reach children living in the most inaccessible and climate-vulnerable areas. Investing in educating children about crisis and disaster preparedness and their rights has also proven to be a success factor. Through their new knowledge, children themselves become involved in changing not only their own future but also entire communities.

Schools make dreams possible

Staying in school and getting a full education is something 11-year-old Mim Akter hopes for. But it's not something she takes for granted. Coming from Khamarbashpata in Chilmari, northern Bangladesh, she knows too many girls whose lives have taken a different turn.

Child marriage and child labor are common in Bangladesh. Mims' own mother was married off at the age of 15. When a girl is married off, she is forced to drop out of school to take care of the new household and in-laws, and contribute to the family's livelihood.

- I will do everything I can to make my future different. I want to become a teacher and help more children go to school," she says.

Mim is in grade five at Friendship Primary School Khamarbashpata. She loves school, especially English and is very involved in school activities. Her biggest dream is to continue her studies. Today, around 650 million girls in the world receive no or very little education. Poverty, menstruation, or long and dangerous journeys to school are some of the reasons why girls miss large parts of their schooling or are forced to drop out completely.

Mim, her parents and five siblings live in a small house on one of the many sand islands that form part of the Brahmaputra River Delta. The area is inaccessible, vulnerable and hard hit by climate change. Floods, cyclones and other natural disasters strike once or twice a year, causing great devastation. Landslides and soil erosion make it difficult to build permanent infrastructure like roads and schools. But thanks to the portable school, which Erikshjälpen has developed and established together with the organization Friendship, Mim and many other children in the area have the opportunity to go to school.

Through school, Mim and her friends have learned about their rights and how to build resilience and cope with natural disasters. The whole village is better. And now Mim dares to hope for a future different from her mother’s.

- Now everyone in the village is committed to the issue of child marriage, she says proudly.

Today, around 650 million girls worldwide receive no or very poor education. Poverty, menstruation, or long and dangerous journeys to school are some of the reasons why girls miss large parts of their schooling or are forced to drop out completely.