Our Work - Educate
Child Labour Educational Centre:
Besides, the formal education attempts are made to reach out to dropouts, child labourers and other teenaged slum children, trying to focus on their problems and possibilities by which they can overcome them.
Working Children Survey
In order to find out the status of working children, a fast track survey was conducted in our working areas. The target group of the program was the children of age 5-15. The survey was conducted to know how many children have to work as labourers, which field they are working in, the education status of the children, etc. It was quite revealing that as many as 259 school going children were engaged in some sort of work outside the house in order to earn.
These children cannot attend regular classes in schools because of their working hours and yet desire to educate themselves. With the objective of providing support and encouragement to the children who have to work to earn the organization runs a night class for child labourer in Jalampuri. Forty such children attend the night classes.
Public Hearing for Child Rights
Child Labour is a reality of economically developing India. Due to their poor financial conditions they have to work, sometimes they are involved in hazardous activities. Education remains a distant dream for them and if they want to study they have to go to municipal schools where the environment is not conductive for education. We have continuously raised our voice for the rights of children and we are a part of a number of forums and networks like Child Line, Child Labour Collective, BAAG, etc working for the rights of children.
Initially we conducted a survey in our working areas to find out how many children have to work as labourers, which field they are working in, the education status of the children, etc. It was quite revealing that as many as 259 school going children were engaged in some sort of work outside the house in order to earn.
Hence, with a number of organizations from the city we decided to go public. And a public hearing was organized at St. Xavier's Social Service Society on April 30, 2007 - Anti-Child Labour Day.
Mr. Ramesh Mehta a retired high court judge, Mr. Digant Oza, a prominent senior Journalist and Mrs. Nalini Patel, an Assistant Education Officer and Fr. Paul D'souza, the Director, SXSSS were the members of the panel of the judges for the public hearing. Eleven children from the different organizations spoke out of their pains and difficulties at the hearing. By way of the hearing we were able to provide a stage to the children to speak out who are the victims of circumstances and the state has failed to protect whose rights. The public hearing was a moving experience for all including the members of the panel. While the children cried narrating their difficulties, the members of the panel moved from their chairs reaching out to consol the crying children. And thus the hearing provided psycho-socio care to the children. In more than one way, two days spent at the organization provided enough healing space for the vulnerable children where they experience there was someone to listen to them and provide a healing touch to their plight.
The public hearing was attended by children, parents, and members of different organizations. The media highlighted various issues of the children in newspapers the next day. Such as
- Discrimination in providing Mid-day meal (Mid-day meal is given in all municipal schools by the Government. Its objective is to provide children with supplementary nutrition and attract them to attend school.)
- Mid-day meal is sent to relatives of authority instead of the children
- Money is being demanded from children (totally free primary education is given to children in municipal schools)
- Drinking water is impure
- Children have to clean schools
- Teachers give personal work to children
- Admission is not given in some schools in spite of having birth certificate
We observed that after the public hearing attitude of some teachers changed when the above points were published in various newspapers. Government authority also took certain steps in some municipal schools. A good example of a change of mindset through such an awareness event occurred when there were the instances of some parents stopping sending their children to work after the public hearing.
Organizing children: Chhote Sitare
'Chhote Sitare' is a group (Sangathan) comprising of adolescent children. This group has been active for the last three years. In this Sangathan, there are School Going, Non School Going, and Drop Out children. The objective of forming the group is to create the feeling of unity and to make the children aware of their rights and responsibilities towards the society. In order to strengthen "Chhote Sitare" group, orientation workshop, celebrations, camp and other activities are conducted during the year.