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Author: Smile Editorial Team

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In The Spotlight Partners In Change

Laxmi Agarwal: I want a world where no girl wishes she were a boy!

Laxmi Agarwal: I want a world where no girl wishes she were a boy!

There are few people in life who leave an everlasting impression on us. Their lives, struggles, and achievements drive us to strive for better, and inspire us long after they are gone.

 

Some exceptionally talented girls identified from slums across Delhi recently had this experience as they got to interact with the “International Woman of Courage” Laxmi Agarwal. These girls have been awarded the merit based Swabhiman scholarship by Smile Foundation to complete their schooling and higher education.

 

In the course of the long and candid conversation, Laxmi and her colleague and co-founder of Chhanv Foundation, Ms Rani, invoked the deepest emotions in the girls. While some had their faces wet with tears, others were astounded by the struggle and strength of these incredible women. But the one common thing that remained was every one of them was inspired. At no moment did she ever let herself be branded as a victim – by herself or by others.

 

Below are a few snippets from the stirring session:

 

Q: How did you feel when your parents told you not to work and stay at home?

 

I knew I couldn’t let that happen. They kept saying how I too young to work or go out. But something in me kept pushing. That was the only way for me to do something, only way for me to pursue my dreams of becoming a singer. I told them I couldn’t keep holding their hand, and they couldn’t keep holding on to me. At some point, they would have to let go, and I will have to look out for myself. It was my way of believing in me and gathering my courage.

 

Q: After the attack, were you always determined to change something and make a difference?

 

For months after the attack, I had lost hope and I had given up – on myself, on my identity. I wanted to kill myself. I didn’t think it mattered anymore. What the attacker had said to me earlier, before the attack – “You want to do something in your life; you want to make your parents proud, right?” kept ringing in my ear. At that time, how easily I had replied with a ‘Yes’ surprised even me. It felt like that was another Lakshmi talking.

 

Q: What motivated you to do more and to change your situation and of others around you?

 

This one time, as I was looking into the mirror, I started talking to myself. While on one hand, I thought life had no meaning anymore, on the other, images of my parents surfaced in front of my eyes. My mother who hadn’t taken a shower in over two months because she was too busy looking after me, or my father who didn’t lie down for a nap so that he could sit next to me in the hospital – I couldn’t do this to them. I would have ended my life in an instant, but they would have died every moment after that.



Q: If you could change one thing, what would it be?

 

Talk to my parents. I wish I would have talked to my parents more often. I can’t stress enough on how important that is. I made the mistake of not talking to them before my attack, but I didn’t make that mistake again. When I wanted to finish my life, I told my parents what I was feeling. While they couldn’t answer any questions on why this had happened to me, my father stood next to me, put his arm around me, and said, “There is nothing in this world that is impossible. Everything is possible. There will be a day when THIS is the face that you will be proud of. And you will go places in life.” I think that has been my biggest motivation till date.

 

Q: What would you say to those who stress on how important a girl’s face is?

 

I don’t think I would be standing here if that were true. I don’t think I would have walked down the ramp or hosted my own television show if that were true. I don’t think you would be listening to me if that were true. But at the same time, I know that’s the common perception of so many people. Ever since I was growing up, I too was told how important my face was – more important than my education, my journey in life, and really, more important than anything else. But I know that isn’t true anymore. The attacker threw acid on my face, not on my dreams and my courage.

 

Laxmi Agarwal, and Ms Rani with our Swabhiman Scholars

 

Q: How has been your journey since your victory with your PIL to regulate sale of acid in the country?

 

It was still not easy. The society had rejected me, and I wasn’t surprised. They judge even if your lipstick is too dark a shade, and here I was with a burnt face. I couldn’t find any job because of this. And in 2012, my father passed away, and that made everything a lot worse for me. Then the ‘Stop Acid Attacks’ campaign was launched next year. That was when I realized I was not alone, and that there were so many women who were facing similar struggles as me. Some of them were struggling with worse. That ignited a fire in me – it made me angry. We started a movement. Prior to 2013, acid attack was just one-time breaking news. But today, there are laws, people are aware, and they are talking about it.

 

Q: What do you envision from here on now?

 

Right now, we are all focusing on the first ever café run by acid attack survivors – Sheroes Hangout in Agra, Lucknow, and Udaipur. It’s our safe place where we all support each other, and help each other overcome our struggles. I also want to use social media to reach out to the masses even further. I believe it’s one of the most important tools we have today to deliver a message. I want to continue working for what I believe in, because that is what makes a difference in the end – not our faces.



Q: What message would you give to our young scholars today?

 

Move from ‘Me’ to ‘We’. I ask all of you to think about not just yourself, but others around you. However I will also say, that before I try to change someone else, first it my duty to change myself. Only then can I think of changing anyone else. That is something we must never forget. Today, I am here to do just that, change myself.

 

Q: What kind of a world do you want your daughter and India’s daughters to grow up in?

 

A world that is free of acid attacks. A world where no girl wishes she were a boy. A world that is, over anything else, equal.

 

(Laxmi ended the conversation by inviting the girls to her café. She went on to talk about her love for her daughter Pihu, shared her experience of visiting the USA and receiving the International Woman of Courage Award by Michelle Obama, and also sang a beautiful song in her ever so melodious voice.)

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Partners In Change

Moving past barriers of terrain, stereotypes and more!

Moving past barriers of terrain, stereotypes and more!

Dr. Kalpesh is a retired doctor but he says he has never worked harder. Dr. Riti is a young aspirant and dreams of making a difference to as many lives as she can. Working in remote and inaccessible villages and neglected slums across the country, 19 doctors came together to attend a 2-day training workshop. Each one of them had a story to share.

 

The every-day challenges for the doctors range from convincing the community members to believe in medical science, and spreading awareness about the importance of health and hygiene, to trekking long distances in hilly terrains where vehicles cannot reach even today. At times, they trek to the same community several times in a week to get to know the community better, and to nurture a trust with them.

 

 

“Sometimes we have to scold them. Sometimes we have to be extremely patient and win their trust before they finally start taking their medicines. Every person has the right to healthcare, irrespective of their birth, circumstances or economic conditions. A person’s survival should not depend on mere chance; this is the purpose of our profession. Diseases do not distinguish between the haves and the have-nots, neither should we”, shared a doctor.

 

These doctors, along with their dedicated team of medical professionals, including nurses, ANM, lab technicians and pharmacists are the backbone of our Smile on Wheels mobile hospital programme.

 

Over the course of 2 days, we learnt from each other, and we all left with a stronger sense of purpose and commitment to the cause-

#HealthCannotWait.

 

(Through Smile on Wheels, 354,088 people have received healthcare services through 23 operational projects in 465 remote villages and slums so far.

 

To learn more about our programme, please visit http://www.smilefoundationindia.org/smile_on_wheels.html)

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From The People, For The People

School-A privilege for most, a dream for many!

School-A privilege for most, a dream for many!

In the span of our entire lifetime, some of the most amazing memories and times that we spend is what we spent back in school. Right from the classroom to the playground, the stories are never ending. School is a place which teaches us to dream big, take a step out into the world and face the challenges the world throws at us.

 

Looking back at my school days, I recall all those moments which are filled with happiness; and those little pleasures of childhood days. From appreciations to punishments, extra classes to bunking classes, stealing lunch boxes to sharing them, playing cricket with friends to copying their homework, enjoying activities & hobbies to stressing over writing exams. This is the childhood that every child dreams of. For the privileged lot, school is where our noble teachers not only teach literature, math, science, et al but also inculcate necessary perspectives of human life-to mould us into responsible human beings.

 

Contrary to this. more than a million children suffer everyday; and only dream of going to school. Engaged in child labour- selling balloons at traffic signals, knocking on car windows to beg and facing exploitation is their reality. Beds, warm food and a home is just something for them to imagine. The streets are their home and the ways of the street, their culture- sans teachers and classmates, big playgrounds or homework.

 

As responsible human beings, there is a responsibility we have- a very important one at that. Our generation is possible the only one that can help fix the social gap between the lesser privileged and the privileged. While a timely meal and some clothes are surely going to give them momentary happiness, it is not enough. It does not help bridge inequalities in the long run or even empower them. Thorough efforts should be made to sensitize the people who have better opportunities. Taking baby steps, children should be the first ones to be sensitized. The younger they learn to be responsible and the value of helping and giving back, the quicker the nation walks towards the path of total empowerment.

 

Let’s all teach and nurture the generation of youngsters and turn them into significant change makers. So that no child in future has to dream about holding a pen, or going crazy on a sheet of drawing paper with bright colors. Let’s work towards empowering each and every child, and enable each of them to hold on to their freedom and run amok under the azure sky towards a bigger, better and brighter future.

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From The People, For The People

Empowering youth, making a difference and changing lives

Empowering youth, making a difference and changing lives

Located near one of the biggest garbage dumps in Delhi, Azadpur cannot boast of a great locality and socio-economic conditions. Living in shanties, in slums where houses are crumbling into one another, people can barely afford to eat two full meals a day. For daily wagers- working as labourers, painters, rag pickers and garbage dumps are the prime occupation of people living there. In such conditions, there are little chances that children get to go to school with the aim to avail white collar jobs.

 

The lack of awareness in all aspects have resulted in making the area more backward and also resulted in the births of large families sans any family planning which is directly linked to the problem of rising unemployment and poverty. Girls are not allowed to venture outside homes and married off at an early age, often carrying the burden of their unrealised dreams forever. There is a serious lack of access to and interest in higher education of the children. To address this acute shortage of educational and employment opportunities, to motivate and sensitise the youth about their potential and the vast opportunities that are left to be utilized, Smile Foundation’s Janhit Society for Social Welfare STeP centre was initiated in the community.

 

Students who have completed their 10th or 12th standard education or students who have dropped-out after getting basic formal education are inducted and given training in employability skills along with rigorous one-on-one counselling sessions to boost their self-confidence. “From the day I have joined, I knew that from now on, everything is going to fall into place. I study hard and the teachers support us immensely. I have also asked my friends to come and join as this programme has been hugely beneficial for me”, says a student of the centre.

 

STeP students visit LinkedIn’s corporate office in Bandra, Mumbai.

 

The students are trained in basic management and retail skills; classes are conducted to enhance their spoken English skills, personality development trainings are conducted to bring about a change in the attitude of the students and imparted communication and other soft skills. The main target is to train more girls and empower them to a level wherein they can be financially independent and support their families. This type of empowerment has multiple benefits reducing the cases of child marriage and maternal and child mortality rising out of early pregnancies.

 

Industrial visits, interactions with experts from different professional backgrounds, placement and post placement assistance are provided to the students which help them choose their own career and work towards a better future. The scenario is changing gradually and it is changing for the good. Parents are now more encouraged to send their daughters to the centre and are becoming more aware of the importance of skill based training. And the youth are leading the change and making the best of their efforts to enroll their peers and others from the community to join the initiative.

 

(To learn about Programme STeP, please visit http://www.smilefoundationindia.org/e_learning.html)

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From The People, For The People

Once touched by Education; She now transforms little lives!

Once touched by Education; She now transforms little lives!

Ma’am, I want to become a teacher just like you when I grow up.”

 

I felt so happy when a little girl from my class walked up to me and said this. I knew she was too young to mean it, but nonetheless it was the biggest compliment I had ever received. When I was growing up, I had never thought I could become a teacher, let alone becoming someone’s role model.

 

Till the age of six I had not even been to school. There was no school in our village. The few children who did go to school had to travel kilometers on foot, making their way through dense forests to reach the nearest school. The number of girls enrolled in the school was even more negligible. Most parents never considered school necessary for their daughters, and others were discouraged by the long and unsafe journey.

 

But my parents were determined that I should not grow up illiterate like them – they wanted their children to be able to read and write. They were agricultural labourers and worked hard to earn daily wages that were barely enough to provide two times food to the family.

 

Despite this, my mother enrolled me in the distant school. She would use her lunch break to drop me off to school. I do not remember how many days she did not eat her lunch just to make sure that I would not be late for school. In the evening baba would pick me up after a tiring day at work. While I waited for baba to come, I would revise my lessons and finish my homework. This is how I completed my schooling.

 

When I got admission to college, my parents spent a whole year’s savings to buy me a few clothes and belongings that I would need to live in the city. After getting my degree, I started teaching in a primary school in the Burdwan city. One day maa called to tell me that a free school had opened in the village, but there was a shortage of teachers as there were hardly any educated people. Most of my peers who had got a chance to go to school were settled in cities like I was. I kept thinking about it for days and finally decided to leave my job and returned back to my village.

 

 

It has been six years since then, and I have not regretted my decision even once. In each one of these children, I see myself. They do not have to travel far to go to school anymore, and they can begin their education at the right age. But many challenges remain the same. The outlook of parents towards education, particularly in case of daughters, has not changed. However, we try our best to ensure that there are no drop-outs. We conduct door-to-door visits to all the families in the village to identify non-school going children, and counsel their parents on the necessity of sending their kids to school. Today more than 80% of the children of school-going age are enrolled at the centre. This is one of our biggest achievements.

 

When these children grow up and become something in life, I will feel my life has served some purpose. I doubt if any of them would remember me. But I am happy to be able to play a small role in building a better life, a brighter future for my children.”

 

(As shared by Moni Marandi, teacher at Smile Foundation’s Mission Education centre-SERVE in Koucha village, Burdwan, West Bengal. Moni’s classroom is one of the most fun classrooms to be in. Children learn through role play, art and through teaching each other. She has developed her own teaching model and while we are so proud of what she has been able to accomplish, she continues to dream of even bigger things.

 

Thousands of teachers like Moni work on the ground every day because they all share a common vision- to see every child in school. If you share their goal, then join hands with us for our initiative #MyMissionEducation. Visit smilefoundationindia.org/me for more details.)

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Partners In Change

From Spain- With Love!

From Spain- With Love!

My name is David Martori, I am 16 years old, I am from Spain but I live in Japan with my parents. My life has taken me to many different countries and I have had the privilege of living in several countries. I was born in Spain and lived there for until I was 6, which is when I moved to Japan and stayed there for 5 years. Then, I went back to Spain for 2 years, but then moved to India and lived there for 2 years. Now I have been living in Japan again for almost 2 years and I plan on finishing my studies there, until I go to college abroad.

 

Having lived in so many countries I have had the pleasure of being exposed to many cultures, and living in India truly left a mark, since as amazing as the culture and the people are, there are still many problems left to solve. But it was great to see how hard everyone tries, and the extent to which people are invested in fixing the problems, piece by piece. Because of this, and considering how lucky I have been in life, when I started to join groups to help the community in Japan, I decided I should do it for India as well, since I had lived there before, and I wanted to do more than what I was doing in Japan. This is the second year I volunteer for an NGO in New Delhi, and I must say the exposure and the experience is like no other.

 

The community that I have worked with in Japan was always extremely grateful of the help we provided them with, and they were aware of the problems they had, but they did not want to fix them in the long run. However, here in India, the entire community seems invested into the idea of improving in the long run. Here, members of the community itself volunteer to help the NGO, and they are an active part of improving their lifestyle. They are also exceptionally aware of the progress they have made thanks to the teachings, lessons, and meetings organized by Smile Foundation and their project Swabhiman. They recognize how their lives have been improved, how they used to lack knowledge and now they have it, and have the ability to share it with others as well.

 

The children were remarkably excited at almost all times, and their general excitement and joy was contagious. They seemed like they had no worry in the world, and there was only that moment they were in. It was also great to realize that everything that is improving now will eventually have an impact on their lives when they are older, and if progress continues at this rate they will see the fruit of the effort of the current volunteers, and they will get to enjoy its results. They kids were also the best at surpassing the language barrier, since my knowledge of Hindi is practically non-existent and not everybody knows enough English to communicate their thoughts. Nonetheless the children were persistent and tried different ways to make me understand until I got it. Their attitude in general was wonderful.

 

In conclusion, this will not be my last visit, and I hope to come back soon.

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In The Spotlight

Ramp for Champs – A Charity Fashion Extravaganza

Ramp for Champs – A Charity Fashion Extravaganza

The 7th edition of “Ramp for champs” was bigger and brighter! The show was held at the beautiful Hotel Renaissance in Powai, Mumbai and raised support for the education of 1000 girl children from across India, under the Mission Education programme. With a fantastic team working hard, the upcoming editions are only going to be more exciting, and more unmissable!

“Ramp for champs” is a charity fashion show, an initiative by Smile Foundation that allows fashion, art, and entertainment to combine, with one aim—to raise money for the education of the underprivileged kids. The show brings together people from different walks of the lives and the children studying at Mission Education centers of Smile Foundation. It portrays the need of the society to co-exist and help each other.

The motivation for Ramp for Champs comes from the need to sensitize and engage the civil society proactively to bring meaningful change in the lives of these underprivileged children, by supporting their education.

Celebrities are involved in the event as they have the power to influence the masses, whereas corporate are involved for their strength of resources. This initiative allows a fusion of these two forces to create a huge and much required impact towards the cause of education of more and more underprivileged children.

Children are the main highlight of the show wherein they share their aspirations and walk the ramp in confidence matching steps with the famous personalities. The show is for those kids, and those little dreams that are waiting to be realized.

With each event, the bling and the beautiful from Bollywood and the trendy fashion industry walk the Ramp for Champs to engage in a meaningful cause. With an eclectic mix of performances, talent and creativity by the designers and a bunch of beautiful, vivacious and influential personalities, the show becomes more than a chimera of beauty, glamour and cause!
Ramp for Champs hopes to present more editions of thought-provoking events that allow you to be a part of our journey, and see what a truly inspiring world we live in.

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Insights

Finding Your Sweet Spot in the Development Sector

Finding your Sweet Spot in the Development Sector

Q : What do you do? Where do you work?
Me: I Work in the Development Sector…

Q: Ah…IT?
Me: No….

Q: Real Estate?
Me: Uh, no. I work in the Social Development Sector…(blank stare)…Social Sector…(another one)…I work in the NGO Sector…(Finally a smile, the ice breaks…about time!)

For a very long time now, the social sector has been ably represented and identified by this all-encompassing term – NGO! It represents not just an organizational form, but the sum of all the work, thought process, culture, mindset and even lifestyle of an entire sector and its people. 

The Kurta Pyjama (or jeans, dhoti), sandal wearing NGO professional with a jhola (bag) on their arm is the first thought which crosses many people’s mind then they hear this word (given my upbringing in Calcutta, there might be a slight Bengali bias to the imagery).

However, over the last 5-8 years, the sector has evolved at a rapid pace. While NGOs still represent an overwhelming majority of the work and people in this space, the sector is now much more diverse in terms of opportunities and thereby more open to accepting and providing exciting opportunities to people from different kinds of backgrounds, with different hopes, aspirations, skillsets and change models. 

The simple answer to the question “How do I work in the Development Sector?” is no longer “Join an NGO”. This question deserves a little more thought and careful analysis to find your sweet spot in this sector. Here I attempt to highlight a particular line of thinking that one could follow while making this decision and a set of questions one should look at answering for the self:

1. How much time you got? 

Almost everyone I meet wants to help improve people’s lives and contribute in some way or the other. The easiest way to do that is through charity which is also the least involved decision. Using time as a parameter for analysis, one can move from a zero-time contribution model (pure charity), to a small time commitment (Volunteering), to a higher time commitment (Part time) to the highest time commitment (Full time). 

Your passion for social change combined with your life realities and compulsions will decide which of these options you take up at any point of your life (Some always remain at the charity level while others spend their whole life working full time in this space. Options chosen can also change from life stage to life stage).

2. What issue(s) bothers you a lot? 

There are 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) which define the development agenda over the next 15 years for the world. Which Goal(s) you choose to work with will be determined by a combination of an emotional (What tugs your heart? What makes you uncomfortable?) and a cognitive (based on numbers, statistics, world realities, theory of change) decision making process. Given the technical nature of each of these areas, it’s important to get an in-depth understanding of some of these areas and combine it with an ability to view things systemically and design holistic change interventions.

3. What kind of an organization works for you? e.g. NGO, CSR, Social/Corporate Foundations, Social Enterprises, Support Organizations, Think Tanks etc.

a. NGO: Even NGOs are not all homogenous, they can be categorized in many different ways – Geography (Local, Regional, National, International), Theme (Education, Health, Livelihood etc.), Strategic Orientation (Rights based, Service Delivery, Advocacy etc.). Each such category represents different kinds of work (working on the ground with communities versus coordinating with a group of implementing NGOs), requires different nature of talent and has very different compensation levels.

b. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) organizations: With India CSR budgets ranging from Rs.15-20K Crore, we increasingly need people who understand field level realities and have the ability, mindset to work in a corporate setting with the challenge of managing internal stakeholders

c. Social and Corporate Foundations: Typically, large organizations which either act as a source, funnel of funds or have their own funding and implementation teams. Require the ability to identify and work with partner organizations to help deliver on the project mandate and budget.

d. Social Enterprises: Largely For-profit entities with a strong social mission. E.g. Microfinance, Microinsurance, Affordable schools etc. Require people who have the ability to balance social and commercial goals.

e. Support Organizations: Includes a range of organizations like social consulting organizations, social Investment bankers, social recruitment platforms / portals etc.

f. Think Tanks: Typically, create and disseminate knowledge – Conduct relevant research, publish papers etc.

4. What nature of work are you really good at? 

Choosing the kind of work that one wants to do is one of the most important decisions to make. It should typically arise from what you really enjoy doing and where your actual skillsets lie. Some potential work areas are as below:

a. Research & Knowledge creation: If you have an academic bent of mind and enjoy teaching and/or research (Knowledge creation and dissemination), the sector now has lots of opportunities for your skillset. Like any other space, this sector continuously needs to refresh its knowledge base, develop and disseminate new theories and ways of working

b. Social Work: If you are basically a technical person, enjoy going into the depth of social issues to understand the reasons behind them, love working at the grassroot level with communities to ideate and implement solutions, then training to become a Social Worker with probably a deeper understanding of some of the sub sectors (education, health, etc.) is a great idea for you

c. Development Management: If you are excited with the idea of building world class social organizations, design, implement, evaluate and monitor large scale social interventions and develop collaborative ecosystems which can together deliver sustainable social change at scale then you should go down the path of Development Leadership and Management.

 This would include areas of work like Organization strategy, People Management, Communication and Engagement, Financial Management, Organization Design & Development, Program Design and Management, CSR Management, Fund Raising, Partnerships & Stakeholder Engagement etc.

d. Consulting, Investment Banking: If you like looking at the broader picture and not getting into actual operational roles (at the ground or the organization level), if working on a variety of different problems gives you satisfaction (width versus depth), social consulting roles could be for you. Preference for number crunching, developing effective storyline presentations, engaging with donors and investors is your story, then social investment banks might be a good fit

This is just a thought framework that I have found useful. It is neither exhaustive nor does it seek to depict decision making as a linear chronological step by step model. Decision Making is complex and will happen simultaneously with multiple iterations. 

However, focusing (without getting paralyzed by) on some of these questions will potentially help you understand yourself, your aspirations your skillsets better and thereby help in making a more informed choice about where you want to work. 

While part of this thinking can be done individually, supplementing it with a lot of secondary research, this process should involve a lot of discussions and deliberations with people doing work in your area of interest and if possible, actual internship / volunteering stints in particular areas. This will bring real-life realities and flavour to your thinking and give it the depth required to make better and more appropriate decisions.

In a college discussion, a girl once told me that she does not want to give up her Starbucks Coffee by working in this sector! Just wanted to end by saying that the sector has evolved a lot of the last few years and offers tremendously rich opportunities to do meaningful work and live lives of choice and dignity. You don’t need to trade off your coffee (or whatever it may be!) for living a life of meaning and satisfaction anymore!

Happy Hunting…and may you find your sweet spot!

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Insights

Let Children be Children!

Let Children be Children

We commemorate the World Day Against Child Labour, once again, this time of the year on June 12. Nevertheless, we find an opportunity to self-evaluate, regroup and make resolutions so that we can ‘celebrate’ the day soon in the future.

The United Nations estimate that there are reportedly 33 million child labourers in India. Our census reveals that 20% of the child labourers belong to backward castes and about 80% from Dalit families. Child labour, though rare, is not uncommon amongst the upper caste poor.

As a recollection, the National Policy on Child Labour declared in August 1987 took up a two-pronged and gradual approach to tackle the challenge. First, the aim was vouching for strict enforcement of the laws and secondly, addressing the root causes of the problem such as poverty, caste etc. through development measures.
Well enough.

Early this month, the Govt. of India (The Ministry of Labour and Employment) comes up with the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Rules, 2017. The same has automatically come into force.
Hence forth, the principal rules, the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Rules, 1988 have substituted “Child and Adolescent Labour” for the previous words “Child Labour”. Thanks to the amendment rules.

Going further, awareness on prohibition of employment of child and adolescent has been provisioned in the rules. The Central Government is entrusted with the task of ensuring that children and adolescents are not employed or permitted to work in any occupation or process in contravention to the provisions of the Act, through appropriate measures. 

It will include use of both traditional and mass media, displaying the provisions of the Act in all possible public places and institutions, integration of the same in learning materials and school syllabi; training and sensitization of various stakeholders such as Central Labour Service, police, judiciary, civil services and sensitization & refresher courses for Panchayat members, doctors and other government officials.

The rules seem to have gone practical by allowing children to help his family without affecting education. Any engagement that is remunerative for the child or the family is prohibited. Hazardous occupations will be out of bound and the family enterprises will be those where the family will be the occupier. School hours, play time, space for home work, rest etc. are accounted for and a child cannot work for more than three hours without rest or five hours (if the child works as an artist) in a day.

All remunerations to be deposited in the child’s bank account. If a child remains absent consecutively for 30 days without intimation, the school principal or head master is required to report the matter to the concerned nodal officer.

Fines for specific offences, including compounding ones, have been defined for those who violate the provisions for engaging children in work. Obviously, the same applies also for parents.

Going back to the Census 2011 data, it reveals some unsurprising yet disheartening realities. Some 78 lakh Indian children must earn their livelihood while joining school, owing to poverty. More shockingly, 8.4 children do not attend school at all.

As matter of fact, half of the world’s malnourished and stunted children live in India. Nearly half of our population make a living as labour forces in agriculture and other unorganised sectors. Uncertainty in livelihood, seasonal patterns and migration keep on forcing families to hop from one place to another.

On the brighter side, a few government schemes in the areas of livelihood generation and food security for families, and mid-day meals for children have resulted in a drop in child labour number.

There is a tough mission ahead for the government, civil society and to a great extent, the businesses to complement each other on war footing. Else, the coming generation as well as the future will never forgive us.

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From The People, For The People

Dreaming in a Slum in Basai

Dreaming in a slum in Basai

What would you see if I asked you to imagine your mornings when you attended school? The cold water hitting your face, when you took that morning shower to wash away your sleep maybe? Does the image of your school bus, and the face of the conductor asking you to hasten up come to your mind? Probably the broken seats and the potholes on the road greet your imagination at this point. 

Having been woken up in the morning from the comforts of my bed is what I am reminded of, my sweet sleep broken and my dream of eating the biggest, most delicious chocolate cake in the world, disrupted.

But what would you do if your world was defined by an odd, 100 metre area, where you slept amidst filth, woke up to the pungent smell of rotting cloth and went to school with only an old fan greeting you? Mind you, that’s the best comfort any of these slum-dwellers get, in a small garbage-dump in a town called Basai. 

Here you’re greeted by the advances that technology has afforded human beings on one horizon, and the apathy of the larger system on the other. This little slum brings you to the grim reality just a few kilometres away from Gurgaon-the “mirror to India’s Growth(1)”.

Interning with Smile Foundation as a YES Fellow Designate, gave me the chance to visit this community and the school situated right in the middle of the slum. It isn’t the place that shocks you as much, but the grave irony which hits you in the face, the high-rises and magnificent college buildings under construction serving as a mocking background to the miseries tainting the slum, with its school and the children sitting outside reciting the varn-mala in unison.

But all’s not lost when you see these children earnestly trying to work hard to take a place in that fancy college. Talking to them makes you believe that there is hope in a world of the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’. Their little, unclean hands skimming through the pages of their copies while they try to keep up with their teacher, the lines on their foreheads showing their grit to do better- it all points to them reclaiming their rights as equal citizens of this country, refusing to be treated as lesser citizens anymore.

“We too want the jobs, we too want to get out of here and lead a comfortable life where we’re not evicted from every place we decide to go at”, says Santosh, a 13 year old who studies at the Maxvision centre and dreams of becoming a doctor.

They’re taught everything, in a class that ranges from children who are 3 years old, to teens who are as old as 15. They are mainstreamed from this centre and sent to schools, either government or private, once they learn enough to cope with the kids who don’t have to worry about food, or who haven’t seen life through the same lens as them. 

The teachers and volunteers know that their jobs not only include teaching these kids the basics of science, hindi and math as we know it, but also inspiring these kids, giving them the assurance that their dreams will take flight on the wings of their hard-work.

“We’ve been here thirty years, me and my wife. We have grandchildren now, who go to this school. We send them here because we know that this takes them a step forward to a better, more secure life”, says Pawan who has a character that is larger than life, and a laugh that is infectious and lifts the spirit. This community of rag-pickers have made their own makeshift hutments at the back of the dump, their own refuge from the world.

“I draw very well, and I’m also the best in class when it comes to reciting the poem that was taught to us by the teacher a week back”, says Jonu, as he goes on to recite “Raja Ram Sipahi The” for the camera that I’m holding very determinately. His copy, which doubles up as his drawing pad, shows all the makings of a great artist of only 10 years of age, Chhota Bheem and its characters his clear muse.

As I leave to go back to ‘my side of the world’ with clean drinking water, IHOP openings at malls and Black Friday sales, I come to realise that it’s not the place or the resources that solely add up to what you become, but determination, grit and a reassuring smile that truly defines your dreams.

While having schools or centres of education which are accessible for every child in our 1.3 billion population is imperative, giving children from weaker sections similar footing as the children who grow up with more resources can only be achieved when teachers take it up to themselves to inspire these children to aim higher. But that is not it.

We need more support from the other side- “the privileged”, people like you and me, to make these children aware that they too can stand with their self-respect in place with the children of the privileged sections and actualise their dreams. That they too can grow up to be doctors, artists and teachers. This is the future that we should all work towards, spirits united and our time dedicated to our dream of “India shining”, as my high school sociology teacher would put it.

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