Free 28588 Children From Child Labour

Anant just completed his 9th standard and is looking forward to continuing his studies in the 10th.

But, this was not Anant’s story a while back. In the Pudugramam village of Tamil Nadu’s Ramanathapuram district, 14-year-old Anant* was usually at work before most of the inhabitants of his village are even awake. Each day he began work as a cleaner of farm tractors, then went on to drive the vehicles. He earned a measly Rs. 150/- for a full day’s work. Anant’s friends were his colleagues and the labourers who hired his services – not peers or school mates whose company he missed.

Anant was forced to drop out of school last year because his family couldn’t afford to pay the school fees to educate him beyond the 8th standard. The state-aided Naripayur Bharatha Matha High School where he studied was charging school fees of Rs. 600 to Rs.1000 from the 6th standard onwards. Anant’s family lives in extreme poverty as his father is unable to work due to an illness; Anant’s 19-year-old brother works as a construction helper and is the sole breadwinner for the family. There is no government school near his village.

Anant is an example of the thousands of children who are pushed into child labour once they finish their free schooling under the RTE Act. With no money to pay for higher education, and not enough qualifications to garner decent jobs, these children who fall outside the purview of the RTE Act often end up working in jobs where they are prone to exploitation and abuse.

CRY-supported NGO Rural Workers Development Society (RWDS) works in the area and was alerted to Anant’s case. The community worker worked with Anant and his family. Through efforts , Anant is now enrolled in the Government Higher Secondary School in Kannirajapuram where he has just completed his 9th standard and is looking forward to continuing his studies in the 10th.

Divya from Kusumnagar in Jamshedpur, is now studying in the 9th standard at the Tata Workers’ Union High School in Kadma. While she still has the responsibility of taking care of her family, she is adamant to not leave school and continue with her studies.

It was a long journey for Divya to make this decision. Living on the outskirts of Jamshedpur city, she woke up early each morning and rushed to work. With sleep-weary eyes she went to the house where she worked as a domestic help, washed the dishes, clothes, mopped the floors, and ran back home, with barely enough time to prepare for school. After school, she was off to work again.

Divya is no stranger to hard work. The youngest daughter, she was compelled to drop out of school while studying in the fourth standard and start working in order to help support her family’s income. Her father had passed away, leaving the responsibility of providing for the family of six to her elder brother. But it was not enough; Divya was therefore sent to Kashmir to work as a domestic help. She worked there for three years before returning to her family in Jharkhand.

Many children in India are robbed of their childhood and pushed into child labour costing them their precious future. Divya came in contact with the Children’s Group organised by CRY-supported NGO Adarsh Seva Sansthan. With support from her peers and motivation from the community workers, she managed to get re-enrolled in the eighth standard in Bhatiya Basti Secondary School.

Divya is an example of how even in the face of adversities one can sustain a dream. With a little support from us we can give many more children a chance to live their aspirations.