The childhood that never was ...

'The brightest of the stars in the night sky can't hold a candle to the smile on a child's face.'

As we meander along the course of our daily lives, there is a sight we all come across everyday. A sight as painful, as it is unfair and cruel. This sight is that of a young child, working in a tea shop, or in a mechanic garage, or picking trash.

This is the rampant child labour we come across everyday.

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The scourge of child labour is a scourge as old as time. Clueless and innocent children are pushed into working menial and odd jobs  due to financial troubles or pressure from their parents and as a result have their education and childhood snatched away from them.

        Now while the issue of child labour seems to be one that reeks of repetition and banality, the sad truth is that little progress has been made on this front.

Yes, it is true that we hear sermons and declamations about child labour, how abhorrent it is, and this article certainly does not purport to add to them. 

But has this public clamour against and denouncement of child labour born any fruits?

It has  not.

Now we could talk about the ill effects of child labour on children, and how it adversely affects society at large, and how we should all as citizens of a free nation stand up against child labour and raise our voices, but we will not.

Because in doing so, we would be signing this article into the registry of those 100 others about child labour that would vaguely be tucked into your memory serving no purpose whatsoever.

Instead, we would like to present a few small measures and steps that you could take in your daily life to contribute to alleviating this issue.

The first is to be a responsible citizen and ensure you do not employ child labour. In those cases where you personally know of others who do so, such as relatives and friends, you could dissuade them and talk to them about doing away with such labourers and employing adults.

The other is to report cases of child labour when you see it occurring. It could be to any NGO you know of, or to the respective authorities, but raising your voice is one of the most important things we can do to curb such instances.

And one of the most important things you can do to support this endeavour is to donate to the cause. 

There are a number of NGOs working tirelessly against child labour, and donating to them is a convenient albeit effective way to ensure you're doing your part.

Child labour is an anomaly of nature, one of the gravest concerns of today's society. Any small action or effort on your part, can help change many lives and achieve significant progress. Help us, and never forget that no little effort is a waste. After all, tiny drops of water make the mighty ocean.

-By Anan Banerjee is a intern with CACR, A education start-up working on the problems of child rights,education, and health. Website www.ngocacr.com +Citizens Association For Child Rights 

The Marathon with a Message: MUSTRun 2014

Participating in a marathon always feels good but it feels GREAT if it is for a noble cause. On this early Sunday morning school students, several professional athletes, amateurs, and differently-abled individuals flooded the streets of Bandra to make H-West Ward disabled friendly.

       On the 14th of December 2014, Citizens Association for Child Rights and H-West Federation organized an event titled " MUSTRun"  that brought together all these people from different walks of life along with 500 municipal school students. The 4th edition of MUSTRun marathon flagged off from St. Stanislaus High School grounds and this year it included 6 races ranging from a 21 Km race (men and women) to a special 1 Km race for the disabled.The outreach was over 4000 participants and volunteers from all over the city.

 The main objectives of the marathon were to start an Access for All project to create a barrier-free H-West Ward which will ensure ease of access to infrastructure for the handicapped as well as to senior citizens, pregnant women and people with injury.  It also supported an Oral Health Awareness Campaign along with H-west Federation’s partner The Dental Nexus to spread the importance of good dental hygiene among the population.

Citizens Association for Child Rights was represented by approximately 500 school children in age group 11-16 years from neighborhood Municipal schools who participated in the 2 Km run. Last year , we had around 250 students participate in MUSTRun and it was heart breaking to see the students battle with discomfort as they ran without shoes. It was their enthusiasm and perseverance that helped them complete the race. Thus this year CACR worked towards raising funds to get all 520+ students new pairs of shoes and socks. Thanks to all the donors who gave generously.

Donation Appeal for shoes

Getting up on a Sunday morning is something that I resent, but the opportunity to make Bandra a disabled friendly zone seemed to be a perfect motivation for me. I was responsible to get the students of Petit School in Bandra to the location of the marathon. Even though it was six in the morning, all the students were full of enthusiasm and were ready to run. As soon as they had settled into the buses we drove of to the location. The students were getting more and more eager to run.

      Soon students from all the other schools poured in. Everyone had this new  found energy within him or her. All the BMC school students were given biscuits and bananas before the race so that they are energized. After a while the race began. The first one was the boys 2 Km run which was followed by the girls 2 Km run. Both the times I could see all the students ready and willing to win the race. All the by-standers cheered all the students and coaxed them all to finish the race. After the race all the students were given a while to rest followed by a food hamper, which they happily munched on. Seeing the joy and satisfaction on the faces of all the winners was priceless.It was Sunday morning well spent. We were happy to give a chance to these children to display their athletic talent.

Municipal school girls run at the 2km race at MUSTRun

Citizens Association for Child Rights had also organized a photo booth sessions for all the participants and volunteers present at the venue. Each person posed with a quote that they felt suited them the most. The quotes spoke about education, volunteering, and child rights among the various other topics. All the participants posed happily with the posters.

People happily posing to support child rights and education 

Soon the event came to an end with a prize distribution ceremony. All the winners were given cash prizes along with other goodies. All in all the event was a huge success that was covered by 25+ News Dailies and few televisions channels.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself with my team mates. Hope to do it again next time.

Meesha with her team members who helped make MUSTRun a success

-Meesha Gandhi, is a social media intern with CACR , a education non-profit based in Mumbai ,India. CACR works to improve the quality of education and health of school children in municipal (inner city) schools.