Centers for informal education for child laborers
To counteract the serious consequences of child labour, Vikas Santhan has put together a broad package of measures. The central element is the establishment of three informal education centres in the settlements of Rathor Nagar, Shanti Nagar and Elani Nagar, as well as an informal education centre in Agra. These centres are aimed at children aged six to 14 who were identified as part of an extensive house-to-house survey and taken out of child labour. In the centre, the children receive four hours of lessons a day in basic subjects such as Hindi, English, mathematics, natural sciences and social and environmental sciences. The curriculum is reviewed monthly in a structured manner to ensure that the children are systematically understanding the learning material. In addition, monthly progress tests are carried out and after six months there is a six-monthly test, on the basis of which the children are promoted to the next grade.
A particular focus is on engaging and interactive lessons, which include the use of games, diagrams and maps. Every Saturday, leisure activities are also organized, which not only provide the children with space to play, but also help to develop their social and creative skills.
Background
Our partner NGO Vikas Santhan focuses on the difficult living conditions in the Asfabad area. The living conditions in these settlements are characterized by extreme poverty and social precarity. A large part of the population is dependent on daily labor. Around 50% of the workers do not own any property or assets and live in rented accommodation without basic infrastructure such as electricity, water, sanitation or adequate lighting. A key aspect of the problem is the high number of migrants who come to these urban settlements from rural areas in the hope of better living conditions. Instead, they find themselves in a vicious circle of precarious employment, social instability and inadequate infrastructure.
The effects of the precarious socioeconomic conditions are particularly severe for the children in this area. Many children have to work in dangerous areas such as making bangles or carpet weaving. These activities are often carried out in unsafe and unhealthy conditions: children work 10 to 12 hours a day, are exposed to dangerous chemicals and pollutants, and suffer injuries such as burns, cuts and other physical damage. The associated long-term health risks – such as serious illnesses such as tuberculosis, skin diseases, jaundice, typhoid or even cancer – significantly reduce the children’s quality of life. In addition, inadequate nutrition leads to anemia, loss of appetite and general malnutrition, so that children are forced to continue working despite health problems.
Precarious housing conditions further exacerbate the problem: families often live in individual, overcrowded rooms without adequate sanitation, which leads to unhygienic conditions and related health problems. The lack of educational facilities – the nearest school is often several kilometers away – forces many children to stay at home and work instead of receiving an education. This perpetuates the cycle of poverty and lack of education.
Projectpartner
Vikas Sansthan is an NGO working for the underprivileged children, child labourers and the poorest sections of society who have been denied human rights and justice. It mainly focuses on child labourers and their parents in Firozabad and Agra districts.
Vikas Sansthan is working tirelessly to eliminate child labour occurring in the glass and bangle industries and carpet industries in 41 villages of Agra and Firozabad districts and in the slums of Firozabad city. Vikas Sansthan is working for the liberation, rescue, reintegration and rehabilitation of child labourers.
The project is financed by generous donations from
BILD hilft e.V. „Ein Herz für Kinder”