CHILDREN IN DOMESTIC SERVICE

Two girls, barely 14 years old, were taken to New Delhi by a neighbor to work as maids. A month after leaving home, both girls died. Another 13 year old, also a domestic servant, was rescued from the home of a couple who went on vacation and left her locked up at home without food.

There are countless such stories of abused children throughout the country. In 2012, after years of relentless struggle by child's rights organizations, the Union Cabinet approved an amendment to India’s Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act. The bill proposed a ban on all forms of child labor, in particular the employment of children under 14. However, it has some important gaps as it still allows children to work as domestic help.

According to Thomas Chandy of Save the Children, “Engaging children in any form of labor and exploiting them is one of the worst forms of violence against them. It is important that the violation of the Anti-Child Labour Law become a non-bailable offence”.

Millions of children are denied their constitutional rights, and millions of employers violate Indian laws. ILO has set 2013 as the year to combat child domestic labor, which is a growing social threat in India. The demand for child domestic workers is at an all-time high. Only in Delhi, there are more than 100 employment agencies and thousands of child domestic workers.

Surprisingly, in many cases, employment agencies do not give any money to the parents of the children they recruit. There are no special laws to control these agencies. “Police take action against employers when a case is reported, but the law needs to be strengthened to act as a deterrent against child employment”, added Chandy.

Another important and often overlooked factor is the reason why children work. If these children did not live in extreme situations -abandonment or extreme family need- there would not be a case for more stringent punitive measures. A society free of child labor is not an impossible dream. It can also be achieved in India if the government and society come together to invest on the material and cultural resources that will educate all strata of society so that no one is left without the tools and means to live with dignity.

LET US PROVIDE THE MEANS

Source: savethechildren.in

HIV AND NEGLECTED MINORITIES

According to the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO), “HIV has been treated in India for over 20 years, but not enough attention has been given to the needs of women and children”.

Women living with HIV/AIDS face great challenges: in-laws that refuse to give them their share of property or assets, hostility from society, almost no support networks and, sometimes, HIV+ children of their own. WINS, funded by ActionAid, has organized about 25 women's networks in Chittor district in Andhra Pradesh, where there are about 800 families with at least one HIV-positive family member.

“Infected women contemplate suicide; they must find a way to rebuild their lives," says R. Meera, from WINS. Women living with HIV have ignorance, rejection and destitution as common denominators. If they have support, some fight for their rights; many others accept their tragic fate and just give up when the pressure is too great.

Usually, says Meera, a girl gets married around 14 to a man twice her age. She is not told that her future husband is HIV positive. At the age of 16, she is a widow and may already have two children. She has no home to call her own, no food, no self-esteem. The villagers do not want to talk to her. Being an abandoned woman, she becomes vulnerable to sexual overtures.

If her case comes to be known by an NGO such as WINS, “We approach her and tell her that HIV is not the same as AIDS, that she can live, and live well”, says Meera. She begins to attend the meetings and can assess the possibility of getting back the goods that her mother gave her at the time of her marriage. She has the right to do so, but is afraid to ask for her share; she will not even have her own mother's support.

According to Meera, “To avoid confrontation, she may not claim what is hers, but ask for it to be transferred to her children”. Her in-laws assure her that it will be so, but reality will be otherwise. If she insists and there is a confrontation, her in-laws will see her as demanding and ambitious. She may be told to leave and take her children with her, with no money and no one to turn to.

“There are some lawyers that help women without means”, says Meera. “We try to find good lawyers and cover some costs. A rural dweller cannot fight without outside help.” However, women often risk their lives fighting for their property rights. A case in point is "Vidya's", who married a farmer. A year later, he had died of AIDS, Vidya realized that she was HIV positive, and her in-laws had driven her out of the house. She went to court to claim her property. The district court ruled in her favour and so did the high court. She died in 2008... killed by her in-laws.

LET US INFORM AND SUPPORT VULNERABLE MINORITIES 

Source: hivaidsonline

LEARNING HOW TO TEACH

Asha-Kiran endeavors to equip children and teens with the tools they will need when they reach adulthood. One of these tools is conventional education, so it is only fitting that those who have a close relationship with the children in this sense -their teachers- be people who are not only well trained academically, but also know how to relate to their pupils, use discipline with tact and respect, and enjoy the work that they do.

With this aim in mind, our latest Teacher Training activity took place at Yashodhara Shelter, where the teachers attended the following sessions:

Stress management 
Behavior problems and how to deal with them
(Given by Ms. Divekar, Counsellor from Pune Municipal Corporation).

How to improve memory
How to develop teaching skills
(Given by Mr. Son Kamble, retired Pune University professor).

Counselling needs
(Given by Ms. Varsha Kali, President of Indian Union for Barbala).

Our thanks to them and Ella and Madukar Sarode from the NGO Dyandaine, for networking with Asha-Kiran, coordinating the sessions and for their selfless participation.

LET'S CONTINUE EDUCATING EDUCATORS

PROMOTING HEALTH

Health is one of the major issues in slum life because children and adults usually live in highly unhygienic conditions. As a result, they suffer from a range of diseases like malaria, respiratory problems, diarrhea, etc. For this reason, Asha-Kiran conducts Health Checkup Camps in the Community and Construction Site Centers for children and adults as well. Our Health Program runs at the preventive and curative levels.

Our objectives are to

Identify health related issues
Reduce health problems
Provide health care facilities.

During the months of July and August, it was found that most of the children at both projects were suffering from colds and cough, for which they received the proper medication. There is a rise in certain illnesses due to seasonal factors such as the monsoon, so seasonal checkups are carried out in addition to regular ones.

LET'S PROMOTE THEIR HEALTH

RAPE: THE PROBLEM BEHIND THE PROBLEM

In 2011-12, the gender rights NGO Akshara conducted a study in collaboration with Hindustan Times called 'Make Mumbai safe for women'. After surveying 4,200 women in Mumbai, it was found that 95% of the respondents had experienced sexual harassment on the street, and 46% on public buses. Despite the escalation of offenses against women, the gang rape of August 22, along with other rapes in the last year, has left people bewildered, incensed and in search of answers.

Nevertheless, rape is endemic and widespread in Indian society, occurring both inside and outside the home. The victims are not only women, but also teenagers and girls. The best way to tackle the problem is at its base: during childhood. It is necessary to educate children, reach their parents, their neighborhoods, their communities. There must be gender sensitization workshops for teachers, parents and school administrators. Gender equality, as a subject, should be compulsory in the school curriculum. There should be innovative events, creative activities and projects for children and parents, month after month, year round.

There are no quick cures to a problem that arises from an entrenched patriarchal system and misogyny fueled by a culture of impunity. Violence against women has to be eradicated through intelligently conceived, intense and sensitive work at the school, community and district level, all backed by a relentless media campaign that can evolves as needs change. Laws and punitive measures are not enough. Although progress may be slow and may obstacles will have to be overcome, this is the only way to go if there is to be a radical change in society’s attitude towards the female sex.

Source: hindustantimes

FUN AND CREATIVITY

For three weeks in the month of August, various arts and crafts activities were conducted at all of our projects for our young beneficiaries, led by Laura Amor and Silvia Benítez, two Spanish volunteers. Some of the objectives behind the workshops were to enhance the children’s psycho-motor skills, teach them to handle the various materials used, and enhance their creativity in innovative ways. 

Aside from thoroughly enjoying the activities, they were helpful to arouse the children’s interest in studies. Language was not a barrier for either the volunteers or the children, who understood each other perfectly. Laura and Silvia drew, made face masks, sang songs and danced with the children.  It was rewarding to see them opening up to, interacting with each other, and having so much fun.

When volunteers from the West go to India for the first time, a process of adaptation occurs when they come into close contact with vulnerable children. This process usually ends in a new attitude towards life and relationships, as was Silvia’s case, who has shared her feelings with us.

“Today I thank life for allowing me to learn this way; because I have been ‘slapped’ to make me see that I have infinite good fortune; because it has taught me the universal language of smiles and looks; because it has set me before another world and other lives that are totally different yet wonderful; because it has made me see my boundless love for children; because it has made me understand that I am just an accident and that my ego is not more than one of those pebbles I encounter along the way.

Today I think I'm more humble. Right now I feel like a millionth of a total and wonderful whole, and as such, why not, also a wonderful part, but not an important one.

Today, I promise myself to thank the universe more often for all that I have been offered. Today, I promise myself to get up every day with the firm intention of helping others, starting by those near me. Today, I commit myself to breathe in life every second, to be aware of every moment and never cease in my work of attempting to be a better person. Today, I see the world through different eyes.”

LET'S SUPPORT THEIR CREATIVITY

WOMEN POWER

This story of a woman farmer is a testimony to the change that women can bring to their families and communities when provided access to training and the proper resources. Ram is a leader who defied social norms in her community in Uttar Pradesh and has been implementing sustainable farming methods on her farm for the past ten years thanks to the training she received from GEAG.

Equipped with know-how, she uses intercropping and crop rotation to increase farmland productivity and improve soil fertility. She maximizes production during the dry season, growing more than 32 crop varieties. The monsoon is often devastating in Ram’s village, so she counteracts its effects by growing flood-resistant vines that allow her to farm the land during the rainy season.

Before Ram was successful in agriculture, many women in her village were reluctant to attend the training provided by GEAG. The social ridicule she faced, however, dissipated when she saved enough money to buy her own piece of land. Inspired by her example, village women began to attend classes and to develop sustainable agricultural management practices.

Since then, Ram has taught 200 women in her village, 90 of which are now small-scale organic farmers who use local seed varieties. Recently, Ram bought a well so that women would not have to walk long distances in search of water, thereby increasing their productivity. Ram continues to create solutions to adapt to climate change in her community, empowering other women to become advocates for the environment and self-sufficient farmers.

Source: womensearthalliance