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All donations to this project will be matched, doubling your donation & impact!

THE CHALLENGE

India has the largest number of child laborers in South Asia, with millions of children engaged in labor, many working in hazardous conditions. These children end up forced into work for various reasons, including familial poverty and illiteracy, in addition to a lack of awareness of the harms of child labor. The most vulnerable children are those from rural areas and particularly from stigmatized communities, such as the so-called “untouchables”. Girls, especially those from socially disadvantaged groups, tend to be at a higher risk of being forced into work. These children are engaged in different forms of manual labor, including domestic work, rural farm work, rag-picking, mining and quarrying.

Naturally, when children are engaged in labor, they are deprived of their right to education. Moreover, child labor can cause physical and emotional harm, can result in physical and educational developmental delays, and can inflict psychological trauma. Tragically, in addition to the immediate harms to a child's physical and psychological health, child labor also limits the life prospects of a child: child labour increases the risk of child marriage resulting in countless young girls being married by force at an early age (below 16 years old) and perpetuates the cycle of poverty, trapping children and families in severely underprivileged circumstances.

The SOLUTIONS WE'RE PROPOSING

W4’s field partners Humanium and Hand in Hand India work to rescue and support child survivors of child labor in Madhya Pradesh by providing the children with adapted care and education at a residential shelter and educational center (RSTC: Residential Special Training Center). At the center, the children benefit from the material, emotional, medical and psychological care and support they need, in addition to adapted education tailored to their specific needs, all of which enable the children to reintegrate gradually into the regular schooling system and thus begin to rebuild their lives. The program also works to prevent and eradicate child labor in the wider community through community awareness-raising programs about child labor and children’s rights, plus livelihood support programs for parents from very poor communities.

At the residential center, in a safe and nurturing environment, the children are able to enjoy their right to a safe childhood and an education, while benefiting from a range of adapted learning and extracurricular activities, ranging from literacy and numeracy classes to sports activities and yoga. The environment, care and learning activities at the shelter are all specially designed to support the children as they overcome the trauma of child labor, and to bridge the children’s educational and developmental gaps, getting the children back on track in the public school system, enabling them to continue their education.

This program, which has already been implemented in other centers, has a very high success rate: 100% of the children who complete the program are enrolled and remained in public school and 90% of the children manage to complete their secondary education, thereby equipping the children with the necessary education and skills they need to ensure safe, bright futures and to lift themselves out of poverty. Additionally, the program staff work with families and teachers to raise awareness about children’s rights and mental health and the priority of defending children’s right to education, all of which foster a change of mindset in the community and lasting, positive change.

THE IMPACT OF YOUR GIVING

What your donation can do:

20€ = 1 month of food for 1 girl

30€ = School supplies for 1 girl for 2 years

50€ = A full set of clothes for 2 girls (1 dress, 1 sports outfit, 2 school uniforms)

70€ = 2 years of medical care for 1 girl

120€ = Covers the fees for 1 girl for an entire month at the training center

By donating to this project, you can become part of the solution to rescue 50 vulnerable girls, aged 6 to 14, from child labor in Madhya Pradesh, providing these girls with the safety, care and education they desperately need. Your giving can have a life-changing impact on these girls, enabling them to benefit from the safe, nurturing environment of a residential shelter, with comprehensive care and an adapted learning environment to help them to overcome the trauma of child labor, rebuild their confidence and acquire the learning that will enable them to return to school and continue on the brighter, promising path of education.