child rights and child protection
Tuition and Back to School Centres
To educationally empower the vulnerable children, tuition centres were started in a number of locations namely Barpeta, Guwahati, Meghalaya, Mysore and the Tea Garden Belt. The objectives are to improve educational performance, increase attendance and minimize dropout rate, also to mainstream drop-out children into private and government educational institutions through Right to Education Act (RTI) 2005.
In both the tuition and back to school centres, the children were instructed on the following major subjects: English, Mathematics, General Knowledge, Social Science, Science, Hindi, Environment, Health Education, Rhymes, Drawings, Assamese, Kannada, Khasi, Grammar and Hand Writing. They also prepared for their exams and completed their homework during the instructional hours. Furthermore, co-curricular activities formed a significant part of the centres, which encompassed such activities as poetry recitation, drawing competition, outdoor and indoor games, visual and performing arts, reading of stories and newspaper clips, public speaking, meditation, cleaning drive and many more.
This particular intervention has shown myriad positive outcomes. The fact is that it not only educationally empowers the children, but also broaden their social, emotional and intellectual capacities leading to a more nuanced holistic development. Another empowering activity strived was “district level children leaders meeting” in which leaders of children’s clubs were involved.
Children’s Club Meeting
If the tuition centres and back to school centres are primarily focused on educationally empowering the vulnerable children, children’s clubs are designed to meet other needs such as mental, emotional, physical, legal and socially protective needs, also significant humanistic values and principles are instilled in them, apart from the obvious increment in their knowledge, skills, capacity and experience. Orientation is provided to all children at the initial stage, while the remaining activities are undertaken in the implementation phase, the glimpses of which are provided in the following below:
• Child Protective Knowledge: Child rights, child labour, demerits- merits of mobile phone, human trafficking: its consequences and prevention, child marriage, health and hygiene, importance of education, good and bad touch, Right to Education Act 2009, consequences of substance abuse, social issues and more.
• Values and Principles: Good and bad habits, familial values, behavioural change, human values, self-discipline, time management, Leadership: concept, components, styles, skills etc., unity, punctuality, obedience, truthfulness, integrity, discipline, and respectful mannerism, among others.
• Health and Hygiene: The children were taught to maintain personal, internal and external cleanliness, which is a necessity in preventing the occurrence of infections and promotion of immunity and health.
• Physical and Mental Fitness: To improve their overall fitness, they were engaged in a variety of sports, outdoor and indoor games, meditation, yoga and dance sessions.
• General Knowledge: traffic signal, CDI’s history, status quo and objectives, historical places in Assam, parts of body among others were imparted to augment the general knowledge of the children.
• Awareness: Awareness was provisioned on Swarna campaign, World Health Day and Mari Festival games, Mental Health, Mother’s Day, Children’s Day, Republic Day, Independence Day etc.
• Accolades: A child beneficiary got awarded for winning a drawing competition in Tezpur City which was organized by Brahmakumaris.
• Creative and Performing Arts: The children were also involved in creative arts to appeal to their creativity like story reading, poem recitation, drawing, dancing, skits and many more.
Celebration of Events:
Events like Teacher’s Day, Children’s Day, World Environment Day and many more are commemorated enthusiastically. Children Mainstreamed and Education Sponsored Mainstreaming Children is the direct outcome of bridge course provisioned in the Back-to-School Centres and the continuous evaluation through class and ASER tests. This also falls under the goal of educationally empowering the children and ensuring a brighter career and future. Therefore, more than 100 children were mainstreamed especially in Barpeta, Guwahati and Nongpoh through Right to Education Act (RTI) 2009.
They have been enrolled in schools like St. Mary’s Secondary School, Makoibari SSA LP School, Mawiong SSA School, Savio English School, Jubilee School, Pahambirlum SSA School and St. Paul’s School among others in Nongpoh, while in Barpeta they have in been mainstreamed into schools such as BM Noboday SC Prathamik Vidyalay, Vidyapara L.P. School, AL Hidayat Creative Academy etc., and in Guwahati, the children have been enrolled into Kerakichi LP School, Bhetapara LP School and Sijubari 2 No LP School.
As mandated under the Right to Education Act 2009, the mainstreamed children are eligible to receive free and compulsory education until the completion of class and the attainment of 14 years of age. Furthermore, Fr. Peter Syiemlieh, Nongpoh Parish Priest came forward to sponsor lifelong education of four vulnerable children viz., Ibiangstar Mukhim, Harison Lyngdoh, Mewanbet Makri and Meshanlang Pajyntein. Additionally, in Imphal a domestic worker’s child received a fully funded educational support.
Leadership Training for Children’s Club Leaders
To enable children in taking up the mantle of leadership, they were educated on standard social etiquettes, punctuality, child rights and other indispensable general knowledge. Skills in book and copy maintenance, application writing too featured in the trainings. A special short programme was undertaken for domestic workers children at Kohima, where the Ms. Dominica, a successful entrepreneur delivered a brief talk on the qualities of leadership. 47 children of domestic workers attended the special event and were duly enlightened. Additionally, children’s club leaders were educated on child rights, side effects of addiction to drugs like alcohol, smoking and other narcotic substances.
Campaigns in the Tea Garden Belt
Several endeavours have been launched in the tea garden belt for the benefits of the children and youths inhabiting the region. These activities are being conducted under the broader anti-human trafficking programme and they have been explicated in the following:
• Bi-Annual Mobilization Events: In these events, the children have been enlightened on the existing social issues, support gathered and motivated to work towards their reduction and prevention. These events too gave enough space to crusade for education, physical fitness, health, hygiene and nutrition for the benefit of the children. The parents were also exhorted to take special responsibility in their children’s well-being.
• Orientation, Formation and Restructuring of Children Clubs: To ensure incremental effectiveness and efficiency in preventing human trafficking and other social issues, new children’s clubs have not only been formed but also the previously existing clubs have been revamped. Children’s clubs are a medium through which they are sensitized, motivated, skilled, critical information disseminated for their protection, well-being and for raising of community safety.
• Formation of Youth Forum: Youth forums have been established in the tea garden belt, not only for the well-bring of the youths but for the whole region. The purpose of this platform is to uplift the youths educationally, economically, intellectually, socially and emotionally. Furthermore, the purpose of its existence is to further spread the tentacles of anti-human trafficking capability.
Awareness Campaign: Several awareness campaigns were launched in the tea garden belts which dealt with themes like health and hygiene, nutrition, Right to Education, social issues like trafficking, safe migration, alcoholism, drug abuse, early marriage, child labour etc.
Campaign through Sports Campaigns: Seasonal sports for the youth and members of children’s clubs to enhance health, education, nutrition and sensitization on human trafficking and its prevention were strived.
Counselling Session for Youth: To ensure that the youths to do not become prey to human trafficking, a counselling session was undertaken in which the concept of human trafficking with all its interrelated dimensions, unsafe and safe migration and safe migration guidelines were expounded to them. The session is a part of efforts being made towards human trafficking prevention and mitigation.
Commemoration of Important Events
The children participated in both in-project and out-project events are they are described in the following below:
• Republic Day: The children took active part in celebrating the Republic Day, which they did so in their respective tuition and back to school centres. Patriotism is without a question, the most naturally emotion found in everyone, including children. Therefore, on the day Flags were unfurled and obeisance paid, also patriotic songs were sung.
• GAN Utsav Preparation and Celebration: The mainstreamed children at Sijubari L.P. School in Hatigaon enthusiastically took part in the 3rd edition of Gunotsav, an annual educational assessment programme carried out by the Govt. of Assam, India.
• One Day Picnic: Outdoor picnic was arranged for the child beneficiaries where they were involved in games like football, tug of war and musical chair. Additionally, they relished the sweets that were distributed to them at day’s end.
• Saraswati Puja: Children beneficiaries draped in colourful attires ardently celebrated Saraswati Puja with their teachers and friends.
Awareness in School
A sensitization event called “awareness on safe migration and trafficking for young children” was held at Don Bosco School in Dimapur, Nagaland and Govt. Middle School in Churachandpur, Manipur. The programme successfully sensitized the children on human trafficking and all its causes and consequences. It cautioned them and also deeply motivated them to prevent and mitigate the occurrences.
Rescue and Rehabilitation
In Aizawl, the capital city of Mizoram, two minor domestic workers were rescued from their workplace and handed over to Child Welfare Committee, through One Stop Centre. Subsequently, case follow up was adequately done for the well-being of the rescued victims of child Labour. Furthermore, A 17-year-old runaway by the name of Ms. Anisha Tigga, studying in class IX and staying at Don Bosco Girls Hostel in Tripura was rescued by the staff at Guwahati Railway Station and united back with her family.
Miscellaneous
• A student of Anand Nagar tuition center got second prize in inter-school drawing competition.
• The past pupils were taught about unity and leadership, and engaged in drawing competition. Past pupils meeting conducted for the mainstreamed children facilitated in instilling the concept of leadership, all its interconnected aspects, as well as the socially expected standard social etiquettes.
• 50 mainstreamed children participated in a drawing competition organized by Alokshondhani in Hatigaon. Additionally, they published a magazine that featured pictures previously drawn by the beneficiaries.
• Clothes were distributed to the children of Umjarasi B2S Centre in Nongpoh.
• Food supplementation to the children of Makoibari B2S Centre in Nongpoh
• Members of mothers’ clubs, mothers of the child beneficiaries were taught about the concept of female hygiene.