Anuradha Bhosale is a highly cherished hero to thousands of impoverished children and their families. Ms Bhosale is a renowned grassroots women’s rights and anti-child labor activist based in Kolhapur, India where more than 35,000 children are involved in daily labor for local industries. A former child-laborer herself at the age of six, she has […]
Pariah By Association Part 2
September 16, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Original Marathi by: Anuradha Bhosale English rendering: Arun Chavan For a long time the nethermost deprived sections of society were not taken notice of by the economic planners of the country. Now we are in the XII five year plan period and the 66th year of independence. Yet the special development needs of these sections, which mainly comprise nomadic […]
Pariah By Association
September 11, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Anuradha Bhosale continues with another story of life and the struggle to bring a better life to the nomadic children of Kolhapur India…. There was a bit of controversy about the prevalence of child labour in Kolhapur district. When I enquired of the concerned wing of the district administration about the incidence of child labour […]
Hoping Against Hope
September 9, 2013 by Leave a Comment
In 2005 we received heavy showers within a short time span. Kolhapur’s main river, Panchganga and its major tributary, Bhogawati, burst their banks and flooded vast areas. That year is particularly memorable for me and my co-workers because our fledgeling residential school for deprived children near the river’s high floodline at Donawade village got severely damaged. We had at that time 23 […]
AVANI’s First Graduate: Sunil Kamble’s Story
June 19, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Sunil Kamble was the first in his family to graduate from school. The SSC exam (Secondary School Certificate) is a state board final exam all students must pass out of their 10th grade of secondary school education. Once a student passes the exam, they are eligible to enroll in junior college for the next […]
Just Imagine: Is this too much to ask?
May 7, 2013 by Leave a Comment
“Imagine what we can do if 100,000 people decide to donate $3 a month (just 10 cents per day) for 12 months? It could transform the lives of thousands of children and their families. Is this too much to ask?” It is a sad commentary on our civilization that millions of children all over the world are […]
Thank You for Your Generous Way
December 23, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Where has the time gone? Another year, another 365 days has almost flown by. As we say goodbye to 2014, we look back on all that has been achieved. The Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute (GWEI) has embarked on an ambitious multi-pronged program to help eradicate the scourge of poverty and human degradation. As Gandhi said: “Poverty […]
The Bandit Queen* of the Social Movement
July 30, 2012 by 2 Comments
Guest post by: Dr. Sunilkumar Lavate, Principal, Mahaveer College, Kolhapur *[EDITOR’S NOTE: India’s previous ‘Bandit Queen’, Phulan Devi (at right), was a seasoned bandit of north India. An ordinary village woman, she was abducted by outlaws and raped. She escaped and turned herself into a ‘bandit queen’ and avenged all of her assailants. After undergoing […]
Bangladesh Child Laborers: Victims of apathy and neglect
July 8, 2012 by 1 Comment
Bangladesh's child population (under 18), comprising 45% of the total population are virtually unnoticed. They are vast untapped wealth that could be turned into effective manpower. Born mostly of poor parents, the male children supplement the meager income of the parents, while most female children in urban areas work as domestic help. A big number […]
Nestle Child Labor Violations Continue After a Decade of Promises
July 8, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Chocolate maker Nestle has AGAIN been accused of failing to carry out checks on child labour and other abuses in part of its cocoa supply chain. A report by an independent auditor, the Fair Labor Association (FLA), says it found "multiple serious violations" of the company's own supplier code. Nestle signed an agreement in […]
Anuradha on the Plight of India’s Impoverished Children
May 9, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Ms. Anuradha Bhosale graduated from the Tata School of Social Sciences and decided to educate children living in the slums of Kolhapur, 200 miles south of Bombay (Mumbai). She found that the children could not come to a school because they had to work during the day to supplement the parent's income. Note: THIS is […]
Anuradha Bhosale to Attend U.S. Gatherings
April 4, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Soon Anuradha Bhosale will travel from India to the U.S. to attend meetings and other gatherings in Chicago, Rochester NY, and California for the express purpose of raising awareness in continuing support for the GWEI-AVANI Child Education Residence in Kolhapur India. During her visit stateside,scheduled for June of this year, Ms. Bhosale will speak […]
5 Million Child Labourers in India
December 20, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Nearly 5 million children are still engaged as laborers across the country, Indian Labor Minister Mallikarjun Kharge informed the government yesterday. The Labor Minister, made it clear that the number of child laborers in the country was declining, however. “As per Census 2001, there were 5 million working children in the country in the age […]
53 child labourers rescued in New Delhi
October 15, 2011 by 1 Comment
53 child labourers rescued from north-west Delhi, 7 arrested Source: Bachpan Bachao Andolan 4th Oct, 2011 New Delhi: On the heals of India Action Week, 53 child labourers were rescued in simultaneous raids conducted in two areas of Sultanpuri and Mangolpuri police stations of North West district of Delhi. At least 7 employers are apprehended presently. […]
Philip Morris Tobacco Farms Using Forced Child Labor
October 15, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Posted by Byard Duncan at AlterNet There are a million reasons not to smoke cigarettes. Today, a Human Rights Watch report offers you yet another. The report, titled “Hellish Work: Exploitation of Migrant Tobacco Workers in Kazakhstan,” documents a series of abuses by farmers under contract with the tobacco giant Philip Morris. They include the […]