16th July, 2011, New Delhi: Eight children, working in a jewellery shop in punjabi basti, Nangloi and sweet shop was rescued during a rescue operation in the capital today. The rescue was conducted on a complaint filed by Bachpan Bachao Andolan. The rescue operation was led by Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Punjabi Bagh. The youngest […]
India Circus Owners Banned From Using Child Performers
India’s traditional traveling circuses remain widely popular across the country, although attendance has been falling in recent years. Despite their popularity, there have long been concerns about their treatment of child circus performers, many of whom are trafficked from Nepal. Starting this month, India’s Supreme Court banned circus owners from using child performers and demanded […]
Education, Vocation Training, Rehabilitation & Child Labour
Guest Post by: Dr Neeraja Sharma Home Problem of Child-Labour is not new to anybody. ILO under convention 138 makes a distinction between child labour and child work. ‘Child work’ is that participation of children in the economy which does not affect their physical and mental development adversely. This kind of work under ILO guidelines […]
India Coal Towns, Many Miners are Children
Times South Asia bureau chief Mark Magnier and photojournalist Daniel Berehulak report on the mining situation in the Jaintia Hills district of India, located in the northeastern state of Meghalaya. Perhaps as many as thousands of underage workers as young as 8, lured by the wages, leave school to work in coal mines under perilous […]
GoPhil Helps AVANI & Rescued Child Laborers
In September of 2010, GoPhilanthropic visited its partners – AVANI school in Kolhpur, India who provide shelter and education for 36 children who have been rescued from a life of forced child labor. All of the children now attend school and thanks to the dedication of AVANI Director Anuradha Bhosale and others on her team, […]
Human Trafficking is Violence Against Humanity
Fourteen-year old Gudiya Putul is not in Kingston, Jamaica attending the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC), but her name and history were brought to the attention of some IEPC participants Saturday during a workshop about economic injustice and human trafficking. Source: Ekklesia Putul (not her real name) is originally from a village in West Bengal, […]
Vote Now! YouTube Good Work Contest
YouTube is rewarding creatives for doing good work for good causes with their Good Work contest. We have produced a 60-second video that looks at the Good Work of Anuradha Bhosale and Avani at the Kolhapur Brick Kilns, empowering women and feeding and teaching children and rescuing them from forced labour. Produced by myself and shot […]
Kavi, A Realistic Account of Forced Child Labor
In the genre of Slum Dog Millionaire, Kavi is a short film written-directed and produced by Gregg Helvey focusing on the problem of child labour in India. It was nominated for Oscar in 2010. Its a 19-minute fictional account of a young boy who wants to escape from the brick kiln where he is forced to […]
Sold: An MTV EXIT Special with Lara Dutta
Very few people are actually aware of how large the problem is. Even if people are aware, they generally turn a blind eye towards the entire situation. For this reason, the level of awareness needs to be increased drastically. “Sold: An MTV EXIT Special”, a gripping documentary presented by Indian actress and UNFPA Ambassador, Lara […]
Salaam Bombay! Reviewed
Recently we had the opportunity to watch Salaam Bombay! , a 1988 Hindi film directed by Mira Nair, and screenwritten by her longtime creative collaborator, Sooni Taraporevala. If, like me, you loved Slumdog Millionaire, I might describe Salaam Bombay! as an early precurser to that more recent commercial success. Salaam Bombay! chronicles the day-to-day life of children […]
180M Children in India “very vulnerable” to Trafficking
Source: BusinessEconomics.in Guest Interview with Nishit Kumar Head of Communication and Strategic Initiatives CHILDLINE India Foundation, Mumbai Q) In your opinion, what are the reasons behind the increasing child trafficking in India? A) Nearly 43% of the country’s population is children below 18. Of these, about 40% are marginalised by poverty, illiteracy, exploitation, abuse, disability, […]
India’s Supreme Court Bans Circus Child Labor
Sources: AP and New Scottsman India’s Supreme Court has banned travelling circuses from employing children and ordered the government to conduct raids on all performing companies to rescue minors. The court edict followed a petition lodged by a children’s rights group lobbying for implementation of Indian child labour laws, regularly flouted by circuses. Children trained […]
Delhi High Court Orders Crackdown on Child Labour
Delhi High court orders crackdown on child labour Harish V Nair, Hindustan Times New Delhi, March 23, 2011 The familiar sight of children slogging at roadside eateries, vehicle workshops, scrap industries and power looms in Delhi will hopefully be a thing of the past. The Delhi high court has ordered a crackdown against deployment of […]
Delhi Child Labour Rescue Team Attacked and Hospitalized
Several activists of a city-based child rights NGO were on Thursday allegedly attacked and severely beaten up by some people while they were trying to rescue child labourers. A group of “traffickers” allegedly attacked workers of Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) with knives and iron rods in Khureji area of east Delhi and forcibly took away […]
Over 200 Million Children Involved in Child Labour Worldwide
An International Labour Organisation (ILO) report indicates that over 200 million children are involved in child labour globally. Over 100 million out of them are involved in its worst form such as child prostitution, stone quarrying and mining. The report indicated that although there had been a decline in the total number of children involved […]