Let us envision an equal world!!!

CRY Volunteers visit….

South City

Kolkata’s latest hang-out hub

Inside – The pretty picture.

One of the most popular haunts of south Kolkata, it attracts many people, especially children and teenagers.

Attractions such as video game parlours, toy stores, book stores and the movie halls draw these young people and makes South City their favourite place to hang out.

Outside – the harsh reality.

However, right outside South City work several children of the same age group who have never been to school, let alone seen the inside of the mall .They sell various things on the footpath outside the mall earning (not profit but mostly covering their material/ input cost!) a meager two to three hundred on a normal weekday and a little more on Sundays.

A few children we met…

This is Rakesh...

• He is a Fourteen year old boy working at a Soda Shikanji stall.

• He attended school only till class two and the place is now a distant memory to him.

• He had come to the city to support his mother and sister.

• He would like to go to school but is unable to do so. He just smiled shyly when asked.

Mithilesh Kumar...

• A muri seller who dropped out of school in class eight.

• Came to Kolkata to work with his brother because the family needed money.

• He has fond memories of school. He remembered studying mathematics

• He would like to go back to school ,he said.

Ravi Shankar Sharma...

• A seventeen year old from Allahabad.

• Worked at a phuchka stall.

• He had never been to school in his life.

• He felt work was fun and did not really want to go to school.

Ajit...• He works in a tea stall

with his employer. Both employer and the boy were hesitant to answer any questions. The man would not let the boy answer any of the questions we posed.

• We were told that the boy was fourteen and was from U.P even though he looked much younger.

• On asking him about school, he had no answer to give and his employer just gave us a watery smile.

Child labour – A recurring problem in India.

India has the highest number of child labour in the world, conservatively estimated 1.7crores, with about 20lakh of them employed in hazardous industries.

45% of the children in the 6-14 age group are out of school, who have joined/ will be joining the labour force very soon!

The Stark ContrastHundreds visit malls everyday and spend thousands of rupees on recreational activities and frivolous shopping…

…but what about the thousands of others who live from hand to mouth and have to sacrifice their education just so that they can survive???

A thought

The stark difference in the situations of the same aged children inside and outside the mall was so much that it made us realise the prevalent disparity in our society, and how it is usually young children who suffer the most.

Rakesh, Mithilesh, Ravi and Ajit were only a few of them we met in a short span of time, but there are thousands of others suffering the same fate.

We spend so much time, effort and money on trivial things which are inconsequential beyond a point.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE THINGS THAT REALLY MATTER???

If each one of us does our bit, together we can help all such children have a childhood they deserve where

they get quality education .

Become a child rights advocate.. Make a difference!