Visit to celebrity Pallavi Joshi

13th June, 2009 two of CRY volunteers went to meet celebrity actress Pallavi Joshi at her residence in Versova to take her insight on the problem of Child Labor. Pallavi Joshi who is also associated with project Shiksha willingly lend her ears to CRY volunteers to know more about their campaign against child labor and their plan of action for the rest of the year. She was surprised when CRY volunteers brought to light an alarming figure of a 17 million children who still do not go to school in India even after 60 years of Independence. Volunteers also shared with her the CRY stance on the issue of child labor explaining to her the demands and motive of the campaign and elucidated the year long plan against child labor.
The issue of child labor inculcated within her great concern on the issue of child labor and she immediately agreed to get a photograph clicked with the CRY placard that read send children to school and not to work showing her support and consent for the same.
Pallavi Joshi also ensured continual support from her side to CRY in their attempt to make a difference in the lives of millions of uneducated children and also creating awareness among people who often unknowingly indulge in the act of child labor.
Volunteers then left her residence handing over a thank you letter to Ms. Pallavi Joshi for her valuable time and support along with the CRY handout on the campaign.

Danku Mangal and You "PagalBabaKiVani"

"Kuch log Kehtai hain Kuch nahi Badalta,Par agar Kuch nahi badalta to hum bandron sai insaan kaisai ban gaye ?"

Let us meet "Daku Mangal Singh",Yes this side vala guy ...But yaar yai dakun paidaa nahi hua tha , system nai isai bana dia...So what should we do, lets shake the system ....but ...again ...what we will achieve on shaking the system....after shocks for ourself.....So where is the fault ? Maa...What can I do ...to get the things in a proper order .....What can I do to make my India like any western problem free country.....I found my self very small in comparison to this huge system ...vo kya kehtai hain...meri to koyi hasti hi nahi hai....to...kya karoon........

Hmm...chalo let me tell you something more about this guy ...."Danku Mangal Singh".. jantai ho isnai kya kiya hai....aik din java ki coding chodkar.....office sai chutti lekar....he got dressed like this and took a pledge ...to support the cause ...and to support ...himself....Its simple....kisi ko nahi badal saktai to khud ko badlo....Start standing for what is right....and believe me this is the only possible way to bring the change...to reach to the skyhights ...abt which we all talk......

I do not know that how far we all will go...But one thing for sure...that ...we will go...I do not know...How much we will achieve ...but for sure ....We will achieve.....and ....I do not know ....How much time you will take to join us for this...change.....but I know....you will soon.

Chalo...Yaar ...aik baar jid kartai hai ....aur badal detai hai khud ko....system ...apnai aap thik ho jaigaa.......So.... Get your self photographed...with the pledge board.....which would also also mean...that ...you are going to talk to all possible kids, who you think ...are not going to school....ask them the reasons for that.. guide them about the positives of getting education....share your experiences with all world on this blog.....and try to ensure that kid's admission to some school....... Aaap....shuru karo....aur khud dekhnaa....kaisai aas-pass ki...duniyaa....badalnai lagegi.....

Aur Haan ......Danku Mangal Singh..aka Ashu ...works with an IT Firm....Danku and all is parttime....when he thinks he ...wants to live ...his dreams.......

To aap kab apnai sapnai ......Jiogai.... Will wait to hear from you guys.....

Pagal Baba

12th June 2009 "Arambh Hai Prachand"

Once again 7 CRY volunteers in Thane are leading the way in showing how meaningful action for Child Rights begins with each one of us.

12 June 2009 was a Friday. A working day. And yet volunteers took a day off to launch the Campaign Against Child Labour in Thane.

At 11.30 Ashutosh Vaidya, one of the core group working on this campaign, was addressing 15 Zilla Parishad employees in the Primary Education Department. “We believe that every child should be in school and that it is our responsibility to work to ensure that this happens”, he said. “Those children who are currently Child Labour need to be rehabilitated in a manner that addresses the real reason why they are not in school. Until we do this, we will not be able to ensure that the children of our country get their basic rights. If you agree with our demands and our movement then please stand with our placards so we can take your photograph, which will be like a signature saying you stand with us in our campaign.”

What happened next was something volunteers had not expected at all. ALL employees came forward, stood as a group and gave us the first photo signature of our campaign! As we left several reassured us of their constant support and efforts to ensure that children in our country get their Right to Education.

This was only the beginning. Volunteers went to the Women and Child Welfare Department, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan section, the President of the Zilla Parishad. At each place they were granted time and space to present their asks and to mobilise the department for a photo signature. At each place people asked questions about the campaign, offered their point of view, and committed to raising a voice against Child Labour and for education. The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan section shared information with the volunteer team regarding various issues they have come across in their work. For instance, they expressed their frustration that more children seem to want to go to non –government schools despite the fact that many ZP schools offer quality schooling. They agreed with volunteers that these schools need to be encouraged and we need to be able to build a system that ensures this kind of quality schooling in all government schools.



The President of the Zilla Parishad encouraged the volunteers and assured them of her full support in striving towards education for all children.

For the next 6 weeks volunteers will continue to get photo signatures from celebrities, government officials, students, working people….as many people as possible. “When many of us believe in the same thing and stand up for what we believe, we can make sure that change happens.” It is with this belief and faith, that the Child Labour Campaign was launched.

Planned Launc on 12th June 2009 "Svapn Parivartan Kaa"

CRY Volunteers Stand Against Child Labour

Photo Signature Campaign

For the past year, CRY volunteers in Thane have been campaigning on the issue of Child Labour. Their learning from interacting with families where children work, with children who go to school as well as children who are pushed out of school, with government officials, NGOs and concerned citizens, is that unless we understand the causes of Child Labour we will be unable to address the issue itself.

Till date there is no comprehensive Rehabilitation policy for Child Labour. It is our duty as democratic citizens to use our voices and our learning to stand up for the rights of children who are forced to work and whose childhood is lost on the construction site, in looking after siblings, in illegal factory settings and in hotels and restaurants.

We believe that knowledge is power. Through a series of campaign and on ground activities the volunteers are looking to make citizens aware of the many schemes available to children and their families that help enroll children in school.

Our campaign kicks of on 12 June 2009 – World Anti Child Labour Day – and continues till 12 June 2010. Through the year the citizens of Maharashtra will use various events to build a voice for Child Rights – ‘Send children to school, not work’.

One event at a time. One person at a time. This movement will not stop till children are assured of their right to a present AND a future.


Event 1 – Photo Signature Campaign
Launch 12 June. End date August 15

1. CRY Volunteers take this placard to various public places so that people can stand for child rights by getting their photo- signatures taken
2. CRY sends out to volunteers/ donors/ on website/ facebook etc a placard that says “Children should go to school, not work”. This is uploaded by June 12 onto various online forums
3. The invite is to print out the placard and find people who believe in the statement and who want to stand up for what is right. Every time we find someone like this, we want to get them to ‘sign on’- and the way to do this is to pose with the placard in as creative a manner as possible and get a photograph taken. This is your photo signature that says that you believe in education for all children. People can get as many photographs like this from those in their neighbourhood, school, college, work space….and send them in to us
4. In addition to this CRY volunteers will go to bookshops, colleges, schools, communities, through the months of June and July to encourage people to stand for the right of all children to go to school, not work
5. At the end of July, we take all the photo-signatures we’ve received and make them into a short film ready for upload on youtube/CRY website etc, on August 15th
6. Once the film is uploaded we encourage people to share it with as many people as possible


Objective:

1. To enable greater numbers to participate in the Anti Child Labour Campaign, in their own spaces
2. To build pressure to address the root causes of Child Labour and to implement holistic rehabilitation policies
3. To encourage people to move beyond this to improve their own understanding of why children do not go to school by participating in other campaign activities as well