We, at Educo, are committed to ending child labour
At Educo, we believe that Education and Participation are children’s human rights and are also an opportunity to change societies.
We think that we have to go to the root of problems to find solutions that help cure them. Child labor is one such violation of children’s
rights and devoid them of all joys and opportunities. Educo is committed to eradicating child labor from India and ensuring that children
grow up safe and happy. And we are counting on you to achieve this!
Say no to child labour || Campaign by Educo
Say no to child labour || Campaign by Educo
Launched at the end of 2021, the SAY NO TO CHILD LABOUR campaign by Educo aims to mobilize support for ending the exploitation in the form of child labor. The virtual campaign envisions bringing together stakeholders from all walks of life to lend their voices in support of children.
Only an aware and responsible society can protect its children and through the campaign, Educo is aiming at building and strengthening such a society. We are collaborating with governments, NGOs, networks and coalitions, educational institutions, corporates, and civil society at large to amplify the collective voice against child labor.
Our work so far
Odisha
In Odisha, we have been working since 2021 and have joined hands with Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSCPCR) to address the issue of child labour heads-on.
Karnataka
In Karnataka, we enable adolescents to raise issues faced by children and adolescents with elected representatives. Many cases of child labour have been addressed with support from the state.
Maharashtra
Change is here !
Sanjuli escapes child labour and gets another chance at education.
Sanjuli escapes child labour and gets another chance at education.
Sanjuli Pradhan is a 17-year-old girl hailing from Daringbadi village of Partamah Gram Panchayat of the Daringbadi block in Odisha, India, Her father, Mr. Pradhan is a daily labourer and her mother, Mrs. Pradhan supports her father to sustain their family. She has 3 brothers and 6 sisters of whom the 3 elder sisters and one elder brother are married while her younger siblings are still in school. Sanjuli and her siblings are first-generation learners since neither of their parents received proper schooling.
Unfortunately, in 2019 after completing her 10th Standard, she was effectively forced to drop out of school and work in construction as a child labourer due to financial reasons. In her own words “Due to financial problems I was forced to leave my studies because my father invested all his money in my elder sister’s marriage. After the marriage, we were in crisis. And for that reason after 10th, I left.” She worked long hours every day accompanied by her parents. When asked about her experience and if there were other child laborers at the time she replied in a rather bleak tone “I was alone. I never had the habit of working like this, so, it was physically straining. I missed my school and books. I wanted to study but I couldn’t…” They were not provided with food, had to use open toilets and worked continuously 8 hours a day. One could tell by her narration that she was traumatised by the experience but yet she soldiered through to provide for her family. During the lockdown, they could not work for 5-6 months which made their suffering even worse.
In 2021, fortunately, she found the help she needed in the form of Rina didi, a didi who visited their village as part of the Educo-PREM project. Rina was the community mobilizer at Sanjuli’s village for a program initiated by Educo and PREM. Sanjuli was initially introduced to her through the village’s orientation meeting on child labour and child marriages. Thereafter, Rina personally contacted her and conducted a home visit on learning about her situation. As described by her, “She counselled mother, father, and myself so that I can continue my studies and leave work”. Since then, Sanjuli has left her work as a labourer and successfully enrolled in the 11th standard class at Binayak Acharya College of Berhampur city, where she currently goes to school. To improve the condition of the family, Educo-PREM team is constantly working to connect the family with relevant government schemes for social and economic welfare of marginalised groups.
PREM and Educo have been regularly organising meetings and sensitising children and adolescents regarding the adverse effects of child labour and child marriage not only in Daringbadi but in other villages around Odisha as well. The partnership has also organized numerous village meetings, adolescent group meetings and adolescent engagement activities. Sanjuli is a proud member of the adolescent group and talked about how these meetings helped her and other people in the same situation as her learn more about topics like cleanliness, child marriage, child labor and important life skills via training. At the tail-end of the interview, she mentioned, “Due to financial crisis, they are dropping out of school which leads to child labour”, when asked about issues faced by other children in Daringbadi. You could tell by her tone she wanted to help them as well. Educo and PREM have the same goal and are continuously working to help both children and adults in a similar predicament.
Sanjuli hopes to complete higher secondaryfrom school soon. Thanks to Educo and PREM, combined with her strong will to learn, she became the first child out of her 9 siblings to pursue a higher secondary education in school. She aspires to continue breaking such boundaries and find a good job after her higher studies. “I had never thought that once again I can continue my study in college. Now I will do hard labour and do a good job in my future. I express my thankfulness to PREM-Educo for making me realise the importance of education”, said an optimistic Sanjuli. She is a role model to her younger siblings and all other children around India who are faced with many such difficulties which she has overcome.
Note: Photograph used here for representation purpose only.
Back to school after a harrowing time as a child labourer
Back to school after a harrowing time as a child labourer
Asmita Pradhan (name changed), 15 years, resides in a small village in Kandhamal district in the state of Odisha in India. Until two years ago, she had been attending school and studying in class 8th. She hails from a tribal community and lives in a small village in Daringbadi block in the district. Historically marginalized, these communities have very few opportunities and mostly depend on agriculture work and labour work.
Asmita’s father, who along with his wife used to sustain the family, started developing disability in his legs, ten years ago. Due to no access to quality healthcare services and lack of awareness, he couldn’t get any treatment and eventually developed completely disability. To make matters worse, he suffered an accident few years ago, when he fell on a fire which was lit in their house to escape winters. This led to severe burns on his legs and other parts of the body. Today, he crawls with his hands and is unable to work.
Asmita has two elder brothers and a younger brother. One of the elder brothers works is in Daringbadi and the other in Bhuabneswar, both as daily wage labourers. The youngest sibling, Asmita’s brother is enrolled in class 6th in school which is closed due to the pandemic.
Due to her father’s disability and extreme poverty at home, Asmita was made to dropout of school two years ago and compelled to work. Asmita’s brothers were earning meager, and the mother would work in her own field as well as on other people’s land as a labourer. Asmita shares, “my parents told me that they can’t afford to send me to school as my father can’t work and mother barely manages to make ends meet.”
Asmita’s condition forced her to work as a child labourer near her village. She got work at a road construction site, where she was made to carry buckets full of mud and bring it to the workers constructing the road. When available, she would also work in other people’s farms just like her own mother. In her own words, “It was a labuorious work. I used to carry heavy buckets full of mud. My arms used to hurt. The maalik (employer) was not concerned with how difficult it was for me. He showed no sympathy and would only scream and say “work, don’t sit!”
Any last hopes she could have to ever return to school were crushed by the onset of the pandemic. Her family’s condition worsened, with her brother losing work opportunities in the city and mother struggling in the village. This further pushed Asmita in great pressure and blocked all possible ways for her to get out of work. She however understood her parents’ vulnerability and shares, “There was a lot of struggle at home. With my father’s disability, I had to work in order to support my mother.”
Educo partnered with People’s Rural Education Movement (PREM) in 2021 to prevent child marriages in Daringbadi block, Odisha. Taking this forward, the PREM team began in May 2021 with collecting primary data of the vulnerable children in the villages in this block. The surveys and discussions aimed at identifying child labourers and school dropouts who could be potential victims of child marriage. It was then, that during adolescent group meetings and interactions with villagers, PREM got to know about a girl, who had dropped out and was working at a construction site nearby. It was Asmita!
The team met Asmita and her parents and understood their situation. The team counselled the parents about the harmful effects of engaging the child in such laborious work and motivated them to enroll her back in education so she had opportunities to have a future different from her parents. Her parents understood and eventually sought PREM and Educo’s support in enrolling her in education. Asmita has now been enrolled in class 8th and will attend classes once the schools reopen as per the government guidelines (schools in India are shut to contain the spread of the pandemic). While the struggle for her parents is still there, they are committed to not deprive Asmita of opportunities to learn. PREM and Educo are also engaging with government authorities to link children and families with available government welfare schemes. Asmita is hopeful for better days and chirps, “I am looking forward to being back to school again. I want to become an engineer when I grow up and I will study hard for it.”
Note: Photograph used here for representation purpose only.
Why does your pledge matter for children?
When you take the pledge, you are not only committing to not engage any child for your own work, but also committing to spread awareness on the issue, discouraging others from employing children in work, and also taking all possible steps to support children in such exploitative conditions.
Your pledge is your commitment to the children of India and their future. This one step by you will go a long way in creating a cadre of socially aware citizens who prioritise children and are committed to children rights and wellbeing.
Make a difference... Take the pledge today!
We dream for every child to be in school, not at work!
We dream for every child to be in school, not at work!
Child labor exists for various reasons. Parents, despite knowing how it stops their children from living their childhoods,
are forced to send children to work due to abject poverty. The criminalization of such communities or children is not the solution.
Our approach to end child labour
-- Quality and equitable education
-- Creating and strengthening platforms and mechanisms for children to participate and voice their concerns actively
-- Linking communities with social welfare schemes for social and economic empowerment
-- Partnerships with government, NGOs and civil society for community development, focusing on child wellbeing
-- Education from roots - working to spread awareness at all levels to ensure children's protection
Our partners
Our Collaborators
