Overview

The issue of child labor looms large over India. Life in a slum revolves around day-to-day survival. Circumstances often force children into street labor- polishing shoes, picking rags, selling water pouches and engaging in other dangerous employment activities. Manav Sadhna provides a program through which these children can gain an outlet for their creativity in a safe and fun environment while also earning an income with dignity. Instead of working in the hot sun, they work under the roof of Manav Sadhna making greeting cards and other arts and crafts items.

Through Earn N’ Learn this year, we worked with 40 children. Each child participating in this project must attend a formal school. We also involve each child’s family in his/her growth by continuously interacting with them and encouraging their working participation in our activities.
 
During the four hours these children spend at Manav Sadhna every day, they participate in prayer, receive a nutritional snack and attend free tuition classes for one hour. Moreover, the project coordinators act as mentors and friends that provide guidance to the children. The children make 20 rupees a day initially and with practice, soon earn 40 to 50 rupees. A child working as a boot polisher on the streets will earn an average of 10 to 30 rupees daily for longer work hours in harsher surroundings.

Highlights

• -  During Diwali break and summer vacation, between 50-55 children earned additional income from making greeting cards.
• -  The children, on their own will, came to Manav Sadhna daily during their vacation time to help clean the center. They often chose to spend their Sundays here as well.
• -  Cursing among the Earn N’ Learn children decreased dramatically.
• -  During summer vacation, Manav Sadhna organized a six-day trip to Mount Abu. The children took a rock-climbing course at the Swami Vivekananda Mountaineering  Institute, trekked through the jungle and visited the famous temples around Mt. Abu. This activity aimed to foster connectivity between the children while increasing their self-confidence and sportsmanship. We also gave them some spending money in addition to the few rupees they brought from home. All of the young children used the money to buy gifts for their loved ones.
• -  This year Manav Sadhna took 30 children on a field trip to Shanku Water Park in Mehsana. To instill ownership and pride in the children, they paid 50 rupees while we covered the remaining expenses. The field trip provided the children with a fun and memorable experience packed with alternative learning and character building.
• - In an effort to coordinate with other service organizations, Akanksha, an NGO working to educate street children in Mumbai, held a leadership program at Manav Sadhna for 40 of their children. Our Earn N’ Learners taught them paper cutting and mud work and also participated in a discussion with the Akanksha team about leadership development.

 

To the Point " We constantaly reinforce the importance of not playing with sharp objects, such as scissors, to the children during card making and other craft projects. One day while talking to some of the children, I started fiddiwith a pair of scissors without realizing it. Bhavesh ,13 yeras old, one of our Earn N Learn children, did not hesitate to point it out to me. He told me that we always tell them not to paly with scissors, but that I was doing exactly the opposite. I was caught of guard fo a second, but immediately i warmed up. The values of truth, discipline and confidence that we to inculcate in the children reflected in Bhaves's action.'' - Jagat, Coordinator /Art Teacher