CACL - They need your Help

"The wellspring of human progress is found in the realisation of children's rights" Kofi Annan, Secretary-General, UNO   We as citizens of this world and the caretakers of tomorrow, have no more important duty than making sure that the rights of children are respected. There is nothing more important than their welfare is protected, that their lives are free from fear and want and they grow up in peace and security. Every child has the right to health and education. They have the right to play, to laugh, to have fun.... to enjoy their childhood. They should have the freedom to dream and the strength to achieve their dreams. As adults, we have to give them that power, help them realise the strength within themselves as they grow. But it is us, the very people who have to protect and shelter children, who exploit them and strip them of their rights. Children as domestic servants Thousands of children wash plates, take care of your younger children, cook, wash clothes and feed animals, day in day out. They might be in our own homes, doing our odd jobs for us. Have we noticed that they are children, and mostly girls? Girls are usually seen as 'natural' domestic workers, 'trained' for housework right from the cradle. Domestic work is an area where basic labour rights are grossly violated. Work hours are from early morning to late night with hardly a single fixed holiday. Children who work as house servants have been put through the most brutal tortures. Though there are millions who are alive to hope for better times, an untold number of young lives have no voice to tell their sad tale. Consider this Durga was molested and murdered by her employer on 15 April 2000, in Gemini Colony, Hyderabad. The incident was made to appear as if 13-year-old Durga committed suicide by hanging herself. But fact remains that the circumstances of her death are suspicious. Her employer, B V Ratnam, insisted that her body be cremated instead of buried. Durga's parents were the last to be informed about her death. They registered an FIR against her employer, but no action has yet been taken. Deceived, kidnapped and transported to a brothel, 12-year-old Sumalatha of Yadagirigutta, has a horrible tale to tell. Expecting to be taken to a new job with a high salary, she found that, in truth she was being kidnapped. She was blindfolded, and taken to a brothel with 20 other teenaged girls. After more than a fortnight, Sumalatha was drugged and brought back. She found her way home and is actively seeking to help the other girls who were with her in the brothel. State Level Public hearing on Domestic Child Labour & Child Trafficking The hearing at Tirupati on 10 December 2001 is a unique meeting to bring cases of child abuse and violation of child rights into the forefront. Such cases from all over the state are tried before a distinguished and experienced jury of senior judges, lawyers, advocates and activists. The hearing is followed by a rally for child rights and a public meeting in which thousands of people participate, joined together by one cause - protecting our children. The hearing is a call to the government and the society to renew our commitment to children's rights. To awaken people to the plight they are in today. It is a call to make our voice heard in bringing justice to children not just in Andhra Pradesh, but millions in India and across the world. This event is to fan the flame of awareness and make it grow to a raging inferno that cannot be ignored. You can be a part of this campaign Volunteer to raise awareness against child labour in your college, school, social club, office or residential colony. Report instances of child labour and abuse to the authorities and to CACL. Ensure that you and your family do not employ child labour. Pay minimum living wages to adult employees and ensure that their children go to school. You can make it happen Add your financial contribution to organise the hearing and public meeting and to carry forward the cause of child rights. Campaign Against Child Labour (CACL) CACL was launched in 1992, and now consists of a network of over 5400 anti-child labour groups spread over 12 states in India. CACL is working towards eradicating child labour by building public opinion and investigating cases of exploitation. When child rights are violated and children are abused, CACL intervenes and starts the necessary legal proceedings to bring justice and restore the rights of the child. CACL believes... that a person under the age of 18 years is a child that child labour includes children leading prematurely adult lives, working with or without wages, deprived of their basic right to health and development that any child out of school is a potential child labourer and that every child should get free, compulsory and quality education.