CHILD LABORER SCHOLARSHIPS

As a nation, India has the highest number of child laborers in the world. A 2001 census counted 12.6 million working children, while other estimates place the number as high as 115 million. Tellingly, over 85 percent of these working children come from rural areas, such as Mewat, Haryana—our target district for the LEARN advocacy program.

In the course of our right to education advocacy in Mewat, it came to our attention that hundreds of out-of-state children were laboring in the district’s 30 brick kilns. Operational only eight months out of the year, the sweltering kilns draw landless migrants from across India who cannot leave their children behind, nor can they afford to send them to school once in Mewat. Children as young as five were working grueling 12 to 16-hour days at the expense of attending school. Though these children represent the lowest socio-economic castes, they are excluded from local government incentives for the poor as a result of their migrant status.

The Child Laborer Scholarship program was born to extend the benefits of education advocacy already underway to the area’s least fortunate children. Along with scholarship materials, Lotus Outreach began providing transportation in the form of locally-owned and operated minivans to safely see the children across several kilometers of narrow, heavily-trafficked roads that lead to schools. Today, this initiative keeps 400 enthusiastic, first-generation learners in school.

 
Partner: White Lotus Charitable Trust
Supported by: GlobalGiving Foundation