The Dalit people or ‘untouchables’ are India’s lowest caste. They are shunned by society and suffer from exclusion, discrimination and exploitation.
Children on the Edge are currently working here to bring together three small, active and engaged local partners in India's poorest state (Bihar), to provide quality education for Dalit children and enable them to access mainstream, government middle schools. John Littleton, our Asia Regional Manager recently visited the programmes and spent some time in the Vaishali district of Bihar, where our partners Parivartan Kendra have opened Centres in ten rural Dalit communities offering education to 280 children. The Musahar Of the twenty-one strata of Dalit castes, the Musahar are the lowest. While all ten of the participating communities in Vaishali district are from the Dalit or ‘untouchable’ classes of society, four of the communities are Musahar villages. John describes how “the term literally translates as ‘rat eaters’, a practice which both ostracises the Musahar from other Dalit castes and reflects their desperate struggle for daily survival. Musahars almost universally have no access to land ownership, schooling, or meaningful work.” We talked with some of the women from one of the Musahar Community Action Groups about their situation. What emerged was the level of abuse and the lack of power they struggle with in their daily lives. Aside from raising unclean animals such as pigs and brewing home-made alcohol, most Musahars in Vaishali are trapped in bonded labour. One lady, Kumari said “Because we have no land we have no power, the drinking water is often dirty which makes our children sick. I work for the landowner for for 60INR (75p) a day but sometimes he gives us nothing. I have to work for him or my family will have no place to live.” The majority of residents in this village are engaged in some form of bonded labor – a practice which allows landlords from higher castes to exploit Musahar families whom they allow to squat on their lands in exchange for free or cheap labour. While formally outlawed in India, this is a practice which dates backs many centuries in Bihar. John also spoke with a lady called Shela at a Musahar village meeting, she works in the fields for about 50 pence per day, she is not allowed to stop for food during the day. “I live on the government land by the canal. The officials often tell us that they will force us to move. When it rains the canal floods and water runs through our home”. The project The aim of the work here is to not just introduce basic education to children in these communities, but also to inform the community about their rights and give them the tools they need to practice self-determination and create better lives. In their monthly meetings, Shela and Kumari, together with the rest of the Community Action Group report potential threats, raise awareness of human rights and communicate information about the services available. They are currently planning a series of Child Rights Focus Days and working on the issues highlighted of untouchability and child marriage. The group also discuss child safety issues and create guidelines for preventing exploitation, abuse and abduction. They work with children and community members to identify and respond to dangerous situations, leading to a safer community. Find out more about the project Consider donating to this work World Refugee Week (20th - 26th June) commemorates the strength, courage and perseverance of millions of refugees. In support, we are launching a ‘Run for Refugees’ challenge to fundraise for the many refugee children we work with.
Each year Children on the Edge organises the Chichester Half Marathon together with Everyone Active. In 2016 we are looking for 100 'Team Children on the Edge' runners to raise £100 for refugee children. Our work includes the provision of protection, education and support in trauma recovery for Syrian refugee children in Lebanon, Rohingya refugee children in Bangladesh and internally displaced children in in Kachin State, Burma. Always on the move - Aya’s story Aya is a 12 year old Syrian refugee who, together with her parents and four siblings, were forced to flee to Lebanon. The whole family lived in a tiny tarpaulin construction in a refugee camp in Bekaa Valley. Having lost everything her parents would go out each day to find work and leave Aya to care for the other children. After talking with teachers from the tent schools we support, her mother decided that Aya could start attending. At first she was shy, but slowly became incredibly motivated. One teacher said “We often see her studying Arabic or maths or practicing her English outside of class, even over holidays. She quickly caught up with the rest of her peers and is a bright, perceptive, caring student.” Soon after this, the military arrived and ordered the evacuation of the entire camp. They had nowhere to go. The team running the schools decided to build their own camp, where families could be safe. Aya’s father ended up helping to look for land to rent and sharing ideas about how the camp could be a safe and peaceful place. He volunteered to help a team of builders take down the current school and reconstruct it at the new site. Aya and her family have since moved into the new camp and have opened a small grocery shop from their tent. The children are now all in the new school and their parents are instrumental in the functioning of the camp. Project leader Nuna Matar says “They look like new people”. £97 can help run a tent school in Lebanon for one day, helping 100 Syrian refugee children come to school. So with a small amount of fundraising from you, we can make a big difference. Whether you're running the Chichester Half Marathon course, the Ten Miler or Team Relay, you can be part of Team Children on the Edge and raise funds for refugee children. Starting on Monday 20th June (World Refugee Day) until the end of July we are running a special discount code to get £10 off your entry fee when you commit to raising £100. Simply register for the race, enter the code RunforRefugees10. Sign up for the Chichester half Find out more about our work. Today is the World Day Against Child Labour. Launched in 2002 by The International Labour Organization (ILO) this is a day to focus attention on the global extent of child labour and the action and efforts needed to eliminate it. Each year on 12 June, the World Day brings together governments, employers and workers organisations, civil society, as well as millions of people from around the world to highlight the plight of child labourers and what can be done to help them.
Children on the Edge combat child labour through the development of community led child protection, the provision of quality education and, when the need arises we facilitate more targeted work. Although prohibited by the Labour Act (2006), there are nearly 3.2 million working children aged between 5-17 throughout Bangladesh, many in hazardous conditions. Since the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh, which killed over 1,100 garment factory workers and injured some 2,500 more, there has been an increased focus on the ills of child labour and working conditions in the country’s ready-made garment (RMG) sector. What is less focussed on is working children in areas like Cox’s Bazar. Children here work in the fish markets, or along the coast line selling shell bracelets and catching prawns. Some act as tour guides or sell water. These children have no funding or time to attend school, and little chance to enjoy the opportunities that should be inherent in childhood. Many of the schools for working children we support in Bangladesh can be found at the centre of crowded, labyrinthine slums in Cox’s Bazar. The narrow alleys are jammed with tin roofed huts, lines of drying fish, and swarms of mosquitos hover over the puddles left from the last downpour. The people here live on borrowed land, having lost their own homes through the frequent cyclones and floods that occur in this part of the country. The nine schools are modest buildings, bursting with life and colour. Drawings and paintings are strewn over the walls, with creations of all sorts hanging from the ceilings. These children are from some of the poorest families in the world, and have to spend much of their time earning an income for their parents, or even looking after the entire household. Their time here though, is sacrosanct. It’s a time where they can just be children, they can create, learn, play and express themselves, free from the burden of adult responsibilities. On one of our visits we met Kaamil, who loves to sing. He’s exceptionally talented, with a mesmerising voice and a big smile. He is 10 years old and the teacher tells us that later he will have to sing on the beach to make money. “I like to sing, but not to have to go to the beach and sing for money. I wish I did not have to work at all. If I could change anything about my life it would be this.” Kaamil lives in a slum called Kutadiapora. His mother has died and his father left them and does not send any money to help him and his sister. His sister is older, so he lives with her and his brother in law, who earns a little money driving a tuk tuk. We ask Kaamil to describe his an average day, he said “I wake up at 6.00 in the morning, I live in a hut made of tin and fence and there are two rooms. There are four of us here including my cousin. I do like it here because there are trees and I like to sit in them, but the rain causes trouble, the sea rises and floods the slum, it comes into our home. I get to school at 9.00am which I love! My favourite things to do are singing, drawing pictures and playing. After school I have some lunch, and then I go and sing for tourists at the beach. I make 200-300 TK from doing this. The school has even helped with this though, when I earn money on the beach now I can count it. People in our area do not like children who don’t learn, but they respect me now. When I finish the work at the beach I go home and I study and do my homework!”. The flexible community school model meets the educational needs children like Kaamil close to where they live and work, whilst working closely with their families to foster greater understanding of the importance of education. Alongside crucial literacy and numeracy education emphasis is placed upon creative expression and play, with daily time assigned for art, dance or group play. Staff also work alongside children’s families, encouraging long term commitment to and support for their children’s education and consequently a reduction in child labour and child marriage. Find out more about the project Consider donating to this work Share this story with the hashtag #childlabour Today is the World Day Against Child Labour. Launched in 2002 by The International Labour Organization (ILO) this is a day to focus attention on the global extent of child labour and the action and efforts needed to eliminate it. Each year on 12 June, the World Day brings together governments, employers and workers organisations, civil society, as well as millions of people from around the world to highlight the plight of child labourers and what can be done to help them.
Children on the Edge combat child labour through the development of community led child protection, the provision of quality education and, when the need arises we facilitate more targeted work. The Bekaa Valley region where we support a number of tent schools for Syrian refugee children, is the area of Lebanon that hosts the largest number of Syrian refugees (378,000, or 35 per cent of all refugees), and it is also the region where the majority of informal tented settlements are located. This setting facilitates the massive recruitment of children into child labour, often undertaken by camp leaders to local employers. The Lebanese host communities in Bekaa are also among the most vulnerable communities in the country, making children more vulnerable to being exploited (1). The opportunity to learn in the tent schools provides a general level of protection from child labour, but because of the vulnerability of the Syrian refugee communities, there is a need for additional focus from the Mercy Foundation team. Teachers on the programme have picked up a lack of support from some parents who are facing poverty and do not understand the value of education in comparison with the chance of their children providing for the family. Education Co-ordinator Nadine Morcos said “Many of the parents are illiterate and many will only encourage the children to go to school if it is local and only up until they are able to work in the fields, or carpentry, or a mechanic shop etc. Many students leave school to work and to help parents and carers to support younger siblings this makes them feel older and more important and their peers look up to them because of it.” The team are targeting this by organising school events, parent visits to view the children’s work and to take part in their learning, and teacher-parent meetings to discuss school updates. They are also talking with local employers and looking to introduce a literacy programme for women and to involve parents in extra curricular activities such as art and crafts and holiday activities to help them to better engage with the programme. The potato harvest season is the time when exploitation is at its highest, often coming from camp leaders who make it a part of the rent deal. One way our partners have tackled this is the building of their own refugee camp, a safe place for families with fair rent contracts. In the other camps where the tent schools are situated, they have created contracts between the schools and the landowners stopping them from taking the children out of school to work. Find out more about the project Consider donating to this work Share this story with the hashtag #childlabour (1) ILO-UNICEF ‘Tackling child labour among Syrian refugees and their host communities in Lebanon’ 2015 Since the start of the year our Child Protection Team has been working in Loco slum community in Uganda, building relationships and providing a series of community led child protection trainings. Part of their work here has identified a gap in the provision of education for younger children and this month we have broken the ground in the building of a brand new Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centre in Loco.
As a result of talks with the community and in preparation for the ECD programme, we needed to introduce ourselves to the children by organising a week full of hope, life, colour and fun. This materialised in our first ever playscheme in Loco. Hosted by Children on the Edge Africa, with volunteers from both Montezuma’s Chocolates and The Body Shop At Home™, the playscheme was attended by over 300 children who enjoyed a huge array of activities from sports, crafts, parachute games and a morning on a bouncy castle. Not only this, but with the emergence of serious health problems in the community during the week, the team adapted the programme to provide a full day’s training on health and hygiene with songs about hand washing and puppet shows on keeping clean and safe from illness. Volunteer Pam Alcock aid “We all worked together to give the children a fun but educational week that they can use and pass on to everyone in their community, making Loco a cleaner safer place for them to live. It has been a privilege”. The team spent an afternoon with the Child Protection Team (CPT) in Loco, gaining an understanding of the many issues that threaten the safety of children in the area, and the ways in which the CPT are working with the community to address them. They were able to visit the Loco area, as well as Masese I and Masese III. All three of these areas are slum communities that we have recently begun working with, where people are facing appalling conditions. “Visiting Masese I, II and III gave me the understanding of the progression that is possible” said one of our volunteers, Becky Holmes, “but also the desperate conditions that these communities are facing”. The volunteers also spent some time in Masese II where we have been working for over three years. Here they were able to see the transformation that is possible as the area has become cleaner and brighter, with evidence of some thriving small businesses sparked by the Child Protection Team’s micro loan scheme. “The team were fantastic” said Ben Wilkes, Head of UK “They were adaptable and resourceful, creating a colourful, exciting and educational week for the children at a crucial point of the project. This was our first visible activity in Loco community after months of working behind the scenes providing training and building relationships. It was a great introduction and a vital step as we work towards the launch of Early Childhood Development programme”. Co-founder and Director of Montezuma’s Chocolates, Helen Pattinson said “Thanks to Children on the Edge, these people have hope, life, colour and fun and I am proud to have been a small part of that process. I am so happy to have seen in detail how COTE work within a community to make small changes to help themselves. This is a sustainable, long term solution to essentially basic problems (by our first world standards) and I can truly see how the impact of their work will have positive outcomes for the children of Loco who we have fallen a little bit in love with this week". Find out more about our work in Uganda Donate to the project When we first visited Uganda, children in Masese II, a slum just outside Jinja, were at risk of malnutrition, abuse and child sacrifice. Brewing and distilling alcohol in dangerous and unlicensed breweries was the area's primary economic activity and conditions in the slum were appalling. Children were being exposed to extreme hazards around the brewing areas and were even fed the dregs of the alcohol mix. With no place to go throughout the day, children were extremely vulnerable. Child abuse was common and continual exposure to inebriated men and prostitution left children at greater risk of abuse and HIV. Child sacrifice was a growing issue in the Masese II community, and children left unattended throughout the day, or wandering any distance from home, were at risk. With no productive livelihoods, no access to education or healthcare, widespread malnutrition and no safe place to play and simply enjoy being children, there was little hope for the children who live here. Through establishing a Child and Community Centre together with the Adolescent Development Support Network (ADSN), we provided early years education for children under 5 and educational support for children of primary school age. This Centre also provided nutritious meals in order to reduce child malnutrition and improve health. A Child Protection Team (CPT) mobilised local people to care for their children more effectively and receive support and advice on parenting, health, nutrition and preventing abuse. The area is now cleaner, child abuse has lessened and incidents of child sacrifice have been eradicated for over 3 years. Vulnerable households began to meet their own needs through the agricultural component of the project. This included micro-finance schemes, comprehensive agricultural training, land and inputs. With this alternative to providing income and sourcing nutritious food, 9 out of the 14 breweries have now closed down. After the success of this pilot project we maintain support of the Child Protection Team here and have passed on the management of other elements of the project to local partners. The Masese II Child Protection Team are instrumental in helping us train up new teams as we replicate this work in the wider district. We are currently focussing on the neighbouring communities of Loco, Masese I, and Masese III. The Body Shop At Home™ has been awarded this year’s DSA Company with Heart Award for their work with Children on the Edge. Each year the DSA (Direct Selling Association) hosts industry awards and this award is in recognition of a Member company that has gone the extra mile through the philanthropic activities, charitable impact and community engagement. The Body Shop At Home™ is the direct selling arm of The Body Shop®, a global beauty brand built on making people feel so good – face, body and soul. This company strives to make a positive difference in the world and supporting Children on the Edge is one of the ways they bring this commitment to life. Children on the Edge was co-founded by Anita Roddick over 25 years ago. She always believed that business should be about public good not public greed and since the outset her company has supported the work we do. They have raised huge amounts over this time, and over £270k in the past three years alone. The recent fundraising focus has been on providing support for Ugandan children living in appalling conditions in Soweto Slum, Jinja. Throughout this time they have contributed towards incredible community transformation through the establishment of a safe children’s education Centre, a Child Protection Team, flourishing agricultural schemes and small business loans. Building on this success they are now supporting Children on the Edge to replicate this work in the wider region, bringing change on a bigger scale. We are delighted The Body Shop At Home™ has been recognised in this way as they truly are a company with heart. Are you a consultant with The Body Shop At Home™ ? Click here to get involved.Since 2013, Tony Maxse has organised a series of beautiful walking events, in loving memory of Georgina Maxse. This year’s event had 60 participants, walking over five days and raising over £4,700 for our work with forgotten children across the world and another £4,748 for the Institute of Cancer Research.
Chris Taylor, an ambassador for Children on the Edge describes this year’s journey: “On a very rainy and windy Wednesday morning 35 walkers met in a carpark near East Dean to walk 10.5 miles around Beachy Head. This was the start of 5 circular walks starting in East Sussex and ending in Bepton in West Sussex. This was a continuation of an annual fund raising walk set up by Tony Maxse over 20 years ago. The walk was originally 100 miles long but now to take account of age and ease of organisation they have become circular walks. This hardy bunch set off and were blessed with gradual lifting of the mist and easing of the wind. We even managed to have lunch on the cliff tops below Beachy Head in the sunshine. The afternoon proved to be particularly tough, as we headed straight back into the wind. Despite this most people made it back to the carpark in one piece. The second day we met at The Devil’s Dyke, on top of the Downs above Hove. This proved to be a tough walk with a punishing climb back up to the finish. However, we were rewarded with far reaching views during the walk, seeing 5 counties from the top of Wolstonbury Hill and enjoyed an excellent pub lunch. On Friday we had a delightful walk around Petworth, meeting at Bignor Farm, where we were given coffee by Edward and Linda Way. Ben Wilkes from Children on the Edge joined us on the walk and impressed everyone by cycling to the beginning of the walk from Chichester and home again at the end of the walk. We meandered through beautiful countryside to The Horse Guards at Tillington for lunch. They looked after us superbly and won the best lunch of the walk award comfortably. After lunch we went through the Upperton and Nyetimber vineyards and on through Petworth Park ending back at Bignor Farm for a wonderful tea provided by Linda Way. Ben gave a short talk about Children on the Edge that put our efforts into perspective, showing that our contribution really does make a difference. Saturday saw us on top of The Downs meeting below the Trundle by Goodwood race course. The weather was favourable once more and after climbing in the morning we were rewarded with magnificent views north and a picnic lunch in the sun. The afternoon was beautiful in the folds of the Downs with a final burst down the home straight at Goodwood to finish. Euan Clarke, who head’s up the Ambassador team for Children on the Edge, joined us for the day. He spoke personally to many of the walkers, informing them about the work that Children on the Edge do. The final day started in Bepton and took us up the Downs once more, past Barn owls and Sparrow hawks. Lunch was taken at The Royal Oak in Hooksway and we were able to eat outside. The walk home was blessed with stunning views over Treyford and we returned to Sally and Brian Marien’s house for a celebratory tea with mountains of delicious food and copious cups of tea”. Our Head of UK Ben Wilkes said “It was great to talk to many of the walkers and experience the wonderful community that the Maxse walk has created. We are bowled over by the incredible amount of money they have raised for Children on the Edge by participating in the walk. They are all very kind hearted individuals and together make a huge difference to the lives of the children who through no fault of their own find themselves ‘on the edge’. To date the Maxse Walks have raised £506,412 for various charitable projects. Organiser Sally Marion says “Lets go for the million!”. Watch this space for a change to join the Maxse group next year. If you'd like to fundraise for Children on the Edge, have a look at some ideas on our website, and contact Eloise Armstrong. Child Protection Teams in Uganda - Preventing domestic violence and its affects on children19/5/2016
As part of the overall aim of creating a safe environment for children in Loco, Masese I and Masese II slum communities, the Child Protection Teams in each area have facilitated a second round of community sensitisation workshops, these ones focussing on addressing and preventing domestic violence.
Over 260 men and women across the communities attended after requests for training on this subject had been sent by their community representatives. They were speaking on behalf of many caregivers who had been suffering domestic abuse, and were also recognising how badly it was affecting their children. Each workshop aimed to develop a common understanding about the definition of domestic violence in all its forms and to promote discussion about what it is, how to prevent it and how to protect children from its affects. In each area, discussion was held about the objectifying of women in Uganda, and the limitations of several bills that have been drafted to address issues of domestic violence. The communities worked together to identify warning signs that a child could be witnessing violence in their home environment and what the consequences can be for children both in the short and longer term. Each community then mapped out ideas about how to tackle the problem in the future, identifying how they need better support from government services, continuing training in awareness, the addressing of corruption in courts and support in improving relationships at home.The workshop leaders also gave information about the channels to go through to report domestic abuse. The chairman of Loco Community, Mr. Wandega thanked Children on the Edge Africa saying “Ever since COTE Africa started conducting sensitization workshops in my community, I feel they have brought impact because the number of reported cases at central police station have started dropping”. He described how this was a sign that the community were putting into practice what they explore in the workshops. Workshops on different issues are being run in each community every month and this week COTE Africa are running it’s first playscheme for children in Loco community. Find out more about the communities in Uganda Consider donating to this work When we started work in Masese II (Soweto) there were 14 breweries in the slum and many mothers worked at them for a very low wage. Black, toxic sludge ran in streams from these places, which were situated every 15-20 metres. The smoke was acrid and the sludge pits had no fences. There were many reports of children falling into these pits in fatal accidents, or suffering the result of exploding canisters of hot liquid. Some children were fed the dregs of the alcohol mix. If children weren't present at these dangerous breweries, they would be left home alone throughout the day.
One of the ways this was tackled was the provision of micro loans. The team here call them ‘education loans’, because they are given with the aim of helping parents to afford to send their children to school. The most vulnerable households were identified by the Child Protection Team and invited to apply with a basic business plan. They were then given training and a small loan, worth around £20, to start their own business. Once their business was well established and they had earned a reasonable amount, they paid back the loan with a small amount of interest so the money was available for somebody else. As women gradually developed the means to create their own positive sources of income, the breweries started to topple. Within three years the number of breweries in the slum dropped from 14 to 1. One mother called Katherine started with her first loan selling vegetables, she paid it back, then got another to start her out with a standpipe selling water. She then paid back the second loan and applied for another loan to build two rooms to rent. Katherine is now a successful business woman. Each time she has borrowed, she has paid back more into the fund which has then gone to other people in need. Due to the prevalence of AIDS in the area there are many grandparent headed households. Some grandmothers in the area look after up to 13 children in one small hut and have no means of creating an income, let alone send their children to school. Using the education loan system, a group of four grandmothers pooled their loans and started a pottery cooperative. The group soon grew to 10 women who met together every week to work together purifying clay taken from the Nile riverbed. Over time the group has grown to 42, they have a booming business and have made enough money to pay for better clay, their own kiln and a pottery wheel. This is just one example of hundreds of cases where small loans in this slum community have enabled vulnerable households to gain a productive source of income and send their children to school. When previously all there was throughout the area were toxic breweries, now the community is buzzing with many small industries. There are stalls that sell vegetables, kale, berries, cabbage, fruit, stalls selling cooked food, stalls selling water from standpipes and more importantly than this, there are a great many more children going to school. Since the success of education loans in Masese II, Child Protection teams have been introducing the scheme into three new areas; Loco, Masese I and Masese III. |
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