Empower Children by Providing Them with Child-friendly Villages

1. Empower Children by Providing Them with Child-friendly Villages India is popularly referred to as the "land of villages,'' and 73% of the child population in India resides in villages. But are all these villages completely child-friendly? The real picture is grim as far as child welfare is concerned. In most villages, a child is used as a medium of earning by their parents. These children toil on farms, work in family-owned enterprises, and also at home. To make livelihoods for their families, children are losing their childhood. Children are entrapped in a world where they do not have freedom of movement or choice, and they lead a claustrophobic life away from society. Children experience a change in their lives constantly and do not have any sense of protection and stability. The need of the hour is to have a "Bal Mitra Gram” model, which provides a safe environment for children in villages to thrive and realize their full potential. With the help of this model, one can realize child rights and have a society where no child is exploited or is involved in child labor, and all children receive nutritious food and remain healthy. Why The Need For a Child Safe Villages? Though India signed the United Nations Convention on the Right of Children in 1992, it still has a long way to go in fulfilling the mandates. India has maximum adolescents

2. as part of its population (at 253 million), and every fifth person in India is a child between the age of 10 to 19 years. ● Growth of country - India can benefit massively in every sphere(socially, economically, and politically) if this huge population of children is safe, healthy, know life skills, educated, and equipped with information. Working toward child-safe villages will be a big support in India's continued development. ● Health - The success of India economically has not translated into improved quality of life for children of India. There is a high level of malnutrition (around 38% of children have stunted growth), diseases that can be prevented by vaccines, and poor learning outcomes (a mere 42.5% of children in grade 3 can read a text from grade 1.) ● High death rates - Children from rural areas, urban poor families, slums, tribal communities, scheduled castes, and other disadvantaged groups face multiple deprivations related to poverty, child marriage, access to quality education and health services, poor attendance in school, lack of sanitation facilities, hygiene, low learning outcomes, and access to clean water. It is stipulated that children from rural areas are more likely to die before they complete five years as compared to urban regions. Forty-two out of every live birth die, and every 20 seconds, a child dies from preventable diseases such as preterm, pneumonia, birth complications, diarrhea, birth complications, newborn infections, and malaria. ● Lack of education - As per a UN report, India contributes a whopping 37% to the global total of illiterates. India has the world's largest population of adult illiterates, and the number is above 287 million. Literacy is determined by how much we are spending on primary education, which is not consistent across all the states in India, and wealthier states spend more on literacy programs than poorer states. ● Child labor - India has more than 14 million children engaged in modern slavery either as a "main worker" or a "marginal worker." This includes bonded labor, sex trafficking, domestic help, child labor, etc. More than 12 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 work in hazardous situations in the manufacturing of bangles, beedis, construction work, and the firework industry. ● Violence and abuse - Sexual offense against children in India has reached an epidemic level, with child rape cases rising every year. Child sex abuse occurs in diverse economic levels, geographies, and even relationships (friends, strangers, and families are all perpetrators.) What Steps Need to Be Taken to Protect Our Children? ● Learning for all children - Marginalized children suffered the most during the COVID pandemic as they did not have access to remote learning. There is a

3. need to increase education funding so that every child gets a quality education in a violence-free environment. The digital divide between urban and rural regions needs to close so that all children and young adults are connected through the internet. ● Health, nutrition, and vaccines - Routine immunization of children is a must for their health, and those regions which are hardest to reach must be prioritized. Regardless of where the children live, all of them must have equal and affordable access to therapeutics, diagnostics, vaccines, and other essential care. ● Support mental health of children - There is an urgent need to prevent gender-based violence and invest in gender-sensitive psychological and mental health support for children as well as their caregivers. Parenting support must be provided to those who need it with the help of formal and informal social workers. ● Better access to sanitation, clean water, and hygiene - With climate change, rural areas suffer due to unreliable water sources. It is time to invest in climate-resilient water and sanitation services in each house, hospital, and school. Dream of a Fearless and Healthy Childhood Achieved Through Bal Mitra Gram BMG or Bal Mitra Gram is an innovative and internationally recognized model for child development in rural areas. This program was pioneered by Kailash Satyarthi Children's Foundation (KSCF) in 2001. This model has implemented grass-root interventions and has successfully created 540 child-friendly villages, protecting more than 72,000 children. One of the unique approaches of BMG is the design of Bal Panchayat (Children's council), where children participate actively to demand their rights to safety, quality education, and access to government schemes and services. Donations to the Bal Gram Mitra project will empower the Satyarthi organization in breaking the barriers of injustice and oppression. Source: http://www.articles.kraftloft.com/Articles-of-2020/empower-children-providing-them-child-friendly-villag es#gsc.tab=0