SHAISHAV CHILD RIGHTS

1. SHAISHAV CHILD RIGHTS An introduction

2. Shaishav Shaishav, meaning “childhood” in Gujarati, is a voluntary organisation committed to working with underprivileged children in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, since 1994

3. “We are guilty of many error’s and many faults but our worst crime is abandoning the children, neglecting the fountain of life. Many of the things we need can wait. The child cannot wait. Right now is the time his bones are being formed, his blood being made, and his senses are being developed. To him we cannot answer ‘tomorrow’. His name is ‘Today’”. -Gabriela Mistral (Nobel Prize Winner)

4. Why work with children? • We believe that children are the foundation of any healthy, developed society • Social change will be more effectively encouraged if it is from the ground up • Children form one of the most vulnerable and neglected sections of society • Children are disenfranchised and politically weak, they have few resources to drive change themselves. • Children are ready to learn • Children are young and can become the catalyst for sustained and lasting change

5. Why work with child labourers? • Child labourers make up the largest section of underprivileged children • India has the largest number of child labourers in the world

6. Why work in Bhavnagar? • There were no other organisations in Bhavnagar, or indeed the Saurashtra region, consistently working on child-related issues from a rights based perspective • Education is one of the most powerful means to eradicate child labour. Bhavnagar had a rich history of innovation in education prior to independence. • Bhavnagar can become a medium sized child-centred model town where policies can be influenced and replication is much wider and easier • Bhavnagar is first step for migrants from the surrounding area and with effort we can prevent further migration to metropolises

7. 1995 Survey of Child Labour in Bhavnagar • In 1995 we conducted a survey in Bhavnagar and identified 12,813 child labourers in the city working in 106 occupations • 68% of these children had never attended school • Of the 32% who had attended school, 79% had left before completing 7th standard before age 12 • 80% of child labourers began working under the age of 14 • 60% of child labourers worked between 8 and 12 hours per day • 50% of child labourers earned less than Rs. 500per month • The majority of working children are living in the Kumbharwada area, Bhavnagar’s largest slum community

8. Betel Nut Cutting Plastic Bag Cleaning Baking Plastics

9. We believe that... A child is innocent and pure … a symbol of love, strength and happiness … endless, deep and free … a source of life Healthy children = Healthy adults = Healthy society

10. Vision & Goals • Shaishav believes that all children should enjoy basic rights and experience the joys of childhood equally • Shaishav strives to: • Ensure that all children achieve the basic right to free and compulsory education • Create a child centred environment and provide opportunities where children and youth can realise their basic rights • Develop learning resources for children and make them available to all those who can influence children’s holistic development

11. Programmes Themes and areas.

12. Programme Structure

13. Balsena • Balsena means “children’s collective” and is the first of its kind in Gujarat • Founded in 2002 upon the principles of equality and unity for all, regardless of gender, caste, class or religion • Run and managed by the children themselves • Organised into 60 teams across Bhavnagar with a total membership of 2437 children(1443 boys and 994 girls), aged 6-18 • Teams organise monthly meetings and activities to work together to tackle problems at home, school or in the community

14. Balsena Programmes • Balsena Point – Launched in response to the communal violence that occurred across Gujarat in 2002, with the theme “Play together, Stay together”. 42 of these centres are operating in slum areas, and a further 18 in schools • Savings Bank – Enabling children to save money independently, and giving them skills in financial responsibility and decision-making. As of May 2011, 1134 children had saved 631,915 rupees (over US$14,000) • Book Bank – Implemented in response to the lack of appropriate educational materials. It provides Balsena and Balghar members with access to textbooks and other learning materials, in three different centres. • Adolescent Programme – More than 300 girls and boys are provided with extra training and support in small groups, helping them develop self-confidence through activities that enhance empowerment • Events –Balsena members participate in common programmes throughout the year, such as Leadership Camp and Vacation Camp, where they receive training and participate in activities

15. Tarunsena • Youth collective established in 2008 to provide a platform for those who have graduated from Balsena • Approximately 60 members • Members work together to tackle children’s community issues, as well as providing guidance and support for Balsena

16. Balghar • Community based resource centres located in the most deprived areas of the city • Provide educational and other development activities to enhance children’s holistic development • Serve as a stop-gap arrangement for non-school going children and those engaged in labour, to help them enter and remain in mainstream education • Is a shared space for all children where they have the opportunity to realise their potentials and improve their holistic development

17. Support Forums • Change in the status of children can only be sustainable through community action and ownership • Lok Samarthan Manch –literally “people’s support forum,” comprised of adults belonging to the same underprivileged communities that Shaishav works in • Baldost Manch – literally “forum of children’s friends,” made up of enlightened citizens of Bhavnagar who wish to contribute to the local child rights movement • Area Committees – being established so that representatives of Balsena, Tarunsena, Lok Samarthan Manch, & Baldost Manch form executive bodies to plan and direct local action • School Management Committees – Established by the Indian Government in accordance with the RTE Act, giving parents the ability to help enforce the act and monitor schools, for which Shaishav will provide support and guidance

18. Area Resource Centres • Currently provide: • English Language Courses • Computer Training in collaboration with the NASSCOM foundation • Libraries for children • 2 of the 3 Book Banks • In the future will provide life skills training to encourage children to become more independent and entrepreneurial • Finally, aim to provide local people with information on government schemes, benefits, and support options

19. Child Rights Training and Resource Centre • Serves to support and strengthen the educational and empowerment programmes that Shaishav and other organisations already have in place, developing and expanding their collective capacities • Operates through the following activities: • Develops learning and teaching materials for children’s education • Develops training resourcesdirected at both adults and children, for training in life skills, child rights, and education issues

20. Child Rights Training and Resource Centre • Indian hub for US based organisation Play for Peace, which brings diverse youth together through cooperative play • Provides needs based vocational training for adolescents and youth • Documents the techniques used by Shaishav in developing and sustaining child-centred programmes, enabling the sharing of such lessons with other organisations • Conducts researchon topics relevant to children and their rights • Runs two well-equipped buses that function as highly popular Mobile Resource Centres in school and communities • Advocacy and networking with like-minded organisations at state, national, and international level, to attempt to influence policy and stimulate change

21. Impacts & Achievements • Approximately 10,000 out-of-school children admitted into formal mainstream schooling • Balsena children have participated in state, national, and international processes, and demonstrated their leadership, and are now providing training to other children • Successful campaigning by Balsena children to build a new high school in Kumbharwada, Bhavnagar’s largest slum • Large variety of innovative materials and activities have been created, several of which have been accepted for larger application by the Gujarati Education Department and other NGOs

22. Impacts & Achievements • Shaishav developed one of the first educational programmes for the safety and protection of adolescent girls, resulting in girls gaining greater acceptance in their communities • Children are leading rights based initiatives in their communities and with local government • Shaishav led the nationwide effort to establish the National Forum for Child Participation, the first of its kind in India • Shaishav has received various awards at local and state levels, and its founders have been recognised as Ashoka, CRY, Fulbright, and Hubert H. Humphrey Fellows

23. Challenges • Children remain a low priority in many development projects • The current economic climate has put more pressure on children to work • Continues to be difficult to restore the faith of marginalised communities in formal education • Increasing pressure on families to provide expensive tuition classes to supplement school based learning • Continuing difficulties in mobilising sustainable finance and in acquiring permanent space for activities

24. Our Networking Partners Child Rights Collective Wenlido Campaign Against Child Labour

25. Our Funders

26. Contact us • On the web at www.shaishavchildrights.org • By email to shaishav93@gmail.com • By Telephone on +91 (0) 278 2428560 • By post to Shaishav 601/B “Shanti Sadan” Opp. Shivshakti Hall, Sir Pattni Road, Near Crescent Circle Bhavnagar – 364 001 Gujarat, India • Or get in touch with Parul Sheth (Executive Director) at parul.shaishav@gmail.com, (+91) 9376428560