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BackgroundThere is a growing awareness about
child labor in India. However, this awareness focuses only on
certain sectors such as the firecracker, match, and beedi
industries. One of the most neglected sectors is brick industries.
More than 80,000 children are working in brick industries near
Chennai city alone. These children face a more difficult situation
than child laborers in other industries because they are the
children of migrant workers.
The Pasumai Trust was involved
educating the child labor in brick industries from 1997 onwards.
Project Build was initiated in July 2002 to support the activities
of the Pasumai Trust. The
objective of these centers is to provide basic literacy and numeric
skills and motivate the children to continue their formal
education.
Around 135 students attend 3 education
centers (named Tamarai, Roja and Chembaruthi) that are functional in
and around Chennai. These centers serve children from 7
different brick kilns.
Project
Goals
- To create educational
opportunities for the children working in brick industries.
- To motivate children to enroll
and continue their formal education.
- To provide nutritious
supplementary food for children.
- To carry on advocacy and
campaigning activities to change the education policies of the
government to accommodate the needs of migrant labor
children.
- To organize the parents (Workers
in brick industries) of the children working in brick
kilns.
- To create awareness about child
labor in brick industries.
Current Focus
Items(updated
April 29, 2003)
- Expanding the Cembaruthi
center by renting additional building space. Finishing up
flooring and other home improvement
- Hiring
additional full-time animators to
staff the education centers. Improving the student ratio in
centers to reduce overcrowding.
-
Providing additional nutrition to the children by adding a meal
later in the day in all the 3 centers.
-
Providing better clothing to the
children in the center Roja.
-
Continuing monitoring and providing
support to the educational centers. Planning and instituting a
self-sustaining process for the education centers to monitor
progress internally.
- Encouraging parents to join the
Manual Workers Welfare Board where they will receive benefits such
as insurance, maternity benefits, and scholarships for
children.
- Encouraging parents to form a
trade union.
Type of Education:
Alternative School
Student:Teacher Ratio by Education
Center
Tamarai 2:50, Roja 1:20, Cembaruthi
2:65
Boy:Girl Ratio
approximately 1:1
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