Supporting Academy for Working Children in India

DAPP UK is supporting a Study centre for 100 working children in the slum of Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan,where 10.000 families are residing.The project will run over one year implemented by Humana People to People India, £10,000 was donated in 2007.

According to Times Data 2006, the number of out-of-school children in India was 7,056,000. In Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, there is an estimated 500,000 out-of-school children. This study centre supported by DAPP UK is targeting children in a slum in Jaipur where app. 10.000 families are residing.

Although there are many government initiatives to get children in school it is a special task to reach the poorest of the poor. They live in very bad conditions. Some live in settled slums where they have built primitive stone houses. Others live in plastic huts and tents. Most have no proper sanitary conditions. This makes if difficult for the families to get the children clean and to maintain their clothes. Many of the families are illegal migrants and try to avoid authorities. Most out-of-school children have to do different work to assist their families. Some are picking rags and plastic, some work with their parents in construction jobs, some have to take care of younger siblings and watch the huts while the parents are away.

As always, children are the most vulnerable. Without knowledge of the rights and a place to seek protection they are prone to be forced into begging, scavenging and sex trade to survive.

The overall aim of the project is to ensure, that extremely poor and working children and young people get an opportunity for education and through that get a tool to get out of poverty so they can avoid becoming poor adults.

To respond to the needs of working children and youth without education in slums in Rajasthan, Haryana and New Delhi, India, HPPI aims to establish 500 Academies for Working Children.

Since the children have to live from their income, we cannot expect them to stop working. Thus we will strive to create a school that can accommodate their schedules as well as involve parents and employers to support the children’s right to education, health and dignity.

It is the aim of the organization to continue running the centres until the majority of the poor and working children of the location have been educated. Eventually, the centre with its experience and equipment can move to a new location in need.