OUR STORY & WHY WE NEED FUNDS:

25 children rescued from child labour practices live in a hostel in Sarjapur in Bangalore. They were rescued from the Sericulture industry (Rearing of silkworms for the production of “SILK”), which is very labour intensive & is a big industry in the state of Karnataka.

A lot of these kids worked as bonded labourers – their parents had effectively sold them to silk yarn units. These kids worked 11 hours a day for salaries as low as 15 INR a day, in dingy conditions. Their tiny hands often bled from cuts and sometimes suffered permanent damage as they worked with the yarn & with unrelenting machines. These kids are either abandoned or orphans & need your help.

The hostel currently has just two toilets – 1 for the children and 1 for the staff. This hostel is run and managed by Vidyanikethan.

There is a dire need to build two more toilets, a canteen style wash basin area with 4 taps , urinals for the children and the staff.  The cost includes water tanks, piping, civil work costs, sewage lines etc. In addition, our aim is raise awareness about basic sanitation facilities & improve hygiene.

This crowdfunding campaign aims to raise 3.85 L INR.

Geberit is supporting this crowdfunding campaign with a generous 2L INR contribution from their CSR funds.

Please fund this campaign to make a difference to these 25 children.

Your funding is eligible for 80G tax rebates. Foreign funds are also accepted.

BACKDROP:

The sericulture (silk production) industry was heavily dependent on child labour bulk of the silk produced in India is made in Karnataka .At one time it was estimated that close to 1L children worked in this industry in inhuman conditions. Read more about it at

• http://www.dw.com/en/india-freeing-the-small-hands-of-the-silk-industry/a-1114659
• http://www.frontline.in/static/html/fl1801/18010660.htm

 In 2007, the Department of Labour, the Child Labour Society, Bangalore Urban and the Department of Sericulture together set-up The Mugulur Makkala Mane home in Sarjapur (The Sarjapur Home). This was & continues to be a safe haven for the children rescued from child labour.

Unfortunately, for the 25 children in the Sarjapur Home the govt stopped funding this home! Why?

In 2009, the reports from the sericulture industry indicated that child labour had been eradicated from the industry. Therefore, the financial aid for this Home ended, leaving these children with an uncertain, unsafe future.

Vidyanikethan Society for Education and Social Development was given permission to keep the hostel running to make sure that these rescued children labourers have a safe home and continue their education. However, we need funding to carry on the same. There are presently 25 children at the hostel.

PIC: Image shows the children at the Sarjapur center in Bangalore.

The objective of this campaign is to make sure sanitation is not a roadblock for these rescued children:

EXPECTED IMPACT :

• 2 toilets will be constructed and benefit 25 children who would use the toilets.
• A canteen style washbasin structure with 4 taps will be constructed to make it convenient & hygienic for these kids to wash up after meals.
• 25 children will have good hygiene practices in hand washing with soap before eating, after playing, after using the toilet, and urinals. These will become day-to-day practices by all stakeholders.
• Will result in a happier situation at the hostel; reduce incidences of incorrect hygiene & its impact on health.

PARTNERSHIP:

We are partnering with Geberit, a Swiss Multinational company that manufactures and designs sanitary systems and parts. They are one of the biggest players in the sanitary fittings business across the world. Geberit will be contributing ₹ 2 Lakhs of the campaign goal.

COST BREAKUP:

We will be building two toilets and hand washing facilities from the ground up. These hand wash facilities are canteen style basins – with 4 taps and for use by the children after their meals.  We have got to start with laying of the foundation for the toilets, connecting flowing water to this area, adding water tanks and constructing drainage structures & channels for the sewage lines.

Vision: To create an exploitation free society.

Mission:

• Ensure that every child enjoys childhood and avails the rights of a child
• Empower women, youth, challenged, neglected and marginalized section of the society through promoting participation and right based approach
• Control the spread of HIV/AIDS, ensure dignity and care for the affected patients.
• Promote, strengthen and empower the local institutions such as Community Based Organizations (CBOs) Women and youth groups, Self Help Groups (SHGs) and Gram Panchayath.
• Encourage and promote the wise use of natural resources through various environmental activities.
• Vidyanikethan, (Society for Education and Social development) is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1988 to improve the lives and livelihoods of individuals and families, especially children and women, from low income groups and from the vulnerable, marginalized and under-developed sections of the society.
• We work in the areas of socio-economic empowerment, education, health and environment. Vidyanikethan works in the urban, semi-urban, and rural areas of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. We work in over 270 villages and impact 11500 families.