Right to Education activist Sushil Deshmukh averted the migration of children of daily wage earners
For years the landless Adhe family from Paratwad Tanda village in block Partur, Aurangabad district was engaged in farm labour, which was only enough to sustain them. After monsoon, from Dusshera to Holi, the family used to migrate to sugarcane farms in Karnataka. Sachin Adhe, 23, from the same family is differently-abled and is pursuing Bachelor of Arts from Yashwantrao Chavan Open University. He says, “My parents used to cut sugarcane with a sickle and children collected the wadha (lower end of the cane) and sold it in the market which was two kilometers away from the farm. We earned anything between `5 to 10 everyday. And I was missing school almost daily. I did go back to school to write exams before returning to the farm. This grind of travelling back and forth was taking a toll on my health and education. My class teacher sensed my distress and gave me support. I told my parents that I would be staying back in the village and won’t be travelling with them to the sugarcane farm.”
Sachin started attending school regularly and cooked his own meals at home. During that period, UNICEF with the help of a local NGO, Swaraj Gramin Vikas Pratishthan (SGVP) started a campaign to prevent the migration of school-going children. “I completed my education and joined hands with others who were working on the same issue.”
SGVP is engaged in protecting the rights of children. And here Sachin got acquainted with Madhav Hiwale, Someshwar Sontakke and Bhaskar Salve who were functionaries. They had undertaken a study to find out the status of children who had migrated with parents, the number of child marriages in the village and malnutrition among the migrant children.
The study highlighted that the state of children migrating with parents was pathetic. They had to get up at 3 in the morning and bathe in cold-water. They also assisted their parents in sugarcane-cutting for more than 12 hours a day. They weren’t only missing out on school but their childhood was also snatched away from them. They were missing out on the right to rest, play and nutrition. A Child Protection Committee was established in the village on October 1, 2015. Bal Mitra (friend of children) volunteers were trained in child protection.
After the study with Swaraj Gramin, the NGO embarked on a campaign to persuade parents to leave their children under the care and supervision of grandparents and the Bal Mitra of the village. “We had the responsibility of averting the migration of a group of 25 children and we succeeded in doing that. We engaged with their parents and grandparents who acquiesced and we took charge of the children,” he says.
Sachin and his group developed a workable plan for education, nutrition, entertainment, play and study. “Bal Mitras take care of the children’s health, study and recreation. We are scorned at and called bin pagari full adhikari (full authority without salary) but we have taken it head-on. Yes, our work is honorary. It’s not social service. Now children from other villages too have joined us. They don’t migrate with their parents. Bal Mitras take care of them in the village with the help of the Village Child Protection committee, Anganwadi workers and villagers,” shares Sachin.
The story of migration doesn’t end here. Just as Paratwadi village’s daily wage earners migrated for work, their area sees an influx of workers to the stone quarries in the adjoining village. They migrate from Karnataka with children in tow.
Sachin and his group addressed the migration of these children as well. “We went to the area, conducted a survey and sent our report to the Village Child Protection Committee. These children helped their parents in the quarry work. They missed out on education, nutrition and play time. The Committee held meetings with the quarry workers. Their children were admitted to the village school and their younger ones were admitted to the Anganwadi. All these children are now looked after by teachers, Anganwadi workers and us, Bal Mitras. They get nutrition, education and protection,” he says.
Sachin and other Bal Mitras have averted the migration of 80 per cent of children from the village. Paratwadi Tanda’s population is 2,500. Of these, 1,375 are registered voters. Previously, many families used to migrate for work. Things have changed for the better now. Only 180 have shifted to western Maharashtra for sugarcane cutting this year. That’s a tremendous achievement in itself.