About 21 children between the age group of 8 to 15,working as agricultural laborer in their own & other fields were admitted into the schools. The children of villages who works as laborer in fields do not have access to education as their whole day is spent rearing cattle's & securing crops.

The village Marena Wangar, remotely located between two rivers is extremely backward with agriculture as the only means of sustenance.The population of the village is illiterate and works mostly in the fields.Agriculture is a whole family affair and involves all men & women.The children are also drawn to work in their own or also as labourer in other fields especially during sowing season when more hands are required.

During the discussions to identify the major problems of the village, students feel that their village will not develop holistically unless all the children get education specially those who spent their day working on fields. To promote education for child laborers was taken up as the idea of our campaign.

There are major problems like flooding, bad roads,Gambling, alcoholism etc in the village but the majority of its children not attending schools andstarting work at an early age is problem which needs urgent intervention. So it was decided to take this problem as the ideaof our campaign

.

The initiative to bring agricultural child laborers to school is not an easy task as they are adding to the income of their family. To part with them will be a tough decision for the families as crops and animals requires great attention. So to make our campaign a success we have to arm ourselves with many alternative solutions.

1.Support of the community is required.2.Formal & Informal leaders can play an important role in mobilizing the parents.3.Research is required to know the exact number, nature and scope of child labor in the village.4.Rallies and plays are required to sensitize the community against employing children in the villages.5.Schools,Child Labour Centres ,Anganwadi Kendra & volunteers teachers are to be convinced to support in our campaign.

Taking the message beyond

.A meeting was conducted in the school between the teachersand students to discuss the course of action. The sarpanch & School donor were also invited.

Important decisions made1.The students were divided into 5 teams of seven each.2.The team has a leader and a name.3.Each Team was assigned a teacher as the mentor.4.Mr Shivraj Singh was made the incharge of the campaign.5.The Sarpanch & the donor decided to stand by us and to use their influence in the village.6.The teams were assigned different roles like survey, documentation, rallies, door to door meetings, signature campaign etc as the process of the campaign.7.Some ground rule to be observed during the entire campaign were decided.

Survey was done by four teams to identify the names, causes and the accessibility of agricultural child laborers for their inclusion in the target group on whom the intense focus has to be put in the first stage of the campaign

Survey Results:

1.Employing children in agricultural work at the cost of their school is very common in the village.2.The children are made to rear herds of cattles,carry Tiffin to the fields, sow the crops, and prepare fodder for the cattle.3.Lack of awareness, poverty and involvement of men in gambling & alcoholism are also considered as the major reasons contributing to the participation of children on farms at a very young age.4.Thirty five students were taken as the focused target group to convince them & their families to start attending school.

A walk into the village conducting door to door and corner meetings, rallies and street plays to convince people and emphasizing on the need of education for all.

Corner Meetings Rallies Leader Speaks

The action filled five days going through the village highlighting the need to educate all gave us a good understanding of the social & cultural strength of the village.The village is backward & most of the families are hand to mouth but when it comes to the pride & prestige, only a few can match them.

We tried to stir up their pride by making them understand the fact that only education can bring glory & name for the village. They may have spent their life as illiterate but in the new world education is needed in essential and is a basic need.

The wonderful support extended by the Sarpanch Mr. R .K Gupta & Donor Mr. S.K Singhboosted our campaign and gave us the courage to confront the villagers on the issue ofnot sending their children to school.

The students presented a skit named ‘Mere Piya Gaye Rangoon’ based on the theme of literacy.The Head Teacher of the govt school,anganwadi & some volunteers were persuaded to help us in our mission to get these child labourer enrolled in some schools.

This campaign undertaken by our students received applause from various Groups & institutions working in the area. We the students of Satya Bharti Schools have undertaken numerous campaigns, directly hitting on social evils, earning in the process a reputation of our own. Here is mention the name and efforts of those who in these day of opportunism, still keeps the flag of mutualism flying high.Mr.Radha Krishan, businessman in the neighboring village was contacted to help in the procurement of books & stationary for the students.Mr. R.K Gupta donated his shed in the village for the conduct of classes by the volunteersMr. S.K Singh, retired army man volunteered to conduct classes for these children at their suitability & timing.Mr. Amit Yadav,Principal.Janhit Inter College agreed to allow these students admission to his school and also waive of their admission fees.Mr. Sharad Pratap Singh. Head Teacher S Bal Vidya Mandir agreed to allow some of the child laborers to sit in the lower classes of his school for three months for remedial learningMs Lakshmi Singh, teacher Child Labour School was very happy & also contributed his bit by getting deeply involved in the campaign.

Janhit Inter college H.S Bal Vidya Mandir Child labor School

Testimonials from the students & parents, witness to change

The feel Good factor

1.Great efforts & point to point interactions with an individual emphasis.2.Appreciative support from the Village Sarpanch, Donor & others.3.The programme customized to their needs,suitabilty & availability.

1.4 students were admitted to Janhit Inter College.2.15 students got admission in H.S Bal Vidya Mandir.3.3 Students sent to Bal Shram Kendra.4.Rest to the evening classes to be conducted by S.K Singh

Movers & Shakers1.Class Vth Students2.Teachers.3.Mr.R.K Gupta,Mr S.K Singh, Ms Laxmi,4.Janhit Inter college & H.S bal Vidya Mandir5.Parent who understands

Admission process

School leader: Mr.Anil KumarMentor Teacher: Mr.Anil SinghStudents:Versha, Komal, Chandni, Anamika, Preeti, Rajnee, RajBala ,Pawan, Soni Singh,Sajivan, Anita, Pinki, Shanti, Shikha Singh, Gyandevi, Nanhi Lali, Rajkumari, Sadhna, Satyabhan Singh ,Ruchi Singh Ajay Kumar, Gaurav, Akash, Madhuri, Vipin, Nikhil, Sailendra, Mool Raj, Saurabh, Somendra Sheeshpal, Archana Singh, Amit Kumar, Sanjeev Kumar, Sachin Kumar.