#Vote4Children: Time for a change!

It was my first visit to an NGO . A huge verandah, giving space to children running about , their whimsical moods on the upsurge. I was taken in by their innocent smiles and indomitable spirits. But this wasn’t the end. As I stepped up the staircase , I found myself projected into another world. Sombre , it was. A room encompassing  tens of children, some lying down in their ‘jute’ bags, some being taught by another set of volunteers visiting this NGO. A little kid was scribbling all he could on a sheet of paper. Ensconced in this tiny world,  gargantuan for them.

A little girl who sat smiling in the balcony invited me to teach her, from her hindi medium Class 6 NCERT textbook. Oblivious to the fact that she had been given up by her parents at a very tender age, she could not stop praising her dance teacher, who had helped her with her first steps. Adamant, she wanted me to sit by her and help her with her homework. And yes, she gave a glimpse of her dance too. A girl with a spunk in her.

There were instances of kids, who probably evaded trafficking, or had been found in a dismal condition by the police. Consequently, they had been brought into the precincts of this self funded NGO, the owners of which do their level best to provide them with the basic necessities of life. Yet, they struggle to arrange funds to make ‘Diwalis’ and ‘Holis’ special for these kids.

The whole spectacle  continued to be irksome for me, for days to go. I could now imagine the fate of millions of kids in our country.  Futures  so fragile and shattered.

Stats say that 40% of the children who live till the age of 5, stay malnourished.

Half of the kids enrolled in school do not attend! Instead they are pressurized to earn for their families.

 NGOs account the ‘child labour’ figure to be 60 million.

Two thirds of the ratio is subjected to physical abuse.

The heart rending tales as well as the official figures are indeed traumatic. There are certain other surreptitious facts.The true face of our nation is blind to the reality of these children, who are far away from the realm of security, good health and basic education. If ‘Children are the future of the nation’ , then actually what is the future heading for?

We need a firm financial system for them. We need some strong directives that would ensure that their day is spent in a school, the food supplied to them is of ‘good quality’ and ensuring their safety is of course ,an unspoken duty, that needs to be done now.

We need a change, we need a light that can diminish all the hardships the children of our country go through, ,we got to stand up for their rights now. Let us try and make this world a better place for them!

This post is a part of the #Vote4Children Blog-a-thon on Youth Ki Awaaz. Find out more at: http://www.youthkiawaaz.com/vote4children