Transform the Lives of Children in Gujarat, India

No Child Labour Day in India

30^th April was a busy day for the whole Shaishav team as they worked to spread the message about child labour and promote the long-term value of education. Shaishav staff ran an informal session for child labourers, affording children the day off and giving them an opportunity to come together in a safe and secure environment to look at some of the issues they face. The main focus of the day was fun and games – a precious chance to relax, make new friends and just be kids for the day.

We also ran our School Enrollment Drives in several schools at the same time that students went to collect their exam results, so we could help them secure the next stage in their education immediately and get them on the path towards a sustainable livelihood.

In the evening the team went to local areas where child labourers are known to work, like food and drinks stands, to distribute pamphlets about support services and begin one-to-one conversations to get these children into education. 

Let us know any about any activities you are planning for World Day Against Child Labour on 12th June.

New child-led research project: Child Friendly Communities

Balsena children and Tarunsena youth have been very busy conducting large-scale action research across Bhavnagar for the last few weeks. Shaishav was selected as a pilot organisation for a new child friendly communities research tool kit being pioneered by CERG – the Child Environments Research Group, part of City University New York. Sruthi Atmakur from CERG and Shaishav’s Executive Director Parul Sheth delivered 3 days of intensive training to 47 youngsters in May, building valuable new skills and equipping them to carry out detailed data
collection across 7 slum communities in Bhavnagar to understand the challenges children face and understand how to make their homes, schools, hospitals and neighbourhoods more child-friendly.

Balsena and Tarunsena members brought their innovation, creativity and problem-solving capabilities to the pilot study – identifying many new indicators which CERG can incorporate into their toolkit, and also trying out a new method of data collection using computers on the Shaishav bus (our mobile resource centre) to attract respondents and give them an opportunity to gain valuable new computer skills. This work will continue throughout the summer, with the analysis and report produced later this year.

Shaishav are pleased to be able to take part in this important pilot to refine and develop the research toolkit, especially as some Balsena and Tarunsena members have already honed their research skills during our last action research project – the Child Rights Audit – in 2009. Another one of the pilots was conducted in a school in Haiti after the earthquake to understand how best to develop child-friendly environments after such a huge disaster.

Let us know what you are doing to make your communities more child- friendly. Get in touch on shaishav93@gmail.com – we’d love to hear your ideas and learn something new.

Thank you for your support for Shaishav. The Balsena and Tarunsena members are grateful for your support to allow them continue to spread messages of positive change across Bhavnagar and beyond.