PLEDGE TO SAVE CHILDHOOD

PLEDGE TO SAVE CHILDHOOD

12-JUNE-ENG 4

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

BHABHUA----------------------On June 12, the 'Savera Swayam Sangathan' (Savera Self-Organization) will participate in a program organized by the Child Labour Department to mark the World Day Against Child Labour. A massive awareness campaign will be conducted against child labour, a practice that stains childhood. Mohan Kumar, the organization's secretary, stated that due to widespread illiteracy and poverty, thousands of children are still forced to work in hotels, roadside eateries (dhabas), brick kilns, and fields instead of attending school. This constitutes a direct assault on childhood and poses a threat to the nation's future. He appealed to the public, emphasizing that it is every citizen's duty to immediately report instances of child labour observed in their vicinity to the Child Helpline numbers 1098, 9471229133, or 112. Merely enacting laws will not stop child labour unless societal attitudes change. Our resolve should be to ensure every child receives books and toys, not tools for labour. As part of the program, public awareness will be raised through street plays and a signature campaign at the town's main intersection. The campaign's primary objective is to sensitize parents to the importance of education and to rescue children from exploitation, bringing them into the school system. The secretary described child labour as a social curse and stressed that an initiative from every household is essential to eradicate it. For the past 10–15 years, the Savera Swayam Sangathan has been consistently rescuing children from child labour and integrating them into the mainstream education system; the organization has transformed the lives of over 200 children so far. Mohan Kumar believes that if society resolves to act, no child will be forced to work out of necessity. Let us all pledge on this World Day Against Child Labour that we will neither engage in child labour nor allow it to happen.