Local Business In Action

Stories

A key driver of supply chain improvements will always be the private sector. Intelligent entrepreneurs will look for ways to find wins for all stakeholders. This is Bhagwan’s story.

Trade and investment in the Natural Stone Sector offer’s great potential for generating income, growth, prosperity, sustaining livelihoods and fostering local development. Under the “Getting Down to Business” project Stop Child Labour, through Manjari (A local CSO), began working with local businesses to protect the human rights of families engaged in the processing of natural stone.

Mr. Bhagwan Das has been manufacturing Sandstone Cobbles in the Budhpura area of the Bundi district of Rajasthan for the past 20 years.  His father moved here when Bhagwan Das was only 2 years old. His father started a Paan (Beetle) shop in Budhpura to earn his livelihood. Due to his family conditions Bhagwan left education at the 6th grade. Initially, he started a grocery shop but he was keen to explore other avenues to increase his family income. He decided to establish a business producing sandstone cobbles. The business flourished and he established one of the largest cobble yards in Budhpura employing around 300 male/female workers.

Continue Reading

Peeru’s Story

Stories

Our project to Create Child Labour Zones in Budhpura is touching the lives of real people. This is Peeru’s story

Peeru is 10 years old and belongs to Bheel (Schedule tribe) community, residing in Patiyal village in Budhpura. Even though Peeru’s father works in the natural stone mines and his mother makes Sandstone cobbles, their combined income was not enough to meet the family needs. To bring in more money Peeru and his siblings, despite being enrolled in school, were sent to work in the family cattle grazing business. For the family, earning additional income from livestock was more important than education.

Education Volunteers of Manjari, local partners of Stop Child Labor (SCL) play an important role motivating children and their parents to attend school. 

One day an education volunteer visited Peeru’s house to find out why his parents were not making him attend school. His father said that the money from cattle grazing was more important than education. The Manjari volunteers didn’t give up and kept on meeting the family trying to convince them to send Peeru to school. Finally, they agreed to send Peeru to a motivation center located in Patiyal village. Attending the motivational center was a whole new experience for Peeru where he was finally given the space to play and interact with other children. Peeru also learned other basic things like the alphabet and poems. Peeru thrived in this new environment and never missing a class became happier and more confident. Witnessing the positive change in their son’s behavior, they finally understood the significance that education could play in their family’s life.  They sold all their cattle and enrolled Peeru in full time education

Peeru is now studying in class 3rd at a Government Primary School at Budhpura.   Now they send Peeru’s younger brother to the same motivation center, so that he can also gradually transition into formal education.

Continue Reading

Rajender, a teacher’s story

Field updates

Rajender is a school teacher at the primary school in one of the hamlets surrounding Budhpura. Almost 30 children in class are paying great attention to what he writes on the school board. “So much has happened here over the past few years”, he says, “around four years ago almost no child came to school”. The most important reasons? Parent’s lack of awareness about the importance of education and the lack of good quality schools.

Local ngo Manjari went into the hamlets to reach out to parents and to improve the access to education and its quality. With success: nowadays 90% of children from this hamlet goes to school and the schools have improved facilities. “A good education means a chance of getting a better job and consequently a better future for these children”, says Rajender, “that’s well worth committing myself to”.

Continue Reading

Sanjay’s story: cobble worker turns school pupil

Field updates

Sanjay stands out in his classroom: not just because he is one of the tallest children, but also because he is very motivated. Not so long ago, his life was completely different: Sanjay worked in the stone quarry from when he was 9 years old until he was 12. He made cobblestones for the European market. Until his employer decided, one year ago, that it was enough.

“He told me that I could no longer work for him. We went to school together and he enrolled me,” says Sanjay.

Ever since 2013, the local NGO Majari has been working to convince the entire community that children should be at school and not at work. “It is really great that even employers are taking their responsibility now,” says Bajrang, a very proactive member of Manjari. Sanjay is doing his very best to catch up at school with all the years he missed out on.

What would he like to be when he grows up? “A teacher!” he beams.

Continue Reading

CLFZ: Building a Community

Field updates

“Every child should be in school’  This is the fundamental principle of Child Labour Free Zones.  To achieve this goal though, a holistic approach is required that looks at the bigger picture as to why children in Budhpura end up working in cobble yards. That’s why the Manjari team also supports young adults to achieve vocational training.  This helps them to earn a decent income, so that their younger brothers and sisters can focus on their education.

Netu and Hamleta are 19 years old and both dropped out of school many years ago. They are no longer of a school going age, but they are part of a Manjari skill building/training programme to teach young women stitching skills.

Continue Reading