Tomra bujhi porte jao?

Tai tomra chhuti pao.

Amra barir kaaj kori.

Shomai kothai, je ektu pori?

(You go to school, so you get holidays. We do the housework, so when do we get time to study?)

These poignant words — the product of a four-day workshop — were penned by children who were, or still are, domestic workers.

Over a month ago, the funding agency Save the Children brought together a bunch of kids from eight NGOs, five in the districts and three in the city, to put down their thoughts on child domestic workers, in the form of posters.

The result was slogans and images — some simple, others more elaborate — that portray how these underprivileged children see themselves in an unequal society. Case in point — a simple picture of two hands, one of a ‘normal’ child with the phrase “Ma, hate betha korchhe, aar likhte parchhi na (Mother, my hands are hurting, I can’t write any more)” written under it. The other had a wound on the palm, with “Aami ekhono jol tulte pari (I can still carry water)” written below.

The workshop meant different things to each of the youngsters. Ishtar, from Loreto Sealdah, remembered having fun and playing. Gora, from a Sabuj Sangha project, recalled images of a boy who was ill, but was ignored by his drunken father.

Teenager Ashalata Bera summed up the significance of the exercise: “While some children get to go to school and play, we have to work for a living.”

This sentiment was echoed in another poster, where children from pristine white multi-storeyed buildings went to school and played under the eyes of their parents, while others had to wash the dishes, hang the clothes and sweep the floors. The discrimination was clearly spelt out — “Hum bhi bachche hain (We are children, too)”.

The aim was to get the children’s own thoughts on paper, give them a chance to express themselves and get their message across to the world, explains Manabendra Nath Roy, programme coordinator for the Save the Children child domestic workers’ project in Calcutta. “We wanted them to help people understand what they feel, and what the issues mean to them,” he adds.

These hand-drawn posters — some in black and white to bring home the stark contrast of reality, others in colourful crayon images to portray their need for a bit of colour, too — were then taken door-to-door by the field workers from the eight NGOs.

Employers, teachers, police officers and gram panchayats were “positive” in their responses, although some were upset by the often-harsh brutality, like the picture of a child being beaten. A cynical response was: “You have to work to earn a living.”

Now that the field tests are over, these posters, after a few improving touches, will be printed by Save the Children and distributed to raise awareness, adds D. Lakshmi Rani, national project manager, child domestic workers’ project.