Bloggers have been provided a platform to speak out against child labour

Ashtami, a 10-year-old from rural Bengal, was sent to Delhi to work as a domestic help last year. She had to work throughout the day and hardly found time to rest or play. Every time she asked for food, she was thrashed by her employers.

Ashtami was rescued by NGO workers and escorted home but millions of others like her are engaged in hard labour and denied their rights throughout childhood.

Child Rights and You (CRY) has launched a campaign, “Ek din aayega, aayega zaroor”, earlier this month to ensure that more common people come forward to protect the rights of these children.

The campaign comprises print and online advertisements and banners that aim to make people aware of child rights violations and provoke a response from them.

Also part of the campaign is a volunteer programme allowing people from all walks of life to lend their time, skills and moral support to CRY initiatives in their area.

Supporters of the campaign can also access childrightsandyou.blogspot.com and blog to spread the word.

The campaign attempts to approach the child rights issue with optimism. “The advertisement promises a time when every Indian child irrespective of gender, class and caste will enjoy childhood as it is meant to be,” said Ila D. Hukku, the director (resource mobilisation) of CRY.

“We want the people to see and recognise that a majority of Indian children are treated unjustly and deprived of rights,” she added.

The NGO has tried the new approach after realising the limitations of direct intervention. “We have been able to reach out to only 2 million of the 17 million children who are still out of school and denied their rights. Any organisation cannot be effective enough alone, so we need to involve the masses,” said Hukku.