Awareness drives in Bengaluru mark campaign against child labour

BENGALURU: The World Against Child Labour Day was marked by a campaign against child labour organised by Bangalore Oniyavara Seva Coota (BOSCO), an NGO working with child labourers and children in peril, here on Tuesday.“Abolish Child Labour and Save Childhood” was the theme of the campaign that was held at bus stands throughout the city.

The drive was aimed at creating awareness among the general public, identify children in affected areas and rehabilitate them by admitting them to schools. “As part of the drive, our team went to the affected areas to identify the children who are school dropouts, convince their parents and re-admit them to the schools after giving a bridge course which is undertaken to bridge the gap in studies,” said Rubin Mathew, BOSCO director. This year, BOSCO has rescued 100 child labourers.

The campaign saw children from various BOSCO centres performing ‘mimes’ and distributing pamphlets to create public awareness on child labour. “Child labour is a crucial issue and the only solution to this wider problem is to provide education to the children who are affected,” Mariswamy, member, Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR).

Mariaswamy said, “For the past three years we are working with BOSCO under ‘Shaale Kade Nanna Nade (My steps towards school), an initiative to identify children who are school dropouts  and bringing them back to schools.”