Child Labour Free Panchayats
As a result of the Dhudio [Working] Makkala Toofan Programme, The Concerned for Working Children, were able to declare several villages Child Labour Free in rural Karnataka in 5-8 years. This was possible without compulsion.
Central to this success was the participation of working children themselves in identifying their problems and designing solutions that are implemented by Grama Panchayats (village local self-government) together with children, their families and communities.
The strategy adopted includes reducing the burdens and work load on children; improving the quality and access to education and other basic needs such as fuel, fodder and water; providing easy access to life and professional skills; enabling the Grama Panchayats to engage in Child Centred Planning; and improving livelihood opportunities.
As an outcome of extensive work with Bhima Sangha and other movements of working children, The Concerned for Working Children arrived at a five-pronged strategy that works both in the short and the long term and complements and feeds into each other.
