FINALLY, CHILDREN of slum dwellers and ragpickers can smile thanks to tireless efforts of a non-government organisation Vishal Bharat Sansthan. The NGO has been working for more than a decade for their uplift.
The NGO has been struggling for empowerment of women and education of socially deprived children mainly from the slums. It is concerned about the safety and security of ragpicker girls as they often become victim of sexual abuse.
The sansthan set up a school for ragpickers months ago in Shastri Nagar in the city. There are 80 children in the school including 40 girls. Ninety per cent children in the school belong to the poor weavers’ community of Varanasi. The founder of the NGO, Dr Rajiv Srivastava said, “The sansthan through its personal resources has been educating these socially rejected children along with training of self employment free of cost. To expend its services to more and more such children, the idea of setting up a vast residential school across the Ganga in an area of 10 acres is under consideration.”
He alleged the government had no plans for the uplift and development of rag picker children. All of them were treated as foreigners while a majority of them were locals. Their adequate development would bring about a massive social change and these deprived people would be a part of mainstream society. It would also check the evil of crime, AIDS, flesh trade and human trafficking.
{{/usCountry}}He alleged the government had no plans for the uplift and development of rag picker children. All of them were treated as foreigners while a majority of them were locals. Their adequate development would bring about a massive social change and these deprived people would be a part of mainstream society. It would also check the evil of crime, AIDS, flesh trade and human trafficking.
{{/usCountry}}For fulfilment of the dream project of a residential school for rag pickers, the sansthan would urge different social agencies to help in this direction.
The administrative officer of sansthan, Puja Singh said there were more than 12,000 rag pickers in the city. Children aged from 6 to 14 worked the whole day starting from early morning. She said they never got a chance to go to school.
They earn Rs 8 to 10 after selling their polythene and other items. She said the need of the hour was to integrate these kids into mainstream society.