Source level baseline Pilot study in Sitamarhi District (BIHAR)

Conducted by BAL SAKHA 18-A, Patliputra Colony Patna- 800011, Bihar Ph No - 0612 2270043, 0612- 3293953 Email: balsakha@yahoo.com MAY, 2011

RESEARCH CORE TEAM

Chief Coordinator Shri Sanat Kumar Sinha

MEMBER Mr. Tarkeshwar singh, Mr.Nawazul haque, Mr.Pankaj Kumar, Miss Annupriya, Mr. Rajesh Kumar, Mr.Shami Ahmad
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Study Team

Nawaz ul haque Sanat kumar Sinha ordinator Tarkeshwar Singh Parkash kumar Ashish raj associate

Team leader Chief coCo-ordinator Co-ordinator-cpc Research

Acknowledgement This research study is a pilot study in the context of understands the issues of children, in terms of level of vulnerabilities at village level. Adequate assessment is essential before any intervention is attempted, because it helps in understanding the needs and problems of children at village level and also provides an idea of village environment. The debt of gratitude is owed to all those people who provided their support and help rendered during the entire period of study. We would also thank Mr. Sanat kumar Sinha, chief coordinatorBal Sakha for his valuable guidance with insights and suggestions. We also extend our special thanks to our all respondents who facilitated and participated in the study. BALSAKHA - PATNA Nawaz ul haque Consultant

Contents Chapter -1
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Introduction Child Rights in Global Perspective Background and rational of the study District profile of Sitamarhi The study and its Aims and objectives Research methodology , Tools of data collection and analysis. Time frame Limitations Chapter-2 Section 1 Results Section 2 Recommendations References

This report is structured in two chapters. Chapter 1 presents introduction, Child Rights in Global Perspective, background and rational of the study as well as district profile of the study. It also includes the study, its aims and objectives, research methodology and its limitations. Chapter 2 divided into two sub sections. Section 1 reports the results of the study. Section 2 provides recommendations for the gaps and issues found in the study.

Chapter 1
Introduction
The problem of working children / street children has become a global public concern and is fast assuming alarming proportions not only in developed countries but also in developing countries. It has received greater attention in recent times, due to the magnitude of the problem itself. According to the UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO), the steadily growing number of street children world wide could be 100 and 150 million. India has the highest concentration; in 1994, UNICEF itself estimated that 11 million children lived in the streets of India, while other groups put the number as high as 20 million. Two in three are male. Moreover, while the majorities are between 11 and 15 year old, a large percentage belongs to the 6-10 age groups. According to the 2001 Census, India is estimated to have more than 449 million children below the age of 18 out of which 35 million children are in need of care and protection. A large proportion of these children suffer in the quagmire of apathy and alienation, suffering from the

worst forms of deprivation and abject poverty and are victims of various forms of exploitation and abuse. Majority of them laboring as porters at bus stands or railway stations; as mechanics in informal auto repair shops; as vendors of food, tea or hand made articles; as street tailor; or as rag pickers, picking things through garbage and selling usable materials to local buyers. The situation is disquieting and disturbing.

Child rights in Global perspective

India has over 400 million children below 15 years of age, bigger than the entire population of the US. It also has the largest number, and the largest proportion, of malnourished children in the world. Most of them enroll in school but by class VIII about half of them dropout, and only 38 % make it to Class X. among Tribal Children almost 80% dropout by Class X. India also has the highest population of illiterate adults in the world- about 257 million people above 15 years, who are beyond school going age, cannot read or write. (TOI-26-march page1). These are dismal statistics and cast a long shadow across the country which is focusing on high GDP growth, burgeoning billionaire and multimillionaire population, rising foreign investments and our status as an emerging global superpower. It is clearly reflected by above data that vulnerability of child/children are as high as Mount Everest and is the resultant of weak social fabric of society coupled with a feeble state machinery. Needless to say, the Government, of course is committed to do its best and some successes and transformation have occurred in recent years, but all these indicators showed that there are children who suffered from hunger, no education and face various kind of discriminations and exploitation. The primary purpose of this section is to provide a broad and better understanding about child rights at national and international dimension, their legal rights are enshrined in Indian constitution and protection through judicial pronouncements.

International Dimension
The first United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Child, adopted in 1959 stated that every child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth means that every child has its human rights and they should be not denied to it by any body. This was a moral rather than a legally binding document. Consequent to it, in 1989 the legally binding Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted by the United Nations. In 54 articles the Convention incorporates the whole spectrum of human rights - civil, political, economic, social and cultural and sets out the specific ways these should be ensured for children and young people. In May 2000, two Optional Protocols, one on the involvement of children in armed conflict and a second on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, were adopted to strengthen the provisions of the Convention in those areas. A child is defined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) 7 as a person under the age of 18. This includes infancy, early childhood, middle childhood and adolescents.
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The UN Convention on Rights of the Child,8 1989 draws attention to four sets of civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights of every child. These are: Right to survival: Which includes the right to life, the highest attainable standard of health, nutrition, and adequate standards of living. It also includes the right to a name and a nationality. Right to protection: Which includes freedom from all forms of exploitation, abuse, inhuman or degrading treatment, and neglect including the right to special protection in situations of emergency and armed conflicts. Right to development: Which includes the right to education, support for early childhood development and care, social security, and the right to leisure, recreation and cultural activities. Right to participation: Which includes respect for the views of the child, freedom of expression, access to appropriate information, and freedom of thought, conscience and religion. The Convention provides the legal basis for initiating action to ensure the rights of children in society. Relevant articles from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child Article 2 1. States Parties shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in the present Convention to each child within their jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child's or his or her parent's or legal guardian's race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status. 2. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that the child is protected against all forms of discrimination or punishment on the basis of the status, activities, expressed opinions, or beliefs of the child's parents, legal guardians, or family members. Article 3 1. In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration. 2. States Parties undertake to ensure the child such protection and care as is necessary for his or her well-being, taking into account the rights and duties of his or her parents, legal guardians, or other individuals legally responsible for him or her, and, to this end, shall take all appropriate legislative and administrative measures. 3. States Parties shall ensure that the institutions, services and facilities responsible for the care or protection of children shall conform with the standards established by competent authorities, particularly in the areas of safety, health, in the number and suitability of their staff, as well as competent supervision.
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Article 6 1. States Parties recognize that every child has the inherent right to life. 2. States Parties shall ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child. Article 12 1. States Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child. 2. For this purpose, the child shall in particular be provided the opportunity to be heard in any judicial and administrative proceedings affecting the child, either directly, or through a representative or an appropriate body, in a manner consistent with the procedural rules of national law. Article 32 1. States Parties recognize the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development. 2. States Parties shall take legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to ensure the implementation of the present article. To this end, and having regard to the relevant provisions of other international instruments, States Parties shall in particular: (a) Provide for a minimum age or minimum ages for admission to employment; (b) Provide for appropriate regulation of the hours and conditions of employment; (c) Provide for appropriate penalties or other sanctions to ensure the effective enforcement of the present article. Article 34: States Parties undertake to protect the child from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. For these purposes States Parties shall in particular take all appropriate national, bilateral and multilateral measures to prevent: The inducement or coercion of a child to engage in any unlawful sexual activity; The exploitative use of children in prostitution or other unlawful sexual practices; The exploitative use of children in pornographic performances and materials. Article 35: States Parties shall take all appropriate national, bilateral and multilateral measures to prevent the abduction of, the sale or traffic in children for any purpose or in any form. Article 36: States Parties shall protect the child against all other forms of exploitation prejudicial to any aspects of the childs welfare.

Any child primarily on account of his dependence and vulnerability deserves to be completely looked after by others. As a child, he needs support and care to survive since the nature does not provide to the human infant any protection at all. The need to survival and protection continues till the child attains maturity and adulthood. The child being the nursery of all civilization and all human potential has to be provided with various institutional and non-institutional system of development which consists of programs pertaining to education, life skills, nutrition, health, shelter and most important, the right to childhood.

National efforts
In India, which has a long history of Child Rights legislation, most statutory provisions have followed, more or less, the colonial pattern. The English idea of providing separate treatment for juvenile offenders was passed on to India in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. The Apprentices Act, 1850 is chronologically the first law meant to deal with the children in distresses who are to be trained for trade and industry. Even the penal laws such as the Indian Penal Code, 1860 exempts children under the age of seven years from criminal responsibility (Section 82). It also exempts children between the age of seven to twelve years, who have not attained sufficient maturity of understanding to judge the nature and consequences of their conduct, from criminal responsibility (Section 83). The Act also provides some protection to the children from the evil designs of the adults (Section 363-A). The Reformatory School Act enacted in 1876 and later modified in 1897, was the next landmark legislation in the treatment of juvenile delinquents. It empowered local government to establish reformatory schools. Under the Act, the sentencing court could detain boys in such institutions for a period of two to seven years but they would not be kept in the reformatory schools after they had attained the age of eighteen years. There was also a provision to license out boys over fourteen years of age if suitable employment could be found. In Bombay Presidency, the Act was applicable to boys under sixteen years of age, while elsewhere it applied to boys under fifteen years of age. The Code of Criminal Procedure of 1898 provided specialized treatment for juvenile offenders. The Code also envisaged the commitment of juvenile offenders up-to the age of fifteen years to Reformatory Schools and provided probation for good conduct to offenders up-to the age of twenty one. Subsequent Indian children Acts passed by the Presidencies and provinces maintained this thinking. These laws contained provisions for the establishment of a specialized mechanism for the identification of handling and treatment of children and juveniles. In this regard, recommendations of the Indian jails committee, 1919-20, gave an added impetus to legislative action. In the post independence period; the Government of India was seized of the problems among others, of juvenile justice particularly in the centrally administered union territories. This is what led to the Children Act.1960. The law was in full force in all the UTs, but the states, not having juvenile legislation, were free to adopt it. As would be expected, at this stage, juvenile justice in the country was uneven and had varying standards, norms and practices. These problems were sought to be removed through the Juvenile Justice Act 1986. The law was in force throughout the country. On the other hand, the concept, approach and methodology of juvenile justice were under going some basic changes, as is indicated by the Beijing rules and the UN Convention on Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The government of India endorsed the UNCRC in1992. This led to the formulation of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, which was

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exhaustive amended in 2006 by Act No.33 of 2006. Recently, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) was set up in March 2007 under the Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005, an Act of Parliament (December 2005). The Commission's Mandate is to ensure that all Laws, Policies, Programmes, and Administrative Mechanisms are in consonance with the Child Rights perspective as enshrined in the Constitution of India and also the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Child is defined as a person in the 0 to 18 years age group. The Commission visualizes a rights-based perspective flowing into National Policies and Programmes, along with nuanced responses at the State, District and Block levels, taking care of specificities and strengths of each region. In order to touch every child, it seeks a deeper penetration to communities and households and expects that the ground experiences inform the support the field receives from all the authorities at the higher level. Thus the Commission sees an indispensable role for the State, sound institution-building processes, respect for decentralization at the level of the local bodies at the community level and larger societal concern for children and their well-being.

Constitutional provisions After Independence, the Indian constitution made several provisions and steps taken for protecting the interest o children. Part III and Part IV which deal with Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of state Policy respectively contain some special provisions with respect to children. Article 15 (3): Permits the State to make special provisions for children and women. Article 21: protection of life and personal liberty.-No person shall be deprived of his personal liberty except according to procedure established by law. Subsumed under the right to life there are several unenumerated rights fall within the ambit of Article 21. Since personal liberty is the widest amplitude, the Apex Court itself provided the list of some of the rights covered under Article 21 on the basis of earlier pronouncements and some of them are listed below: The Right to health The Right to livelihood and dignity The right to education Right against custodial death The right to freedom from sexual harassment The right of child offenders to speedy trial, The right to doctors assistance The right to legal aid, The right to pollution-free water and many others Article 23: Prohibits the traffic in human beings and forced labor
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Article 24: Forbids the employment of children below the age of 14 years in factories, mines and other hazardous occupations Article 39 (e): Directs the State to safeguard the tender age of children from entering into jobs unsuited to their age and strength forced be economic necessity Article 39 (f): Directs the State to secure facilities for the healthy development of children and to protect childhood and youth against exploitation and moral and material abandonment. Article 45: Requires the State to provide free and compulsory education to all children up to age of 14 years. Article 47: states it is the duty of the state to raise level of nutrition and standard of living. Parliament has enacted the 86th Constitutional amendment in 2002 and made Right to Education a fundamental right.

Judicial judgments
The judiciary in India plays very important role and has passed many significant judgments in favor of child rights. SHEELA BARSE VS UNION OF INDIA & OTHERS - 1986 AIR SCC 1773 Physically and mentally retarded children should not be kept in jails. Juvenile Courts must be constituted in each district. Cadre of Trained Judicial Magistrate is appointed to deal with children cases. Investigation and trials against Juvenile. (Children) offences punishable with imprisonment of not more than 7 years must be completed within a period of 3 months from the date of filing of the complaint or F.I.R.; if the investigation is not completed within this time, the case against the child must be treated as closed. And that case must be tried and disposed of within a further period of 6 months otherwise it will be treated as quashed. The trail of children cases must takes place in Juvenile courts and not in the regular Criminal Courts. The District judge or CJM (Chief Judicial Magistrate) or Judicial Magistrate should visit jail in their districts for the purpose of ascertaining how many children in jail, Children should not be kept in jail. SHEELA BARSE V. SECRETARY, CHILDREN AID SOCIETY, - AIR1987 SC656 The Supreme Court commented upon setting up dedicated juvenile courts and special juvenile court officials and the proper provision of care and protection of children in observation Homes.

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SANAT KUMAR SINHA VS STATE OF BIHAR & OTHERS,CRWJC-182/88PLJR 891024 State Government must provide adequate fund/finance for construction and renovation of buildings i.e. Remand home etc. Provide necessary facilities required for inmates. (Both Girls & Boys). Unnecessary staff in Homes should be removed and class, III, IV, employees be posted in these institution properly. Employees appointed in these institutions for education and vocational training of the inmates. Civil Surgeons are responsible for complete health care of inmates. Civil Surgeons/Asst. Civil Surgeon must visit Remand Homes once in a week for health care of inmates. Social Welfare Department should release adequate funds for food and clothing. Women lodged in After Care homes to be given all similar facilities of an A class prisoner. Employment for such women may also be arranged. The authorities before the CJM or any other courts himself or herself should produce cases, in which the inmates are witness/victim, regularly. JANARDAN PANDEY VS STATE OF U.P. 1997 (1) East CC 800 (ALL) Session trial-Separate trial for juvenile-one accused found to be juvenile on the date of crime as per the high school certificate-medical evidence found him not as juvenileheld & high school certificate he is authentic proof of age, accused held to be juvenile and he cannot be trail by a regular court along with adult accused even If he is not a juvenile at the time of the trial. SANAT KUMAR SINHA VS STATE OF BIHARSpeedy trial must be taken in all juvenile cases. All criminal trail against Juveniles in Custody for pending more than three years is treated as QUASHED. The Direction given by Supreme Court in Sheela Barse case should be followed by lower court for speedy disposal of the juvenile cases in future. GURMUKH SINGH VS STATE OF UP. - 1990 UP Cr. R. 264ALL For determining the age of a Juvenile full inquiry should be made and mere appearance is not a safe guard. After the full dress inquiry of his age under Sec. 32 of JJA, any appropriate order may be passed under Sec 18 of Act. CRWJC1989/89

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KESHWAR SAO VS STATE OF BIHAR.- 1997 (2) East. Cr. Case 319 If a ball of a person rejected by High Court and subsequently in inquiry it is found that the person is a juvenile in such position bail may be granted subsequently under Sec 18 of JJA. RAJESH KR. VS STATE OF RAJASTHAN.- 1989 1 Cr. L. R. (RAJ) 560 When a Juvenile is denied bail it must be clearly stated in the order that his release would bring him into the association of any known criminal or that his release would expose him to moral danger .It also is stated that some of the witnesses wh have been examined so far by the Juvenile Magistrate have not deposed against the Juvenile .If these are not there juvenile can be released on bail. In the event of refusal of his bail on sufficient ground he can be send to an observation home or place of safety. KAMLESH KUMAR VS STATE OF U.P.- 1994 UP Cr. 595 When a juvenile girl produced before court is not claimed by any person and she is not a delinquent Juvenile. Court must ensure that she is kept in place of safety until she at last majority. At that place of safety she must be provided with education, maintenance, vocational training in such trade that may in future help her for being rehabilitated. If the place of safety is not run by the state government, any organization where the girl would be ordered to kept always claim such expense, that incur during the stay of the girl, from the state Government. PURSHUTAM SULTANIYA VS STATE OF BIHAR,- 1998 (2) PLJR 563 Where the case is pending in any criminal court (punishable up to 3 years ) and pending for more than Two years then the case must be stopped and the accused discharged. Above directions given by high court shall be enforceable in Juvenile cases.

COMMON CAUSE REGD SOCIETY VS UNION OF INDIA, - 1996 AIR 1619 Where the accused charged before any criminal court and punishable with imprisonment not exceeding three years and trials pending for one year or more and the concerned accused have not been released on bail but are in jail for a period of six months or more, the concerned court shall release the accused on bail. When the accused charged with any criminal court are punishable with imprisonment not exceeding five years are if trials are pending for two years or more and accused not have been released on bail, but are in jail for a period of six months or more , the accused should be released on bail.

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When the case pending in Criminal courts for more than two years where case is computable with permission of court the court shall discharge or acquite such case may be treated as closed. Where the case is pending in the any criminal court (Punishable with three years) for two years, the court shall discharge the accused the case may be closed. The above Directions given by the Supreme Court Shall also be enforcement in Juvenile Cases. For the purpose of direction contained in above clause, the period of pendecy of criminal cases shall be calculated from the date of the accused are summoned to appear in the court. HUSSAINARA KHATOON VS STATE OF BIHAR,-1980 SCC 81 Right to speedy trial is a fundamental Right implicate in Article 21 of the constitution. If an accused is not tried speedily and his case remains pending before the magistrate o the session court for an unreasonable length of time, it is clear cut that his Fundamental Right to speedy trial would be violated unless, or course, the trial is held of an account of some interim order passed by a superior court. The consequences of violence of fundamental right to speedy trial would be that the prosecution itself would be liable to be quashed on the ground, that it is a breach of the Fundamental Right. BAL SAKHA VS.STATE OF BIHAR AND OTHERS-NO.VWJC NO. 9627 OF 2008 The High Court directed that the new Bihar JJA Rule, inculcation the Amendments of 2006 must be published within two months from today. The High Court decried that within 3 months from today, Inspection Team shall be constituted and notified in all the concerned districts. The Patna high Court also said that the state Govt. must ensure that the rights of the children do not get violated. If any initiatives are required to be taken by the state Government in this regard, they need to be taken and it be ensured that JJA ,2000 as amended up-to-date is implemented in its letter and spirit. SAKSHI V UNION OF INDIA, AIR 199 SC 1412 Supreme Court directed the government/ Law commission to conduct a study and submit a report on the means of curbing child abuse. JUVENILE JUSTICE (CARE AND PROTECTON OF CHILDREN) ACT, 2000 The Act is a central Act, which came into force on April 1, 2001, through out the country. It is based on (i) provisions of the Indian Constitution; (ii) United Nations Convention on Rights of the Child, 1989; (iii) United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice, 1985 (the Beijing Rules); (iv) United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles

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deprived of their Liberty, 1990. The Juvenile Justice Act, in its preamble itself signifies the need of the child care by providing that it is an Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to juveniles in conflict with law and children in need of care and protection, by providing for proper care, protection and treatment by catering to their development needs, and by adopting a child-friendly approach in the adjudication
and disposition of matters in the best interest of children and for their ultimate rehabilitation through various institutions established under this enactment. Recently the exhaustive amendments of 2006, and rules framed in the year 2007 is credit worthy as it incorporates many aspects regarding juveniles.

Salient features of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 The age for boys and girls has been uniformly raised to 18 years in accordance with the UN CRC. It deals separately, two categories of children i.e. child in need of care and protection and juvenile in conflict with law. A child in need of care and protection is children who due to various reasons are found in difficult circumstances and are in danger of survival and growth. The juvenile in conflict with law are those juveniles who are alleged to have committed an offence. The Act provides separate treatment in the matter of institutional care, legal adjudication and disposition of cases. The Competent Authority in relation to child in need of care and protection is Child Welfare Committee and in relation to juvenile in conflict with law is Juvenile Justice Board. The members of the Committee in the Board have been given magisterial power. The social workers and the representative of the NGOs having prescribed qualifications under the Act can now become member of the Competent Authority. For the juvenile is conflict with law, the Act envisages to establish Observation Homes and Special Homes. For the child in need of care and protection, provision has been made to establish Comprehensive Childrens Homes. While the Shelter Home and the After-Care Organizations may be established for juveniles or children. The Shelter Home shall be exclusively established and run by the voluntary sector with the assistance from the government. All others Homes can either be established or run by the government in association with the voluntary organizations. The representatives of voluntary organizations and social workers can become members of Advisory Committee. New mode of dispositional alternatives like counseling and community services have been incorporated for the juveniles in accordance with Beijing Rule. A new chapter on rehabilitation and social re-integration comprising of adoption, foster
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care and sponsorship has been added. The police has been assigned specialized role in accordance with Beijing Rules. A Special Juvenile Police Unit (SJPU) shall be set-up in every police station. A police officer of the rank not below an Assistant Sub- Inspector (ASI) shall be designated as Child Welfare Officer. He shall be assisted by two local voluntary social workers. A new concept of Social Audit has been introduced in accordance with Beijing Rules. Besides police, the social worker and the voluntary organization have role in production of children before the Child Welfare Committee. A child himself/herself can appear before the Competent Authority and demand his/her rights. The Chief Judicial Magistrate or the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate shall review the pendency of cases of the Board at every six months, and shall direct the Board to increase the frequency of its sittings or may cause the constitution of additional Boards. Juvenile/child cannot be kept in police lock-up or jail. Effort shall be made to release the juvenile on bail or probation. Enquiry to be completed within a period of four months from the date of its commencement unless the period is extended by the JJB/CWC, else for reason to be recorded The state governments (under section 68 of the Act) are directly responsible for the implementation of the Act.

Involvement of Bal Sakha Over the last 26 years Bal Sakha has been continuously active in public advocacy, lobbying, networking in context of providing legal assistance and protection to Juveniles, street children, pavement children, child labor and conducted public discussions with different segments of the society and stakeholders on childrens issues and concerns in order to popularize ideas and concepts on the protection of children rights in the light of constitutional and legal provisions provided by the constitution of India.. The work of Bal Sakha has taken at various levels in the purview of four major rights of every Child. These Rights are: 1) Right to Survival 2) Right to development 3) Right to Protection 4) Right to participation

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Juvenile Justice Program In order to derive optimum benefits to children, Bal Sakha came up with its novel brain child Juvenile Aid Cell (JAC), constituted in the year 2001 in almost all the districts where Homes exist of Bihar and Jharkhand with objective to protect the social and legal rights of children at district level and sensitize the concerned authorities to minimize the gaps under the Juvenile Justice System. Presently Bal Sakha is providing technical and necessary support to Juvenile Aid Cell in 13 districts (7 districts in Bihar and 6 in Jharkhand). It works for the Child Rights & Child Protection in the mentioned districts, especially for the children in conflict with law. It also works to minimize the gaps in the JJ System. JAC tries to link the civil society with different government run institutions meant for children for its services like Vocational Training, Yoga, and Moral Education etc. JAC studies the cases of Juveniles in the Juvenile Justice Board and assist the Board in the best interest of the children. It also sends the reports to the Child Right Centre monthly for further analysis. Anti trafficking programThe threat of child trafficking is mounting by leaps and bounds in both the states, Bihar and Jharkhand. In Bihars Kosi-Mahananda region, in particular, it has taken a shape of pandemic. Big mafia national and international is involved in the racket and involvement of some white collared persona too cant be ruled out. The dare devil attempt though foiled can be imagined from incident, mentioned in the adjacent box. Bal Sakha sensing the gravity of problem came out with an innovating idea in the year 2004 of constituting Bal Sanrakshan Kendra (Child Protection Center). Bal Sakha during the year 2004, on an experimental basis, started with only two such CPCs one in Munger, Hiranmar and one in Bhagalpur, Bhattachak. Being encouraged by the overwhelming success and peoples cooperation/encouragement achieved at the two CPCs, Bal Sakha went on expanding the network of CPCs in other districts of Bihar and Jharkhand. Ultimately, at present altogether 40 such centers are being run under the supervision of Bal Sakha HRDS (Human Right Defenders System) The HRDS team constituted by Bal Sakha in Purnea region has been of great aid to the locals in protecting their children, in particular. The HRDS team has specially been prepared to act as watchdog in the village, by keeping vigil on ill activities in the village, if any. The impact of their vigilance and intervention is visibly experienced in the areas of Bal Sakha intervention towards the overall development of the community. In order to uplift the morale and confidence of such girls, it was felt that the only and best way in the endeavor would be to make them self dependent on one hand and aware them on the maintenance of their personal health and hygiene. In many of the CPCs, training program was conducted for Adolescent girls. The training was imparted by trained staff in coordination with local NGO, where available. Intervention with children in distressTo cater to the needs of children in need of care and Protection Bal Sakha runs three centers in Patna. Two of the centers had been established in the vicinity of Patna
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Railway station, keeping in mind the needs of platform children for whom it works as drop-in center. Open Center caters the day-to-day needs of platform children and street children. For the reason, it has been made to situate at a stone throw distance from Patna Railway Station at Jamal Road Patna, operating from 1000 hrs. to 1700 hrs. The children use this center for their day-to-day utilities, i.e., washing clothes, taking shower, watching TV, playing carom board, etc. Refreshment is also provided to them in the evening. The purpose of the center is to influence their present living condition and also to reorient them towards social bonding and norms by their fullest participation in its planning and implementation of its program. Non-formal education and some petty sustainable vocational training are also being imparted, i.e., Rakhi making; different products from jute, like foot mat, vanity bag, etc. One of the recent such training showed a very positive outcome, i.e., the slum girls were taught making mat from palm leafs. Upon attaining the excellence in it, they gave it a commercial touch back at their hutments and earning some money. Bal Sakha tries to create a positive environment and works as a pressure group to minimize the exploitation of children by regular visit to Railway platform. It also makes an effort to link different Stakeholders (GRP, RPF, Railway authorities, Association, NGOs, Porters, vendors etc.) with children. The other components of the center are as follows Capacity Building Program Reintegration of the child with their families Demonstrative Programs Involvement of different stakeholders Night Shelter This center is also situated in the vicinity of Patna Railway station at Birsa Bhawan, RBlock Golambar. The street/platform children normally use this center for their night stay and morning wash/shower, etc. The children at the center are provided with dinner, sometimes contributed by the civil society. They are also provided with adequate sleeping gears in accordance to season. The center also has the facilities for street children to deposit their cash earned during the day. The idea of this facility was generated from the fact that whatever the children, especially the platform children earned, they had to spend all fearing their hard earned money would either be stolen or snatched by older children on platform. A proper book is maintained for the purpose. Children can withdraw their money whenever they are in need. The center is also used as the first shelter for a child found missing or found being detached from his family. Coalition for Child Right ProtectionUnder the program, the intervention is bidirectional Intervention in different GO/NGO run institutions meant for children on one hand and on the other intervention in community for the protection of childrens right through Coalition with different stakeholders, i.e., Govt. functionaries, Judiciaries, Police, NGOs and civil society as a whole.
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Railway ChildrenDrug De-addiction Program The street children live on a very inhuman living condition on Railway platform or street. In most of the cases they land up here with acute depression, emotional disorders and/or passing through many traumatic experiences back in their family and community. They, in order to forget their agonies, at least temporarily, are compelled to take asylum of intoxicants, i.e., inhaling chemicals, use of marijuana, hemp and even sometimes hard liquor. The prolonged use of such substances fatally affects their health and ultimately make them suffers with deadly deceased like T.B., respiratory disorder, loss of appetite, etc. To address the menace, Bal Sakha practices the following De-addiction of children with the partnership with many organizations, i.e., Drug De-addiction Center, like DISHA, CHETNA and KAVERI in Patna. Linking such children with their families or their placement in training and job. We organize two-week motivational Camp for such children in order to finalize the best possible placement for concerned child. Create a general awareness in the masses by contacting local shop keepers, clerics, stakeholders, etc. and sensitize them of the effects of drugs on children. Though we come in contact with several such children, but get success in fewer cases as working with such children is very difficult. Health Program Since in general the children coming from Railway platform/street do not maintain good health due to their uneven and unhygienic living condition on platform/street, hence it becomes essential to conduct such program on a regular basis. On occasions, medical health check-ups are organized for children and we maintain health records with pathological reports of children coming to our centers. The regular campaign has helped us to get the space for our children in all available health services in Patna. The group of doctors, medicine retailers, Medical Representatives, etc. are extending their optimum support as a result of our rigorous sensitization programs. Rehabilitation centreThe rehabilitation centre situated at Keshri Nagar, Patna had mainly been constituted for
20

the rehabilitation and mainstreaming of children who are found at different transit points. Many a times it is difficult to locate their native place for their rehabilitation, due to the partial information provided by the child or not willing to go back to the native place. Also children are referred to this centre by different units of organizations, other NGOs, Police and many times other children. Children residing at the Center are divided into two segments children below 13 years of age and children above 13 years of age. Objectives of the Rehabilitation Center: To withdraw children from street for their social reintegration. To enhance their skills by providing training (above 13 years). To motivate and link them with formal education. To place them with their families upon completion of their training To link them with livelihood options, preferably to their respective home vicinity. To link them to other long term institutions for further growth and development where family linkage is not possible. The Center encourages children to be involved in day to day activities, which is part of innovative learning process. Children are also motivated to sustain their interest towards education. So, they remain linked with education for their secure and bright future. Besides, other activities are also conducted for the holistic development of the child with the activities of knowledge and experience sharing, such as, role play, making of greetings card, some group work, painting competition, elocution, etc. On the other hand in view of making the children self-reliance and for their better rehabilitation back to their respective community, they are motivated to be involved in various vocational training programs being organized at the centre such as Motor Cycle repair, tailoring, cycle repairing, catering and several interesting handicraft work - under the expert instructors. The music training is also being imparted to children for their stress and trauma management. In addition to it, the Children from the centre are also involved in cultural activities. The stakeholders from the neighborhood area also encourage this kind of approach for the overall development of children. During night if any child of this centre requires an immediate medical assistance and need to be sent to hospital, people from community always remain committed to provide their own vehicle or any kind of assistance, as per the need. Moreover, a physician Dr. Madhurendra Sinha make regular visit to centre and conduct the medical examination of children. Often they are taken on excursion trips local or beyond Patna. Research and Advocacy Research studies undertaken by the Bal Sakha are designed to facilitate an understanding of the situation of street children / working children / juvenile in conflict with law aimed at offering recommendations to other government agencies /NGOs /INGOs for changes as well as initiating action against child rights violation. The documentation and consultation / advocacy cell are involved in a number of action oriented activities like campaigning, lobbying, filing PIL, sensitizing government officials, aimed at generating and disseminating information on various aspects of the Child protection issues. In totality Bal Sakha is continuously working towards the realization of the rights of the child.
21

Background and rationale of the study Bal Sakha from its inception, in 1988 as a registered organization, it has been working for the protection of child rights in Bihar and Jharkhand for well over quarter of a century. The organization has a two fold approach to address child protection issues. One is through direct community interventions to enhance the quality of the Observation Homes (OH) and bring positive changes for the institutionalized children. On the other hand, through the participation and the mobilization of the NGOs, civil society and the media, the organization has been to involve children in the forum to share their experiences. Bal Sakha has optimal skills to address the issue and further its image, taking it to the level of bureaucracy and judiciary. While working with the children on street, Bal Sakha realized that many street children coming to the centers (run by Bal Sakha) are the victims of domestic violence, poverty, broken homes, loss of traditional values and hostile behavior of parents, who have somehow or else managed to escape from atrocities and difficulties of life and without knowing the consequences of future way of life landed on either street or railway platforms. So during the earlier part of the millennium, while developing strategies for intervention for street children, Bal Sakha planned to work and study on this issue. In view of the rising complaints of CHILDLINE Sitamarhi which gets five or six missing complaints every month and also there was a strong indication from national level NGOs that most of the rescued children were trafficked from the villages of Sitamarhi and it was reported by some national level news papers that Sitamarhi emerged as a Source Area where children are trafficked through means like duping, luring, abducting, kidnapping and manipulating social and economic vulnerabilities and move to big cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Ahmadabad etc., where they are continuously subjected to abuse, violence and exploitation by perpetrators of crime. The district is also highly prone to Cross Border Child Trafficking; in fact it is a Transit Point but also serves as destination point, though small in size due to the presence of the red-light area (Islampur). The girls generally are purchased from Nepal and sold here, however there are cases of other types of lure as well, i.e., marriage, love, etc. and onward are being carried to other states, i.e., Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, etc. It was also found that there was no official data from Government side. Thus the need of the study was obvious and for that purpose, Bal Sakha take up the task to conduct the pilot level study before conducting major study in Sitamarhi district to find out the reasons why children from this district primarily migrate/runaway/get trafficked to other places for work and to address the issues faced by the Children and want to come out with some amicable solution and problem solving process for the society and the government.

District profile of Sitamarhi

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Geographical setup and administrative units Sitamarhi district, a part of north Bihar, is situated on the Indo-Nepal Border at 85.05 longitude and 26.49 latitude. It is surrounded by Madhubani and Darbhanga districts of Bihar and part of Nepal in the east, Muzaffarpur in the south, East Champaran in the west and Nepal in the north. The district had a mythological past; days back to the period of Raja Janak, from where Nanpur- Area of intervention Sita emerged. Earlier it was a sub-division of Muzaffarpur district and got the status of a separate district on 11th December, 1972 with 3 sub-divisions, viz., Sitamarhi Sadar, Pupri and Sheohar. On 6th October, 1994, the Sheohar sub-division was also declared as a new district. The present Sitamarhi district has 3 sub-divisions ,(Sitamarhi Sadar, Belsand, Pupri), 17 blocks and 17 circles in the district with total no of Panchayats are 273. There are 835 villages (including 33 uninhabited villages) in the district. The total number of municipalities are five (1 nagar Parishad and 4 Nagar Panchayat ). The border between India and Nepal is open at various places and the citizens from either side have free and uninterrupted access to the other side. A number of Nepali students get their education in the middle, high schools and inter colleges in the bordering areas of Sitamarhi district. This puts more pressure on the upper primary level educational system. The district has its unique administrative and socio-economic problems. The open border with Nepal often creates law and order problems. The area is sensitive to communal riots. It is highly flood prone and the administration has to spend much time and energy for protection from floods during June to October end. Migration through Nepal border is also very frequent. Topographically, the district forms a part of the Bihar plains and it is almost completely levelled and at no point does its elevation exceed 80 meters above the sea level. The only diversities seen on the surface are those caused by the fluvial action of rivers. The important rivers of the district are Bagmati, Lakhandei and Adhwara group of rivers. It has therefore all the advantages and disadvantages of being surrounded by rivers which are flooded during rains and mostly dry during summers. Because of floods, the academic calendar was disrupted almost every year in the district.

Demographic Abstract
Sl. Parameter Census Year 23

2001 1. Population: Persons Males Females Decadal growth rate: Density :

Sex ratio (Total Population): Total 2013796 1069132 944664 23.72 878 884 921 20.20 19.81 20.64 5.94 28.49 39.86 15.49 28.53 51.18 2.90 1.31 0.20 2.58 70.15 48.62 94.52 11.69 11.74 11.63 0.02 0.02 0.02 Rural 1894203 1004235 889968 33.22 1169 886 918 20.33 19.99 20.71 5.71 26.53 37.86 13.63 28.77 51.66 2.94 1.37 0.20 2.68 69.86 48.13 94.38 11.86 11.93 11.78 0.02 0.02 0.01 Urban 119593 64897 54696 Total 2682720 1417611 1265109

1991
Rural 2529407 1335214 1194193 Urban 153313 82397 70916

2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Sex ratio (0-6 Population) Percentage of 0-6 Persons Population Males Female
Percentage of Urban Population

846 965 18.21 17.08 19.56 58.67 69.67 45.22 24.78 43.76 2.26 0.43 0.09 0.83 74.80 56.15 96.92 8.97 8.74 9.24 0.04 0.04 0.04

892 924 20.75 20.41 21.13 38.46 49.36 26.13 26.62 45.97 4.94 5.26 4.36 6.26 68.12 49.67 88.80 11.77 11.75 11.78 0.07 0.07 0.07

894 925 20.93 20.61 21.30 36.71 47.73 24.28 26.75 46.17 5.04 5.45 4.48 6.53 67.81 49.36 88.43 11.93 11.91 11.95 0.07 0.07 0.07

861 915 17.65 17.15 18.22 66.23 74.72 56.24 24.50 42.79 3.25 2.13 2.43 1.79 73.37 54.79 94.96 9.08 9.19 8.95 0.07 0.07 0.08

7. 8.

Literacy rate :

9.

Persons Males Female Percentage of Main Persons Workers: Males Female

Percentage of marginal Person

10

Workers 11

12

13

Males Females Percentage of Non Persons Workers: Males Female Percentage of SC Persons Population Males Female Percentage of ST Persons Population Males Females

Sociological Information The social composition of the district is harmonious. Muslim are the largest minority community and are about of 21.21 % of total population. Sitamarhi is one of the most backward districts of the country. About 4, 44,998 families live below the poverty line. The life here has been tough as the menace of flood every year forced people to abandon their villages and take shelter in make shift polythene tents. The curse of Baghmati, which changes its course every year, has almost zeroed the effort by consecutive governments to improve the status of life of down trodden. I n the last decade the literacy of district has improved from 28.49% to 38.46%. The female literates have relatively grown more than that of male literates. Educational and research institutions Pimary school High school Madarsas 1479 64 26 Middle school Basic school Sanskrit Vidyalas 619 9 20

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Graduates colleges SC residential school Kendriya Vidyalaya Land use pattern

25 1 1

Industrial training institutes Project Girls High School Jawahar NavodaVidyalaya

1 17 1

The total reporting area of the district is 258127.29 hectares out of which negligible area is under forest and 39258.25 hectares area is not available for cultivation. The land use patterns in the district in four categories are given below. Industry Sitamarhi is primarily an agricultural district with 80% of population engaged in agriculture. The main industries and trade are also agro-based. The largest industrial unit of district is Belsand Sugar Factory in Riga which has been running since 3rd April 1933. It provides employment to about one thousand persons. A number of rice mills are also located in the district. Besides, numbers of single- hullers are distributed over the district for de-husking paddy. It is seasonal industry and the labor force mostly comes from the rural population. Bairginia Bazar, Sonbarsa, Parihar and Pupri Bazars are the most important centers of rice trade. The other items are linseed and pulses. Trade in Sal wood which is mostly obtained from Nepal, is also significant.

The study This source level base line assessment Pilot Study is to assess the condition of children, their vulnerabilities at village level in Sitamarhi District and need for possible intervention at source level by government as well as NGOs in the context of child rights protection. Objectives
25

In the view of above, the study was taken up with the following objectives: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Demographic information of the villages selected. To under stand the family socio-economic back ground. To asses the availability of employment/ training opportunities for youth. To asses the availability of health centers and its functioning. Patterns and trends for leaving home and Working condition of the children. Working hours, time spent in other recreational activities. Their perspective regarding child rights and thinking about their own future Their expectation from parents/relatives/government/society/NGOs Their perspective regarding importance of education and skills training programme. Economic profile. To analyze overall Government/NGOs interventions to address issues related to child protection and stop physical and mental abuse of them at village level. 12. To suggest ways and means of action for Government & NGOs after assessing the needs of the children at village level.

Methodology

Sample of the study: It was proposed that the target population for the Pilot study is going to be the children and their families from selected villages in Nanpur Block, where Bal Sakha is currently working. Sample size: Five villages were selected randomly out of ten villages where Bal Sakha is currently working and there population size is ranging between-100-300 households. Ten house holds were selected from each village with same number of children were also selected from each village. Name of villages under Nanpur block for the Pilot study Name of the villages PANDOUL MANIADIH MEDNIPUR NAWADIH BATHASLI TOTAL No. of house holds 10 10 10 10 10 50 No. of children selected 10 10 10 10 10 50

Apart from the villages, Mukhya, local leaders, block officials, JJB, CWC and police officials were also asked perceptive questions to ascertain their views on child protection issues. Tools of data collection and analysis As mentioned earlier, a number of schedules were developed and canvassed for different target
26

groups. The following is an account of the schedules administered under this study. Household schedule to collect data on its socio-economic characteristics and perceptions on issues relating to children schooling, health and child protection issues. Child schedule for collecting data from each child on facilities available with the school and village. Mukhya /local level leaders/block officials schedule for various perceptive questions related to children protection issues, etc Police officers schedule for various perceptive questions related to children protection issues, awareness of JJ Act,2000, etc JJB and CWC information schedule

Apart from this, focus group discussion techniques were used to collect information qualitatively. Time frame The study was initiated in the month of January 2011 and completed by April 2011. The details of the time schedule for the meetings, orientation, field work and report writing are given below:
Sl. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Activities Initial meeting at Patna Meeting to finalize tools and schedules at Patna. Desk research, Preliminary work, and schedule printing Orientation to investigators at Patna Field work and survey including PRA and group discussions Analysis, Interpretation of data and report writing Submission of the final report Date January 03-05, 2011 January 06 -15, 2011 January16 -22, 2011 January 25, 2011 January 27-Feb 10, 2011 February 20 to April 15, 2011 May 10, 2011

Limitations of the study The study had naturally some limitations. Some of the major limitations of the study were as under: 1. Size of sample was small and the pattern emerging out of the study may not be applicable in general. Therefore, the findings should be interpreted cautiously. 2. Problems of non-response and other attitudinal biases connected with perceptional
27

questions. 3. The investigators during the conduct of field work posed some difficulty in getting their responses.

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Chapter II
Needs Assessment Undeniably, it is really very difficult for any organization to provide sustainable solution without knowing the needs of the people on the ground. As part of conducting a pilot study, bal Sakha team visit all the (sample) villages taken for the study to asses the real situation in the context of the condition of children and their vulnerabilities at village level and to make a plan for future efforts. Village Visits During our field visits, we came across villages which were extensively poverty stricken and in far remote area. The first village visited by our team was Faizpur Bathasli in Sitamarhi district, which had approximately 300 house hold and majority of the population is Muslim. The population of the village is approximately 1100 people. There is only one primary school in Raipur (another village) which is recently upgraded to High School and inter high school is in Pupri. The level of teaching is not satisfactory. when we talk to the people, first they scare but after some time they feel comfortable and discuss issues openly related to the child protection, migration and education. The discussions were really encouraging. The awareness level in the village for child protection is raised up to the certain extent like migration of children fortunately from that particular village is negligible but child (girl-16/17years of age) marriage is prevailing but not reported. Need of vocational training /skill training center is the requirement of young children and youth of the village. The team also met panchayat samiti members and Animators who were facilitating teaching-learning in the temporary chil protection centre set up by Bal Sakha. The team also visited the other villages, Poundal, Mednipur. In poundal muslims are in majority and several cases of child migration were reported. While studying the migration issue, we noticed the kind of modus operandi which is existing there and responsible for child migration. First there are persons who run zari work (embroidery) factories in big cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmadabad, Gujarat etc. come and identified the poor families in the village than contact the poor parents and offered him some money (some times money was not offered) for his/ her child that he will give training for one and a half year to his child in his factory, after the completion of training his child will earn money and become a earning member of his family. And in most of the cases this will never happened and reported to higher authorities due to the long time factor and self blaming process. In Mednipur also low cases of child migration reported. Another factor which was responsible for Parents and Child Migration was flood and low rate of labor. Child marriage (girl-16/17years of age) existed there but not reported. Most of the migrated children were belong to Muslim families. The team then visited Nowadih and Maniadih. The population of villages was 800 and 700 respectively. Primary school is there around 1- km. The team also visited the Child Protection Centers run by Bal Sakha in these villages.
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Findings from Needs Assessment Due to its topography, Sitamarhi district was flooded in rainy season and dry in summer season. Flood comes with destruction resulted in poverty, lack of infrastructure, non availability of traveling mode and also affect schooling Village Children Age of children. The cost of damage is Group Numbers Percent M F significant and avoidable. Indeed, the floods have left many families penniless 5 to 7 1 2 1 0 and children orphaned. They will require 8 to 10 12 24 4 8 more than the usual initiatives to heal their 11 to 13 22 44 6 16 mental wounds before they start their life 14 to 16 12 24 5 7 again from the rudiments of past. 17 to 18 3 6 2 1 Children are the most vulnerable section TOTAL 50 100 18 32 of the society. They may be surrounded by Unemployed
8% Labour 42%

Govt. Employee 4% P vt. Employee 1 2%

Occupation Labour Shopkeeper Farmer Pvt. Employee Govt. Employee Unemployed TOTAL

Farmer 1 6% Shopkeeper 1 8%

the adversity, yet they remain to be the supreme asset of the society. The needs assessment shows that immediate task is to cater the needs of the children at village (source) level to stop all kinds of miseries which affect their innocent life. Section-I Results Demographic characteristics of village children Religion Number Percent Sikh Hindu 20 40 Cristian 0% 0% 30 60 Muslim Hindu 0 0 Cristian M uslim 40% 60%0 0 Sikh TOTAL 50 100 The survey interviewed only those village children who reported their age between 5 to 18 years. The age distribution of village children is given in Table 1. It can be seen that (44%) were of age 11 to 13 years. 24% children were between 8-10 and 14 to 16 years old, they collectively account for 44%. sex wise 36% were male compare to 64% of female.
30

Father Number Percent 21 42 9 18 8 16 6 12 2 4 4 8 50 100

Religion of Children Among 50 village children 40% were Hindus & 60% have Muslims. There were no Christian and Sikh children in the respondent villages. Parents Occupation The distribution of village children by parents of occupation is given in Table 3. The distribution of fathers occupation identifies three main occupation. These are agriculture labor, non agriculture labor, Small Shopkeeper, Farmer. Most of the children father are labour (42%) either agricultural or non agricultural as regards, mothers occupations 95% mothers are house wives. 5% are labor. The distribution demonstrate the most of the children come from poorest families. Estimated family income per month The distribution of family (Parents income) their mention in table 4. Nearly 44% of the family income of house hold were less than Rs. 2500 per month. 34 % were between Rs. 2500 to 5000, 22% were more than Rs. 5000 income. we can cross check this finding with the parents occupation which also show most of he children belong to poor families. House hold income Less than Rs. 1500 Less than Rs. 2500 Less than Rs. 3500 Less than Rs. 5000 More than Rs. 5000 TOTAL Number Percent 13 9 11 6 11 50 26 18 22 12 22 100

Educational Qualification Number Percent Upto Matric 13 26 Inter 6 12 Graduation 3 6 Post Graduate(PG) 0 0 Never attend 28 56 Father education level Number Percent TOTAL 50 100 Never attended 25 50 Education of Parents Elementary level 16 32 Up to matric 4 8 Inter 4 8 Other (Specify) 1 2 TOTAL 50 100

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Table 5 to 7 provide the distribution of parents by their level education. Nearly 50% father and 64% mother never attendant school and they were illiterate. 32% father and 30% mother have education at elementary level like 3 to 5 class, as compared to national level adult literacy rate of 67%. It may be inferred that children of these families are with lowest educational attainment.

Educational and Training Issues The survey revealed that 92% of village children at had education at elementary level and attending school at the time of survey. 4% studied up to matriculation level, 2% up to inter level. 2% never attended school the school. Reading and Writing skills

Level of Education Number Percent Never attended 1 2 Elementary level 46 92 Up to matric 2 4 Inter 1 2 Other (Specify) 0 0 TOTAL 50 100

The village child was asked whether he/she can read and write. If the answer was yes for reading Writing Numbe Percen then the child was asked to read a sample of reading material (Provided skills r t Numbe tota to interviewer) as a Reading skills Can write 43 86 r l means of Cannot write 7 14 47 94 verification that Can read TOTAL 50 100 Cannot read 3 6 child can actually 50 100 read. Thus, if the child could show the ability to read, then TOTAL the child was categories as able to read, otherwise categories as unable to read. Like was the ability to write was determined through verification. The outcome of the two test are collated in table 7 given below. The survey reviews that 94% can read Hindi words and small sentences only. Only 6%could not read the survey also reviews that 86% can write and 14% cannot write. The reading and writing skill test show that high correlation understandably exist between reading and writing skills. Mother education level Number Percent Never attended 32 64 Elementary level 15 30 Up to matric 1 2 Inter 1 2 Other (Specify) 1 2 TOTAL 50 100 Perception about importance of education and training issues.

32

The respondent children were Opportunity for Skill found importance of education If give which was replied by 100% opportunity want Number Percent training /vocational program children. Regarding training to go to school Number Percent issues 94% opt for skill 48 96 50 100 training program if provided Yes 0 0 2 4 by the NGO and government No 50 100 50 100 agencies.4% is not interested TOTAL in any kind of skill / vocational training program. This information can work as thought provoking indicator for those who would be interested in developing child friendly educational system and protection services for the children through formal and non-formal education.

Smoking habit In terms of their personnel habits 80% of village children said that they do not smoke only 5% can smoke and eating gutkhas, 10% dont answered this question. Smoking/Drug habit Yes No CANT SAY TOTAL Sickness: More than half 60% children in village reported that they felt sick. The nature of their sickness was fever, diarrhea followed by water bone disease and headache. Those who are sick were asked whether medical professional was consulted for their illness by their family. About half of them replied affirmative. However some of the children reported they have used homeopathic treatment.
Have you ever been so sick and injured that you that needed to go to the hospital

Number Percent 7 14 40 80 3 6 50 100

Yes No TOTAL

Number 30 20 50

Percent 60 40 100

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Arrest by the police The respondent children were asked whether they ever arrested by the police in any case. Almost 100% of the village children replied in negative. Whilst there is no baseline to measure this information but analysis shows that children are basically not attracting towards any of the legal offences. Assistance needed by government/NGO/Society The children were asked what kind of assistance you need for your development. 74% replied that better education, vocational training and proper distribution of educational material needed by them.12% mentioned good educational Institutes required for their educational development. Future inclination The survey revealed that 58% child respondents wanted to become teacher.22% wanted to become doctor, 4% to do business like small shops. Small percentage (4%) was unable to express their future inclinations. Rests opt for others like engineering and government jobs. Numbe r 2 29 11 0 6 2 50 Percen t 4 58 22 0 12 4 100 What kind of assistance you needed Money, education & Home Vocational Training & proper distribution of education material by government Better education facility should be near 1 and 2 Other (Specify) TOTAL Number Percent 37 74 4 2 6 1 50 8 4 12 2 100
Arrest by police

Yes No TOTAL

Number Percent 0 0 50 100 50 100

Future inclination To become business man/woman To become teacher To become doctor To become lawyer Other (Specify) Don't Know/cant say TOTAL

34

Ways they spend leisure time The survey reveals that 90% respondent children replied that that they spend leisure time in playing in village fields.4% involved themselves in domestic work and 6% in other works like silai kadhai (handicraft ) at Bal Sakha child protection centre. Ways they spend leisure time Number Percent Play 45 90 Watch TV 0 0 Help parents for domestic work 2 4 Drug peddling 0 0 Cinema 0 0 Other (Specify) 3 6 TOTAL 50 100

Vocational training school/Institution present in the village Regarding vocational training school and institutions present and nearby the village / bock, pretty high majority (98%) said that they did not know. In Vocational training school/Institution fact most of the training institutions are in the present in the village Number Percent Sitamarhi district town. There is an urgent need to Yes 1 2 setup vocational / training institutes at small level No 49 98 like computer typing and technical training centers TOTAL 50 100 at village level like ITIs . Reasons to go to other places Table-20 reflects respondent responses in respect of reasons to leave and go for other places. A wide range of responses were recorded. The three responses received the highest frequencies. The primary reason given for leaving home was to force to earn money for a living to support the family (80%) due to poverty and hunger. Secondly due to non availability of opportunity at village / block level (12%). Thirdly (6%) due to influence of peer pressure who are already working in big cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Surat etc. when they came along with their little earned Reasons to go to other places Number Percent money and show their Friends are working there 3 6 freedom to spend, it To earn money due to Poverty and hunger 41 82 will create an 6 12 atmosphere resulted in No opportunity at the village/block level. To learn vocational skills training and earn 0 0 child migration. Bad environment of the village (Please specify) 0 0 Other (specify) 0 0 TOTAL 50 100

Contribution to the family income -

35

When asked about the contribution of working children in family income, 54% parents said yes and 46% replied negatively. We can infer from above findings that majority of the parents Contribute to the Number Percent willingness to send their child to other places for family income work to supplement the family income is highly Yes 27 54 coexisted with this contribution factor relation No 23 46 TOTAL 50 100

Preferred destination The survey reveals that when interviewed about preferred destination of their children from parents, multiple responses come under this section after the analysis of results. Surat and Ahmadabad is the most preferred (50%) place for children to go and work there, after that Delhi and Mumbai (22% and 18%) are the place for finding work respectively Preferred destination Surat Mumbai Ahmedabad Delhi Other (specify) TOTAL

Number Percent 13 26 9 18 12 24 11 22 5 10 50 100

Primary Health Centre, its functioning and reasons for dissatisfaction. Knowledge which could be deduced through the survey about the presence of Primary health centre, its functioning and reasons for dissatisfaction regarding its working issue was as such that most of the parents respondents (70%) did not know where are the PHCs and if any it is not functioning properly (86%). the reasons for dissatisfaction of functioning of PHCs are mainly non availability of doctors (62%) and no proper care (14%). Any Primary Health Centre Number Percent Yes 15 30 No 35 70 Reasons for dissatisfaction Number Percent TOTAL 50 100 No proper care 17 34 Doctor not available 31 62 Never opened 0 0 Don't Know 2 4 Other (Specify) 0 0 TOTAL 50 100

What kind of work they mostly engaged in?

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The survey reveals that majority of the children (88%) were involved in labor activities, secondly (6%) involved in Bag making industry and small percentage of the respondent children were engaged in as shopkeeper etc.

Further information generated through FGDs(focus group discussion) showed that children who are working in the form of labors are working in the zari industry (majority). Contribution to the family income When asked about the contribution of working children in family income, 54% parents said yes and 46% replied negatively. We can infer from above findings that majority of the parents willingness to send their child to other places for work to supplement the family income is highly coexisted with this contribution factor relation Reason for dissatisfaction Reasons for dissatisfaction No proper care Doctor not available Never opened Don't Know Other (Specify) TOTAL Awareness of Govt. Schemes The respondents were asked if they Awareness of Govt. Schemes Number Percent were aware of government schemes Mid-day meal & Books 18 36 available in your Nanpur Block. Of the Uniform 0 0 50 parents who responded to the Cycle 0 0 question (36%) only aware of mid-day 1 and 2 14 28 meal & free books for children. (28%) 1,2 and 3 17 34 were aware of mid day meal, books Don't Know 1 2 and uniform. (34%) parents aware of TOTAL 50 100 cycle scheme for girls including mid day meal, uniform, books etc. (2%) were unaware of any government schemes. Perusing this further, the respondents said that the application of government schemes is not in full mode to cater the needs of village children due to the lack of will at administrative level.
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What kind of work they mostly engaged in? Labour Bag Making Shopkeeper Don't know/CS Other (specify) TOTAL

Number 44 3 2 1 0 50

Percent 88 6 4 2 0 100

Number 17 31 0 2 0 50

Percent 34 62 0 4 0 100

Awareness of CWC/JJB The findings of the survey reports that majority of the parents (90%) do not know or didnt have the knowledge of juvenile justice board and child welfare committee. (8%) unanswered the question. Awareness of CWC/JJB Yes No TOTAL Number 1 49 50 Percent 2 98 100

Are the Govt. services for children is efficient The survey also reveals that most of the parents were not satisfied with the governments services for children (86%). Some parents replied in affirmation.(14%). Are the Govt. services for children is efficient Yes No TOTAL Number 7 43 50 Percent 14 86 100

Recommendations This pilot study in the context of understand the issues of children, in terms of level of vulnerabilities at village level identified some of the major gaps and issues which can be addressed on short and long term basis for the overall development for the children at village level.

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Programs should be designed and launched for increasing public awareness on the child protection issues by engaging the media. Participation from all stakeholders is required and involvement of community leaders from panchayti raj institutions can enhance the prospects for implementation and sustainability of programs. These should further coordinated with department of women and child welfare. To initiate a social mobilization program at Panchayat level to district level (Zilla Praishad) at source (origin) level to stop the flow of migration of children. The approach of this mobilization program will require developing linkages and referrals with multiple community partners. Invite street children specialists, children and street children to participate in research to measure effects of poverty, income inequality, social exclusion, migration and protective barriers on street children / working children and to consider how mechanisms for hearing childrens voices should be established and adequately resourced to research and make recommendations about children protection mechanism. Training / vocational training program through non-formal education format should be imparted to the village level for children and marginalized group for better growth and development. An assessment of the training needs should be conducted by the government and NGOs to give them the skills to combat their poverty and also reduce the rural to urban migration of young children. Service based Special information dissemination centers for legal help, crisis situation or helping in interpersonal relationships, or help of psychological services. Continuous advocacy and sensitization at grassroots level through government and NGOs by involving civil society on child protection issues and immediate formation of child welfare committee for children in need of care and protection.

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