Child Labour

After its inception the organization realized that a large number of children in Delhi were engaged in the hazardous occupation of rag-picking to eke a living for themselves and their family. To wean these children from rag picking, Prayas started need based programs comprising of alternative education, nutrition, health, counseling, recreation and shelter. To strengthen the services further it started vocational skill training program to provide earning opportunities to the marginalized children and youth. The Child Protection programs of Prayas are based on the belief that needs and rights of children are synonymous. Prayas has adopted a unique yet significant strategy for combating the problem of Child Labour by linking it with Education and Juvenile Justice and wishes to create replicable models to address this problem.

Though Prayas conforms to the total elimination of Child Labour yet it believes that this aim can be achieved only in a phased manner. It claims that legislation alone cannot be effective but would have to be supplemented by providing proper educational and occupational alternatives to the working children. The target children generally constitute, out of school children (child labour or potential child labour), street and working children and children especially girls who are engaged in household chores or work outside their homes and left with fair amount of free time left to attend school. The holistic development programs with an integrated approach are suited to address the child labour needs of care, protection, development and participation, thereby enabling them overcome their own limitations and come out of the difficult situation to develop their full potential. The salient features of the program are:

• Alternative Education, Formal Schooling and National Open School (NOS) provide multiple opportunities suited to every child’s individual needs of education. This is strengthened by Sponsorship program for children.
• Vocational Training opportunities
• Placement/ Self Employment
• Community mobilization through setting up of local institutions for withdrawing children from work and sending them to school
• Prayas is one of the major partners in the Indus Child Project being implemented in Delhi. This is a technical collaboration program of ILO, US Labour Department and Department of Labour Govt. of India.

Based on its experience it has been assigned the responsibility of implementing a replicable model for rehabilitation of child labour in Jahangirpuri and North-East Delhi. The components of the program comprise: