From the slaughterhouse to school

From the slaughterhouse to school
MEERA NAIR

There may be a ban on on children watching acts of violence and bloodshed on television. But in Parbhani district in Maharashtra, violence has been a part of the lives of children for years. Children here were being actively used in the the act of killing and skinning of cattle. That is, till a Child Labour Project came their way and changed their lives.

Ask eleven-year-old Irfan if he ever blew soap bubbles in the air and he may blankly stare back at you. What Irfan does know is blowing air into the intestines of dead cattle as part of its cleaning ritual. This was part of his daily routine in the slaughterhouses of Parbhani till recently. Waking up as early as 4 a.m, he would be off with his father to the abattoir, while other children were sleeping or preparing for school.

Parbhani, a small agrarian town with a population of over 2 lakh, is located two hours from Aurangabad by road. Today, it counts as one of the success stories in child rehabilitation.

Prior to the Child Labour Project, in 1992, the Parbhani Council undertook a survey of the status of child labour in the district. While conventional areas of child labour like rag picking, working in brick industries and child labour among commercial sex workers were identified, one government official also decided to identify slaughter houses as potential sites of child labour. The survey in the urban slums of Parbhani revealed that 56 per cent in the age group of 6-14 years were working in slaughterhouses.

The children belonged to the Qureshi community, and the job was passed on generation to generation. Although slaughterhouses are among the hazardous occupations listed in the Child Labour Act of 1986, these children were excluded since their fathers were officially shown as employees. The children worked in pitiable conditions, and most of them had never been to school.

A meeting with the Urban Basic Services Project (UBSP) officials of Parbhani led to further discussions with the community and the parents of these children.The parents needed little motivation to pull out their children, provided they could see a future for them.

SETU, an NGO, was identified and with the help of UBSP officials, the project to eliminate child labour in this community was started with UNICEF’s support. The project took off in 1998, and since then, 480 children out of a target of 550 children have been rehabilitated and removed from working in slaughterhouses.Tehrabee, a widow with children, pleaded, ‘‘I live only for my children. They must go to school. It’s a question of their lives, not mine.’’ Hence, the immediate focus of the project was withdrawal of children from slaughterhouse work, followed by their enrolment in formal schools.

Empowerment of mothers through self help groups and orientation and non-formal training of adolescent girls in the community along with training in other trades were the other focus areas. A four pronged strategy of social mobilisation, education, health and women’s empowerment was conceived.

It must be pointed out that the children have been rehabilitated with the active participation of the community itself. According to Malathi Pillai, Project Officer for this programme, the Imam of the area personally took interest in the programme.In fact, the community itself seems to be looking out for more rewarding avenues. ‘‘It is this willingness to participate in change that is particularly fascinating,’’ says Pillai.

The multi-pronged approach to the reality of child labour at the slaughterhouses required mobilisation of resources and skills at different levels, which would have been impossible for the State’s departments or the voluntary sector to handle all by themselves. Mothers, for instance, have made demands on the organisation to hold adult literacy classes. This is a community where women never stepped out without their veils and education was not even a remote thought.

Besides, the Health Department, the District Primary Education Programme (DPEP), the local mosque, the community and the children worked together to make the project what it is today.

Though it’s too early to comment on the sustainability of the project, the local self-sustaining mechanisms have already been put into place.