World Day Against Child Labor

Save the Children, Breakthrough, Pratham and the IKEA Foundation launch Є7million program to protect 790,000 children living

in India’s cotton communities

The Є7million program will protect 790,000 children living in cotton communities in India and builds on the success of phase 1 of a child rights program in India, which aims to keep children out of cotton fields, and in classrooms where they can learn, play, grow and develop.

© Save the Children

Phase I included moving over 150,000 children out of child labor and into classrooms and improving school enrollment rates in participating villages.

© Save the Children

An independent research study in 2008 revealed that prosperous Punjab has a large number of children working in the agriculture sector with an estimated 25% employed in cotton picking. Rajasthan and Haryana are not far behind, with 23% and 16% of cotton picking labor being children.Phase I of the Child Rights Program resulted in more than 10,000 migrant children moving back into their home communities.

© Save the Children

10-year-old Tejas was forced to leave school and work in the cotton fields alongside his parents to supplement the family’s earnings. But he is not alone. At 13 million, India has the largest number of child laborers in the world. Today, thanks to a Child Protection Committee established in his village through Save the Children and the IKEA Foundation, Tejas goes to school regularly.

© Save the Children

In the past, Save the Children and the IKEA Foundation have partnered on a child rights program in more than 1,800 villages in the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat, India, reaching more than 600,000 children. The expanded program will build on this success, which includes training nearly 2,000 teachers and 1,866 Anganwadi (health, education) workers in teaching practices, giving each village in the program a skilled community worker.

© Save the Children

Since 2009, the IKEA Foundation and Save the Children have protected 600,000 children in India's cotton growing communities and are now expanding their efforts to protect nearly 800,000 more.

© Save the Children

Phase II of a child rights program in India will also aim to establish community groups that champion girls’ rights and awareness of gender-based discrimination and ensure opportunities for girls’ education.

© Save the Children

India has the largest number of child laborers in the world, with 13 million boys and girls, ages 5 – 14, relegated to fields, farms and factories – with the issue of child labor crossing social, cultural and economic boundaries.

The partnership between Save the Children and the IKEA Foundation is built on a consortium model that involves village leaders, farmers, teachers, families, India state officials and more – integrating education, child protection and gender-based discrimination awareness to holistically tackle this issue.

© Save the Children

“We know there is no quick-fix solution to ending child labor but long–term approaches can yield impressive results. This

new phase reinforces our long-term commitment and our desire to help millions more children out of child labor and

back into the classrooms.”- Per Heggenes, CEO, IKEA Foundation

For more, visit http://www.ikeafoundation.org

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