India Introduction

What follows are the personal accounts of members of the WORLDwrite team:

7th July Weıve arrived!

Delhi

After arriving in Delhi at 11.30 p.m. we set out to find our hotel, the Ghandi guesthouse. Our first Indian experience was attempting to organize two taxis. We set off, the 92-degree temperature and close, humid conditions being tempered somewhat by the breeze through the windows as we travel through Delhi's chaotic streets. We arrive at the Ghandi Guest house, an unlit, rundown building in an equally rundown area. There has been a mistake, weıre not booked in, the drivers have taken us to the wrong hotel and try and do a deal with some hotel they know ( taxi drivers seem to be the same the world over ). We go on to the Royal. After much handshaking we crawl to our rooms. Cold, much appreciated showers at 2 am and then much needed sleep.

Our first morning in India. Even early in the morning the streets are chaotic, with auto rickshaws (mad-max style three wheeled taxis) competing with lorries, taxis and private vehicles for an impossibly small amount of road. Today we are off to meet Butterflies; a Delhi based NGO working with street children aged up to 18. Their view that child labour was a serious problem but could only be really tackled at the core, and that protecting the childrenıs right to decent work instead of merely banning child labour was refreshing after a lot of western NGOıs views.

Ishani the Education co-ordinater, told us Butterflies began in 1988 and registered in 89. Staretd at Duwally when some workers brought sweets to the kids, they were told that that was useles they wanted jumpers as winter was coming, this started the weekly meetings where the children have their say.

After meeting these children it is clear that in India there is no one sense of childhood, different regions have different views of when childhood begins. To often westerns come and give their own perspective on childhood they see a universal view of childhood. Manoj Rawat ­ street teacher at one of the seven Œcontact pointsı, where children gather to learn, discuss and play games explained why many children enter into labour;

" If my family has a problem with poverty itıs not only theirs itıs mine" People from rural areas, are told that it is easy money ­60rps a day

Bikas who is a street educator says most of the kids are rag pickers and shoe polishers ­ though now all the shoe shiners are getting older, squeezing out the young ones. The average age is about 15, the children we saw were about 12. Butterflyıs newsletter comes out every two months called Œvoice of the childrenı. They have a weekly meeting every Thursday in which the kids decide the agenda of every week. The high aspirations the kids have is impressive one wants to be a specialist doctor (where he lives there are no doctors) another boy, who is a rag picker, wants to be a soldier, one an astronaut, business executive and one a movie star. Many campaigns take up the issue of conflict resolution between different kids, he thinks it is not a problem ­ most of them are mature enough to deal with any conflicts that arise.

It is not, however, all roses. Many children in the Central Park area are involved in taking tipex:- 20rpıs for two bottles. This means that they have less discussion and the resulting friction between them and the police causes problems. Unfortunately according to Mukti Ashram, local evidence suggests that many of the kids find their way back into work, often at a lesser wage.

Designed and produced by Martyn Perks July 98.
E-mail martynp@easynet.co.uk