Children of the Brick Lanes: Educational Advocacy Project in Chaksu, Rajasthan

February 03, 2015

Children of the Brick Lanes: Educational Advocacy Project in Chaksu, Rajasthan

A few weeks ago, I embarked on a grand adventure: working with the Kumarappa Institute of Gram Swaraj (means "self-reliance"), an Indian NGO for rural development. This research and action institute promotes participatory development of local, rural economies and communities in the sectors of: sustainable agriculture, organic farming, animal husbandry, land use, soil and water conservation, women's empowerment, and education. Kumarappa prioritizes projects that help women, children, and socio-economically, disadvantaged citizens. Through their grassroots campaigns, Kumarappa's vision is to see the poor and marginalized play the lead role in the development process, while instilling a sense of dignity and empowerment among these labor communities.

I am working on a project concerning the children of migrant, brick workers in Chaksu, Rajasthan, addressing their current and future educational needs. My role is to write a technical report for policy-makers that showcases the data collected on these migrant laborers, with regard to the lack of educational services available to migrant worker children. So far, I have researched current issues on this topic and have visited the brick lanes where the migrant families live. Most of them have come from far away regions like Uttar Pradesh to make bricks for the season, which is about nine months out of the year. The families return to their homes every year during the monsoon to work as unskilled agricultural laborers. Many of the laborers move their wives and children with them to the brick lanes, where they set up temporary housing and begin the grueling nine months of labor. Some of the families are paying off debts and never save a penny of what they earn, which is less than minimum wage. There are about fifteen communities of laborers at different brick kilns in the area. In total, there are 1500 laborers, 500 of which are children. The families have virtually no access to community services such as: public transportation, healthcare, and education. They live at the factory sites in miniature brick huts, clustered together with no toilets or cooking spaces available. One shared tank of water is brought in each week so the families must conserve every drop for drinking, bathing, and washing.

Children from ages as young as three years old help turn bricks over to dry in the sun. At twelve years old, children are considered adults and therefore must work full-time as a laborer. The kids of these migrant workers have no access to education for a number of reasons. Here are a few: they spend the year in two separate places, they are not accepted into the host community (outcasts so to speak), they are at least five kilometers from the nearest government school (and even then, these public schools are severely lacking in resources and management), there are few laws in existence which aid in the education of migrant worker children. There is a whole host of other socio-economic factors which prevent these children from obtaining a proper education. Our main goal is to research these specific barriers to education and find real-world solutions that can be implemented immediately.

Currently, Kumarappa is building four pilot schools on site at the brick factories. The buildings are about 200 square feet, open-air, and have mats for the students to sit on. There is one chalkboard per building as well as books, uniforms, pencils, and paper provided for the students. Kumarappa has equipped each house with a solar light so that students can do their homework in the evenings. As for staffing, there is one teacher provided per twenty students. Each teacher is responsible for multiple grade levels and teaches from 2:00 - 5:00 pm. Our goal is to open a school at each of the fifteen brick kilns. We are holding group discussions with families about how we can better accommodate students who have to work at the brick factories since many of them do not go to school at all. Right now, Kumarappa is sending a monitor out each day to observe and aid in the start-up of these schools. Ultimately, Kumarappa wants the brick factory owners to take full possession of the schools so that this becomes a sustainable solution, which can be replicated as the brick factories grow.

What can you do?

This project will interest you if you are committed to social justice, equal educational opportunities for children, migrant labor rights, child labor laws, or simply a longing to help the needy and poor. I say this because I want your ideas, expertise, suggestions, criticisms, and support. This blog will be a future platform for discussing ideas and asking questions about the project. I would really appreciate your feedback! You can also send me an email at: natalieshew.npi@gmail.com.

As for financial support, Kumarappa does take donations for specific projects. If you would like to help support a school, you can donate money for building materials, classroom resources (books, paper, writing tools), or teacher salaries (app. $90 per month). Please contact me by email and I can set you up with someone from Kumarappa.