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Kajal Kumari from remote village in Koderma district of Jharkhand and Kinsu Kumar from Virat Nagar, Rajasthan appeal to world leaders “to invest more in education to create better opportunities for children and help in eliminating child exploitation and child labour” at the United Nations in New York.Both the child leaders spoke at United Nations “Transforming Education Summit”. The Summit is a key initiative of UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres. On the sidelines of the Summit they also highlighted the importance of education at the 4th “Laureates and Leaders for Children” Summit.
“Laureates and Leaders for Children” is a brain-child of Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi as a first of its kind platform bringing together Nobel Laureates and Global Leaders to build a sense of urgency, collective responsibility and a strong moral voice to galvanize political will for making this world peaceful where all children are healthy, safe and educated.
Nobel Peace Laureate Leymah Gbowee, Former Swedish Prime Minister Stephen Lofven and Human Rights activist Kerry Kennedy were the prominent global dignitaries present at the Summit.
As a 6-year old child Kinsu Kumar worked as a child labourer in a motor garage in Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh. He was forced to drop out of school as his family could not afford his education and had to contribute to his family’s income by working as a child labourer. His life changed after his father came in contact with Bachpan Bachao Andolan founded by Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi during the organisation’s Education March in 2001. After being rescued by Bachpan Bachao Andolan, he received his education at the Bal Ashram Trust in Virat Nagar where he works as a program officer. Bal Ashram Trust founded by Kailash Satyarthi in 1998, is an innovative and grassroots organisation that addresses deep-rooted and complex societal problems to ensure child protection and create a child-friendly world. Bal Ashram is one of a kind long-term rehabilitation centre for children rescued from child labour, trafficking, abuse, and exploitation.
Kajal Kumari worked as a child labourer at Jharkhand’s mica mines as a 7-year old child to support her family. After she was withdrawn from mica mines by Bal Mitra Gram, she actively participated in it and was later elected as the President of the Children's Council (the Bal Panchayat). As the President, she helped in withdrawing children from mica mines, enrolled them in school, prevented child marriages and enabled her village community to obtain access to benefit from governments' welfare programs.
In the context of educating children and eliminating child exploitation, the recent appeal by Kailash Satyarthi for a nationwide campaign against child marriage will give a huge boost to our collective resolve to fight against the social evil. Much like Kajal, as a child leader has successfully stopped 3 child marriages in her remote village, while Kinsu Kumar has worked extensively in Rajasthan against this social evil.
The presence of child leaders like Kajal and Kinsu at the global stage is a living testimony to the fact that with access to education and opportunities, our children can achieve their highest potential and reach the world stage.
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