the do right project : snippets
by Janaki Nagaraj
Tanya stared at the computer screen and paused the video she was watching.
She stared closely at the girl in the video. “It’s the flower girl from the traffic
signal,” she thought, as she hit the play button again. In one clipping the flower
girl was being interviewed.
“Kanti, do tell us about your life. Why are you working as a labourer? Are your
aware that children are not supposed to work in our country, as it is illegal?” was
the question.
“My mother was a labourer. She met with an accident that crushed her left hand.
She is yet to recover and needs surgery. I was going to the Municipal school, but
now we have to pay the police and the local dadas a ‘hafta’ if we are to stay in the
chawl. I don’t have a father, so I had to work.”
Tanya had come across Kanti several months back at a traffic junction, selling
flowers. Kanti was about the same age as Tanya. Tanya had never cared nor had
bought any flowers from her. She loathed the dirty street kids. The video changed
her perception.
Tanya went to one of the elite schools in the city. The Do-Right Project had been
organized in her school by an NGO to spread the importance of child education
and create awareness about the perils of child labour. As per this project, the
school children were to take a pledge in working towards the eradication of child
labour.
The day for which Tanya waited in anticipation finally arrived. When it was Tanya’s
turn, she walked to the front of her class and narrated Kanti’s story. She invited
Kanti into the classroom and introduced her to everyone. “I hereby take a pledge
that I will help Kanti to get educated. My dad will be sponsoring her education.”