Once A Bonded Labourer, This Young One Went From Being A Poor Fisherman's Daughter To A School Topper

Shalini Munnuswamy¡¯s story is likely to give many rags to riches stories a run for their money as she aced her school exams despite being a bonded labourer once upon a time.

ET

Shalini who was rescued from bonded labour at a tender age of 11 has just graduated from high school in Chennai. For a child who used to barely earn Rs 100 for each basket of shrimp , this achievement is nothing less than getting to top of the world.

"It seemed impossible at one point. There would be constant bickering about money at home and I would go outside with my books to study," Shalini told the Thomson Reuters Foundation while standing under the recently repaired thatch roof of her home.

Child labour is a curse India is suffering with and it houses the biggest population of child workers aged between five and 17. Roughly India has around 5.7 million child workers spoiling their childhood on streets, factories, small scale industries, dhabbas and many other places.

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More than half of India's child workers labour in the fields, and over a quarter in manufacturing - embroidering clothes, weaving carpets or making matchsticks. Children also work in restaurants and hotels, and as servants in middle-class homes.

"It has been a real challenge to identify children working on fishing boats carrying loads of fresh catch or cleaning fish and running errands for the fishermen. It was even more difficult to get them back to books because families relied on the income they brought in," said R. Pramila, a teacher working under India's National Child Labour policy to bring child workers into the mainstream schooling system.

The narrow and muddy lanes of Kasimedu area near Chennai Port houses many children like Shalini who despite wishing a good life are forced to spend endless hours while peeling and cleaning the day¡¯s catch.

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Shalini herself was pulled out of sixth grade by her parents, so that she could lend a helping hand to family in repaying a four loans of Rs 5 lakhs taken for her sisters¡¯ wedding.

"The work began at five in the morning and to earn enough I would have to go through at least five baskets of catch. It ate into the time I would be in school and left me with blistered fingers," Shalini said.

Pramila met Shalini five years back and asked her if she wanted to go to school. Yes, she nodded.

Presently, Pramila runs a centre in Kasimedu itself where she educates the children of fisherman who can¡¯t afford education of their kids and are forced to work and earn.

At the Children's Education Centre, children weaned out of debt bondage are taught to read, write, dance and sing.

"We assess their knowledge level and then try and bridge the gap between what they know and what they need to know at their age. We get them prepped for regular school," Pramila explained.

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These efforts are parts of National Child Labour Policy, formulated in the 1980s with goal of rehabilitating children taken out of bonded labour.

The programme targets children aged 9 to 14 years. On Tuesday Nine rescued children from Kasimedu including Shalini passed exam with flying colours which not only bought smile on their faces but also on the teachers as well as their parents