Trafficked Kids Who Faced Exploitation Make Masks For The Underprivileged Amid Covid-19 Crisis

As the world battles COVID-19, 15-year-old Siddharth (name changed), is doing his bit, by stitching rudimentary masks for the underprivileged, helping them prevent the spread of novel coronavirus. Siddharth is among a few other adolescent boys living and undergoing vocational training of stitching at Bal Ashram, a shelter home founded by Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi, for the rehabilitation of children rescued from the clutches of child labour and trafficking.

For most part of the day and some hours in the evening, the four to five boys at Bal Ashram in Viratnagar near Jaipur help their trainers making rudimentary masks for dwellers in the nearby villages and hamlets so they could protect themselves from the dreaded coronavirus pandemic.

This effort is a result of their training at the Bal Ashram and it sprouts from their sense of compassion and empathy for people, including children, in the nearby villages.

Indiatimes

Beginning as soon as the national lockdown began on March 24, four to five at the ashram hit their sewing machines. They took out fresh cloth pieces from the storeroom and stitched the first lot of about 150 rudimentary masks for 75 other children and 30 staff members who live on-campus.

A scarcity for basic masks arose soon after the lockdown came into effect. The ordinary surgical masks, which too are said to be effective, were picked up in no time from the few medical stores within a radius of 7-8 kms by people from nearby villages. There was instant scarcity. The medical stores sold the surgical masks at a premium -- Rs 60-70 for an item that ordinarily costs no more than Rs 15-20 in normal times -- and made a killing. No additional supplies were forthcoming from Jaipur or other nearby towns.

"As well-informed children, we learned about the deadly virus that has been ravaging many countries, including India. And we immediately thought that we should do our bit and contribute to the national effort to prevent the spread of this infectious virus. We thought that since we are fairly skilled with tailoring, we could make masks that could be distributed in the communities around Bal Ashram. For us it is like a mission now," said 15-year-old Srinath (name changed) who has been living at the ashram for close to a year now.

Indiatimes

Viratnagar and its adjoining villages and nearby hamlets nestle in the craggy Aravalli range that extends westward in Rajasthan. Satyarthi's Bal Ashram, which came up in 1998 has been taking care of children, especially boys, rescued from the worst forms of child labour and other abuses. There are, at present 75 such children from different parts of India, including Rajasthan.

Some of these children attend a formal school in Viratnagar while a smaller group undergoes vocational training such as carpentry and tailoring. The four to five "mask makers" at Bal Ashram have picked up sufficient tailoring skills and they willingly volunteered to take on the task as an "emergency".

The two trainers with the help of the children make about 150-200 masks per day. Their target is to stitch masks for eventual distribution in the poor and rustic villages around Bal Ashram and for their friends in the Banjara Educational Centers. Some of these masks have been distributed through local channels in several Bal Mitra Gram (Child-Friendly Villages, a pioneering achievement by Satyarthi and his colleagues) in and around Viratnagar, and among the nomadic banjara communities.

Indiatimes

Seventeen-year-old Mahesh (name changed) is overwhelmed to help the needy. ¡°I never thought I would be able to help people. It is disheartening to see people dying of the virus. We never thought something like this would ever happen. But we are glad we are able to help in whichever capacity we can,¡± he told Indiatimes.

Adesh Sharma, who looks after the children, told Indiatimes that children have made more than 2,000 masks so far. ¡°They spend two to three hours everyday making masks under vocational training. They are fully aware of the lockdown and started working towards helping the poor during the month of March. These masks have been distributed to nearby villages, police staff and other schools.¡±

The children's effort is purely voluntary and some of them said that they are "deriving satisfaction and happiness by doing their bit" for others in the nearby villages.

"In a time like this we should all come forward to help each other. In Every city, every village and every locality, we should go ahead and do whatever is possible. The children have yet again proved that with their act of kindness ,they are ready to fight this pandemic together,¡± said Sumedha Kailash, co-founder Bal Ashram.