Building a Future for Brick Kiln Children in India

Akshay attends our kindergarten classes at the Jidnayasa non-formal education centre in Thane. His parents are illiterate brick kiln workers and he has one older brother and one older sister. His family survives on the low daily wages paid for the back-breaking work of creating bricks by hand.

Akshay was not sure about the education centre at first and hesitated to get involved. He used to watch the other children coming to the centre, seeing them wearing their school uniform and using the study materials provided and was curious.  After some time, his elder brother persuaded him to also come along to the activities. He came along every day, sitting with his brother and seeing the children sitting and studying. Gradually, he became more confident and started mixing with the children and engaging with the kindergarten teacher.  He enjoys taking part in the activities especially reciting poems and giving the alphabet in English from A-Z. He is very proud of what he has learnt and likes to share with his parents what he has done each day. He comes to the centre regularly and continues to grow and develop. 

Once he completes his kindergarten education, he will move up into our primary-age classes which follow the curriculum using creative and engaging methodologies, to ensure he maintains continuity with his education as his parents migrate from his village to the brick kilns.

Our non-formal education centres situated next to the brick kilns are critical for ensuring that children maintain their education when they are migrating from their home states with their parents for work. Without this, children fall far behind their peers and unable to catch up and complete their education. This creates a cycle where the children are trapped into the same work as their parents and grandparents have done, as without education it is impossible to break free from brick kiln labouring.

When we first started working in these brick kilns, our project workers spent a lot of time regularly visiting families in the area to persuade them about the benefits of education and encourage the enrollment of their kids in the programme. After enrollment, getting the children to attend regularly was the next challenge! Our field workers had to regularly visit families to keep them engaged in the programme. Now, after 5 years of working in this community we are delighted that 98% children are coming to the centres regularly and independently and we no longer have to do weekly Saturday visits to the families.  The children are coming wearing neat and clean uniforms and their parents understand the importance of education. 

Our project has also developed an effective partnership with the local Zilla Parishad schools. The teachers from this school come once a week to teach the children alongside our own teachers. They have also supported the staff to embed a UNICEF approved curriculum for the work, using more creative methods.  We also maintain contact with the schools the children attend in their home villages, so that the children are able to transition back into learning when they return after the brick kiln season has finished.

These include children like Purnima who is 8 years old and attends our Maitri centre. Every year she migrates with her family and her two brothers so her parents can earn money working at the brick kiln. When her family first came to the brick kiln, she was not attending education and spent her days taking care of her younger brothers and doing housework.  Now, she attends our centre every day with her brothers. She is a very active student and enjoys taking part in all the lessons. She especially likes making creative projects and sharing what she has learnt every day with her parents.

Links:

• Our organisation's website