By Sumedha Sharma | Project Leader
Dear GlobalGivers,
We are very excited to share that on 24th March Every8Minutes launched its first CAFE 8 in Gurugram, in the National Capital Region of India. CAFÉ 8 is a moving cafe, which will engage people on child trafficking, an issue that needs urgent attention and action. The format of the cafe is entertaining and engaging, for guests to enjoy a conscious fun and subsequently become part of the change. Guests are encouraged to take small pledge such as to dial government’s child helpline number ‘1098’ when they see a child who is facing abuse or is at risk of being in danger.
More than 60 friends, family and supporters of iPartner India attended the event. The highlight of the event was the launch of Every8Minutes anthem song #DontYouDare, a special performance by Jamghat’s children and lots of interactive activities with the audience.
CAFÉ 8 invites guests to meet a group of people who are wholeheartedly committed to ending child trafficking to explore ideas, participate in discussions and add their voice to build a momentum to ending this modern day shame.
India’s capital Delhi has been cited as the worst city in India at finding its missing children. 6 out of 10 children who go missing remain untraced. The Delhi Police data shows that 22 children go missing every day. This is just recorded data so the number of children going missing could be much higher where most cases are not recorded.
iPartner India strongly believes that by engaging with like-minded people from various walks of life, this societal menace can be tackled. Child trafficking robs millions of children their basic rights to live in a safe and secure environment.
“This is such a great idea to meet new people to talk about an issue which is mostly seen as something that can only happen in rural poor communities. I am glad I could attend this event, which has definitely helped in-depth understanding of the issue. I congratulate iPartner India and look forward to the next CAFÉ 8 event.” – Kaushik Poddar, CAFE 8 guest.
iPartner India plans to hold CAFÉ 8 event every quarter at different locations across India to spread awareness and prompt ordinary citizens to actively take action against crimes against children.
“I am very pleased with the successful launch of CAFÉ 8. There is an increased risk of young women and girls who are vulnerable to being trafficked and exploited daily in India. The fight against child trafficking is an on-going struggle, and public awareness and collective action are essential to end that fight. We believe that each one of us has an important role to play to curb this shame from our society. Thank you GlobalGivers, for believing in our work and for your constant support, you inspire us to do more each day.” Sumedha Sharma, iPartner India’s Country Director.
Children in India are not born to be porn stars, sex slaves, bonded labour, organ donors or street beggars. They are born to be free with equal rights and equal opportunities to dream. For this iPartner India seeks your continued support and solidarity to be able to give back the children their freedom and rights.
With deep gratitude,
iPartner India Team
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
