Follow-up status of children frequently reported by citizens

Citizens of Pune are using ECC ReportChildren website to report out-of-school children seen at various places in the city. ECC campaign staff visited the reported locations and traced whereabouts of the children. Some of these locations are being frequently reported by many citizens. Here is a report about children found at Pune University signal, Raj Bhavan, FC Road, Deccan, and Nal Stop area -

(Reference:
http://eccpune.org/reportchildren/index.php?r=record/view&id=15
http://eccpune.org/reportchildren/index.php?r=record/view&id=16
http://eccpune.org/reportchildren/index.php?r=record/view&id=18)

All the children in this group are working as beggars in various parts of the city for quite some time. Along with their parents, they also sell balloons, flowers, toys, dusting cloths, sun screens etc. The parents also encourage their children to beg and earn money. They live on roadsides in different parts of the city as per their convenience. They have been evicted from their roadside 'homes' many times. Earlier, they used to live under the University flyover, and near Chatushrungi temple. At present, most of them live along the river near Deccan (Pulachi Wadi) area.

Hutments near Pulachi Wadi, Deccan

Door Step School has been working with these children since many years. In fact, some of the children even recognized the teachers who visited these locations for follow-up. On further enquiry, it was found that some of these children were students of DSS Community Learning Center in Shivaji Housing Society, while living under the university flyover which was being constructed in 2003-04. DSS staff used to wake them up and take them in a DSS van to the Shivaji Housing Center; clean them, feed them, and also teach them. However, their parents have no importance for education and they encourage the children to stay away from school and earn whatever they can. The parents themselves want to be picked up by the police and put in jail so that they do not have to worry about their daily needs! Some of the parents even own few two-wheelers, and are now demanding free homes!

Three of the children attend PMC School No.14. Their attendance is irregular and they beg at above-mentioned locations after their school timings. Other children were also enrolled in school but have never attended. They run away before the DSS van comes to that area to pick them up. The DSS staff has tried to convince them to go back to school but unfortunately, their parents have not realized the importance of education and now the children themselves prefer to beg than study.

Flyover near Pune University

The problem is not only about children remaining out of school. It is more about children getting interested in wrong ways of earning and building their future on false attitude. These children do not have any other career aspirations in their mind, since their own parents are encouraging begging as an earning source from so early age. Door Step School and Every Child Counts teams will take all possible efforts to take these children to schools. But what happens to them after school-hours? How can we convince their parents about importance of education in their children's life? What alternate source of earning can we suggest (and convince) to these parents? Can we do something more than just throwing few coins at these small beggars and moving on? Let us think and act for better future of these children who are going to be a major part of our country's future...