There is a Will,

There is a Way, 2017

SHRI NIROTI LAL BUDHHA SANSTHAN (SNBS)

104, Sky Lark Arcade, Sector – 3A, Avas Vikas Colony, Agra – 282007 (U.P.),
Phone: 7088112270, 8439000088,E- mail: snbsindia@gmail.com,
www.snbsindia.org, www.faceboo.com\snbsindia
Shri Niroti Lal Budhha Sansthan is effectively working on promoting child
education and fighting against child labour and making efforts for decreasing t numbers of
illiteracy, to improve numbers in the child health and implementing strategies in against child
labour.
 What happens when a country of the size of India has over 3 million children living on
the streets?
 Or has over 150 million children working as bonded laborers?
 Or one out of every six girl child does not live to see her 15th birthday?
 What happens when despite having a national policy for compulsory primary education,
only 50% of children have access to education?
The statement "Children are the FUTURE of the nation" stops making sense, then! In
fact, it sounds like an ominous prophecy. For how can we explain that even after 60 years of
independence, half of India's children are illiterate?
Clearly, we have a lot to answer for. And as we are concerned citizens do something about it;
something meaningful, something concrete, something urgently. No more do we have the
luxury of blaming the system or postponing our actions. The time to take collective as well as
individual responsibility to remedy the present situation is here. Right now!

Literacy Updates in India

The literacy ratio of India is 65.38% with MALE LITERACY at 75.85% and FEMALE LITERACY
at 54.16% Of the 193 million Children in the age group 6 to 14 years, 8.1 million children are
out of school as of Sept 2004 as per Government statistics.
Net primary enrollment ratio in 2001/02: 83 7%
Children reaching grade 5 in 2000/01: 59 8 %

Ministry of Finance / Press Information Bureau Data

Number of Primary Schools in India: 0.664 million (2001-02)

Number Upper Primary Schools in India: 0.219 million
Population in the age group of 6-14 years: 193 Million
Secondary and Senior Secondary Schools: 0.133 million
Page 1 of 8
Census of India 1991

State with highest literacy rate: Kerala (89.8)

State with lowest literacy rate: Bihar (38.5)
District with highest literacy rate: Kottayam, Kerala (95.7)
District with lowest literacy rate: Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh (19.0)

Facts on Education

 Less than half of India's children between the age 6 and 14 go to school.
 A little over one-third of all children who enroll in grade one reach grade eight.
 At least 35 million children aged 6 - 14 years do not attend school.
 53% of girls in the age group of 5 to 9 years are illiterate.
 In India, only 53% of habitation has a primary school.
 In India, only 20% of habitation has a secondary school.
 In nearly 60% of schools, there are less than two teachers to teach Classes I to V.
 High cost of private education and need to work to support their families and little
interest in studies are the reasons given by 3 in every four drop-outs as the reason they
leave.
 Dropout rates increase alarmingly in class III to V, its 50% for boys, 58% for girls.
 1 in 40, primary school in India is conducted in open spaces or tents.
 More than 50 per cent of girls fail to enroll in school; those that do are likely to drop out
by the age of 12. Source: 7th All India Education Survey, 2002

Statistics on Child Labour

 17 million children in India work as per official estimates.
 A study found that children were sent to work by compulsion and not by choice, mostly
by parents.
 19% of children employed work as domestic help.
 90% working children are in rural India.
 85% of working children are in the unorganized sectors.
 About 80% of child labour is engaged in agricultural work.
 Large numbers of children work simply because there is no alternative - since, they do
not have access to good quality schools.
 500,000 children are forced into this trade every year.

Data on Health

 70 in every 1000 children born in India do not see their first birthday.
 58% of India's children below the age of 2 years are not fully vaccinated.
 And 24% of these children do not receive any form of vaccination.
 74% of India's children below the age of 3 months are anemic.
 Over 60% of children in India are anemic.
 Of the 12 million girls born in India, 1 million do not see their first birthday.
Page 2 of 8
  Of the 12 million girls born in India, 3 million do not see their fifteenth birthday, and a
million of them are unable to survive even their first birthday.
 One-third of these deaths take place at birth.
 Every sixth girl child's death is due to gender discrimination.
 Females are victimized far more than males during childhood.
 3 lakh more girls than boys die every year
 Female mortality exceeds male mortality in 224 out of 402 districts in India.

Shri Niroti Lal Budhha Sansthan’s Initatives with a Bal Mitra Gram (BMG), all
members of the village – children, parents, teachers and village heads, realize the constitutional,
legal, social and cultural rights of children and respect them in letter and spirit. Views of
children are provided a legitimate forum, and the importance of eradicating child labour and
enrolling all children of the village in schools is recognized and supported by all. The socio-
economic climate that forms the root of the vicious cycle of child labour, illiteracy and poverty
is countered by the realization that empowerment is not just about obtaining a ration or BPL
card; it is also about the recognition that everybody has the right to have their voices heard.

Approaches of Shri Niroti Lal Budhha Sansthan with a Bal Mitra Gram (BMG),
Society looks at children through a varied lens. Parents love and dote on their children.
However, this is usually limited to their children and does not extend to all children living in the
village. A village community may also be constrained by socio-economic restrictions such as
caste, religion and poverty or wealth.

This influences the parents’ psychology, their feeling of responsibility and their ethics and
attitudes towards other children, leaving room for exploitation and violence. A Bal Mitra Gram
on the other hand, realises that all children are the present and the future of the village. During
the process for establishing a BMG, the village starts to strive towards unconditional friendship
and propagates equality among all children of the village. The relationship of elders with
children should not be one of compassion but rather of friendship so that children can share
their problems with- out any hesitation. Social changes are brought about by and for children. A
Bal Mitra Gram looks at inclusion of all groups as a powerful tool in uplifting the poorest, most

Page 3 of 8
marginalized sections of society. This process is led by children, supported by women, youth,
elders, the Gram Panchayat and all other stakeholders.

Strategies of Shri Niroti Lal Budhha Sansthan for Child Education

Empowering every single child A BMG strives to empower every single child in the
village. Each child should be able to raise issues affecting him or her with the village Panchayat
and other authorities, with confidence, regardless of his or her caste or community.
Collective development In allocating resources, all households in a BMG ensure that the
village Panchayat representing them rises above vote-bank politics and distributes/shares
benefits in an equitable manner. Development must trickle down to the poorest and the most
disadvantaged sections of the village society.
Participatory democracy The Bal Panchayat ensures fair representation from all groups of
the community and must work to uproot discrimination. The children show the villagers a path
to put aside all differences and feel a collective responsibility towards development. Other
marginalized groups also feel inspired to voice their issues because children of all communities
come together to raise their concerns.

Awareness of children’s rights A BMG is conscious of children’s rights and is sensitive

towards issues pertaining to children. The Bal Panchayat is supported and gains legitimacy from
all the different groups and the village Panchayat; the Bal Panchayat in turn brings children’s
issues to the village forums. By earning the trust of the village, the Bal Panchayat becomes the
voice of the children and the village itself. This mutual support between the village and the Bal
Panchayat becomes self-sustaining. Self-confidence and collective self-confidence to be added
here.

Child-centric decision-making As children do not vote, village policies implemented by

the Gram Panchayat usually do not bear the interests of children in mind. A BMG places the
safety and progress of children as its top priority.
Page 4 of 8
Objectives of Shri Niroti Lal Budhha Sansthan with BMG
 Elimination of all forms of exploitation of children in villages.
 Ensuring every child in the village is in School
 Formation and strengthening of child protection mechanism
 Strengthening education systems that ensure quality of education in Village schools
 Formation of Bal Panchayats in villages and their institutionalization through active
participation in Gram Panchayat.
 Establish better linkages with Public Health Programs of government for access to health
services to communities, particularly children.
 Mobilization & organization of communities for demanding their rights and entitlements.

Important milestones of Shri Niroti Lal Budhha Sansthan

• All children aged 6 to 18 are enrolled in school and in age appropriate class and completing
their elementary education
• All child labourers up to age 18 are withdrawn from work
• Children form a Bal Panchayat (an elected children’s village council)
• The Bal Panchayat receives official recognition by the Gram Panchayat
• A youth group (Yuva Mandal; aged 18 to 35 yrs.) and a women group (Mahila Mandal) are
also establishment and recognized and self-sustained A child Welfare Committee /Child
Protection committee (CWC/CPC) is formed and activated
• Better health management and facilities for children living in BMG

Page 5 of 8
Shri Niroti Lal Budhha Sansthan’s mission with Vitamin Angels
Vitamin Angels states that its mission is to help at-risk populations in need – specifically
pregnant women, new mothers, and children under five – gain access to lifesaving and life
changing vitamins and minerals.

Program of Shri Niroti Lal Budhha Sansthan’s with Vitamin Angels

Vitamin Angels focuses on the prevention of malnutrition amongst vulnerable populations
internationally. We’re working to fight malnutrition in children the power to make an impact.
Together, we can defeat preventable illness, blindness, and death. We believe in the power of
vitamins because they’re a proven solution to reducing global malnutrition. To make a holistic
and lasting impact, we also provide deworming tablets for children and promote nutritional
counseling for mothers in need.

• Vitamin A Supplementation: Vitamin Angels distributes high-dose vitamin A bi-

annually to children 6-59 months of age in countries identified by the World Health
Organization as experiencing moderate to severe vitamin A deficiency (VAD) to prevent
illness, blindness, and death.
Page 6 of 8
 • Deworming: Vitamin Angels co-administers the deworming tablet, albendazole,
alongside vitamin A supplementation for children 12-59 months of age living in countries
where intestinal worms (or soil-transmitted helminths-STH) are endemic, to kill worms
living in a child’s system and improve the body’s ability to absorb vitamin A.

• Prenatal Vitamins: Vitamin Angels distributes daily multiple micronutrient

supplements to pregnant women at risk for or suffering from malnutrition to support
healthy pregnancies and improved birth outcomes.
• Promotion of Breastfeeding Practices: Vitamin Angels provides health and
nutrition education and tools to help moms understand the critical value of exclusive
breastfeeding, as recommended during a baby’s first 6 months, and then to make the
transition to complementary foods

Shri Niroti Lal Budhha Sansthan’s approach with Vitamin Angels

The power of strength in numbers. To serve millions of moms and children worldwide, we
leverage the intimate knowledge and existing infrastructure of our nonprofit partners and add
our vitamins to their existing health and nutrition services.

“Social infrastructure like education is as important as physical infrastructure, not only for
sustaining high growth but also for enhancing welfare. The root of poverty often lies in
illiteracy.”

Page 7 of 8