A highway of exploitation

May 14, 2011 - PRLog -- The 140 km stretch of National Highway-8 was a stopover that offered greater diversion than speeding till a few years ago. This stretch in Rajasthan had attracted small settlements of farmers who had long ago given up agriculture, but their source of income remained, thanks to the birth of the girl child in their homes.

Unable to support their families, most of the parents chose to send their daughters to ‘work’, which ensured everyone at home had food on the table, but at what cost? The girl child was exploited beyond endurance to feed her family.

Vulnerable and unaware of the consequences most of them succumbed to sacrifice their childhood for their families; the result has almost always been  HIV/AIDS, which they contracted and later passed on to their children, thereby never being in a position to end the vicious cycle of exploitation, disease and hopelessness.

World Vision’s Jeevan Asha Healthy Highway Project was set up over a decade ago to stop the communities in the area from exploiting their children. The project chiefly focuses on Advocacy, Capacity building, Care and support, Networking, Prevention and Research to make sure that the children in the region have a healthy childhood and a better future.

Today the project is benefiting over 700 children in the area, and World Vision has set up a ‘Leadership Academy of Children’ in the region to make sure that children in Rajnut and the surrounding communities become aware of their rights.

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World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organisation working to create lasting change in the lives of children, families and communities living in poverty