March Against Child labour
On March 12th, 80 years ago Mahatma Gandhi undertook the Dandi March to be the change that he wanted to see. Thousands of children still work in Mumbai. It’s not right. On March 12th this year, we’re following his footsteps in Mumbai to campaign against child labour.

If you believe that every child, regardless of where they come from should not be abused, exploited or made to work, come together with your family and friends and participate.

One voice, two feet and two hours is all it will take to express your solidarity. Join in, let’s give children an equal start, let’s put an end to child labour.

1. Select and download placard
i) Select a placard with a message and size you need.

OR ii) Print your own message in any of these sizes.

2. Print and mount
Print your choice of placard and then mount it on a cardboard to use.

Join 'FIRST PAY DAY' Campaign
CRY volunteer Vinay asked for a cup of tea in a tea stall near SakiNaka when he encountered a usual sight of a 10-12 year old child handing over his cup. It was his 30th day at work and he would earn 1200 Rupees for putting in 14 hours of hard work every day without any break. Here was a child who couldn’t read or write… and yet, he was earning his first salary.

Every single day most of us come across many such children in our surroundings working hard at different places but we ignore them as if they are completely invisible to us. If you have an eye to see them and the desire to change their lives, join us and be the change maker to help them live, learn, grow and play.

‘FIRST PAY DAY’ Campaign is an interactive campaign with an interesting concept to spread awareness that employing child labour is illegal and unjust. All you have to do is shoot interviews of people from various walks of life and mail them to us. We will put them together to make a short film which will help in changing their lives forever.

Make sure you participate in this campaign and you will be joining over 2 lakh individuals, 200 grassroots NGO partners and communities in over 6700 villages and slums in 18 states across India in ensuring every child whether girl or boy, gets an equal opportunity to a childhood.

3 Simple steps to get yourself involved

1. LOCATE A PLACE

a) Select a place in your surrounding
b) Choose a character for your shoot (can be any child or adult who works)
c) Prepare a list of sample questions you may want to ask them

Click to get a sample list of questions

2. SHOOT YOUR FILM

a) Use any mobile phone camera or video camera to shoot the videos
b) Maximum duration of each video should not exceed 2 minutes
c) Make sure the file size of each video is not more than 100mb

3. SEND IN YOUR VIDEOS

a) You can send in your videos via www.yousendit.com
b) You may send as many video clips as you wish
c) Mail in your entries to havovi.wadia@crymail.org

Remember to note down the contact details of the people you interviewed, and share with us so that we could send them the link to the final video.

Last date for submitting the video entries is November 14th, 2009. We will compile all your videos into a short film, and upload it on www.youtube.com/CRYIndia soon after. Select individual videos will be uploaded on youtube and the links will be shared with everyone involved in the campaign. We will also take the film to government officials and collectives of students and citizens to build public opinion on the issue. All our voices, raised together, can impact the rehabilitation of children who work, as well as ensure that more children go to school, not work.

How to use the Photo Signature AV:

1. Share with friends, colleagues, in all possible networks to build awareness about the issue and the campaign. encourage people to contact us and get involved in the campaign
2. Take this AV to the Labour Officer, Women and Child Department, Department of Education at your local government office and show it to them. Then find out from them the role of their department in engaging with the issue of child labour. Share all that information with the network of Child Rights volunteers at CRY so that together we can enable other people to ensure that Children go to School, Not Work
3. Show this AV to people in your class, social circle, neighbourhood, society etc...Use this to begin a discussion on Child Labour and form a team of volunteers who will work on this issue.

Wherever you can put together a group of 20 or more people who are intersted in awareness building and action for Child Rights, email havovi.wadia@crymail.org for content for the session. If this is in Mumbai -Pune region we can arrange for a resource person as well.

Photo Signature Campaign
Look for those who are against child labour in your neighbourhood (friends, family, colleagues, passers by) and click them holding the “Send Children to school not work” placard as a sign of support .The photo ‘signatures’ will then be taken to concerned Government officials like the Labour Commissioner, Women and Child Department, MP and MLA from different constituencies, etc. forcing them to address the root causes of Child Labour and to implement holistic rehabilitation policies.

1. Select and download placard
i) Select a placard with a message and size you need.

OR ii) Print your own message in any of these sizes.

2. Print and mount
i) For A3 size take laser print on A3 size paper and mount on cardboard.
ii) For A4 size take laser print on A4 size paper and mount on cardboard.
iii) For 6’ X 2’ take a print on Flex/Vinyl. Can attach handles on the vertical sides for holding.

3. Take your Photo Get a photograph taken of you with one of the Placards. You can take as many pics in as many ways.

3. Take Photo of people you know Find out how many people you know also believe in the statement. Get as many of their photographs with placards in your neighbourhood, school, college, work space, street, playground, etc.

4. Send photographs
Make sure each photograph is not more than 500 KB in Jpeg format and send as attachment to us.