Child Labour Free Zone

Antakshari along with local partner organisation Manjari implementing CLFZ project in bundi district of Rajasthan .The CLFZ in budhpura is located in Bundi District at the South-Eastern part of Rajasthan. Bundi is known for sandstone. The district also produces and exports cobble stones in a big number. Cobble-stones are produced from quarry waste and production takes place in a belt of 10-15 kilometres around Budhpura. Budhpura is a major source of cobbles, which are mainly sold on the Belgian, Northern French and UK markets. Most of the production takes place in front of people’s houses involving whole families.

The migrant sandstone labourers are mainly from the Bhil caste (Schedule Tribe) from Jhabua (Madhya Pradesh) and from parts of Rajasthan. The local sandstone workers belong to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes like the Bhil, Maru Bhat, and Banjara castes and are mostly landless. The target group of the program are children (both boys and girls) engaged in sandstone work and children of miners between 5 and 18 years-old. In addition, Manjari also works with mine workers’ families to improve the overall environment in which the children live and grow.

The business community (cobble traders, suppliers, quarry owners, exporting and importing companies) are an indirect target group in this project. Manjari aims to strengthen the contribution and active participation of companies and CSR initiatives in creating CLFZ in Budhpura. Manjari will start regular meetings on quarterly basis with the 18 listed export companies and 22 cobble traders. The local Manjari team is working in coordination with cobble traders and senior team members will engage with export companies on quarterly basis.
Through this programme Antakshari is trying to create an enabling environment for elementary education, strengthening and improving the quality of early childcare and development, community mobilization and elimination of child labour through education

The main objective of the project is to enroll, and ensure the retention of children in school and address health and income concerns of the families to enable families to deal with the loss of income when children no longer work. Various intervention through various activities has been organized and conducted for ensuring the retention of children in schools.

l 93 out of school children have been enrolled in school and ensured their retention.
One Balwari (day care center for children) and one motivation centre for girls have been developed where 21 children ushered coming in Balwari and 77 girls have been linked up with motivation centers.
4 rallies have been organized with maximum participation of more than 200 children’s in it.
2 Non residential bridge course ( N R B C ) camps were being sanctioned for 150 children for 9 months. Under which more than 88 children have been benefitted through these centers.
Seeing the work of Antakshari Foundation Government have sanctioned 1 more school and 2 early childhood education center in 2 hamlets of Ajmer district.
2 women accompanier were being appointed to escort children to school reason of being far from residence.
Al so, a volunteer has been appointed to encourage and organize joyful and skillful learning sessions with children every day.
2 Education Centers has been commenced where 70 children age group (3-6) years come and enjoy educational and recreational activities.
120 children have been linked up with 4 Bal Munches (Child Forum) who regularly participated in the meetings of School Management Committee (SMC).
Awareness has been build in SMC members as they indulged and giving more focus in enrolling the drop out and out of school children to schools and regularly checking the quality of Mid Day Meal provided to children.
SMC members providing more focus in building Child Friendly Atmosphere in School.
Total 8 SHGs have been formed, 2 of them have been linked with banks.
More than 111 women a r e associated with these groups.
19 women have been linked with Widow Welfare scheme , 1 9 individuals have started receiving their Old Age Pensions and 21 children have been linked with Palanhar Yojana, 4 children are linked with Disabled Pension Scheme.
Sensitization and awareness building has been done of PRI members regarding Child Labour in their areas.
Out of 413 dropout children 272 children are going school regularly.