Together for OUR CHILDREN!

Together for OUR CHILDREN!
Interaction with Nobel Peace Prize Winner Shri.Kailash Satyarthi,
Social Reformer & Child Rights Activist on 2nd September 2022.

Dr.Kezevino Aram, our President and our dedicated staff at Shanti Ashram & the International Center for Child & Public Health had the honour to interact with Nobel Peace Laureate Shri Kailash Satyarthi on 2nd September, 2022.

In his inspiring address he called upon the youth of India to work for a peaceful world, a world where the rights of children will be protected and their childhood celebrated. He spoke about the dividends that society will benefit from if children are invested in and the loss of human potential and productivity if we neglect the needs of children. He elaborated the compounded burden that children have faced during the COVID 19 Pandemic and the sharp rise in child labour. He further alerted the gathering of new forms of child exploitation, including child sexual abuse that have come to surface during the pandemic.

He recalled the early work that was put in by him and the Bachpan Bachao Andolan in the prevention of child labour. The rescuing of nearly 50,000 children from the grips of de-humanizing child labour was he said were amongst the happiest moments of his life. For in their freedom, in the freeing of the children, of these vulnerable children, he saw the extension of the freedom movement and the purpose of his life. He recalled with gratitude the global efforts of many, the world-wide padayathra (peace march) & the successful international signature campaign, all of which eventually leading to path-breaking international laws at the ILO to safeguard the rights of children from exploitative labour. As India turns 75, he said we should look back on the immense work we have done for children and look ahead to charter a better future for them. I believe in PEACE, a world fit for all our children he concluded!
We remain grateful to Shri.Shankar Vanvarayar, Joint Correspondent, Kumaraguru College of Technology and the Kumaraguru Institutions for making this interaction possible.