Castle of Glass
Consider that the plant you look after every day is ready to blossom into a magnificent flower that will fill your balcony with a beguiling aroma. Imagine waking up the next morning only to discover the flower destroyed and stifled. The bud's immense potential to blossom into a flower has now been lost. When children are compelled to work in our society at a young age, they lose the core elements of their youth, much like how that flower bud gets destroyed.
Happy faces and optimistic eyes. Millions of dreams in those tiny little hands. Is it not the identity of a child? Everyone's happiest period in life is unquestionably childhood. As has always been highlighted in bedtime tales, commercials, and by our elders, it is at this stage that one acquires the essentials of living. The fact that a few NGOs have intervened to assist these poor souls is the only shining light in these children's lives. But does that really suffice? I met a young girl named Pooja on my way home yesterday. She had to discontinue her studies due to financial distress. As a result of her mother's death, had to look after her large, extended family of six people. Her father was a jobless alcoholic.
Such tragic events of these poor kids are frequently reported, as is common knowledge. Regarded as the little gifts of God, Children can be seen working almost everywhere! We all might have come across little kids selling confectionery, pens, and other items on the sidewalks and at road junctions. Oh, how these kids are deprived of their fundamental rights and the complete development of their bodies and mind by being compelled to seek menial jobs and enter the harsh realities of the world at such a young age!
Although children are regarded as a country's most precious resource, their parents' lack of education and poverty make them the nation's vulnerability rather than its strength. Is it really possible to abolish this cruel chain of child labour?
As Oprah Winfrey once said, “Education is the Key to unlocking the world. It is a passport to freedom. ”Freedom from Social Evils, freedom from all malpractices and freedom from this vicious cycle." Where Government policies fail, Education helps and so does our contribution to providing a helping hand to these poor souls.
Another 13-year-old child named Abhishek emigrated from UP to Haryana. Because they moved from one state to another, his disabled mother was no longer eligible for local government subsidies or to collect her widow and disabled-person pensions. Abhishek sells veggies from a cart and is the sole provider for his family. He wishes to study but is unable to do so owing to family responsibilities.
There are millions of such Abhisheks and Poojas in our society. It is a stain on our society that speaks volumes about how incapable we are of providing a setting that fosters the growth and development of children. The agony of these nimble fingers is aggravated by society's prejudiced behaviour. Deprived of their innocence, overburdened with work, and plagued with responsibilities, is that what it is?
Childhood is like a castle, full of majestic liveliness and throning ideas, yet, childhood is frail when it falls to exploitation and burdens and thus, your childhood easily cracks.
Children are supposed to be going to schools, how would they ever look good with a hand full of tools?