POVERTY causes people to take extreme steps for their mere survival. In India, there are millions of people living in extreme impoverished conditions. These families cannot afford a roof over their heads, a cup of water to drink or even one meal a day for their children. Most do not have an income and are desperate to find work to take care of their families. In such a situation, being able to afford education, medical care or improved living conditions is out of the question. According to a Mumbai-based NGO for children Youths Union For Voluntary Action or YUVA, for such families that struggle to survive, any means to earn an income is acceptable. This often includes making children work in dangerous conditions such as toxic coal mines.
In poor families, children are often made to work to help their families with an additional income. Even though it means that that child will never get an education, a respectable job or their own house in the future, poor families often feel that they have no other choice but to tend to their immediate needs: food and shelter. In certain areas of Jharkhand, underprivileged families work in dangerous coal mines and often bring their children with them. But these coal mines cause more problems than these families understand. Little children are susceptible to organ damage, breathing problems, vision impairment and even slow growth and development.
YUVA (NGO full form: Youths Union For Voluntary Action) is an NGO for children that intervenes in such situations and provides malnourished children working in toxic coal mines with nutritious food, medical care and education to give the children a way out of the coal mines and into a better future. In this short video, the team from this Mumbai-based NGO for children sheds light on the prevalence of dangerous work in dangerous and defunct coal mines and how malnourished children suffer in this toxic environment:
How do children end up in coal mines?
In the Ramgarh district of Jharkhand, underprivileged families have no other option but to work in the coal mines. But when they go – their children go along with them and often end up working too. The children cannot be left alone and unattended and as soon as they reach the coal mines, they are immediately put to work because their bodies are able to squeeze into small spaces which is necessary in rat-hole mining and because children are cheaper to hire. Rinki Devi is one of the mothers who work in the coal mines in Jharkhand along with her children and when asked if she considers this life dangerous, this was her response: “I have three children who come with me to collect coal. We have no choice. If we don’t work, we starve.”
The NGO for children Youths Union For Voluntary Action or YUVA works on the ground in these areas. Rakesh Narayan of YUVA explains that coal is the only way these families can survive. He shares that when children and pregnant women are seen carrying heavy loads of coal – it is for their survival, even if their very lives are at risk. These families are desperate to survive. YUVA recognizes this and steps in to ensure that this generational poverty ends through education, nutritious food and urgent care.
What effects do toxic coal mines have on children?
The prolonged exposure to coal mines causes blood pressure complications, skin disorders, vision impairment, pulmonary diseases and heart problems. Furthermore the dangerous environment increases the risk of incidents such as suffocation and mine collapses. The Mumbai-based NGO for children goes on to share that in the coal mines of Ramgarh, there are cases of mental retardation, mental disabilities, epilepsy and other severe health conditions. Furthermore, since these children are from poor backgrounds, there is little to no access to nutritious food. The extent of malnutrition among these children is such that it hampers their physical and mental development and impacts them well into the future.
How does YUVA rescue children from dangerous coal mines?
Youths Union For Voluntary Action or YUVA is an NGO for children that steps into these dangerous and miserable circumstances with the aim of giving the children a chance to escape from toxic and defunct coal mines of Jharkhand and have the childhoods they deserve. The organization does this by providing nutritious food, medical care and education to the children who are working in defunct mines with their families picking up material and hauling them to other locations.
The NGO for children prioritizes providing nutritious food to the children to help with their growth and development, which has been severely stunted due to the lack of food. Giving medical care and treatment provides much needed emergency aid for children whose bodies are still recovering from the dangerous environment of the coal mines. Education, being one of the most effective ways to transform lives, is given to the children to improve their futures and enable safe future employment.
Support YUVA, an NGO for children in coal mines
When you support the NGO for children Youths Union For Voluntary Action or YUVA, you help poor children who are forced to languish in defunct and dangerous coal mines in Ramgarh district of Jharkhand. In providing these children with regular meals, medical aid and opportunities to go to school and get an education to improve their futures, you stop the cycle of poverty and end the suffering of entire communities. To support Youths Union For Voluntary Action:
Support Youths Union For Voluntary Action
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Shirley has been in the development sector for over 10 years and is passionate about making a change in the world around her, including adopting dogs and writing to make a difference.
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