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BIKALPA KOLA NAMSA –
A children Village for Girl Child Workers -A Model
Introduction :
We are entering into the world of 21st century. UN has already passed the resolution that the year 2000 will be the year for the Culture of Non-violence and Peace for the children of the world and from 2001 to 2010, the decade for the Culture of Non violence and Peace for the children of the world. It will be unfair and injustice for the Nepali children, especially the girls to be left in the various working places where they are compelled to spend a terribly inhumane life. Should we still expect the children to come to the programme or we develop a programme that will reach the children? Definitely, we cannot think of a blanket programme which will be able to cover all the Nepali children , but we can definitely develop various programmes which will be able to cover at least certain number of children. Bikalpa Kola Namsa, a Bikalpa Children Village is an education programme developed to offer to the suffering indigenous girl children of the remote areas to give them opportunities to develop themselves as well as help others by Earning and Learning.
Present Situation of Nepal:
Nepal is a nation of villages. There are 4000 villages in 75 districts of Nepal. Nepal is an agricultural country. Around 70% of the total population depend on agriculture. Nepal is one of the poorest countries of the world. Nepal is a multi ethnic, multi cultural, multi religious and multi lingual country. There are 125 languages in Nepal and a big percentage of peoples do not speak Nepali.
Nepali Children
Children under 15 years of age constitute about 43% of the total population. " Approximately to a projected estimate of population for 1995, a little more than 2.7 million (13.1%) children belong to the primary school age. Only about three fourth of these children 72% are enrolled in schools. Approximately 928 thousand children 6 to 10 years of age do not have access to opportunity for primary education. A very large number of children, thus, are denied opportunity even to get enrolled in schools and to acquire the basic capability of literacy," (Human Development Report 1998)
Ethnicity :
Nepal is a multi- ethnic, multi religious, multi lingual and multi – cultural country. Approximately half of the total populations of the country are ethnic who are non-Hindu. They have their own distinct culture and language. The constitution has now recognised their existence and have forme d "Rastriya Janajati Bikash Samiti", i.e " national Committee for the Development of Nationalities" ( Indigenous Peoples) under the Ministry of Local Development. A provision has been made in the constitution that every ethnic group can have education in their respective mother tongue up to primary education but without any responsibility but the government to be taken.
Child Labour
It is a pity that the socio- economic malpractice, overlooked by an uncaring community, been debated for so long with so little effect on what is called "child labour'. It gives the impressions that there are many things that are happening to stop this malpractice but people can still witness the sufferings of the children in various work sites.
Child Migration into cities
In Nepal, child labour is directly linked to the poverty of the family. The simple necessity of having food and shelter , and factors such as unemployment or underemployment among the adult family members, or death of the brad winner, compelled the children to go to work from early age. Though discrimination, suppression, exploitation and imbalance in development pattern causes unemployment and underemployment , the superficial causes would be poverty, illiteracy and ignorance. Many children migrate to cities in searchof better living conditions. Once in the cities, they are left with very little choice regarding the type, conditions or the quality of employment. According to the survey report of CWIN (Child Workers in Nepal) Urban Child Labour in Nepal, 50% of the Urban Child Labour are Tamang children whereas 47% of carpet factory workers are again Tamang children.
The Government has ratified the UN Convention on the Right of the Child and has endorsed the World declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children. At the regional (SAARC) level, the Colombo Resolution has been endorsed. The Labour Act 1992 and the children's Act 1992 have clearly defined, regulated and prohibited employment of children with a number of provisions. But the situation of child labour is deteriorating.
Why only for girls?
Bikalpa Gyan kendra, an alternative learning center for working children was creatd in 1995 for those children who cannot be in formal education system ue to various reasns.atpresent we are focusing on working girls only due to hight risk of insecurity they encounter with. These are girl who hardly have the opportunity to go to school. At present they have already lost the opportunities to go to school. They must help in the household work, look after the cattle, help in the field and take care of the younger brother and sisters. Not only this, most of them will have to work as labour, porter, work in the carpet factories and industries .their wish to go to the school and learn something to improve their life is never fulfilled but ,in future,definitely, a programme for boys also will be developed.
Why for Tamang?
Among the various ethnic groups of Nepal, Tamangs are in fact the single largest ethnic group (Frank 1973 :94 , ANTWEILER 1984:99). Either way the Tamang would be statistically the largest linguistic minority in Nepal (MACDONALD, 1989:171). According to Nepal's Population census of 1991 the Tamang population is 1.1 million but the Tamang people estimate of themselves are around 4 million population. According to the survey report of CWIN's (Child Workers In Nepal) Urban Child Labour In Nepal, % of Urban child Labour are Tamang children whereas 47% of carpet working children are again Tamang children.
IX a. Request from the Bikalpa Graduates.
When the Bikalpa 1st group graduates had completed their first package program , they had gone back to their villages in Dhading district. They met their friends who also wished to have the opportunities Bikalpa girls have gone through. Bikalpa girls were very concerned about the girls in their villages. They wanted to fulfil the wish of their friends who anted to be able to read and write. They also wished some kind of income generating program.
There are eight criteria for the girls to be in the village
- the girls must be above 13 years till 17 years old.
- The girls must be from village.
- The girls must be from poor family background.
- The girls do not speak Nepali language and all of them speak in one language.
- The girls must be from one religion.
- The girls must go back to their village.
- The girls have decided to complete the whole 18 months program.
- The girls agree to live in community i.e Ashram
- The belief in small and simple.
Bikalpa is not seeking an alternative to establish
an affluent society.
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