& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Say no to child labour

Our earnest longing is that this should be internalised by parents, the people and our government, and that efforts are . sincerely made by all stakeholders to ensure and nurture healthy growth of our future generation. Let the present and the future of our children be our passion.

Martin Adhikary
MAN continues to fail in his role as the faithful steward, and has made a mess of it. The theme of stewardship of wealth and resources tuns throughout the scriptures of various living faiths. God wants us to faithfully utilise each and every resource - time, money, health, education, experience, expertise, knowledge, courage, leadership, labour and so on and so forth.
All that is there has been given to us to use for the maximum benefit for ourselves and for others towards eventual glory to the Creator. The founders of religions did not dislike wealth in itself, but they criticised selfish greed and lack of authentic stewardship. Stewardship focuses on both horizontal and vertical dimensions of accountability; we are accountable to both God and Mankind.
The greatest stewardship question revolves around human life, especially the lives of children. Scriptures have teachings of immense significance about children. In the book of Al Zabur it is said: "Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him" (Psalm 127:3). Jesus Christ gave central importance to children. He admonished his disciples: "Do not stop the children coming to me for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 19:14).
Children and women were treated with no significance in his time. One of the worst problems that lamentably persist in our society is the problem of child-labour. This is abuse and wastage of this greatest of gifts. A recent ILO estimate has it that 250 million children between the ages of 5-14 years work full-time or part-time, and 130 million children are denied the right to education in the developing countries. About 30 million children are presently on battle- fields with arms, although this is forbidden for children under the age of 15
Today, around 34,000 children die daily of preventable causes, 10 million children are psychologically and emotionally traumatised by wars, and about 150 million children go to bed hungry' every night. Mankind has failed awfully in the stewardship mandate with regard to children. The problem must be considered in the greater context of a society as a whole.
The responsibility is not only parental, but also societal and governmental. According to the Bangladesh National Child Policy, persons under the age of 18 are to be considered as children. There are about 200 million child-labourers in the world now, who are engaged in hundred of types of work and professions.
Nearly 150 million children drop out before Class 4, before acquiring basic literacy skills. Viewed from the evergrowing need for education and skill development in the light of technological progress the situation is rather ominous. Too much money is spent on arms while millions of children are simply deprived of basic human rights; right to food, health, habitation, education, and to grow as full humans.
Nobody decides to be born. We
decide the births of our children. The greatest resource of any nation is its people. It is deplorable when this is wasted. There are many forms of work in which 50-60 million children aged between 7-11 are engaged in, work that spoils their moral, physical and aesthet-ical potential. They include slavery, sexlabour, pornography, drug trafficking, soldiering, etc.
Like women, children are the most vulnerable in any man-made conflict and natural disasters. The irony is that too many of them are denied their rights. An Unicef statement, titled "The Progress of Nations," said: "Nations will be judged not by their military or economic strength, nor by the splendour of their capital cities and public buildings, but by the well-being of their peoples; by their levels of health, nutrition and education; by their opportunities to earn a fair reward for their labours; by their ability to participate in the decisions that affect their lives; by the respect that is shown for their civil and political liberties; by the provision that is made for those who are vulnerable and disadvantaged; and by the protection that is afforded to the growing minds and bodies of their children."
To quote Dr. Stephen R. Covey: "The role of parents is a unique one, a sacred stewardship in life. Is there really anything that would outweigh the importance of fulfilling that stewardship well?" Failure in this reflects failure in other areas.
Poverty gives birth to, and our neglectful attitude nurses, abuse of children. This hydra-headed problem not only calls for parental responsibility', but also societal efforts and political will to ensure justice and right relationship, and for the government to create an
atmosphere where respect and dignity oflife is valued.
Our earnest longing is that this should be internalised by parents, the people and our government, and that efforts are sincerely made by all stakeholders to ensure and nurture healthy growth of our future generation. Let the present and the future of our children be our passion.
Reverend Martin Adhikary is Director of Advocacy and Promotion of the Leprosy Mission. Bangladesh