 (Kuva: Jussi Hynninen) |
Anni Haataja
Translated by Linus Atarah
Proceeds from the Finnish Broadcasting Company's (YLE) fundraising campaign programme, YLE Helps Nose Day, will go to support child workers in India and Nepal as well as SASK's village school in Pakistan. The projects in India and Nepal will support the construction sector such as the education of children working in brick factories by building schools near the factories. At the same time efforts will be made to strength the position of the trade union movement in a sector which is largely unorganized.
The project has been operating in India since 1999 where it was began by the Netherlands FNV and international union of the construction sector, Building Workers International (BWI). SASK has been part of the project since last year. The new project planner of SASK Seppo Karppinen visited the project India in March.
- The schools are modest but functioning. The schools are either constructed or rehabilitated from old kraals, for instance, Karppinen says. - In the schools 6-15 year-olds working in the construction sector receive tuition every morning for four hours. In addition adults can participate in literacy groups and acquire information on workers' basic rights.
- The project is aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty gripping families. As the children go to school their parents also get to understand the benefits of trade unions, says Karppinen.
Schools proud of themselves
The results of the project are impressive; over 3000 children have moved in stages from work to full time schooling and the membership of local trade unions have quadrupled. Now a similar project is being started in Nepal. At the moment one school is operating in Nepal and next year three new ones will be opened.
Riikka Kämppi who visited Nepal recounts how proud the children are for having been able to go to school.
- I still have memories of one ten-year old boy in particular who said before he began school he had always thought that he had done something bad in his previous life, recalls Kämppi.
Also a project dedicated to the supporting membership of SASK receives funds from Ylen Hyvä fundraising campaign. The head of finances at SASK, Helena Lipponen, paid a visit to the village school in May last year.
- The school is growing and developing. At the moment there are 213 pupils, over half of whom are girls. Without the village school about 80 per cent of these children would be in working, says Lipponen.
After a lengthy wait the school is at last getting electricity supply.
- There is only one electricity company in Pakistan and its services are expensive and slow. Now it appears that there will be power supply during this year, Lipponen says.
Frida Zaheer, who is in charge of healthcare in the project, visited Finland last autumn to get acquainted with Finnish healthcare, education and library services.
- Frida was particularly impressed with library attendance. In Pakistan ordinary people have no possibility to visit the library, Lipponen recalls.
However, near the village school there is a library, which Lipponen considers very important for the whole school's operation.
- School pupils must have something else than school textbooks to read in order to maintain their literacy level. There are also books and reading material of interest to children in the library which are lacking at home.
