Partner Interview: Making space for children with the Church of North India's Sanjana Das

May 18, 2005

Children's Concerns coordinator for the Church of North India Sanjana Das during her March 2005 visit to the US to take part in the Ecumenical Advocacy Days. Photo: T. Abraham/CWS

Sanjana Das coordinates Children’s Concerns for the Church of North India (CNI). She is also coordinator of the South Asia Ecumenical Network, which was formed at the 2003 World Social Forum in Mumbai, India. She spoke about street children and their struggle for rights at the March 2005 Ecumenical Advocacy Days, when ecumenical leaders, scholars, human rights workers and policy analysts gathered to lobby on Capitol Hill for greater US support of economic and environmental justice, sustainable development and debt relief for developing nations. In meetings with senators, she discussed the US decision not to ratify the Convention of the Rights of the Child. On a visit to New York, Das spoke to Church World Service's Thomas Abraham about her work.

CWS: What do you do?

Das: My job is to bring children from the periphery to the center. Even within the church, their voices are unheard. The church generally takes a welfare approach to children, rather than one based on human rights. Children’s issues were invisible during our recent mission audit and ministry planning. I work with street children, child workers and sex workers at the grassroots, and in the slums. I’ve also worked on children’s rights at the international level, with the World Council if Churches, the Christian Conference of Asia and World Vision.

CWS: What gains have been made by the Children’s Concerns program?

A rally organized by the Children's Concerns program of the Church of North India. Photo: Church of North India

Das: Our program is less than a year old. But through our intervention, we’ve built up awareness among the children themselves. At CNI, we have a program called Creating Space for Children. We’ve brought together children from all sectors of society--both privileged and underprivileged--so that they can learn about their rights. We facilitate their conversation. Then they speak out for each other’s rights, expressing themselves through drawing and writing. They’ve prepared statements to church leaders and the [Indian] government. We’re trying to take this beyond the church. Our history books teach us about those who ruled India in the past like Aurangazeb [a 17th century Mughal emperor] and the British, but nothing about children’s rights. It’s missing from the curriculum.

When you ask about gains, I think of Poonam Kumari. Her mother had left the family. Like her alcoholic father, she collected and sold discarded clothing and other rags for a living. She gave most of the money she earned to her father, but kept some back to buy books. She wanted to study. One of our volunteers enrolled Poonam in CNI’s non-formal education program. She came to live with the Delhi Brotherhood Society, one of our homes. Her father was fine with this, since her brothers were still living with him. She learned how to use a computer, to tailor, embroider, and as a beautician. Poonam convened the 2000-2002 NGO Forum for Street Children. “There are many stars in the sky,” she says. "I'm one of those that have been spotted, but there are many more."

CWS: What happens when you bring children together?

Das: We had 1,400 children from all over India at our 2003 national Ecumenical Children's Assembly: privileged children, street children, sex workers, child laborers. We met in an area of northeast India where many tribal peoples live. Our educational system is so limited--providing little exposure to India’s diversity--that children from Mumbai and other big cities asked if the children from the northeast were foreigners.

There were many government officials and church leaders at the Assembly, but we didn’t allow them to overshadow the children. It was a big struggle. At run-up assemblies to this event, the children managed the entire program. They "emceed" everything, showing tremendous leadership skills. Even the moderator did not get on the stage. There were no speeches from adults. This is something extraordinary for CNI. At first, concerns were expressed about how the older children would behave. Many of them had never mentored younger children. But they proved themselves. Most of them went back challenged to defend children’s rights. They write us to say what initiatives they have started.

CWS: What effect does globalization have on street children?

Poonam Kumari, a former child of the street, who convened the 2000-2002 NGO Forum for Street Children. Photo: Church of North India

Das: India is mostly rural. There is a high level of poverty and there's a great attraction towards consumerism. This is a push factor for children who come from rural to urban areas to fulfill basic needs. The media enters villages also, and as a result of the images presented, children want to see the city lights, the cars, or just to put lipstick on, or dress like the movie stars they see on the screen. Or they may just want to experience sitting in a train. And with increased tourism, there’s an increased demand for sex workers. When you look at street children, the ratio between girls and boys is increasing. Where do the girls go? They are landing up in brothels. From my experience of working with street children and sex trafficking, I notice that in broken families, the stepfathers may sexually abuse the child at home so the child is vulnerable there also. When a child is sexually abused at home, he or she wants to run away from there not knowing that worse could happen.

CWS: What does Church World Service’s sponsorship of your visit mean to you?

Das: It's the beginning of a process of bringing children's concerns to different platforms. Someone at the CWS office in DC said "You have our support in your work." Those few words make a world of difference. As a grassroots worker, I'm humbled and encouraged by the fact that CWS recognizes that our work impacts lives. It's important not just for me, but for CNI. It adds to our credibility. We're not struggling alone.