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Vision
To create a child friendly society, where all children are free from exploitation and receive free and quality education.
Mission
To identify, liberate, rehabilitate and educate children in servitude through direct intervention, child and community participation, coalition building, consumer action, promoting ethical trade practices and mass mobilisation.
Values
The organization follows a set of values, important of which are:
- Affection
- Altruism
- Belief
- Bravery
- Care
- Commitment
- Courage
- Efficiency
- Freedom
- Hope
- Individuality
- Integrity
- Liberalism
- Professionalism
- Wisdom
- Objectivity
- Optimism
Overview
Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) is not a conventional NGO or a typical institution; it is the ray of hope in millions of hearts, the first dream in their eyes, and the first smile on their faces. It is the sky and wings together for innumerable children, excluded from human identity and dignity, with a desire to fly in freedom. It is the tears of joy of a mother who finds her rescued child back in her lap after years of helplessness and hopelessness. It is a battle to open the doors of opportunities, a fire for freedom and education in the hearts and souls of thousands of youth committed to wipe out the scourge of slavery and ignorance from the face of mankind.
At a Glance
Team
Founder : Mr. Kailash Satyarthi
Born in 1954 in the historical town of Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh in Central India, Kailash Satyarthi is synonymous with the crusade against child slavery. In 1980, when he gave up a promising career as an electrical engineer to campaign against servitude in India, child slavery was a non-issue. As a crusader, Satyarthi has had the unprecedented opportunity to sit and motivate the indigenous people, tribes and the poor in remote villages of Africa, Latin America and Asia, as well as address the UN General Assembly, International Labour Conferences, UNESCO's High Level Group on Education and Parliamentary hearings in many countries. He has been regularly invited to address some of the biggest international congregations of workers, teachers, and students as a keynote speaker. As a grassroots activist, he has led the rescue of over 67,000 child slaves and developed a successful model for their education and rehabilitation. As a worldwide campaigner, he has been the architect of the single largest civil society network for the most exploited children, the 'Global March against Child Labour', active in over 140 countries.
Governing Body (Click here)
President : Ramesh Gupta
India’s eminent lawyer and Former President of Delhi Sate Bar Council (the statutory body of over 40,000 lawyers in the Supreme Court, High Court and all District and Session Court), Ramesh Gupta has been a close ally of the movement since its inception. He is a pioneer in anti-bonded labour movement involved in rescue operation of bonded labourers from brick kilns in the 80s.
Chairperson : Rama Shankar Chaurasia
One of the most dedicated activists of the movement; Prof. Rama Shankar Chaurasia not only liberated thousands of bonded labourers and children at his behest but also led several campaigns. He alleviated himself from the level of BBA's district secretary in Mirzapur (UP) to State Secretary, State President and National General Secretary before becoming the Chairperson. The general election of BBA (which has over 80,000 individual members), was held on January 18th, 2007 in Delhi. The National Chaupal (General Assembly) consisted of over 200 elected representatives from various districts, states and the allied legal entities. |
Evolution
In 1998, a mass movement was ignited to create a child friendly society where all children are free from exclusion and exploitation, and receive free education of good quality. The movement engaged itself in identifying, liberating, rehabilitating and educating children in servitude through direct intervention, encouraging child and community participation, building partnerships and coalitions, leading consumer actions, promoting ethics in trade, unionizing workers, running campaigns on a variety of issues – education, trafficking, forced labor, decent work, building child friendly villages and mobilizing the masses on a common action.
Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) symbolizes the largest grassroots movement against child labour, child trafficking and child servitude. We have a legacy of 25 years of crusading as an initiator of rescuing slave children (through direct action and raid and rescue operations) in India. On one hand, we organize global movements like the Global March against Child Labour in 1998 and on the other seek promotion of social justice and human rights especially child rights.
Established by a group of individuals in 1980, BBA was founded by Kailash Satyarthi, who after witnessing the atrocities inflicted on child labourers, felt the urgent need to address the issues of these physically, mentally, socially exploited, abused and violated children. Perils of child labour and bonded labour have been widespread and deep-rooted all across South Asia, jeopardizing the lives and childhood of millions of children. Child labour has been socially accepted and widely practiced throughout generations and thus no legal or political initiative existed against it. People saw nothing unusual about it and the rationale provided was that children were working due to poverty. However, South Asian Coalition on Child Servitude (SACCS) /Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) was the first civil society initiative to question and fight this evil. BBA is a leading advocate of abolition of child labour. It deserves the credit for not only being the first organization in India on this issue but the first Regional People’s Movement in the world. It has now emerged as an organization of thousands of individual supporters under the banner of ‘Bachpan Bachao Andolan’ as well as network of over 780 NGOs, Trade Unions, Human Rights Organization etc. dedicated towards the total elimination of child labour and quality education for all in India also known as the South Asian Coalition on Child Servitude.
BBA is known for its innovative initiative and multi-faceted intervention including secret raids and rescue operations to liberate slave children, making them leaders and liberators in Mukti Ashram, Bal Ashram and Girls’ Collective - the unique rehabilitation centers.
We have also been spearheading campaigns for free, compulsory and meaningful education, sensitization of parents, communities and school children, coalition building with Trade Unions, Teachers’ Organizations, Religious Groups, Political Parties and Employers, consumer action like Rugmark Foundation, Ethical Trade Initiative like Fair Play Campaign and several others.
BBA has triggered a ripple effect in India and in international community. The tide is turning in favor of children; a ray has multiplied itself into a sun which is constantly supplementing brightness and warmth to the lives of unprivileged children. We need more support. BBA calls you to join hands in bringing a smile – the smile of freedom, love and peace, on the face of every child in this world.
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