On the fringes of the forest in eastern Uttar Pradesh lives a community that is so deprived that even in this day and age a majority of them struggle to get even water. The Musahar Community is among the poorest of the poor in India and has remained so for decades. As a result, they are marginalized and left so far behind that it will take years to remove the stigma attached to them. But it has to begin somewhere.
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“Yes, they are deprived of food, water and every other basic resource. But the saddest thing is that they themselves have no dreams or hopes. For generations, they lived on the outskirts of society, physically and socially, that they don’t know any other life. Our organization has been striving to change this for two decades now. Slowly but surely, we are seeing progress. The future of this community now lies in the hands of the children.” - Mustaque Ahmad, Chief Functionary, Rural Organization For Social Advancement
Poverty, Trafficking, Child Labour - These Are Only Some Of The Problems That Plaque The Children In The Community
Mustaque Ahmad has worked closely with the Musahar Community since Rural Organization For Social Advancement’s (ROSA) inception in 2003. Over the years he has observed the various issues that the community and its children face. Child marriage, poverty, trafficking, child labour, malnutrition, lack of education and other health issues are only some of the day-to-day challenges they face.
“A majority of the people don’t own any agricultural land and earn a living through bonded labour. Sometimes they don’t have work for months, which means it has a significant impact on the children. They have to live in unhygienic conditions and are vulnerable to several diseases. Lack of nutritious food leads to malnutrition and other health conditions which increases the rate of mortality. I have seen hundreds of children starving, being so weak that they can’t even move. Is this the childhood they deserve?”
Mustaque and ROSA have been working towards empowering these children by not just fulfilling their basic needs but also providing them with access to education, life skill training, teaching them hygienic practices and more. The parents are also trained in looking after the children’s nutritional needs. ROSA currently feeds over 150 children healthy meals along with milk and biscuits every day. They also provide their families with grocery kits so that they can continue having healthy food at home.
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“We ask the children what they want to be and try and teach them that particular skill. In these 20 years, I have seen that although the social change is not much, there has been an educational change. More children are going to school and are even graduating. However, they can only continue thriving if their nutritional needs are met”
No Matter How Hard They Try, They’re Struggling To Feed The Kids Regularly
Although the team at ROSA are doing their best to feed the children from the Musahar community, they don’t have enough consistent funds to continue. Often, they have to hold back on their activities due to a lack of funds.
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“And that saddens me. We’ve seen the impact these meals have had on the children - it’s saving their lives! We don’t want to stop. We need your help to get groceries so that we can continue giving these children cooked meals.”
With your support, they can also keep giving the families grocery kits to survive.
This is an important time for the children of the Musahar Community. Nobody before them has seen this much progress and access to resources. They have the potential to make a name for themselves and be independent, and you can help fulfil that with your donations.
About the NGO: Mustaque Ahmad has worked closely with the Musahar Community since Rural Organization For Social Advancement’s (ROSA) inception in 2003. Over the years he has observed the various issues that the community and its children face. Child marriage, poverty, trafficking, child labour, malnutrition, lack of education and other health issues are only some of the day-to-day challenges they face. Mustaque and ROSA have been working towards empowering these children by not just fulfilling their basic needs but also providing them with access to education, life skill training, teaching them hygienic practices and more. Slowly, but surely there has been progress in the community. However, there is still a long way to go.