SALEM: He lost his childhood in a ramshackle silver anklet making unit by helping his boss in various chores, including handling of hazardous chemicals. Sold by parents due to poverty, he was a bonded child labourer in the unit when he was barely six years. Today he is set to became an Associate Software Engineer and is the only student to be selected by Prodapt Solutions, Chennai, in a campus selection at K S R College of Technology. In contrast to his child labourer days when he used to receive Rs10 a day, he will be getting a monthly pay of `25,000 while working in the posh confines of an IT company. G Mohan attributes his transformation to the SMILE project — a child labourers’ rescue and rehabilitation programme under the National Child Labour Project (NLCP). A total of 20 schools are run under NLCP in Salem region. They work exclusively for rehabilitation of child labourers. SMILE provides a couple of years of remedial education for the rescued children and later put them back in the mainstream schools.Consistent follow-up and other interventions ensure that a maximum number of rescued children do not become labourers again, says project director P V Viswanathan Mohan. Mohan was picked up at a time when child labour was rampant in silver anklet industry. Son of Govindaraj, a daily wage earner, he comes from Kudumbian Street in Shivadapuram, considered a notorious cluster of silver anklet units. Sending children to work in anklet units was more of a norm than exception here. Mohan says he started to work just a year after he was admitted in Standard I. Rescued three years later, he was put in a transition school and later sent to a Government Higher Secondary School in Pannapatti. He joined Standard VI, after which there was no looking back. In 2007, he passed Class XII with 879 marks. He says SMILE followed up on him and saw to it that his higher education was well-guided. Viswanathan says he managed to get financial assistance in the beginning to join BE in Computer Engineering at K S R College of Technology, Thiruchengode. The project officials met with the college management and impressed upon them to give Mohan a chance to pursue education. When lack of electricity at his house hindered Mohan’s education, the SMILE officials spoke to the college management and got him a hostel facility with concession. With consistent guidance and follow-up, Mohan finished his BE this year with 82.5 per cent marks. He is the only person to be picked up by Chennai based Prodapt Solutions. According to Viswanathan, Mohan was one among the three ex-child labourers to complete BE at the national and State level. On his success, Mohan says he would strive hard to become an outstanding professional. “I will take care of my parents and my brother (doing Plus Two now). I have no ill-feeling against my parents for putting me to work, instead of providing education. It was there situation that forced them to do so. They realised their mistake and they did not stand in my way to get educated after my rescue,” he adds.
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