GANATAR: EDUCATING THE CHILDREN OF THE DESERT

Group E6

The cost of Salt

• A life expectancy of 50 years for about 50,000 people

• Night blindness among 60% of the children of saltpan workers

• Temperatures of 55OC for children below the age of 6

• A daily wage as low as Rs. 30• A literacy rate of 1.3% in an entire community• Unnatural deaths due to Tuberculosis and

Gangrene

Saltpans

Little Rann of Kutch is a 5,200 sq-km area

Accounts for 25% of India’s total salt production

Saltpan Workers

About 1,00,000 people employed in this industry

80% of them are landless labors

They have been working here for generations

They fall under the De-notified Tribe list and are called Agariyas

Problems

Social

Economic

HazardsPlight of Children

GovernmentProhibitions

Ganatar- Introduction

Ganatar – Work Profile

Children

Health

Eradication of Child Labor

Education

Ganatar - Achievements

• Percentage of children going to school increased from 20% to 80% in 10 years

• Pushed for and secured an amount of Rs. 11 crore in the State Budget for setting up schools

• Comprehensive setup for education and vocational training

• Has a network in 90 villages through panchayats and schools

Organization of the society

Merchants

Agarias

Labourers (migrated from other states)

Agarias: Status in the society

Feel exploited

Little leverage to negotiate

Sustenance drivenFragmented community

No elected representative to take their cause

Role of government

Responsibility of ensuring education

(RTE)

Little help accorded till

now

No legislation to prevent

exploitation

The Solution

Government

NGOs

Community

Recommendations (for Ganatar)

Gather Funding

Ask for Regulations

Ask for Technology

Engage Government

Form Self-help groups

Thank You