Children - Terre des Hommes

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want to see their children sucked into the bondage of mine
labour but are unable to convince their children to go to
school. Only a few children were found to be going to the
high school from these communities, but as the distance to
the high school is far, this number is very small.
Health Problems
The study team also found that there were many widows
among the mine workers—35 in Kothaindlu, 26 in G. Koturu,
12 in Sallavaripalli and nine in Gadduru. Around 203 women
quarry workers, of the 1,321 women surveyed, are widows who
have lost their husbands either to ill-health like TB or because
of quarry accidents. This was one of the reasons for children,
especially girls dropping out of school and being forced to help
their mothers to make a living. The average age of the widows
did not appear to be more than 35 years reflecting the short life
span of a mine worker and the occupational illnesses that either
cause high mortality or prolonged illnesses that sap their daily
earnings, pushing children into mine labour at a younger age.
Table 2.43 shows that, among the 1,248 children, 210 are
working as stone quarry labourers and 544 children are not
attending school in study villages in Chittoor district. The
survey covered seven villages and among these villages most of
the families are working in stone quarries. The total population
of children studied was up to the age of 18 but the age of
children attending school is only up to 14 years. Hence the age
group 14–18 years not attending school has not been covered
under this survey. There was not a single NCLP school found
in this area even though children were found to be working in
mining and non-mining activities.
Mine accidents are also rampant in these areas. Around 50 per
cent of the children living in these villages, are not going to
school.
The children from the Vaddi community and some of the
dalit families are prone to several kinds of health problems,
due to the hazardous and strenuous work from which there
is no relief. Right from birth, the children are anaemic. The
women said that they cannot feed the children with proper
diet and therefore, the children are malnourished. They were
found to be mainly suffering from anaemia, skin problems,
malnutrition, body pains and respiratory problems. The
women did not report to vaccinating their children except for
polio drops. The habitations do not have proper sanitation.
The Vaddi communities are usually located on the fringes of
the villages with small crowded semi-pucca houses, without
toilets, electricity or drinking water. Only some of the houses
seemed to have electricity connection. Single mothers lived
in poor huts or sheds. There did not appear to be any sewage
facility because of which sanitation is poor and malaria is
rampant.
Women’s health is of grave concern as they were found to
be anaemic, malnourished, and the women said that due to
frequent child-bearing and miscarriages (which were said to
be common), they find it difficult to cope with the strain of
breaking the stones. Among adults, both men and women, TB
is a major health problem, and especially, the mortality rate of
men because of TB is very high. Added to this, the women
here are forced into unsafe sexual practices, both due to being
widows and being seasonal migrants, and they suffer from the
problems of STD and respiratory tract illnesses.
Table 2.43: Details of quarry workers’ children in Palamaneru area, Chittoor
Village Kothaindlu T.Vadduru G.Koturu Sallavaripalli Gadduru P.Vadduru Obulapuram
Total children’s population 205 333 126 104 109 122 121
in village (0–18 years)
Number of children working 12 70 35 40 19 21 13
in mining activity
No. of children attending 138 170 57 15 19 76 71
school (up to 14 years)
Daily wages for children (Rs.) 50 40 40 30 40 35 40
Number of children and Mason-3, Tailor-5, Labour-10, Tailor-3, Tailor-2, Mason-5, Mason-3,
youth in non-mining labour Factory Factory Tailor-7 Labour-17, Labour-12, Tailor-4 Tailor-2
worker-3 worker-10 Carpenter-2 Carpenter-1 Gold
smith-1
Source: Survey conducted by MASS, Palamaneru, 2009