A process by which six groups of working children from different parts of India collected and analysed information about their own lives was initiated by the Concerned for Working Children (CWC) in 1995. Initially it was conceived as a process by which children could monitor the implementation of the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) and to present their own report to the Committee as they are most capable of determining the real impact of the CRC on their lives. 

However, after discussions, the participants felt that the information and experiences which such a process can generate could have a much wider implication than merely reflecting the impact of the CRC on their lives. It was stated that the `Working Children's Report' could actually be evolved and developed by children in association with their parents, their communities and the NGOs they worked with. Children felt that this frame work would make the report more relevant. 

The Working Children's Report was initiated to empower children by creating opportunities for them to influence the process of decision making. This was based on our experiences which have proved that children are capable of serious thought, analysis and expression of their own situation; and that they can very effectively advocate for themselves. 

This report has been submitted to the Committee on the Rights of the Child. It will be published soon in English, Kannada, Hindi, Tamil and Oriya. 

The Convention on the Rights of the Child adopted by the UN General Assembly on 20th November 1989, was a historic document for children all over the world. It provides child rights a legal framework by holding the Governments accountable; it also has the potential to become an important tool for activists who work for the rights of children and most importantly, it provides an opportunity and a forum for children to advocate for their rights. 

The Convention on the Rights of the Child was formulated by adults unilaterally without taking into consideration children's point of view. In India, the Convention also come under a lot of criticism because of its distance from the situation of the child in the Indian context. There is very little awareness on the rights of the child not only among children themselves but also among those who are responsible for making the rights a reality for children. 

All rights can be effectively enforced only when the monitoring system includes protagonists themselves, in this case, the protagonists being children themselves. However, CRC is silent on the role of children themselves in the process of monitoring the Convention. The exclusion of children from matters which significantly pertain to their own lives is contrary to the spirit of the Convention itself. 

It is important that children are involved in the process of relating their real life experiences to the implementation of the Convention. They should be able to voice their concerns to the larger world, express their opinions and feelings about matters which affect them most and thereby monitor the instrument that is supposed to enable them to realise their rights.

The primary constituency for this exercise consisted of groups of working children who have reached a certain level of participation, some of whom represented their children's unions or fora. These groups came from five states of the country, namely Maharashtra, Orissa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Delhi. 

The secondary constituency consisted of adult activists who believe in the potential of children and work closely with them. These activists belonged to NGOs namely, YUVA (Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action, working with street and working children in Bombay), Butterflies (working with street and working children in Delhi), Agragamee (working with the tribal communities in the hills of Kashipur in the Rayagada district of Orissa), Malarchi Trust and CEDAR (working with child workers in the match factories in Tirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu and their communities), Ankur and Gramashrama (the field programmes of CWC, working with the issue of child labour in urban and rural Karnataka respectively).The two working children's unions involved in the process were Bhima Sangha (a union of, by and for working children in Karnataka) and Bal Mazdoor Union (BMU), a union of child workers in Delhi. Later Butterflies decided to withdraw from the process. 

The Center for Applied research and Documentation (CARD) of the CWC was responsible for the overall support and co-ordination of the exercise.

1. Identification of children's problems
2. Identification of the `impact of the problem on the 
   • Child
   • Child's family
   • Child's community \ group
3. Identification of:
   • What needs to be done by working children themselves?
   • What needs to be done by their families? 
   • What needs to be done by their communities? 
   • What needs to be done by the agencies who work with these children\communities?
   • What needs to be done by the government - Local, State and Central governments?
4. Responding to the Government of India (GOI)'s Report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child submitted in 1997.
   • Understanding what the Convention on the Rights of the Child states. 
   • Understanding what the GOI says in its report to the Committee on the Rights of the Children
   • Responding to the GOI's report 

The participants identified smaller core groups within their programmes/unions to take up the role of researchers to collect the required information. Children listed down the qualities and skills which had to be present in each core group. They, after much discussion, decided that the older (and more experienced) children should be the advisors to the core group and not be involved in the actual research as they may dominate the process. 

The `core group' consisted of children in the age group of 10-12 years; and the support group consisted of children between the age of 14-18 years. The core group was primarily responsible for the collection of data from the groups and for dissemination of information received during the course of meetings with the other core groups. Thus each organisation had one core group, one support group and one/two activists who acted as facilitators. Since the primary actors were children, the role of the adult facilitators was limited to providing protection, conduct training and to act as a contact point. 

One of the responsibilities of the NGOs was to introduce children to a wide range of information gathering methodologies, so that children could select research techniques and activities which were both reliable and enjoyable. In response to the requests from the teams from Bangalore and Madurai, two workshops on Participatory Action Research  (PAR) techniques were conducted as a part of this process. This highlighted the use of tools such as role-plays, street-plays, posters, folk dances, music, puppetry etc.  The groups also listed other resources and inputs they required in order to take this work forward. Some groups wanted more inputs regarding the concept of child participation and partnership. 

Through out the process, the experiences and opinions of each team was sensitively acknowledged and responded to. As some of the participating teams had opportunities to meet during the Convention of Working Children, 1996, Regional Meeting of Working Children, 1996 and the International Working Children's Meeting, 1996, they had opportunities to discuss in-depth many of the issues which had been raised in the meetings of the Working Children's Report.

After the initial discussion during which the groups decided upon the methodology to work on this report, groups went back to their respective areas and began to gather information. During this period the groups were in touch with each other, exchanging information about the progress made, seeking help and guidance if necessary and sharing success stories. The PAR workshops and NGO visits were also conducted. 

After the groups were ready with the required data, a common meeting was organised to share the information. At this meeting, each of the groups presented the information they had collected in the form of drafts of written reports, role plays, songs, charts, posters etc. They not only presented their findings but also discussed about the methods which were used to collect the data. These methods include mapping exercises, interviews, theater, posters, drawings, group discussions, story telling and case study documentation. This was pictorially presented by way of diagrams which documented the different methods used by children to collect/generate information and indicated how successful each of those methods were. 

An exercise was conducted to enable children to understand the systemic issues leading to their problems and to analysis of their situation within the perspective was the `tree exercise'. Here, children categorised their problems at three levels. The first level was that of the micro problems, which was pictorially depicted as the leaves; the second level was that of the problems related to issues, depicted as the bark and the third level was that of the basic problems, depicted as the roots.The insight provided by this exercise was apparent when children listed down the solutions to their problems. They covered a wide range of issues - responding to both micro and macro issues. 

"The preparation of this report is seen only as one of the milestones in the long road towards that level of child empowerment which will enable them to be equal partners in the development of the society; and to that level of adult empowerment which will enable us to be worthy partners to children"  

Children's Quotes from the Working Children's Report