Hope is a good thing—perhaps the best of things—and no good thing ever dies

Hope is a good thing—perhaps the best of things—and no good thing ever dies.

Imagine growing up in a community where you're not allowed to ask questions.

Where your future is predetermined even before you are born.

Where choices aren’t made—they’re forced.

Where you watch generation after generation endure the same fate.

But then someone dares to break the cycle.

It’s not easy. You receive life threats. You’re beaten. Your house is set on fire.

And still, you return.

You perform on the same streets where you were attacked just a week ago.

You rebuild in the same settlement where your home was burned.

You hold onto that one thing no one can take away from you—HOPE.

Hope that things can get better. And will get better—for good.

This is not a Bollywood script.

This isn’t the story of just one person.

This is the story of passionate grassroots leaders working tirelessly in the remotest corners of India.

Names we haven't heard.

Stories yet to see the light.

Voices that still go unheard.

Through Community Collectives, I’ve had the privilege of meeting some of these remarkable individuals.

It begins with reading their words in an application.

Then you hear their voice in a phone interview.

Eventually, the voice finds a face.

Strangers become friends.

Friends become a community.

Today, I am incredibly proud to introduce Cohort 6 of Community Collectives.

This year, we are working with 10 grassroots leaders from 6 Indian states.

Together, they are running 21 safe spaces, impacting over 1,500 children.

But that’s not all:

50% are first-generation school-goers.

1 in 3 have been child labourers themselves.

70% belong to the very communities they now serve.

Over the next year, we will walk alongside these grassroots leaders—offering them skills, knowledge, resources, and visibility to strengthen their work and deepen their impact.

Together, we will strive to create safe and joyful spaces of learning and support for children from historically marginalised communities like the Nat, Banjara, Phase-Pardhi, Musahar, Meer, and Fakir.

We will work to protect the right to a safe childhood for:

children living in the tribal belts of Bihar,

children selling balloons on the beaches of Goa,

children growing up in conflict zones of Chhattisgarh,

and children living in urban settlements across Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh.

Together we will address the disparity in society and in the not-for-profit world. Together, we will continue to hold onto that hope as a community.

Because hope is a good thing. And no good thing ever dies. 

From Survival to Choice - Reimagining Childhood in India

Have you ever felt that you have absolutely no control over your own life?

That your choices aren’t really yours—but are instead shaped, forced, or dictated by circumstances you didn’t choose?

For millions of children in India, this isn’t just a passing feeling. It is their everyday reality.

India is home to approximately 364 million children aged 0–18 years, representing about 30% of the country’s population of over 1.4 billion. The distribution by age group is roughly:

0–6 years: ~158 million

6–14 years (elementary school age): ~195 million

15–18 years (secondary/higher secondary age): ~80 million

According to a 2023 report by the World Bank and UNICEF, 11.5% of children in India live in extremely poor households, which translates to around 52 million children surviving on less than $2.15 (₹178) per day. Children living in poverty are highly vulnerable to becoming trapped in the vicious cycle of child labor — where poverty forces them out of school and into work, and the lack of education, in turn, ensures they remain in poverty for life.

Challenges Faced by Children Living in Poverty

Limited access to education is just the tip of the iceberg. Children in poverty also face:

• School-related challenges: Lower preparedness, poor attendance, stigmatization, and exposure to violence (domestic, workplace, verbal abuse).
• Health issues: Anemia, malnutrition, stunted growth, and substance abuse.
• Social challenges: Early marriages, teenage pregnancies, domestic abuse, and family separation.

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), as of 2016, 152 million children aged 5–17 years were involved in child labour worldwide. Alarmingly, 114 million of these were children between 5–14 years, making up 75% of the global child labour population.

In the Indian context, the Census of India 2011 reported that 10.1 million children aged 5–14 were engaged in some form of work. However, more recent estimates from the ILO (2020) suggest a declining but still significant figure — 5.8 million children aged 5–17 years are currently working in India. Despite the decrease, the numbers continue to reflect deep-rooted systemic issues.

Maharashtra: A Closer Look

Maharashtra, one of India's most industrialized and economically advanced states, is not immune to this issue. According to PENCIL (Platform for Effective Enforcement for No Child Labour). Maharahstra reported 25000 child labors. But according to the other reports and estimation it is a highly underreported figure.

The prevalence of child labour is particularly notable in:Agricultural sectors, especially sugarcane harvesting and cottonseed production

• Brick kilns, stone quarries, and construction work
• Small-scale industries, including zari work, fireworks, bidi rolling, and leather goods
• Informal service sectors, such as domestic help, roadside stalls, and automobile repair
• Addressing these challenges demands more than educational reforms. Today, on World Day Against Child Labour, we must confront an uncomfortable truth:

Child labour isn’t just a violation of rights—it’s a consequence of social and economical inequality.

To truly eliminate child labour, we must go beyond education alone.

We must:

Invest in community resilience

Build holistic support systems

Design child-focused public policies

Address gender and caste-based vulnerabilities

Let us not just raise awareness, but raise our voices.

Let us not just condemn child labour, but commit to action. 

Let’s build a world where every child has the freedom to dream—and the power to choose.

Redefining Passion and Dedication

We opened applications for our Community Collectives program in February. A few days later, one of our team members received a call from a grassroots leader in Uttar Pradesh. With a polite tone, he asked if he could submit the application a bit later. The reason he gave shook us: he had just lost his wife, who was only in her late twenties, two days earlier.

A few days after that, during the virtual final panel selection, I was speaking with one of the finalists. When I asked him how his week had been, he shared that just three days after our panel, his elder brother had committed suicide. It had been only five days since that tragedy, yet he was still determined to participate in our process. I apologized and offered to postpone the conversation, but he said he wanted to continue—for his brother, who had always supported him.

Through Community Collectives, I have the privilege of meeting grassroots leaders working in some of the most remote corners of the country. Every time, I am humbled by their unwavering dedication, commitment, and perseverance.

Yes, we too face challenges—but they are rarely matters of life and death. Every time I talk to grassroots leaders who stand tall amidst unimaginable adversities, I wonder why they are so determined to participate in this process. They always say, “We don’t get these opportunities often, and now that we have one, we want to make the most of it.”

The not-for-profit sector often favors those in metropolitan areas who speak fluent English, leaving many passionate grassroots leaders overlooked. These leaders deserve a fair chance to step up, to lead, and to build resilient communities. Through Community Collectives, we are striving to bridge this gap—but we can’t do it alone.

We need your support. Are you with us?