The Bharat Yatra is a clarion call to Make India Safe Again for Children. The sexual abuse and exploitation of children has grown to alarming proportions, and must be totally prevented at any cost, before more children lose their childhood to this repulsive and intolerable crime. The trafficking of children involves buying and selling them illegally for the purpose of their exploitation, and unless this crime is controlled, children will continue to lead extremely compromised and unsafe childhoods. Led by Nobel Peace Laureate Mr. Kailash Satyarthi, the Satyarthi Movement and the Kailash Satyar thi Children’s Foundation (KSCF) has set into motion a range of local, regional and global activities to build vast and sustainable support for the world’s largest youth-led mobilisation for all children in need of care and protection. The Bharat Yatra is an effort to mobilise urgent action on these terrible crimes against children.
Starting from the southernmost tip of peninsular India, Kanyakumari, where two seas and an ocean meet, on September 11, 2017, the Bharat Yatra is led by Nobel Peace Laureate Mr Kailash Satyarthi, with committed and passionate marchers and change makers joining him and KSCF. Through seven routes touching cities, towns and villages in 22 Indian states and Union Territories, this journey engages with policy makers, implementers, teachers, local leaders, women’s groups, law enforcement personnel, the media, business leaders and most importantly with children and their parents. Using the traditional and time-tested technique of social mobilisation by walking and connecting inter-personally on the streets and in the galis, the Yatra includes gathering for events and awareness programmes and leveraging political leadership to mobilise action. Collaborations with local organisations at the state-level are essential for effectiveness and impact. KSCF, as the national coordinator for the Yatra, is partnering with several civil society organisations for this purpose.
The Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation (KSCF) is the global umbrella for the Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation-India based in New Delhi and the Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation-U.S. based in Washington, D.C. Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi serves as the Global Chairperson of the Foundation. What began as one man’s drive to fight for the rights of children, has manifested into a global foundation of like-minded people committed to creating a world fit for children. The Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation’s Global Advisory Board is comprised of strategic partners, leaders from the private, public, and NGO sectors, and subject
matter experts in a variety of areas.The three pillars of KSCF are Outreach & Engagement, Direct Action, and Policy & Training. At the heart of our work is ensuring the wellbeing of children everywhere, by also directly empowering children to stand up for their rights. We believe that to achieve our mission, there is a need for evolution in the approach to policy, law and practice – away from a single issue to an interdisciplinary approach – across child protection, education, health, peace and conflict resolution. We believe the secret to achieving the results we seek lies in forging strong partnerships across sectors (civil society, business, government, academia). We also believe in mobilising resources where they will have the strongest impact and an outcomes-based approach based on transparency, accountability, and collaboration.
