THE CHILD IN SOUTH EAST ASIA THE CHILD IN INDIA

Item

Title: THE CHILD IN SOUTH EAST ASIA THE CHILD IN INDIA
extracted text: SDA-RF-CH-4.16

i

Jke CkU in

z

la
commukuV
cell
47/1 (First Floor) St. Marks Road
BANGALORE-560 001

By
Dr. MARIE MIGNON MASCARENHAS,
MBBS, DPH(Eng.), MFCMRCP (Lond.), FRIPHH(Eng.)

* Director, Centre for Research, Education and
Training for Family Life Promotion,
* Associate Member, CBCI Commission for
Family and Laity,
* Member, Karnataka State Government
Family Welfare Council,

INDIA'S SYMBOL FOR IYC 1979
A Boy and Girl with the Sun and Slate
The Sun signifies Wealth and Strength. The slate
stands for EDUCATION.
India’s slogan for IYC is “HAPPY CHILD,
NATION S PRIDE ”
INDIA’S THEME IS “ REA CHING THE DEPRIVED CHILD ”

Paper presented at the International Conference
on “ Family, the Natural Environment of the Child ”
held at Centro Internazionale Studi Famiglia, Milano,
Italy, 20—24 June 1979.

21, MUSEUM ROAD,
BANGALORE-560025

INDIA

The Child to So^th East Asia
Beautiful and brown, but born to be a blossom in the dust ’’
—Mascarenhas.

This sums up the sad but common fate of a child born in India today. Of 230 million children below the
age of 6 yeais, forty per cent are doomed to die before their fifteenth birthday.

DESTINED TO DEPRIVATION
With one million deaths per year due to malnutrition alone, and 5 millions dying from easily preventable
diseases (like Diptheria, Whooping Cough, Tetanus, Poliomyelitis and Measles), death is perhaps a better fate than
that which awaits those who survive after five years.
It has been said that the child in India has as muchchance of
developed country has of reaching the age of 35-40 years.

reaching the age of 5 years

as a child in a

Of those who survive, 1.5 million are destitute and over 10 million are employed in hard and often
demanding labour. Infant death rates (122/1000) are five times higher in rural areas and every tenth child in
India is handicapped.

The picture of South East Asia is hardly different
1.

in various countries :

NEPAL, the Himalayan Mountain Kingdom with a 12 million population,

37% of all deaths occur in infants
56% of the total population is below five years and
67% are below 15 years.
At 7-8 years age, only 30% of children are in schools.
In all the countries of South East Asia where 2/3 of her people live in rural areas, the benefits of
increased national income do not reach the most neglected and needy, that is the rural poor. And this too when
70% Gross National Product comes from these rural poor. (The distribution of population is 74% rural. 20%
urban and 6% tribal in India)..

2. PAKISTAN: 44% of the total population are below 15. Literacy rates are very poor; above 5 years it is
about 30%. Other statistics are comparable to India. There is very low literacy in RURAL WOMEN and FEMALE
children a fact which is common to all South East Asia Countries.

3. SINGAPORE: It has an average family size of 3 children and is a welfare state; it is experiencing problems
of a different nature. Counselling and family life education programmes are becoming a felt need especially
because of the housing schemes and affluence.
4. MALAYSIA: About 44% of the population is below 15 years. Education and health facilities in rural
areas need improving. Malaysia is trying to strengthen the rural maternal and child health services from which
it is hoped that children will benefit considerably.
5. HONGKONG: Has a high literacy rate for children. Though girls of 12 and 13 tend to take
more than young boys, to help in the household expenditure, they are not hazardous jobs.

3

part-time jobs

The problems of dropouts, drug addiction and delinquency are a warning to other Asian countries.
6. PHILIPPINES: About 46% of the population is under 15. There is a big rural population
(6/7 of the
total population). However with increasing urban migration the effects on family life are beginning to be se .
There is great progress on the literacy front, with about 60% literacy, but this is more above 10 years an )
males
From 1973 the Philippines has a Women and Child Labour Law. However, enforcement ol
existing legislation in all S.E. Asian countries leaves much to be desired because of vested interests.
1/5 of the Labour force is between 10-14 years and over 1/3 are 19 years or younger.
7. THAILAND: The high mortality rate of 85/1000 has been declining very slowly. Children under 15
constitute 44% of population and are mostly in the rural areas. There is 70% literacy above 10 years. Although
almost all Thai children receive primary education, few proceed past the 4th grade. There is a big child labour force
in farming. Health facilities in rural areas are inadequate.

8. TAIWAN: The terraced isle is one of the healthiest areas in Asia and boasts a higher life expectancy for
female children as compared to male children. This contrasts with India where male children are prized and cared
for much better than are female children. The IMR is only 22.6, a sensitive index of a healthy country. There
is primary school education for over 50% of children.
UNICEF and Japan have contributed greately to welfare
services in Taiwan.

1.

The Deprived Chiid and Malnutrition

7'u’o thirds of the children in South East Asia are malnourished. About seven million children suffer
from severe malnutrition in India alone. Nehru said “The nation marches on the feet of little children”, but the
children of India cannot march on empty stomachs. Their mothers lack the health, energy and time to devote
to them. Out of 10 children only 3 have access to health care in rural areas. Ignorance and adherence to
traditional food habits added to malnutrition of the mother results in deprivation from the time of conception.

Prematurity and low birth weight lead to a high child wastage index (40 in India; only 6 in Japan) and
the surviving children are susceptible to tuberculosis and anaemia.
With 31 million working women and a vast majority of them belonging to the very needy groups, it
falls upon the older child or aged grand-mother to care for the young child. Neither can cope with the needs
nor effectively' nourish him/her
Vitamin A deficiency resulting in blindness is common. This form of preventable blindness is unwarranted
in a country abounding with fruits and vegetables. The vast natural resources lie dormant ,in India which is
indeed a rich country' with poor people. Protein calorie malnutrition is very common, and often
irreversible
damage ends in death. Early detection is necessary but only very sick children are brought to hospitals.

With 40% of the brain growth completed by age 4 and 80% by age 8, neglect at this vulnerable stage
cannot be reversed or remedied by action at a later stage. A child deprived of basic nutrition and environmental
stimulation is like the grain of wheat thrown on rocky soil. It can never take root but leads a precarious
existence battered by the elements. Here today but gone in the night, with no tomorrow.
Age

Urban

Rural

Total
Millions

50,521
43,898
94,419

61,495
53,259
114,754

Millions
0-3
4-6
0-6

10,974
9,361
20,335

NUMBER OF CHILDREN IN INDIA (Census 1971)

We cannot forget the handicapped child. There are 9.5 million blind people of whom 70% are children
There are about 18 million mentally retarded people of whom 90% are children.
The orthopaedically handicapped children are about 5 million.
Leprosy affects over 5 million, of whom 40% are children.

4

An Asian Federation for the Handicapped is striving to create an awareness of the preventable measures
and early recognition of their needs.
The Indian Government is undertaking a complete census of the handicapped in 1981.
However,
Government institutions cannot serve a fraction of these handicapped children who are not given the love and
understanding they need by their family or community.

11.

The Deprived Child - And Education

There are 115 million preschool children in the 0-6 age group.
These children
deprivation of a high order. Only 60% to 70% children are enrolled in primary school.

suffer

educational

School dropouts

The Planning Commission of India has observed “the dropping out from the educational stream of more
than 60% of children before completing 4—-5 years of schooling”.

What is even more shocking is that 50% drop out after only one year of schooling. Therefore, more
children are out of school than in, at the very age that they are eager to imbibe knowledge. At the middle school
stage 70% of the children have dropped out
Only half the total number who enrol in schools are girls and a large proportion drop out to marry
early soon after they have matured. 12% of the girls are married in the 10-14 years age group.

HL

The Deprived Child and Labour

The World estimate of child labour is in the vicinity of 52 million, of which 42 million are in South Asia.
Over 90% of them are located in rural areas where parents expect their children to help support the family.

There is no question of needs because the parents cannot comprehend anything beyond living or existing
for that day. It is for this same reason that even the massive family planning programmes have little impact.
The early entry of children into the work force is tantamount to the denial of the child’s right. The child
works at low wages and at high risks. There is no union to protect child exploitation. Not to have to work
would be a “luxury”. Of what use would it be to talk of basic necessities like safety conditions, short working
hours and food. This would be like Oliver Twist asking for “more”.

!V.

The Deprived Child - And Family

The child is an integral part of his family and he represents the background he comes from. When we,
consider plans to lessen his deprivation, we cannot treat him as separate from his family.
Of the 115 million children below 6 years 46 million belong to families living below the poverty line, and
9.2 million live in slums; 187 million children live in the rural areas.

It is almost meaningless to talk of the scale of human needs when we consider the vast majority of
Indian children, their “psychological” needs, and the need for “security”, the need to “love and become a
person”, the need for “esteem and recognition” and the need for “fulfillment”. All these needs must have the
naturally beautiful environment of the family, to flourish.

When children are born to deprived parents and especially to a mother whose needs have never been
recognised or fulfilled, the word “needs” sounds hollow.
Starting from the time of his conception his deprivation continues through his birth, early infancy and
(if he survives this period) childhood and adolescence. It is the socio-cultural and economic factors linked with
population that are primarily responsible for the miserable family environment of the deprived child in S.E. Asia.
The economic factor sets a chain reaction of problems like malnutrition, ill-health, high infant mortality
rate, disease, unwholesome living conditions, lack of education, vagrancy, delinquency, beggary and child abuse.

5

Unhappiness perpetuates unhappiness and these children grow up to make unhappy parents.

Emotional Impoverishment in the Family
The exact number of emotionally deprived children is not known. This problem is not less serious‘
other forms of deprivation. The changing family pattern from the joint family to the nuclear lami y,
mother in urban areas and other causes as follows contribute.
1.
Death, desertion or divorce of one or both the parents. A high maternal mortality (10/1000) lea
many children motherless, especially in the villages.
II. a) Incompatibility of one or both parents and marital discord especially when one partner is
better educated or has different expectations as in arranged marriages.
b) Mental illness.
c) Severe physical incapacity of one or both the parents.
d) Alcoholism and addiction to drugs.
III. Acts of fate like floods, earthquakes, cyclone, etc., which separate family members
permanently.

IV.

temporarily or

Inadequate Parents-

Ignorance, indifference due to lack of education, or lack of attention of parents who are busy with
social and professional life.
Some consequences of the above situations are destitute, delinquent and emotionally disturbed children.

I have painted a dismal but true picture; however we must believe ‘‘that if there is anything that will
endure the eye of God, it is the spirit of a little child from His hand and therefore undefiled’’. The Child, at
this Congress and in this year is in the eye of the storm. If IYC is not meant to be mere rhetoric but a year of
action, then each of the problem areas are target areas for us to focus our attention on.

Keeping in mind that the family is truly the natural environment of the child and that we cannot consider
the child in separate compartments but as an integrated person we can suggest that:
1.

Parents in S.E. Asia be made aware of

a) of the needs of the child especially when growth and development are rapid and

b) the fact that they, the family, can never be replaced by' any other institution or agency. The family must
be energised to shape its own destiny. As of today, the family has little freedom to determine its fate.
2.

That the status of the deprived child in S.E. Asia be publicized so that Government and voluntary
can implement the integrated child health schemes proposed;

agencies

3.

That voluntary agencies with an educational, social, nutritional or handicap bias, coordinate and
their activities especially where disparities exist eg. in rural areas and in female children, who
treated with indifference.

strengthen
are often

4.

That all welfare and health organizations remember that the child born or unborn symbolises life and that
any attempt to destroy this life is contrary to human values.

5.

That all opportunities
and that the family be

6.

That our close cooperation in Government’s plan (especially the National Plan in India to provide nutrition
and education to every child and more especially to the preschool child) is needed forlYC to succeed in its
aims

7.

That in school, immunisation and health services be provided free, as also to the children out of school
And that this work be spearheaded by voluntary organizations as a top priority for prevention is not only
better but cheaper than cure.
'
}

8.

That family life education programmes be widespread and freely available to young people, and that parent
education must be undertaken side by side. The education of women is particularly important for when
you educate a man you educate an individual, whereas when you educate a woman you educate a family

9.

That public opinion be created to influence priorities which should place the needs of the
compared to other needs (like space research and military weaponry).

for providing nutrition, which is inexpensive and locally available, be availed of,
helped to live with self reliance and in dignity.

6

child hioh
gn as

Desperately needed - an Integrated Plan of Action for the child in S.E. Asia

“He who is or has been deeply hurt, has a right to be sure he is loved” (Jean Vanier).

The dynamics of the IYC programme should be carefully worked out so as to involve the people —
“// people do not understand they can only interfere or remain indifferent” — so parents especially
must
understand and be involved in any programme proposed for their child. Indifference has been the reaction to most
of India’s excellent programmes.
A strategy must therefore be worked out to ensure a positive response with active participation by the
majority. It is necessary that we should have a second look at the Gandhian approach. Two basic tenets of
Gandhian economics seem to provide an answer. One is decentralization of the means of production. The other is
development of a technological system in which man is at the centre of the scheme of things and not the
machine. This is vital for the welfare of the rural families living below the poverty line. Planners must take
into account the genius of the Indian personality and dispel the idea that “modernization is westernization”.
It is we who belong to voluntary and non governmental organizations who should undertake the care of
the deprived child. “Understand and love the deprived child” — has been suggested as the eleventh commandment
in this IYC and so we should make the following slogan our goal — REACH THE DEPRIVED CHILD. For
S.E. Asian countries at least, there could be no better theme.

Plans

io

overcome

Deprivation

To combat malnutrition, an excellent mechanisation has already been set up in some parts of the country
in the “Bawaldi” (house for children). It is a scheme which offers full and part-time child care in a stimulating
and nurturing environment. The Balwadi is a nucleus and starting point for the development of action programmes
that can effectively meet the basic needs of children.

Child care is a social responsibility and families need assistance in child rearing and communities need
to feel responsible for the care of the young.
This has not been understood or appreciated sufficiently in India and hence the Balwadi which should
be like a lamp illuminating the community around it, remains a flickering flame. In this year, an attempt can be
made to revitalize this essential service and duplicate it with millions of lamps all over the country till no child is
left in the shadow of deprivation
Since women in the age group 15 — 45 constitute 22% of the total population and preschool children
another 21%, this “Vulnerable group” of 43% should be reached for health and nutrition programmes. Midday
meals and health education, though available in excellent programmes, are still too few and must be multiplied in
S.E. Asian villages.

The bulk of child labour is in the unorganised sector, in both rural and urban areas. Government
machinery cannot cope with the enforcement of existing legislation, neither can they influence public opinion.
Only voluntary agencies can do this effectively. The National Committee on Child Labour set up by the Labour
Ministry has made little impact, for the evil roots of child labour cannot be legislated away. The problem of child
labour is directly responsible for the poor progress on the educational front.

Women can play a leading role in remedying this situation provided they are helped to make up the
financial loss incurred by the child who discontinues working. One way to achieve this is to enable the woman to
be employed in gainful labour in her own home. Here she and not the older child can then care for the young ones.

The Mahila Mandal or Women’s Clubs and the Youth Association in the villages are being motivated to
play a key role in implementing Government programmes and minimise unsanitary practices and apathy, to needed
change in food habits and abolition of cultural taboos.

India's National Plan of Action for IYC 1979

In the Five Year Plan, many long-term and short-term programmes have been initiated to
meet the
challenges. One of the most organised schemes is the Integrated Child Development Services Scheme. This scheme
was first introduced on an experimental basis in 33 projects all over India and is now being extended to 100
projects. Each project, on an average, covers a population of about 90,000.

7

The scheme aims at the delivery of a package of services consisting of supplcmen y
. ’
immunization, health checkups, referral services, health and nutrition education and non formal pre-sc
in an integrated manner to pre-school children and pregnant mothers in the population.
The countries of S.E. Asia would do well to formulate a national strategy with the following goals which
should be time bound.
1. Reducing infant and child mortality and morbidity. This is essential for motivating couples to plan
their families.
2. Ensuring adequate maternal health services and helping the mother to a fuller awareness of her
own and her child's needs.

,

3.
4.

Helping the handicapped child to achieve fulfillment as a person.
Wider community education and participation in health nutrion, immunisation and several uplift
programmes.

5.

Preparation of boys and girls for responsible parenthood.

6.

Energising the family as the basic and vital unit of society.

Our problems exist in almost “Goliath proportions”. But like David, ingenuity and determination can be
the genius to overcome them.
The challenge is there — let us all join hands and hearts to meet it, so that in the
we can say :

words of Tagore,

Where the mind is without fear, and the head is held high,
Where knowledge is freeWhere the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;

Where words come from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving reaches its arms towards perfection;

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;

Where the mind is led forward by Thee into ever widening thought
In to that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

Printed at: St. Joseph’s Press, 93, North Road, Bangalore - 560 005.

Media: SDA-RF-CH-4.16.pdf

Position: 722 (10 views)