This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of IKEA Foundation for IKEA Foundation for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
Meet Tejas. Tejas is 10 and he was forced to leave school because his parents needed him to work in the cotton fields. He worked with them in order to supplement the family's US $1.67 a day earnings. But here is the scariest thing of all, Tejas is not alone. In fact, India has largest number of child laborers in the world, with 13 million boys and girls, ages 5-14, relegated to fields, farms and factories. Isn't that a scary statistic?
We often forget how lucky we are as Americans when it comes to education and many other things. My children, as with my husband and me, have gone through or are going through the educational system. My son is 11 and I cannot imagine him having to quit school to work to support our family. He needs time to be a kid.
I couldn't imagine living in a country where these smiling faces didn't learn something new every day or get to discover which subjects they liked best. My children love school and they definitely thrive in a school environment.
This past week, on June 12 the IKEA Foundation and its partner Save the Children unveiled a $7 million program to protect 790,000 children living in cotton communities in India as a tribute to World Day Against Child Labor. The effort with the IKEA Foundation Partners is the 2nd phase of a long-term program which aims to keep children out of cotton fields. The goal is to keep the kids in classrooms where they can learn, play, grow and develop and be children. Phase I of the program reached an impressive 600,000+ children in India.
IKEA Foundation’s CEO, Per Heggenes shares, “We know there is no quick-fix solution to ending child labor, but long–term approaches can yield impressive results. The IKEA Foundation, with our partners, has been tackling this issue in India for nearly a decade. This new phase reinforces our long-term commitment and our desire to help millions more children out of child labor and back into the classrooms.”
Today, thanks to a Child Protection Committee established in his village through Save the Children and the IKEA Foundation, Tejas goes to school regularly and he aspires to become a police officer. Tejas might not have had this chance had it not been for World Day Against Child Labor which draws attention to efforts that keep children like Tejas out of child labor. To further his success, Tejas’s mother joined a program-instituted self-help group in the village. She is now learning why it’s important for children to go to school and is further learning how to save money for Tejas’s schoolbooks.
The IKEA Foundation Child Labor initiative aims to improve opportunities for children and youth in the world’s poorest communities by funding holistic, long-term programs that can create substantial, lasting change. This much needed change is clearly making a difference in the lives of many, many children.
The IKEA Foundation devleops and then works with strong strategic partners to apply innovative approaches to achieve large-scale results in four fundamental areas of a child’s life:
* a place to call home
* a healthy start in life
* a quality education
* sustainable family income
* More than 10,000 migrant children moved back into their home communities
* Improved school enrollment rates in participating villages nearly 2,000 teachers trained
* 1,866 Anganwadi (health, education) workers trained in teaching practices, giving each village in the program a skilled community worker
* To date, currently funded programs haved benefitted an estimated 100 million children
Visit the IKEA Foundation Facebook page to learn more.
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How awesome of Ikea for doing this. I liked them anyways, but now I like them even more.
Excellent initiative. We love IKEA! If only the closest one wasn’t 4 hours away. Sniffle.
I love that IKEA is doing this. I couldn’t imagine this as a reality. Thank you for sharing this!
Way to go Ikea! I love companies that give back like this.
How great of IKEA!! I love the pay it forward aspect.
Awesome for Ikea to do this. So sad little children have to work like that.
I had no idea IKEA did this. I love to see them supporting others and communities. I can’t imagine having to pull my kids from school to work (then again, when I was teaching high school, I had quite a few kids that were pulled to supplement incomes.) Very sad.
That is such a scary statistic. We take it for granted that our kids don’t have to work until they are much older and even then, it’s usually just for extras, not to survive. What a great foundation!
What a standup company to do something like this. I definitely take for granted the freedoms we (and mostly my son) have. It’s so sad what happens in other countries who are not as fortunate.
We do tend to take a lot for granted when it comes to education. I’m so glad to see there have been great improvements thanks to this program.
My daughter is 10, and I cannot imagine her having to leave school to help support the family. Good for IKEA for getting involved.
What a great cause for IKEA to be a part of! I have always liked IKEA and this is just one more reason to love them!
I can’t even imagine what it must feel like to be 11 and having to quit school to go work! How tragic!
That’s so horrible for these children. I love that Ikea supports these communities.
Oh bless Ikea for recognizing the child labor cruelties that goes on in other countries. Stories like this break my heart but I am so happy Ikea is doing something about it for a great cause. Beautiful!
What an amazing campaign! I love when companies share the wealth!
That is really great that Ikea is doing that.Our kids in are so lucky that they get to do all the things they do in their lives.It is horrible to think of what the children in other parts of the world go through.
i love that they’re doing great things for others around the world. I feel better for shopping Ikea all the time.
How awesome of Ikea for doing this. I LOVE Ikea but now love them even more.
What a fantastic initiative! I’ve always loved IKEA, now I love them more!
That’s significant success so far. I really like what IKEA is doing here!
Going to check out and “like” their facebook page. I love that they have partnered with Save the Children.
Ikea is my favorite so I’m happy to see that they are giving back. I never thought about education in other countries really before, we are so lucky
This makes me love Ikea that much more. They always have such neat products and one of few catalogs I really like thumbing through. Its just a shame (or perhaps a blessing) that the one store in this state is so far away!
It’s great to see major companies like Ikea contributing to our children and children in our communities.
You are so right, there are so many things we take for granted living here in the US but it’s good to see that IKEA is helping out. I always tell my kids no matter how bad they think they have it (and they have it pretty darn good) someone has it worse.
I am thrilled to learn that Ikea is partnering with Save the Children. All the more reason for me to shop Ikea when it opens locally next year!
I have a lot of respect for IKEA and I’m glad they’re partnering with Save the Children.
That’s great! How awesome of IKEA for doing this. Just makes me love them even more!
Thanks for sharing Tejas’ story. This sounds like a great program!
Love this, they are doing such a powerful thing. God bless them!
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