Sandipani Muni School Reality Facts
(Children surveyed, 838) 75 % have parents with income less than US $1 per day
25 % of the families have more than five children
35 % live in huts made of plastic sheets and mud
20 % had at least one brother or sister die at early age
49 % have illiterate parents
82 % were completely illiterate
18 % started school but had to interrupt their studies
90 % have parents who cannot afford to buy them milk
60 % have parents who cannot afford vegetables and clothes
12 % have lost either a mother or a father
2 % are orphans
Underprivileged Children in India: Hard Facts Infant Mortality. Almost 2 million children in India die every year
before reaching their first birthday.* 1 in 11 children die before
reaching age 5. 74 % children are anemic.** Number of children between 0-6 below the poverty line: 160 million
children in India are below 6 years of age. 60 million of these exist
below the poverty line.*** Malnutrition: 1 out of every 2 children is malnourished. Malnutrition
sets in between the ages of 4 months and 2 years when the child is in a
state of perpetual hunger.**** Illiteracy: 50% of the children between the ages of 5 to 15 are out of
school due to lack of access to quality education and support services
like remedial education.**** Dropout Data: Out of 100 children enrolled 10 reach class 10 and 6
drop out due to lack of ECCD and adequate support systems.***** Child Labor: 11.28 million children in India are employed.* NGO
estimates place it at 62 million in the year 2001- the largest in the world. Neglect of the Girl Child: 60% of the girls are not in schools,
inference sibling care and household chores.****** Lack of Care: 60 million children of women in the unorganized sector
require daycare facilities. Government schemes reaches only 5% of these
children.*** Sources
*Census figure 1991
**National Family Health Survey II
***Forum for Creche and Childcare Services, India, based on Census 1991
**** State of the World Children 2000, UNICEF
***** National Institute for Educational Planning and Administration
****** Based on ILO study
Copyright (c) Mobile Creches 2002
11 million children live on the streets
44 million child labourers
50,000 children are abandoned in the country every year.
- Childhood around the World SOCI 119, Children & Society; Tulane University
“INDIA accounts for less than 20% of the world’s child population and 40% of the world’s malnourished children,
Dr. Patrice Engle, Head of Child Health and Nutrition UNICEF (India).
Half of India’s adults are illiterate, more than half of its children are undernourished, and a third of its people live below the poverty line.
World Watch Institute, Washington DC
Of the 15 million baby girls born every year in India, nearly 25 % will not live to see their 15th birthday.
”The Hunger Program, www.thp.org
At the time of Independence, our total population stood at around 330 million, today more than 400 million people live below the poverty line. Whereas other countries average one doctor every 50 persons, India averages one doctor every 2,000 persons.
Sahara India Pariwar
1994 survey of the ground water quality at 138 sampling locations in 22 industrialized zones of India revealed that water in all 22 zones was not fit for drinking, due to high bacteriological and heavy metal contamination (PCCB). It is estimated that 1.5 million pre-school children in India die every year from diarrhoea, and that cholera, dysentery and gastroenteritis are responsible for 60% of the total urban deaths.
Sivaramakrishnan
As government officials, industry representatives, scientists, policy makers and campaigners continue to thrash out the future of the planet, more than 30,000 under-fives the equivalent of about 10 World Trade Center attacks - die every day from hunger or from easily preventable diseases.
The world’s richest 50 million people consume as much as the 2.7 billion poorest people on the planet.
BBC News, Dispossable Planet
India, has a population of 989 million, of that number, 120 million are women who live in poverty.
The Indian constitution grants women equal rights with men, but strong patriarchal traditions persist, with women’s lives shaped by customs that are centuries old. In most Indian families, a daughter is viewed as a liability, and she is conditioned to believe that she is inferior and subordinate to men. Sons are idolized and celebrated. May you be the mother of a hundred sons is a common Hindu wedding blessing.
Chronic Hunger and the Status of Women in India - Carol S. Coonrod, June 1998
UNICEF World Childrens’ Hunger Report
Hunger
Percentage of children under 5 years old who are moderately or severely underweight, 1995-2001  40% and over
 20% to 39%
 5% to 19%
 Under 5%
 No data
Source: UNICEF
- Armed conflict
 Countries where major armed conflict took place in 2001 Source: Erikson, M., M. Sollenberg and P. Wallensteen, Patterns of major armed conflicts, 1990-2001, SIPRI Yearbook 2002: Armaments, disarmament and international security, Oxford University Press, 2002.
- Child labour
 States that have not ratified ILO C182 Worst Forms of Child Labour, as of September 2002
Source: ILO.
 Children told world leaders at the Special Session on Children what they want: an end to poverty, exploitation and war.
· With poverty a major factor, 150 million children in developing countries are underweight, which increases the risk of death and inhibits mental and physical development.
· Since 1990, over 2 million children have been killed and 6 million have been seriously injured in wars.
· Legally binding, ILO Convention No. 182 protects children from abuse and exploitation. Some 180 million children aged 5-17 are believed to be engaged in the worst forms of child labour one child in every eight worldwide. Every year, 1.2 million children are trafficked.
· 14 million children currently under 15 years old have lost one or both parents to AIDS.
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