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Mail Us
info@aastha-nishtha.org
Call Us
+91-9999474413
The outbreak of COVID-19 has created a global health crisis that has created a deep impact on the way we perceive our world today. A privilege is a right or an advantage and people who are underprivileged lack such rights, opportunities, and basic social advantages. Underprivileged children have to face all the perplexing circumstances that come in their life. Pandemic or no pandemic their life doesn’t change rather it becomes tougher.
Due to COVID-19, many parents of the underprivileged children are out of work so they force their children into child labor because the family needs money for survival. Especially during the pandemic, children are exploited at the hands of their employers because they are desperate for low-cost labor. Children are doing small jobs like selling vegetables and working in hardware shops. Sometimes they have to resort to begging and rag-picking in unhealthy surroundings which are devoid of hygiene and sanitation. They sell things at traffic signals which is even more harmful during this time because they are more prone to infection.
Underprivileged children have undergone high levels of stress, anxiety, and depression because of the scare of the pandemic. They feel that they will get separated from their parents and loved ones who are their only support in life.
Several underprivileged children whose parents are migrant laborers were separated from their parents and were left on the streets. Some of these children had to walk for endless hours and ate half of their daily diet. The children who are disabled or had health problems have become distressed during the pandemic.
Many children are deprived of a midday meal that was being given to them in the schools. Long closure of schools will affect their interest and ability to learn. The school drop out rate has become very high. Girls are getting forced into child marriage because their parents want to get free from responsibility. Being married at a young age is harmful to the mental and physical state of children.
COVID may create an even wider gap between the privileged and underprivileged children. It is important to have a productive support system that works to improve the lives of these innocent children who have been struggling to lead a normal life.