(Riya Saha, Intern journalist )Giridih: In recognition for creating a conducive atmosphere for young children to pursue education and preserve childhood, Neeraj Murmu,21, was conferred with the prestigious Diana Award of Great Britain, instituted in the memory of the late Princess of Wales, in a virtual ceremony.
Murmu hails from Giridih in Jharkhand, was rescued from the state’s mica mine by Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi‘s Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA).
After his rescue, Murmu attended school and determined to end child labor in his village.
He established a local school to ensure that all children were able to access the right to education.
Mumru has enabled 200 underprivileged children in his village to avail of quality education and has rescued 20 child laborers from mica mining and enrolled them in his school.
Under his leadership, many socio-economic issues related to his village have been addressed including
rescuing or withdrawing children involved in work and enrolling them in school, hand pump installation and repair, facilitating electricity in village households, and providing cooking gas connections through linking with government schemes.
Murmu also counsels parents of rescued children and seeks their support in making their villages safe space for all children.
Murmu has led several rallies and campaigns aimed at highlighting the importance of education which has resulted in a spike of enrollments in local government schools.
Later his village became a child-friendly village (Bal Mitra Gram), a flagship program of Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation.
BMG is a grassroots initiative that promotes child-centric village development in which the empowerment of children is the key.
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