SIT: NGO turns child predator
Anita Sinha,CNN-IBN
Posted Monday , June 11, 2007 at 07:22

Bodhgaya: Declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in
2002, Bodhgaya in Bihar is a holy city for Buddhists
the world over. Over 600 NGOs operate here, many
claiming to work for the welfare of the district’s
under-privileged children.

Samanvaya Ashram is one such NGO that shelters
children essentially from the Dalit-Bhuiyan community.

But that's not all they do here. CNN-IBN has found
children just five years old are illegally subjected
to labour at the Ashram, having made to wash clothes
and work in the Ashram kitchen.

“We cook, get water, work in the kitchen and even out
there in the fields,” says an Ashram student Amritya.

Another student Sonu also testified to therampant
child labour. “We wash our clothes and after class go
to the fields where we are made to plough. Thereafter
we cook too.”

Shahbuddin, a leading Western Union money transfer
agent for many NGOs run by foreigners in Gaya, alleges
that most NGOs that offer shelter to children in the
holy town are actually dens for paedophiles and
child-molesters.

"It is an open secret. There are many paedophiles
here,” he says.

The Gaya police do admit to the problem of paedophilia
off-the-record but say that without a complaint, they
cannot investigate.

However, they do accuse some NGOs of pushing a
religious conversion agenda.

"In the name of religion and helping the people, there
are many underground conversions also. For that
purpose, some of the foreign countries are spending a
lot of money. They can't directly come to the local
people so NGOs are the best medium. They must be
approaching NGOs,” says DIG, Magadh Range Umesh Kumar
Singh.

Investigation done by CNN-IBN clearly establishes the
suspicious role of NGOs. But this might be just a tip
of the iceberg.

Now, as the saviours turn tormentors and pocket the
donation money, it's for the state government and the
administration to wake up and take due action.



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