New Delhi: Philanthropist Natasha Poonawalla has been announced the Chair of the British Asian Trusts Childrens Protection Fund for India, by His Royal Highness Prince Charles of Wales in an event, recently held in London.
Helmed by the British Asian Trust’s India Advisory Council, the Children’s Protection Fund for India will work with Sir Chris Hohn and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), to develop South Asia’s largest anti-trafficking fund.
Founded in 2007 by Prince Charles in collaboration with eminent Brit-Asian business leaders, the British Asian Trust Fund has been instrumental in combating child-trafficking, improving livelihoods, and education across the South Asian diaspora. The British Asian Trust has aided in yielding astonishing results for 4.8 million children working in forced labour in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
In a conversation with IANSlife, Poonawalla tells us more about her role with the organization, major concerns when it comes to child protection in India and more. Excerpts:
Q: You have been announced as the Chair of the British Asian Trust’s Children’s Protection Fund for India. Tell us more about it?
Poonawalla: The foundation has continually laid focus on saving and enhancing the quality of life. In that sense, our primary objective has always been to strengthen the healthcare system, through our vaccination and immunization programs we have strived to save lives across the world. We have done extensive work on women’s and children’s safety through various programmes initiated in collaboration with certain NGO’s. However, ever since the Nirbhaya case occurred, I was perplexed and extremely disturbed. And, as time passed, more cases were being reported with repeated instances of sexual abuse and assault on children as young as three years old.
The shocking case of Asifa pushed us towards recognizing the appalling fact of the number of dangerous criminals that roam our streets freely. We took a decision to address the dire concern by conducting research that further showed us frightful insights on the existing scenario. We realised that more than often, children who have been trafficked and abused seem to be the perpetrators of child abuse later in their lives.
Owing to the lack of rehabilitation through mental health programs and adequate sex-education as such topics seem to be a taboo in our society and even school teachers seem to be uncomfortable discussing this.
Q: What importance does the title hold for you?
Poonawalla: It’s not as much about the title but the impending impact that you can leave on the next generation by creating awareness and finding implementable solutions for the cause.
Q: What will be your key roles?
Poonawalla: My key role in the position would be leading the way in implementing actionable solutions that address the root cause through all necessary means. Strategizing with the India Child Protection Fund team and leveraging influence in the government on framing impactful policy reforms that include making education compulsory and incorporating mental health programs and sex education with a strong emphasis on the importance of inculcating consent and individual choice in our education programmes at schools of every level.
I think one of the initial efforts have been for awareness the appointment of our ambassador Katy Perry by His Royal Highness Prince Charles of Wales on my introduction. The decision certainly aided in bringing in a significant amount of attention to the cause and our aim.
Q: What are the major concerns according to you when it comes to child protection in India?
Poonawalla: One of the major concerns according to me is protecting children from life threatening diseases and sexual abuses, on which we are working with a set of NGOs. Also, I think child labour is a result of poverty and illiteracy that compels parents to hand their children over to devious child traffickers in hope for a better future.
Q: What do you think our country lacks when it comes to fighting such crimes?
Poonawalla: I don’t think there is a lack of initiatives around these societal menaces. However, what brings us down is the lack of consistency in the funding of our local NGO’s, due to which they are unable to scale up their activities on a regular, year-on-year basis.
In comparison to foreign countries, there is a constant and generous influx of funding on charities. Our country doesn’t see a constant collaboration between the public and private sectors and NGOs. In my opinion, a possible way forward could be setting up special courts to expedite the cases against perpetrators of child-trafficking and abuse.
