Uh oh, you are using an old web browser that we no longer support. Some of this website's features may not work correctly because of this. Learn about updating to a more modern browser here.

Skip To Content

Five things we learned from the children we met in India

legacies_group_photo_1
Richard, Andy, Sheila, Terry and Elizabeth (left to right), who have all pledged gifts to Save the Children in their will, join children and staff members at a school in Delhi.

Meet Richard, Andy, Sheila, Terry and Elizabeth.

They’re all Save the Children supporters who have pledged gifts to us in their wills, to support our work with children.

They recently traveled to India to see first-hand the work we’re doing. Here, they tell us five things they learned from the children they met.

 

1. THE SKY’S THE LIMIT

Children at a community managed toilet in Delhi
Children play in Delhi.

When children are aware of their rights they feel empowered and confident. There was no lack of ambition among the children we met in India.

One young man we met in Tonk told us that after five days of training with Save the Children he realised how important education was. He returned to his studies, has completed teacher training and is just starting work as a primary school teacher.

 

2. THOSE WHO TEACH ‘CAN’

We visited a project at a school in Delhi which taught girls how to wash their hands correctly to prevent disease.

The girls then took the hand-washing lessons back home to their parents, which in turn helps to improve the health of the whole community.

 

3. FOOD FOR THOUGHT

In rural Dungarpur, we met a little girl called Anusha who had been treated at a Save the Children health clinic when she was seriously malnourished.

Save the Children had helped educate members of the community with thoughtful and timely medical intervention, which benefited entire families.

 

4. GIRL POWER

India’s girls are ready to help change their society. Wherever we went we saw able, passionate and capable women.

We saw a community toilet in Delhi managed entirely by local women. We spoke with ladies in Tonk who were working to change the attitudes of religious leaders to newborn care. And we met schoolgirls who spoke enthusiastically about their hopes of becoming doctors and policewomen.

One young woman in Tonk told us that without Save the Children teaching her to understand her rights as a child she would be a mother by now. Instead, she had travelled to Delhi to tell adults about children’s rights.

 

5. THE RIGHT TO PLAY

We visited a children’s rights project in Dungarpur. After talking with them about their rights we asked, “Have you got any questions for us?” A little hand went up and a girl said, “Will you play with us?”

It reminded us that whatever their backgrounds or circumstances, children deserve a childhood, and that’s something Save the Children is defending.

Find out more about how gifts in wills can change lives.

Share this article