“We understand and promote the notion that while children need to be guided they have also an entrenched right to be whatever they want to be and that that they can achieve this only if they are given the space to dream and live out their dreams.”’ – Nelson Mandela

The project “Tangled Dreams” is an initiative by the Rotaract Clubs of Australian College of Business & Technology and Colombo East, with the project chairs being Rtr. Apeksha Perera and Rtr. Mudriq Ahmed respectively. This project solely focuses on one of the much unheard and neglected topics in our society: Child Labor.

With the pandemic rising, the ability to physically reach out to children was tough, hence, without giving up on our motive of creating as much as possible awareness in regards to the topic, the project was conducted in three virtual phases. Gradually with time and the development of technology.Today, we believe that social media is a very powerful tool that can create a bigger impact within our own society. The project’s proceedings are also based on five major points of breakdown and they are; Statistics, Legal support, Social Media’s involvement, the Emotional & Psychological effect and lastly, why does this topic exist in Sri Lanka? Laying all the mentioned above as the foundation, the three phases were brought into life where the PHASE I focuses on a series of social media posts showcasing information in relation to the five points of breakdown (platforms being Facebook and Instagram).

PHASE II focuses on a panel discussion where five experienced and very informative panelists who works around the topic of Child Labor in their daiy routines gave out their valuable insights. The panelists were, Dr. Tush Wickramanayaka – Founder of the Stop Child Cruelty Trust, Milani Salpitikorala – Founder of the Child Protection Force, Kapila Rasnayake – a famous Global Activist and Director of Voices of Humans, Rasini Bandara – a Psychologist at Mind Heals Pvt Ltd and a Personality Development Coach and one of the very loved artists of our time, Ridma Weerawardena who also, joined hands with the International Labor Organization and released a beautiful song named “Punchi Aththatu” that speaks of children going through labor. PHASE III focuses on a series of posts showcasing the public’s take on child labor and what should be done to prevent this problem while the project team also focuses on creating awareness through offline media. Child Labor in simple terms would mean an individual who is under-aged and is put to a position of where they have to earn money while being deprived of their fundamental rights of completing their primary education and more. The children could be used for doing heavy work, sexual exploitation, etc. According to Milani Salpitikorala, a shocking revelation is that mostly towards the areas on the coastline of Sri Lanka, children are being sold for sexual exploitation. The Labor Law of Sri Lanka says that a child over the age of 14 is allowed to work but not to be engaged in any hazardous form of work. The regulation of this law in Sri Lanka says that a child over the age of 16 is allowed to work as education till the age of 16 is important to the child. However, this is not yet passed and confirmed to be a law. The Article 32 of the CRC (Child Rights Convention) talks about child labor as well, therefore according to Milani, Sri Lanka has the required laws, it is only about implementing an effective system to focus strictly about the practice of these laws by the people. As humans who have a responsibility towards safeguarding the future of the world – our children, changing the basic norms of our society has also added to the list of to-dos because very simply, what we input to the society from years ago, is what that has been refined according to the comfort of the existing people today and is being showcased as the output. Kapila Rasnayake says that in order to create change, first, we should believe that change is possible and take our first steps towards it as it’s not the words that would create the magic but the practical implementation of the words we speak.

Therefore, the solution at hand should go to the very roots of it and will need deconstruction of the norms while bringing the education regarding Child Rights into the Sri Lankan education system. For this, social media can definitely play a huge role as we can say that it has turned to be another voice where people can communicate through more powerfully with more context brought into the plate. A child’s mind is a pure mind. The slightest action of ours – the adults, would create the biggest impact on their minds, which would later on turn into one of the most traumatic encounters and cause extreme levels of depression, anxiety etc. Therefore, we can say that children should be handled with care, patience and most importantly, the correct guidance. The famous Sinhala quote much referred to by Dr. Tush, relates to the statement made above; “හැඳි නොගා හදන හොද්දයි, නොබලා හදන දරුවයි.” According to Rasini, a child going through labor would be affected mentally, physically, socially and morally and by all means, these four states are interconnected. Therefore, it is solely our duty to ensure that we set an example to eradicate this problem. In conclusion, as humans of a very developed world, as humans who hold a responsibility towards safeguarding the world and the future, it is in our hands to use the various platforms available to raise awareness regarding this matter because simply, if we don’t, nobody else would. It could be the platform of music like Ridma has set an example already, it could be the usage of social media, talk shows and/or etc. Even Mahatma Gandhi says, “Be the Change you wish to see in the world.”

As Rotaractors, we believe that children are to be treasured, not labored. The project “Tangled Dreams” is going strong with over 1300 views of the panel discussion that was held. Therefore, we shall continue to do our part to create a healthier environment where our children could freely enjoy their fundamental rights but we would like to invite you to play your part as well, because at the end of the day, it is our own actions that will give out the reaction we require to untangle the Tangled Dreams. Places of contact if you encounter an under-aged child engaged in labor;

1. Sri Lankan Police

2. Police Women and Children’s Bureau

3. National Child Protection Authority

Social Media;

Facebook: @TheTangledDreams

Instagram: @thetangleddreams

– Let’s get together and raise our voices towards a better today and tomorrow for our children! –

Penned by,

Rtr. Apeksha Perera

Secretary 2020-21

Co-Project Chairperson

Rotaract Club of Australian College of Business & Technology (ACBT)