Cherie Blair: CRY for the children in India

The 'untouchables'
Q: Have you had one particular moving experience that sticks out in your mind while being involved with CRY America?

Ghandi: There have been many experiences. There’s been the experience that has been shared with me about the child who went to get drinking water, and he was told he was a Harijen, an “untouchable,” and he had to drink water from a gutter. No child should be born on this planet and have to drink dirty water from a gutter when there’s well and water available in the village. When I heard about that sort of injustice, it moved me.

There have just been so many instances of injustices committed against kids. Child labor, a child that’s forced to wake up at 5:30 in the morning and carry heavy bricks on his back, by the time he’s 20 he’s going to have a deformed back. I mean, so many things, children sold into bonded labor. I can go on and on. It’s quite horrific what’s happening in the world today, not only in India, everywhere. But being Indian, I feel more strongly about the Indian children.

Every time I hear a case story about a child who has been empowered by CRY I am moved. For example, there is a district in a state called Uttar Pradesh in India famous for carpet weaving and all the children were bonded laborers in the carpet-making industry. CRY and its partner have been working there for many years to change the situation and now a man called Subhag Lal who was once a child laborer is now the head of the village!

Q: What are some of the improvements that you’ve seen over the years that you’ve worked with this organization?

Ghandi: As CRY gets larger and larger, CRY has a voice. CRY has a very important voice in the government of India. They are changing the legislature, they are affecting legislation. Now a law has been passed in India, the right to education. Every child in India has a right to education. So, by law, if a child is not sent to school — this is not being practiced as much as it should, but by law he can actually go to a panchayat (a village council) and say 'I should not be working in the fields, I should be in school.'

CRY is really becoming the voice of children’s rights in India, and every year they get more and more powerful, so yes, yes they are successful in what they are doing. We’ve seen it year, after year, after year, and it’s growing.

Q: What do you hope this charity will accomplish in the future?

Ghandi: I hope CRY America can get their message across to as many people in the U.S. as possible and will continue to enable people to take action for children. They have a vision of a just world for EVERY child and so I hope they are able to raise significant resources to enable them to continue to expand their movement for children.

Q: How do you find time with your busy schedule to be involved in this cause?

Ghandi: The situation cannot be ignored, and I know I have the capacity and resources to help so I will always find the time.

Q: When there are so many other causes out there, why is it important for people to support this cause?

Ghandi: CRY is unique because they don’t just provide Band-Aid solutions to problems. They know from experience that just handing out food or rescuing children from sweatshops are important but temporary solutions. It is essential for communities to be empowered to realize their rights and take control of their own lives and that of their children. So when someone supports CRY they enable long-term, sustainable change.

Interviewed by Giacinta Pace, NBC News

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