Prize Money Is For Deprived Children: Kailash Satyarthi

[caption id="attachment_1843" align="alignleft" width="300"] Kailash Satyarthi and his wife Sumedha at Gandhi's Memorial at Rajghat, New Delhi. | Image Credit: The Hindu. Photograph : S. Subramanium[/caption] The Global Indian: Social Cause: Kailash Satyarthi Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi is back home with his head held high, not in pride, but in all humility and joy that the prize money will lift more deprived and under privileged children to a respectable life. Kailash Satyarthi arrived in India from Oslo after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize and made an address at a function organized by The Constitution Club. During his address, he laid all the speculations to rest that he would spend the prize money on himself or his family. Instead, Mr. Satyarthi intends to use it to combat the social evils of child labour, human trafficking, slavery, and sexual abuse. He said, "The prize money that I have received is big. So big that I haven’t seen or touched that much money ever in my life. Neither will I touch it now. The whole amount will be spent on deprived children across the world, not even for Bachpan Bachao Andolan [his NGO] and its workers. My friends thought that after I get the amount, I would at least change my old mobile phone or buy an iPad. But I have no intentions of buying gadgets for myself or my workers. BBA workers won’t even get a drop of tea from this money." The Nobel Peace Prize winner met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee after his return to India. He requested them to ban child labour below 14 years and 18 years for children working in hazardous industries. The Hindu quoted him saying, "I met the Prime Minister and the President, and with folded hands requested them to bring about a total ban on child labour below 14, and those working in hazardous industries below at 18. I requested them to see the polity through the eyes of a child." Mr. Satyarthi also paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat on Sunday. His wife Sumedha, who supported him through the thick and thin, was seen accompanying him to Gandhi's memorial. Kailash Satyarthi of India and Malala Yousufzai of Pakistan shared the Nobel Peace Prize 2014. "I represent the sound of silence" said Kailash Satyarthi in Oslo, Norway; Malala Yousufzai on the other hand said, "I am not one voice, I'm 66 million girls who are deprived of education." News Source: Rana Siddiqui Zaman | The Hindu