Surjeet Lodhi was barely 13 when he started his fight against alcoholism and child labour in Madhya Pradesh’s Vidisha district. His stellar efforts to shut down five alcohol shops and enrol more than a hundred children in school were recently recognised at a global forum.
On 1 July, he was conferred with the Diana Award 2020 through a virtual ceremony. Established in 1999, the award honours those who have demonstrated exemplary humanitarian work for advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Lodhi was one of the many young Indians who received it this year.
“I see the award as a responsibility to do better. I am very happy with the recognition and I aim to scale up my endeavour by helping more destitute children who are forced into child labour,” Lodhi, now 17, tells The Better India.
He joined the Bal Mitra Gram (BMG) Programme started by the Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation (KSCF) in the 1960s across India to end child labour. The programme spreads awareness…
