Declaration of Team India Cobras @ The Street Child Cricket World Cup 2023

We demand safety, education, equality and a voice for all!

We are Team India Cobras, young citizens of Mumbai. We represent other young people in our community and want to share our stories. In our experience, we do not enjoy all of our rights we are entitled to due to the following issues:

Give us access to healthcare!
We only have small clinics which do not have enough doctors, and for emergencies the closest hospital is 5km away. There is only one ambulance available 24/7.
The government should open up hospitals which are more accessible.

Let us learn!
The closest school is 4km away. To access our education and get to
school, there are two options: a dangerous walk or unreliable bus.
We want a Government school to be opened in our area.

Give us opportunities!
15% of children stay at home as they have no job. If you go to university you still do not get equal access to private jobs.
There should be no locality discrimination in hiring processes and open more local companies.

Give us equal respect!
Girls are not given equal respect compared to boys. Marriage for girls happens as early as 15 years old and there is an expectation that they then become home makers. What’s more, boys and girls are not allowed to talk freely with each other without judgment from the community.
We need more agents of change in the community who will develop a more open minded culture.

Keep us safe on the streets and roads!
Lots of accidents occur due to encroachment on the roads by street hawkers and garbage cans.
We want the roads to be widened, the number of street lights and footpaths increased, and better policing.

Healthcare is World Care, Boys Care is Girls Care.
We Care, Please All Care!