UNICEF's mascot toils in dhaba

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UNICEF's mascot toils in dhaba

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By IBNlive.com

Monday November 20, 08:05 AM Patna: Chuhiya's smile has won a million hearts. And her face on the The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) poster has made the anti-child labour campaign famous in the country. But behind that smile hides a sad and a grim truth. The real story of the UNICEF mascot Chuhiya is that she still works at a dhaba in Patna to earn two square meals a day. And those who used her as a mascot have washed their hands of her miseries."We didn't make her our brand ambassador. We sent our photographers to take to take a photo that suited our anti-child labour campaign," says UNICEF, Communication Officer, Anupam SrivastavaMeanwhile, Chuhiya's parents don't understand how the UNICEF poster is raising awareness all over the country about child labour. They just know that Chuhiya was once photographed by some professionals, without them paying the family even a single paisa."I knew about it but I have no idea why they photographed her," Chuhiya's Mother, Geeta Devi says.Her father, Baleshwar Das adds, "We got nothing from the photo. We are poor people."But that photo shoot did nothing to change Chuhiya's life. And the forgotten poster girl remains a victim of what UNICEF's campaign is trying to counter.

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