GlobalGiving.org: Support-11500-kids-out-of-child-labour-&-poverty

Heroic Harshida

Jilna Shah — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 13:25:35 GMT

Harshida reading to the class

Harshida's Story - aged 7

Harshada’s parents, both mother and father, are working as wage labours and whole day they are away from home. Harshada’s old grand mother is the only person at home to look after three small kids which was beyond her capacity. Their financial condition is very poor and the parents somehow manage the house expenses.

Harshada was very shy girl and was having inferiority complex. That was the reason she was not able to mix with other children. However three year back she joined in the pre-school centre, started by NISD, and there were number of changes took place in her overall personality. She started taking interest in her studies, different plays, songs etc. As her interest increased she was coming regularly in the pre-school. Her hand writing is very beautiful. She also took part in number of competitions and gain confidence.

Last June she was enrolled in the formal school in the first standard. When meet her class teacher, he told she is very clever and active girl. Her hand writing is beautiful. She sings songs, good in play, won in school competition, she is good in studies, and she never bunks her class. She is best student of our class and school. Not only that but she gives speeches very well. Comparative to other students she is very good at reading, writing, story telling, singling etc.

Harshada’s younger brother and sister also attend the pre-school regularly. Thanks to you for supporting NISD to run pre-school activities and for shaping future of displaced tribal children like Harshada.

Sandeep's Story

Jilna Shah — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:01:53 GMT

Child’s Name: Sandeep Dnyandev Kere

Village: Nilwande

Education: 10^th standard

Age : 18 years

Situation before joining the course

Sandeep was residing in Nilwande village which is far from town. His financial condition was very poor. His father is a mason and mother does labour work, but their income is mostly dependent on the availability of work on that particular day. His elder brother studied till 11^th standard and now he is also doing farm work. Sandeep has studied till 10^th standard, but he failed in one subject. After that he did not go to school for the past two years and was instead helping parents with farming.

Present Situation:

Sandeep heard about NISD through the project social workers. He decided to join the Electrical Repair & Maintenance of Household Appliances course. He attended the course regularly. He completed the course successfully. He has now started his own self-employment business. He recently got a contract to work in one of the houses in the village. Not only has this turned his life around and given him faith and confidence in himself, but he is able to also provide much-needed financial support to his family.

Safe and Sound

Jilna Shah — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 12:12:20 GMT

Prakash, the leader of the project sent me this story a couple of weeks ago. I found it really moving, but also incredible - how simple measures seem to be making a big difference for individuals, and by extension whole families on the ground. Here's the story of Bhagubai -

Mrs. Bhagubai Ashok Tajanpure was residing at Saikhnidi. As her husband is not educated or skilled he was working as wage labour. But it was not possible for him to maintain his family in his small earnings. Therefore Bhagubai forced to roll bidis to supplement her husband’s income. Her all three children are taking education and therefore both- husband and wife’s- income is not sufficient and they were living in extreme poverty. Their house was just like a hut, which was not safe, secure and suitable to live. In winter and rainy seasons they are facing maximum problems due to this low quality housing condition. They are always scared in nighttime.

Once Mrs. Bhagubai came in contact with NISD’s staff and enrolled her name in the SHG. NISD also helped her financially to purchase 5 goats, which afterwards increased upto 25-30. Her husband started looking after the goat as he got full time work and good and permanent income source out of goat sale, milk and manure. This increased their saving.

But still their house problem was not solved because there income was not sufficient to construct house by taking bank loan. In the SHG meeting she came to know Habitat joint housing project initiated by NISD in that area. She raised some money from her relatives, took loan from NISD Bachat Gat Mahasangh and applied to Habitat’s support. By noticing her need NISD sanctioned her proposal and assisted her. Her husband and she both worked as labour on the construction.

Now Bhagubai says that she never expected that she could build such house but because of Habitat and NISD’s support she could able to build her dream house. Now we have safe, secure and good house where we can sleep fearlessly, she added.

Let's carry on helping to make people's dreams a reality!

Turning things around

Jilna Shah — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 13:09:16 GMT

Ashwini, her two brothers and parents stay in Pokhari village. Her father has a small piece of land which he works on. Income used to be solely dependent on the mercy of rainfall. Ashwini is a clever girl - she used to always get good marks in her exams. After 10^th standard her parents did not send her to school so she started helping her parents on the land. Her brother also started doing labour work after 10^th standard. Ashwini is a member of the youth group and during one meeting she came to know about the Hospital Assistant course.

Ashwini’s family did not have proper housing. The project helped them to build a house through a Habitat housing project, and also helped them in the development of dairy business. As a result their business increased.

The social worker of the project talked with Ashwini’s parents about sending her for further education. But as her parents were reluctant, he gave them information about the Hospital Assistant course that NISD was planning to start. He convinced them to send Ashwini for this course. Her mother agreed in the end. Ashwini was also happy - at least she could get some education, so she agreed to do course which she completed successfully.

Present Situation:

She completed the course successfully and has got a job in a hospital where she gets a monthly salary of Rs. 2000/-. Ashwini and her parents are very happy through just a three-month course, Ashwini got a good job and is contributing to her family income.

High Hopes

Jilna Shah — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 13:16:47 GMT

Name: Sunil Vitthal Ghule

Village: Pokhari

Course - Electrical & Home Appliances Repair

Education: 9^th standard

Age: 21Yrs.

Situation before participating in the project: Sunil resides in Pokhari village. His father is doing labour work, his mother does house work and his elder brother is in the first year of his degree course. Sunil failed in the 9^th standard and he left school. He used to do jobs like feeding the cows and getting water or go with his father for labour work.

Sunil failed in 9^th std and stopped going to school. Project staff tried convincing him to go to school, but did not succeed. When NISD staff were giving information about vocational training courses to be started for the youth, his mother was present. She gave information about the course to Sunil and motivated him. Sunil was not very convinced, so he met NISD staff and got detailed information. Once convinced he decided to complete the course. He took admission for the Electrical & Home Appliances Repair course and completed this 3 month duration course successfully.

Present Situation: Though Sunil completed the course and is willing to work in a near town, dyu but due to his father’s sickness, he is not able to go out for work. This has forced Sunil to work in the same village, and work in their field as well as look after their animals. So despite Sunil now being trained to work in better conditions, he is as yet unable to. We have hopes that he will be able to in the future.

Aniket, a few months on

Jilna Shah — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 15:19:03 GMT

Aniket(right) with friends from child parliment

In June I posted the story of Aniket. Here's a recent update on his progress -

Aniket’s favourate subject is Hindi. Recently he appeared for quarterly examination, conducted by his school and got very good marks. His class teacher, Mrs. Kharde says now Aniket is very confident and is doing well.

Aniket and his friends recently organised the Ganesh festival for which they brought a statue. They also organised different game competitions such as Kho-Kho, Kabbadi etc. In the meanwhile, he also took the opportunity to visit Mumbai, with his relative, and had a great experience of seeing Mumbai’s Ganesh festival. He was very much impressed by seeing the huge Ganesh statues and decorations.

Aniket regularly attends Child Parliament meetings. In a few days they are going to conduct election of their Child Parliament. Lots of the children are now busy preparing for the election.

Aniket still likess to play on his bicycle very much. He many times requesst his father to take him for bike rides. His father helps motivate him to finish his schoolwork with the promise of a bike ride! He also likes to look after his goats. His family owns two female goats named Ekadashi and Chandani. He also loves to help his mother in her daily work.

Rejoicing in Rani

Jilna Shah — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 13:18:46 GMT

Rani’s parents reside in Pokhari haveli village. Her father does Painting work. This work is not on a regular basis.
Similarly her mother also does labour work in the fields of rich farmers whenever available. Rani’s mother is a member of a Self- help group, and through her group and NISD’s support they have pioneered a number of schemes - such as constructing a toilet, soak pit etc. She also got a loan for buying a cow which helped the family to get additional income through the sale of the milk.

Rani is very good in study and got first class in her 6^th examination. Her handwriting is beautiful and she got first prize in the Child Fair program, organised by NISD recently. She also takes part in street plays. Recently she played the role of a farmer in a street play named “ I should help our own”. Her role and acting was praised by many people.

In Pokhari village there is school up to 6^thstandard. After this, all children have to go to the neighbouring village i.e. Vadgaon Pan which is about 2-3 km away. Due to this many children, particularly girls, leave school and become drop-outs as their parents do not want to send adolescent girls to distant places. This was the worry in Rani’s case, but NISD staff and Rani herself repeatedly insisted that her parents let her attend school in the neighbouring
village. Now Rani will join in the new school and hopefully complete her future education. Your support enabled NISD to save one clever girl from becoming a school drop-out.

Taking the lead

Jilna Shah — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 10:02:17 GMT

Prajakta

Prajakta Mangal's Story - Aged 14

Prajakta’s family consists with her father, mother and two brothers. Her father is a tractor driver and mother goes on daily wages. Father’s job is on temporary basis and mother’s work is also not on regular one. So it is difficult for them to run family expenses and feed three children.

Mrs. Mangal, is a member of Self Help Group and through the group, NISD provided them a loan of Rs. 12,500/- from that they constructed a small one room where they stay presently. Their elder daughter Prajakta is studying in 9th std. Earlier Prajakta was a very shy girl and not mix with friends and other people. She was always prefer to stay alone. When Prajakta was in 7th one day she went with her neighbour girl to attend the meeting of Child Parliament of their village named “jeevandeep Balpanchayat gat”. Thereafter she started coming regularly for the meetings and became member of the group. Her increased interest in Parliament group changed her behaviour and she started taking active part in various activities organised by NISD and her Parliament group such as developing Kitchen Gardens, street play, educational tour etc. Now Prajakta is a very confident and active member of this group.

By seeing her leadership qualities, her group members elected her as Chief Minister of their group. Prajakta also encouraged her two brothers and other children to become members of the Child Parliament Group. She very effectively performs responsibilities of her group. Prajakta encourage and motivate girls to complete their education and a encourage parents to send girls in the school. Prajakta wants to be a teacher and take lead in girls education.

Caste as a barrier to education

Jilna Shah — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 11:11:41 GMT

Unicef has acknowledged that caste remains a key factor in illiteracy in India. The following article can be found directly here: http://www.unicef.org/india/children_2359.htm

Education

Despite a major improvement in literacy rates during the 1990s, the number of children who are not in school remains high. Gender disparities in education persist: far more girls than boys fail to complete primary school.

The literacy rate jumped from 52 per cent in 1991 to 65 per cent in 2001. The absolute number of non-literates dropped for the first time and gross enrollment in government-run primary schools increased from over 19 million in the 1950s to 114 million by 2001.

90 million females in India are illiterate, but 20 percent of children aged 6 to14 are still not in school and millions of women remain non-literate despite the spurt in female literacy in the 1990s.

Several problems persist: issues of ‘social’ distance – arising out of caste, class and gender differences – deny children equal opportunities. Child labour in some parts of the country and resistance to sending girls to school remain real concerns.

School attendance is improving: more children than ever between the ages of 6 and 14 are attending school across the country. The education system faces a shortage of resources, schools, classrooms and teachers.

There are also concerns relating to teacher training, the quality of the curriculum, assessment of learning achievements and the efficacy of school management. Given the scarcity of quality schools, many children drop out before completing five years of primary education; many of those who stay on learn little.

Girls belonging to marginalized social and economic groups are more likely to drop out of school at an early age.

With one upper primary school for every three primary schools, there are simply not enough upper primary centres even for those children who complete primary school. For girls, especially, access to upper primary centres becomes doubly hard.

Bidi-rolling and poverty

Jilna Shah — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 15:00:06 GMT

I came across this research by Healthbridge who have conducted fieldwork into the issue of the Bidi-rolling in India.

To access the full report, just follow this link: http://www.healthbridge.ca/tobacco_poverty_Appendix%205%20India%20Final%20Research%20Report.pdf

The tobacco industry often boasts that tobacco growing generates employment and provides positive economic benefits to farmers and others. But the actual facts are quite different. Though a labour intensive industry, its wages are one of the lowest in the country at Rs 17,898 per annum. A large part of the industry also comes under the unorganized sector where wages are often fixed arbitrarily and where unending flow of unskilled labour keep wages low.

The majority of the profits, therefore, remain with the large manufacturers. Farmers often believe that tobacco will prove to be a profitable cash crop; however they often find themselves caught in a cycle of poverty and debt. Serious health risks, hard working conditions, contractual arrangements, the use of children in tobacco growing, and the environmental practices of tobacco growing have negative impacts on human capital and land, the two crucial assets for rural livelihoods. There are also many occupational hazards faced by those working in the tobacco fields, including health hazards such as green tobacco sickness, pesticide exposure and nicotine poisoning. And, while tobacco farming is not unique in its use of child labour, the particular hazards posed by tobacco cultivation places these children at increased risk of injury and illness. The production of bidis (small, inexpensive, hand-rolled cigarettes made from cheap tobacco and rolled in tendu leaf, commonly smoked in India) involves intensive labour: growing tobacco, plucking/collecting tendu leaves and rolling and packaging the bidis. While no accurate statistics are available, the Central Tobacco Research Institute (CTRI) has estimated that in India more than 6 million farmers and 20 million farm labourers are engaged in tobacco farming, spread across 15 states. Bidi rolling provides employment to an estimated 4.4 million people, in addition to 2.2 million tribal workers involved in tendu leaf collection. Further, nearly 4 million people are engaged in the wholesale and retail sale of tobacco.

Bidis harm not only those who smoke them; everyone connected with bidi manufacturing faces various health and occupational hazards. Bidis are mostly rolled at home where rollers expose their entire family (including newborns and children) to harmful tobacco dust and fumes. Most bidi workers suffer from chronic respiratory problems, skin problems, green tobacco sickness, asthma, TB, eye ailments and chronic backache. Bidi workers are largely illiterate and live below the poverty line, struggling each day to earn enough to feed their families two meals. They do not have health cards and therefore cannot access treatment at hospitals. Instead of paving a way out of poverty, bidi work simply allows for subsistence at the most marginal level. Most of the workers are women and children, already vulnerable and exploited groups, with no access to educational or other career opportunities. Deprived of a normal childhood, it is not only their size which is typically stunted; these children become the core of a repetitive cycle of systemic poverty.

Why this project?

Jilna Shah — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 10:03:25 GMT

There are so many projects for children in India these days, so I was interested in knowing what makes this project unique. I asked Prakash and this is what he said -

NISD’s project is unique in comparison to other children’s education projects because here we want to educate children, particularly girls, that will save them from hazardous bidi rolling business. It will break the vicious cycle of poverty- early marriages-early and repeated pregnancies-unhealthy children-school drop out- bidi rolling and again poverty. NISD wants to bring all these children in the school, retain them in the school, give them life and employable skills so that they will not come in bidi business and break this cycle.

Nisd really tackle the root causes of poverty by addressing the complex web of problems that trap children into it.

Big Changes

Jilna Shah — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 09:44:05 GMT

Prakash, leader of the project in India, tells us about the biggest changes that he has seen during his time there:

Question: What are the biggest changes that you have seen during the years of being involved in the project?

Answer:

When we started our work we could see many young children are with their mothers in the Bidi factories when she was rolling bidies. Children sleep, eat, play in the tobacco atmosphere which was hazardous for their health. Not only that but children were exposed to tobacco dust since they are in mother’s womb. But due to continuous awareness and motivation now bidi rollers understands the dangers of tobacco and keep their children either in pre-school centres or at home, when they role bidies.

Earlier when we used to asked mothers about future of their children, particularly girls, they use to say that she will roll bidies. But if you ask any woman in NISD Project area she will say that I don’t want to bring my daughter in this hazardous work i.e. bidi rolling.

Earlier Money Lenders were very common in these villages. They used to give loans ( on very high interest rates) to these women and exploiting them. NISD started Self Help Groups in these villages and now there are around 100 Self Help Groups in our project villages. These SHGs now cater the loan need of these women and money lending system is abolished completely in NISD’s project villages. SHGs not only fulfilled monetary needs but also built their unity and solved number of social and other problems of women and children of these villages

With your continued support, we can carry on bringing about meaningful and lasting change.

Breaking the cycle

Jilna Shah — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 10:50:19 GMT

Prakash, the project leader was kind enough to answer some questions that I asked him about his involvement and experience with the project.

Question: How and why did you become involved in this work?

Answer:

After completing my MA in Economics I decided to go for Master of Social Work (MSW). After receiving MSW degree I worked with grass root NGO for 4 years, funding organisation for another four years and there after decided to start a small work where I can use my education, experience and knowledge for the betterment of down trodden people of my area. I belong to Sangamner area so I started my work there. Since my child hood I was seeing processions and marches of Bidi Rollers for their lawful rights and was slightly aware with their problems. Sangamner is a pocket where bidi business is concentrated and women of around 50 villages are earning bread by rolling bidies. In the initial stage I got support from OXFAM to conduct an action research on Problems of Bidi Rollers which helped me to learn more about their problems .

Question: What is your vision for the children involved in your project?

Answer:

Bidi Rolling is a cycle and after mother or mother-in-law the daughter or daughter-in-law take over this work. I thought that NISD was small agency so we couldn't provide meaningful employment to bidi rollers to keep them away from hazardous work. But we can bring some comfort in their lives by way of taking different activities. However I was very sure that we can at least save the lives of young generation and stop them to come in this business. This is possible by taking steps on children’s health, education and skill building program.

My and NISD’s vision is “We want a world where inequality based on class, gender and religion is absent and no person will get exploited by any one. We want a world where basic needs become basic rights and where poverty and all forms of exploitation are eliminated. Each person will have the opportunity to develop her or his full potential and creativity, which will lead him/her towards sustainable development.”

Aniket's Story

Jilna Shah — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 10:08:46 GMT

Aniket

NAME: Aniket Dattatray Kangune. Age- 12 years

Aniket and his family resides at Village Saikhindi. His father is a wage labourer and his mother rolls bidis to earn their daily bread. They live in a small one room rented house. Their financial condition is very poor.

Aniket’s health was very poor when he was small. NISD organised a pediatric camp in his village and Aniket was diagnosed with a small hole in his heart. The doctor suggested an operation of this six year child which was not possible for this family. Her mother was crying about Aniket’s position.

NISD staff built confidence in Aniket’s parents and encouraged them to go for further check-ups at Pune. The K.E.M. hospital, Pune doctor also confirmed the problem and advised surgery. NISD and local doctor used their contacts for concession in the operative charges. As Aniket’s mother is in the Self Help Group the group members arranged Rs. 20000 as loan from their SHG and it’s federation. The operation was done and Aniket’s problem was solved. Afterwards Aniket’s health started improving and he developed as a normal child.

Now Aniket is studying in 6^th std. in the Manoharbaba Vidhyalaya in the same village i.e. Saikhindi. This is a govt. run school. NISD organised a number of programs in his schools such as computer class, yoga class, mobile library, support class and other programs. Aniket benefits from these program. Support class help him to improve his studies, reading, writing skills. He also receives support in form of educational material. Aniket is a member of Child Parliament – named Jeevandeep Balpanchayat Gat. Aniket’s younger sister, Reshma, also became member of Child Parliament. Aniket says he has a number of friends after joining the Child Parliament groups and he learns a number of good things in the groups. Recently he learned to ride a bicycle.

Aniket’s house is very close to the NISD run pre-school centre. So he always go there and helps the worker in keeping books/play material at proper place, decorate the pre-school centre, and keep the place clean and neat.

Shravan, now healthy and happy

Jilna Shah — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 09:12:23 GMT

Shravan, now healthy and happy

Shravan's story shows how this project is creating healthier and happier children..

Name: Shravan Prakash Wale, Aged 3

Shravan’s family is staying in village Zole. His father is a mason and his mother works as a wage labour. In the beginning, Shravan was not attending the pre-school centre, though the pre-school teacher paid severals visit to his home. The problem was that neither he nor his mother was willing to send him in to the pre-school centre. His weight was only 7.5 kg at that time, so he was a malnourished child. Due to his poor health, he used to cry continuously and so he was seen as a problematic child.

After a number of visits and discussions with his mother, the pre-school worker realised that Shravan did not receive any nutrition in addition to his mother’s milk, so his weight was not increasing. Along with other NISD Staff, the teacher offer counselling to his mum and helped to explain her son’s health problems. NISD organised a Paediatric camp and asked his mother to bring Shravan there for a check- up. Due to this, within 2 month time his weight increased by 2 kg. In the pre-school centre that he now attends, he is able to get supplementary nutrition

Now his health is improving and he is regularly coming to pre-school and getting mix with other children very well. He’s no longer seen as a ‘problem child’. His mother goes to work and can now concentrate well there, as she knows that Shravan is looked after in the pre-school very well.

Your continued generosity has improved Shravan’s health and has got him attending pre-school. There is no doubt that this educational base and improved health will allow him to do progress in his life.

Rising through Reading

Jilna Shah — Mon, 23 May 2011 14:13:27 GMT

I take being able to read and write so much for granted, that hearing Chaitali's story made me realise that these skills are a gift, a gift that not everyone in the world is able to have.

Chaitali's Story - Aged 8

Mr. Kailash Shinde, his wife Archana and their three children live in the village of Watkhal. The village and agricultural land was flooded with the building of the Pimpalgaon Joge Dam. This is a tribal area and as employment opportunities are almost nil, both Kailash and his wife are working as wage labourers on roads and building sites away from home.

Chaitali is the eldest daughter and has struggled in her studies. In class she was not able to recognise letters of the alphabet and this was giving her low confidence and a feeling of inferiority. Her parents and other relatives have teased Chaitali, saying that her younger sister, Vaishali is cleverer than she is. Even the teacher has been disparaging.

NISD’s Reading Improvement Programme (RIP) class teacher identified Chaitali and tested her ability. She achieved a D grade. The teacher first of all encouraged Chantal’s parents to allow her to attend regular out of school classes. Chaitali thrived in the supportive class and day by day, started showing progress in her reading and writing. Her confidence level increased and it helped her to start mixing with other children. The RIP class activity has thus helped one small girl to rebuild her confidence. Chaitali is now working hard on her education. This will definitely bring a positive change in her life.

By supporting this project, let's continue to give children like Chaitali the gift of reading and writing.

Onwards and upwards for Deepali

Jilna Shah — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 12:33:08 GMT

Deepali at the Imu Breeding Centre

Hi all,

I'm sorry that it's been a while since our last update. I'm preparing for my first trip to India with Karuna to actually go and see the projects first-hand. I'm sure that I'll have lots more to share with you when I get back.

In the meantime, here is Deepali's story. You can really see how the project is helping children to build their capacities and confidence:

DEEPALI’S CASE STUDY:

The Last few weeks have been very busy for Deepali in her studies and programs.

In the mid-term examinations she worked very hard and obtained good marks, securing first class.

Deepali got number of prizes in different programmes. Pokhari village, as it’s tradition, celebrated a week long program in which Deepali took part in “Dyaneshwari Reading”. This made her popular in the village and people honoured her by organising a procession for her in their village.

In the neighbouring village Sukewadi, a National Child Training Program was organised. Deepali participated in that program and learnt different songs, plays, stories, participated in the competitions and also won a prize.

Their Child Parliament also organised a fort building competition. By making use of broken bricks and soil, Deepali build a beautiful fort and decorated it using different leaves , card board and other material. In that competition she also got a prize! Not only that, but in the School competition she took part in Kabbadi and Kho-kho ( the local sports) and got the best player award.

These prizes not only increased her joy, happiness and confidence but she became popular among villagers, school mates and children.

Their Child Parliament also organised educational picnics at two places, Sugar Factory and the Imu breeding centre. All children educated themselves about process of Sugar production- right from transportation of sugar cane to packaging of sugar cane.

In her school Deepali gave a lecture to her school mates on Personal Hygiene and Hand Washing. She also informed them about environmental sanitation and the different sickness that occurs due to unhygienic behaviour. At the birth anniversary of Savitribai Phule, the great social worker in Indian Social Development, Deepali gave speech in her school assembly. Her speech was well appreciated by her school teachers and peers.

We can see positive changes in Deepli’s life because she got the opportunity through NISD’S work to grow and develop.

Links:

Karuna's website - see more about the projects that we support

Successes to celebrate

Jilna Shah — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 16:43:35 GMT

The Child Resource Centre back then

Hi all,

So this is my first post on global giving as a fundraiser for the Karuna Trust. It's clear that we have strong support here for this incredible project that really is transforming the lives of over a thousand children on the ground. Thank you very much for your continued support.

I'm happy to be able to share even a few of the many successes that this project has enjoyed over the past few months.

First and foremost, the Child Resource Centre that lies very much at the centre of this project has been completed and its activities are in full-flow! This is a massive achievement given that its construction was such a massive undertaking. The building of the Child Resource Centre was impeded at different times by a number of barriers, including a shortage of trained labourers and a surge in the prices of building materials. All's well that ends well, however! and through the determination and consistent efforts of our partner, the building is now fully in operation and has been hitting the ground running. Vocational and other training programs, counselling and a well-equipped library are some of the many initiatives that are being run from the Centre at present. You can see from the 'then' and 'now' pictures the amount of work that has gone into building this wonderful space.

At the core of this project is of course getting kids out of child labour and poverty and instead getting them into school. With the help of our local project partner, NISD, all the children of the village are now attending school. That’s up from 72% when the project work began in 2003. If you're anything like me, it's easy to let statistics like this go straight over your head, but this one really struck me. An increase of 72% over the last 7 years really is something to shout about.

The achievements that have stemmed from the consistent and concerted efforts of all stake-holders with the help of NISD in the areas of education and health are equally as impressive:

140 school children received appropriate and timely education support materials. This played a significant role in encouraging them to continue their schooling.
843 children are reaping the benefits of support classes to improve their reading skills.
Computer classes have helped many children to overcome their fears of using a computer and have enabled them to appreciate the uses and importance of the internet in the modern world.
Child Protection Committees are working to cultivate a safe and secure atmosphere for children in their villages. 30 of these have been set up.
742 young children are receiving care and attention through supplementary nutrition and pre-primary education during the absence of their mothers whilst at work.
157 kitchen gardens have been developed and entire families are benefiting from the nutritious vegetables that they are yielding.
The growth of 531 children is monitored on a regular basis.
The Child Parliaments have mobilised children to understand their rights and have equipped them to access education.
NISD’s activities have been given added impetus at a grassroots level through the growing strength of youth-led groups such as the child parliament and self-help groups.

Not all positive change can or indeed should be measurable in terms of numbers. At Karuna we strongly hold that mind change, that is a change in consciousness, is needed in order to bring about meaningful social change. So feelings of self-worth and agency among our beneficiaries is one of the most important things for us. The impact of the project in this area can be best summed up by the words of the Executive Director of NISD in his recent progress update:

NISD is also experiencing success in making changes in the mindsets of local people, particularly about the burning issues of child care and development, child participation and child protection. Now people are actually starting to think and are also paying attention to child-related issues, committed to securing a brighter future for their children. The bidi rolling women had very little expectations about the future of their girls as they were resigned to the likelihood that their daughters would start working as bidi rollers too. Now, however, these women have started to think that there girls will not actually enter into this hazardous line of work. On the contrary, they want to educate their girls so that they can enter into other lines of work.

When considered in the context of a society highly stratified along the lines of gender and caste, such changes are not merely a small step, but a big leap.

I hope that you will share in our happiness at the progress that is being made and as ever, thank you for your continued support.

...and now!

We're doing good....and there's still more to do.

Steven Murdoch — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 10:04:57 GMT

100% of children in this village now go to school

Hi, I am very pleased to report that thanks to your generosity we have now reached our initial online target of raising $10,000 for children living in poverty around Sangamner, Maharashtra.

We can all be proud that:

As per the original plan of providing benefit to 750 children, through 30 crèches, the project is now providing support to 762 children in this way.

27 out of school support classes are taking place each evening, helping 458 children who are not doing so well in their studies, to catch up in school.

3,067 school children have benefited from health checks. Medicines have been given to 1958 children. And thanks to these checks, 27 boys and girls have been referred to doctors for further treatment.

Whilst it is fantastic news that we are achieving our goals, there is still plenty work to do. Karuna has funded the capital build of a Child Rights Centre in Sangamner, which is being project managed by our partner, the National Institute of Sustainable Development (NISD). The building will be complete and ready for use by the end of August 2010.

The Child Rights Centre will bring together parents, local authorities, village leaders, teachers, and governors, who will work together to get children out of labor and into school. Karuna is committed to funding this project until at least March 2012. Before March 2011, we still have $28,000 to raise and I am hopeful we will fund $10,000 of this through the Global Giving website.

To do this I could really do with some more of your generous help. Please consider telling your friends and family about our project - share the link on your blogs or social networks, use the tell-a-friend feature on the project page to email your network, or just bring us up in conversation. You know your friends and family best, so use your own words - tell them why you chose our project and what it means to you.

Thank you again for all you have done to help this cause.

With gratitude,

Steven Murdoch

Nearly there

Steven Murdoch — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 13:48:12 GMT

Hi,

Thanks so much for the generous donations over the past week since I last updated you. I did get a little over excited and suggested we needed less than $1,000 to achieve our target. I’m sorry for the slight over-optimism.

To clarify, we have now received total funding of $8,454 to date. We have a remaining goal of $1,546 to be funded. Our total Funding Goal is $10,000.

If you have any suggestions how to achieve that last bit please let me know. I’d love to hear from you. Spread the word.

Yours gratefully,

Thanks we've nearly hit our target!

Steven Murdoch — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 15:47:17 GMT

Deepali and her Child Parliament Group

Thanks so much for your support. We’ve nearly hit our target. We now need less than $1,000. If you have any suggestions how to achieve that last bit please let me know. I’d love to hear from you.

I am very pleased to report that, thanks to your generosity, children living in the villages around Sangamner, India are growing in confidence and that is being reflected in their school results.

Take Deepali aged 13, for example who you will remember from our last report. Deepali has just achieved 72.33% in her 7th grade examinations. Her marks were: Marathi (her local language) – 81, Math – 61, Environment Studies – 55, Social Studies – 53, English- 71, Hindi- 76, Drawing - 83, Work Experience – 84 and Physical Education 87, giving a total of 651 marks out of 900.

Deepali is very pleased with her success but it is tinged with sadness as she will soon be leaving the school which she has been attending for the last seven years as it only teaches up to seventh standard. Her parents and NISD staff are trying to get admission for Deepali in a new school, which is 2 km away from her village, Pokhari. Deepali is hoping that some of her friends will also join her at the same school.

By funding this project you have helped Deepali and her friends attend play center activities. These activities include reading, and painting. The benefits have certainly been reflected in Deepali’s school results.

You will also be pleased to hear that Deepali’s Child Parliamentary group participated in an international initiative called Global Action Week. Through the Global Action Week program our project partner, NISD links with many international organisations united in working for child rights and development throughout the world. During this week, activities for children are organised on a particular theme to give broader publicity. Last year's theme was Education for All and Deepali’s Child Parliament performed a street play. Deepali received a prize for the best performer.

On behalf of Deepali and the all the other children benefiting from your support, thank you.

Yours,

Steven

Deepali at the Play Centre

NISD Child Parliamentary Group

Prakash Palande & Robert Beard — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:22:42 GMT

Deepali busy in her studies

During Diwali celebrations children from well off families in the city area build or purchase forts. They make these forts from mud and decorate them with artificial trees, people, the military, horses, animals and so many other things. The members of Balpanchayat group decided to organize their own Fort Building Competition. Dipali was responsible for organizing this and around 24 children participated in making and decorating these holiday Diwali forts. At the end of the competition some small prizes were distributed amongst the children and Dipali was able to successfully complete her duties in organizing and seeing the event through to its end. In other learning experience the parliamentary group members decided to organize a study of two different Dairy Co-operatives and learn about their work. They divided into two groups and each group visited one of two village dairies. They observed and tried to understand all the processes of milk collection, chilling etc. and to learn from that. Then both the groups came together and shared their learning with each other. This provided a good learning experience for the children.

Dipali’ interest in her studies has increased as she has studied more regularly. She motivates other children to study and helps them if they have difficulties. In the half yearly examination she was very pleased to get a first class mark.

In December the block level Educational Department organized a ‘Math-Science Exhibition’ and asked all schools to participate in the competition. Dipali participated on behalf of her school. She prepared her exhibition on one of the local pulses and its nutritional value for the human body. Her project received first prize in the 5th to 7th standard at block level and became eligible to participate at the District level. At the district level of competition, where selected block level school projects were displayed, she did not get any prize but was awarded with a certificate. She reported that she was very happy to be able to learn a number of things from the other children’s projects. Her confidence and interest in science has now greatly increased.

Dipali and her Child Parliamentary group are active in social work. On January 10th the Government decided to give a polio vaccination to all eligible children under 5 years of age. Dipali’s group divided into two and visited all the houses with children below 5 year of age. In two days they visited every household and asked parents to bring their children for a ‘pulse polio dose’ explaining how this dose will help protect the child from polio. On the day of the ‘pulse polio dose’ vaccinations they also helped the Government personnel in keeping discipline and provided whatever help they could and this was much appreciated by all involved.

NISD organized a visit of members of the Child Parliamentary Groups to several villages. They visited ‘Anandwan Vidhyalaya, Nashik’ which is well known for preparing educational and other materials. The Child Parliamentary Group members learnt how to produce different materials from these teachers.

Dipali is now more confident and takes the lead in many different activities. She is a very active member of her Parliament and as a consequence is respected within her group as well as in the school. Her mother is very happy and proud to see Dipali’s progress and thanked NISD and Karuna Trust for their efforts in developing the children’s potential.

Playing with other gourp members

Deepali receives prize in Science-math Competition

Dipali's story

Steven Murdoch — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:34:55 GMT

Having just returned from India I am pleased to share this story of one of the girls your generosity is helping to support.

Dipali Shinde’s story

Sitting on a wooden bench, dressed in her school uniform, 13 year old Dipali Shinde looks like an ordinary school girl. Away from school; however, this talented and dedicated teenager, has helped to transform her village of Pokhari into a model rural community which demonstrates good hygiene and sanitation.

Since the age of eight, Dipali has played an active role in the village Balpanchayat. This Child Parliament was formed under the supervision of Karuna project partner NISD and as Minister for Sanitation and Hygiene Dipali is responsible for protecting fellow children of the village against illness by ensuring the teaching of good hygiene practices and lobbying householders to improve sanitation.

Dipali explains a little about the group and her role.

Why are children taking responsibility for issues usually dealt with by grown ups?

If the grown ups dealt with these issues we wouldn’t have to. Our Balpanchayat is for the protection of children. We want to live in a village which is safe and clean for children. Before we started no households had toilets. People used to go to the toilet anywhere and children and adults had bad hygiene practices.

By holding rallies and teaching good hygiene practices through street plays we have made a big difference. Now all households have toilets and children know to cut their nails, to clean their hands after using the toilet and how to keep food and water clean.

What difference has that made to children’s health?

Children would often be ill with vomiting, headaches and diarrhoea. Children got illnesses like Dengi, Malaria and Typhoid. Now it is much less common.

You seem to know a lot about the effects of poor hygiene and sanitation?

Yes, I want to be a doctor when I leave school. I want to provide better health to those who are sick.

What is the biggest health risk now?

A lot of households do not have soak pits for waste water. Instead the water goes onto the ground. It then becomes stagnant which attracts mosquitoes, which carry disease.

What are you doing about the problem?

We are campaigning householders to dig soak pits. They are six feet deep and filled with broken bricks and stones. If every household does this we will have no more stagnant pools and many less mosquitoes.

What message do you have for supporters of Karuna?

We know we are very fortunate. Not many children have this opportunity. Thank you for giving us the chance to do this. If you keep giving, more children can be helped in this way.

NISD is a project partner of Karuna, committed to giving children living in poverty in 150 villages across rural Sangamner and Pimpalgaon Joge, Maharashtra the opportunity to enjoy better health, education and equal rights.

Thank you for your generous on going support.

Dipali with the child parliament

Positive news from the project

Steven Murdoch — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:01:51 GMT

Sairaj, Prime Minister

Thank you so much for supporting this project which I recently had the privilege of visiting.

Many of the children and families benefiting from your generosity live in a rather rural part of Maharashtra. Although only 150 miles from my starting point of Pune, the poor condition of the road meant a journey of several hours to reach a cluster of villages, displaced by the building of the Pimpalgaon Joge dam.

These villages represent one of the two key activity areas for the project, the other being the slum villages on the outskirts of the large town of Sangamner 70 miles away.

On first seeing the large expanse of water which has been created by the completion of the dam, I was fooled into thinking that this was a valuable resource which must be of benefit to the local community. I was wrong.

Underneath the water are the lost villages and fertile fields which once were home and larder to generations of this proud and previously self sufficient community.

At a village meeting, members of the local community painted the wider picture of the true nature of the significant negative effect of the construction of the dam.

The water for a start, I was told, is not fit for drinking without significant treatment. New villages have had to be established on the sides of the hill and the new land being claimed for agricultural use is unlevel and infertile. Until the project started, none of the households had drinking water or sanitation.

With no income through agriculture, the villagers have been forced to start day laboring. This work usually involves many days away from their homes and families, working long hours, for little pay, constructing and repairing highways.

Thanks to your support, I witnessed a JCB digger being used to level the land and so prepare it for agricultural use. The village I visited now boasts outside toilets for 80% of the homes. The same village now also has its own water supply complete with purifying system. I found it incomprehensible to think that these villagers had previously been walking for miles to find suitable water for drinking.

The mood of the village meeting was subdued as it is going to be a number of years before they will really know what the new land will produce. Having said that, there was certainly hope and much appreciation for the support they have been receiving from our donors for their village.

On reaching Sangamner I was fortunate enough to meet Sairaj, Prime Minister and his Ministers of the Pokhari village Child Parliament (beneficiaries of the project). Sairaj explained to me some of the issues facing children of the village, including malnourishment and school drop outs. He explained that the parliament meets weekly to identify issues and find solutions.

One significant problem, he explained, is that girls are being withdrawn from school early (aged 12 -14) and are not being allowed to complete their education.

The parliament devised a street play to show to parents. The play highlighted the problems of school drop out as well as the benefits of allowing girls to complete their education. Sairaj also explained that a representation party of the parliament visits families to understand their fears and encourage them to allow girls to complete their education.

The skills these children get from the Child Parliament are considerable. They learn how society operates, how village law works, how to engage with adults, how to present arguments, what their rights are and how to speak in public, to name but a few.

In all the projects I visited, these children, aged 11 to 16 years old were the most engaging, socially active and confident I met during my month long visit. Meeting these children gives me confidence that your generous donation is going to a very worthwhile cause. Thank you again for your continued support.

As a key stakeholder in this project, we would really appreciate your considered feedback. How could we attract more people to this project? What inspires you to support it? What can we do better?

The difference you are making is significant and really appreciated. Thank you.

The Child Parliament

Pimpalgaon Joge Dam

The story of Mrs Bhagubai Ashok Tajanpure

Dryan Kitchener — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 11:05:16 GMT

Mrs. Bhagubai Tajanpure with her goats.

A story of one of the beneficiaries that exemplifies the work of the project:

Bhagubai [age 42] from Saikhindi village belongs to a very poor family. Her husband works on daily wages and Bhagubai works in the Bidi-rolling factory to make ends meet. She could continue schooling only till 3rd standard after which she had to leave school to support her family.

With the help of Karuna NISD started working with the women in the Bidi factory. At that time Bhagubai attended all the awareness programs conducted by the organization; later becoming involved in a Self Help Group (SHG). She attended almost all the trainings organised by NISD and the Income generation training proved to be a turning point in her life. With the guidance provided she decided to start her own income generation to support her family income. Her SHG group sanctioned her loan application, giving her loan of Rs.10,000 for a goat herd. She started her small goat herd from which she obtained milk for children, goats for sale, female goats to expand her herd and also manure for her small farm.

As she started getting a good income she repaid the loan easily. She also leveled her three acre uneven barren land and made it productive. By keeping some money aside and taking a further loan from the SHG, in 2006 the family dug a well in their land. Because of water availability and their hard work they started getting even more income from their land.

Bhagubai’s financial status improved but still she wished to have a good house for her family because her house was just a hut, which was not safe and secure. Bhagubai got information in her SHG meeting about a housing program assisted by Habitat for Humanity. She had some savings but her SHG group did not have access to sufficient funds to support her. So she applied for a loan from the SHG Federation. Seeing her track record the Federation sanctioned her loan application and she constructed a house in 2007.

Bhagubai and her husband do not want their children to face the problems they faced due to poverty. They want to give them a good education. Bhagubai has reduced her bidi-rolling work and is now concentrating on her goats and on agriculture, which give her family a better standard of living.