Helping children and their families from 'untouchable' communities in rural India escape poverty, child-labour in 'bidi' cigar factories, and ill-health through education, health care and livelihood support.
Caste & religious discrimination results in these families being dependent on bonded labor, rolling raw tobacco into cigarettes. Children are at risk through exposure to the tobacco atmosphere in the womb, as infants & as child-laborers (from 7 yrs old). The children are from low-caste Hindu, Tribal & Muslim families who are uneducated, do not own land or have alternative livelihoods.11500 children in the project villages will be helped, along with their families; a total of 40,000 people.
Providing an integrated program of education, health-care & livelihood schemes stopping child labor, including provision of access to education (20 pre-school and creche facilities), mobile health clinics & micro-finance self-help savings groups.
Each child can access education, proper health care, nutrition, and recreation to enable them to have a childhood free from child-labour and child-marriage, and to support their overall development and the completion of their education.
"I have to work hard but I think that I will see a different future for Vanita and Rishikesh.Before, I used to wonder 'what is all this work for?', but now I see them happy and learning"
- Anita Jedgule, Cigarette - 'bidi' - worker and mother.
Total Funding Received to Date: $33,398
Remaining Goal to be Funded: $1,601
Total Funding Goal: $35,000
This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Word file (projdoc.doc).
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