Transform lives of 85 child laborers in India

Dear Supporters,

Season Greetings to you from Health Education Adoption Rehabilitation Development Society (HEARDS)!

Thank you for your esteemed and valuable support towards the empowerment of the working children.  I am hereby enclosing the progress report happened during this reporting period. 

INTRODUCTION:

HEARDS started the child labour eradication programme with the support of GlobalGiving in Prashant Nagar Colony, Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh, INDIA.  Since from the beginning stage of the programme various types of programmes and strategies were designed and the programmes were implemented in the rehabilitation centre.  Due to the multipronged strategies and the collective effort of the staff team and the community, the programme has yielded many positive results.

The child labour eradication programme was the very first programme of its type in our Chittoor, which has its main focus on children and the various other aspects related to the child development.  For the first time in the history, despite of the district being a place where political clashes are common, people from different communities are educated to come together and work for the development of children without any prejudice or bias.

The programme had also created many changes in the life style of the people and children.  Around 9 volunteers are trained to involve actively in the child labour eradication activities at the slum level.

The primary school enrollment campaigns and the seminar programmes, workshops conducted in the past days have created awareness at all levels about education and its importance.  Though there are positive outcomes, still the programme is to be continued in the area for the follow up and to completely make the area child labour free.

Based on the inferences, that were noticed during the implementation of the programme at the field level slight modifications and additions are introduced in the strategies, especially newer training and seminar programmes have been included for the anti child labour committee members, the mothers club members and the staff to strengthen their community.

OBJECTIVES:

*  To educate the people to understand the reality of child labour.

*  To remove the children from workforce and readmit into regular school.

*  To organise alternative education centers for working children.

*  To motivate the parents to encourage children's education.

*  To promote collective action in protecting the rights of the children.

*  To propagate the need for eradicating child labour in the Prashant Nagar Colony. 

STRATEGIES:

*   Running non-formal education centres for working children.

*   Conducting primary school enrollment campaign.

*   Orienting the regular primary school teachers and headmasters to involve in the child labour                        eradication activities.

*  Educating the slum leaders to understand the child labour reality and prepare them to collaborate with other     in the eradication of child labour.

*  Organising public meetings on evils of child labour in the working villages of the target block.

*  Sensitising the leaders of the people’s movement and trade union representatives.

*  Motivating the children completed 5 years of age to join the regular schools.

*  Motivating the drop out children below 15 years of age and enrolling them in the regular schools.

*  Motivating the parents to encourage the school going children to continue their education.

*  Organising sensitisation cultural programmes for the students, rural people, elected Panchayat       representatives. 

IMPACT:

*   30 working children will be motivated and admitted for the non-formal education centre.

*   Local primary school teachers will be trained on child rights to bring cent percent enrollment.

*   All the college and school students will be sensitized with the child labour issues.

*   The local representatives will be educated on the child labour issues and protection of child rights.

*   30 working children/drop out children will be helped to enroll in the regular scholls.

CONCLUSION: 

We have planned the project for three years. Since already a good rapport has been built with the people in the Block it is possible for us to continue the activities without much difficulty. The objective of the project is to make all the children sit in the school and hence the cooperation from the public will be always there.