CHILD RIGHTS PROTECTION
| Project title |
Protection of Child Rights through Community Empowerment |
| SPP Program Area |
Two Mandals i.e: Kollapur and Gopalpet in Mahabubnagar District |
| Direct participants/Beneficiaries |
Children of 0-18 years age and their parents |
| Project time frame |
Three years |
| Problem |
Mahabubnagar is one of the most backward districts in Andhra Pradesh. It ranks in the top five districts in terms of child labour in the state. As public mobilisation was weak all the institutions supposed to work for the protection of childhood and child rights developed lethargy. Hence, the project basically aims at increasing public awareness and thereby aims at developing accountability among the government departments responsible for children. |
| Partners |
- Ford Foundation
- Children of 0-18 years
- Parents
- School Teachers
- Mandal Education Officer
- Mandal Revenue Officer
- Mandal Development Officer
- District Education Officer
- Health Department
- ICDS
- Community leaders
- Youth
|
Describe the problem and the root causes, summarizing the data used to support the analysis |
Denial of Child rights is taking place in a large scale. Negligence of the government agencies and lack of employment opportunities coupled with the ignorance of the parents are the major root causes for the problem. |
| Briefly describe the project’s design |
|
| a) Goals |
“Protection of Child Rights through Community Empowerment” |
| b) Objectives |
Sensitise and mobilise communities, different government departments and stakeholders and garnering their support to realise the goal. |
| c) Strategies or the approach used |
- Formation of community groups and strengthening them
- Establishing rapport between the community groups and various government departments
- Sensitising the Government Agencies e.g.: Formation of child rights protection groups with teachers’ etc.
- Closely working with elected representatives of local bodies as well as members of legislative Assembly
- Strengthening the existing public institutions and user groups like Village Education Committees
- Formation of user groups wherever necessary
- Lobbying and working as pressure group for the realization of the child rights mentioned in the UNCRC (United Nations’ Child Rights’ Convention).
|
| d) Selected key activities |
- Strengthening Primary Health Centres
- Strengthening ICDS centres
- Strengthening Schools
- Strengthening Panchayathiraj institutions
- Formation of Different groups with youth, parents, teachers, Medical Staff
- Identification of agencies working on child rights in the district and Formation of district level network with them
|
| Briefly state the justifications |
|
Strategic Objective 1
Mobilize society on the issues of child rights including health and safe living
Goal
Sensitizing the society on the issues that concern the children and their rights and protection of such rights as recognized by the constitution of India and various other international treaties and covenants including CRC.
Outcomes
- Social consensus will have been generated on the issues of child rights.
- The number of child labourers in the project area will have gone down by at least 90% by the end of the project period.
- Infant mortality and maternal mortality will come down to the minimum levels.
- The incidence of child marriages will come down heavily
Indicators
- The initiation of a debate among community groups on the issues of child rights and child health.
- Greater awareness among parents on the importance of education particularly the girl child education and their right to health and safe living.
- Involvement of Gram Panchayats in monitoring the education process.
- Allocation of Gram Panchayat funds towards development of institutions concerned with children like Schools, Health Centres, pre-primary schools and centres.
- Unwillingness of erstwhile employers of child labour to employ children.
- Unwillingness of parents to send their wards to work.
- A positive trend in favour of girl child education.
- Number of child labourers freed from work.
- Number of child labourers mainstreamed to educational institutions.
- Number of children enrolled and retained by the schools.
- Increase in the intake of ICDS centres and number of such centres as such.
- Strengthening of community groups like education committees, health committees and Girl Child Rights’ protection committees
Activities
- Campaign for Child Rights
Strategic Objective 2
Work towards protection of child rights
Goals
Ensure that all children in the age group of 6-14 years are enrolled in school and 3-5 years are enrolled in the Anganwadi centres.
Outcome
There will be a trend in favour of enrolment in school of all children in the age group of 6-14 years and enrolment in Pre primary schools of all children in the age group of 3-5 years
Activities
- Linkages with Anganwadi Centres
- Focus on girl child education
- Institutional arrangement
- Participation in government drives
- Reaching out to migrant children
Strategic Objective 3
Strengthen government institutions
Goal
Ensure improved receptivity of the government institutions for children.
Outcomes
- Turnout of children in government schools, ICDS centres will be enhanced.
- Teachers will become more accommodative of school-going children’s needs.
- The quality of teaching in government schools will improve.
- 90% of the children in the age group of 3-5 years will enrol in the pre primary ICDS centres (Anganwadi Centres)
Indicators
- Improved enrolment and retention in government schools and ICDS centres
- Greater responsiveness on the part of schools, ICDS centres and Hospitals to children’s academic requirements/health requirements etc.
- Better understanding among the employees of these institutions as to the family situation of poor children.
- Improved infrastructure in government schools/ICDS centres and hospitals.
- Improved public confidence in government institutions.
- Reduction in the incidence of dropout from government schools, improvement of the health and nutritious levels of the children.
- Number of children attending these institutions'
- Community-Institutions relations.
- Child friendly atmosphere in the institutions.
- Employment of informal and joyful means of teaching in government schools.
Activities
- Monitoring government schools/ICDS Centres/Health Centres
- Sensitization of the staffs
- Motivating community on the issue of institutional development/improvement
Strategic Objective 4
Lobby with the government and the concerned departments for policy reform
Goal
Work towards a child friendly policy
Outcome
Pressure will be brought upon policymakers to ensure enhanced school/ICDS enrolment and retention through adequate reforms in the laws.
Indicators
- Governmental response to organizational efforts.
- Number of cases booked against violators of child rights.
- Number of elected representatives involved in the campaign.
Activities
- Networking
- Lobbying with people’s representatives
Community Participation
By inculcating a sense of ownership and making them understand that the problems addressed by the project are actually the society’s problems only. By constant interaction with different stakeholders ownership of the programme can be transferred to the communities.
This programme doesn’t have increasing financial capacities as its goals. But one of the Key role players is Self Help Groups and its leaders. The processes to be built are expected that they may come forward and take a lead role in the protection of child rights especially the rights of the girl child.
Strategies of the project sustainability
Involvement of the government institutions and awareness to be built up among the communities are the best tried out methods in this respect. SVK’s self experience and the experiences of various organisations across the country are the best examples how a project can be sustained even after withdrawal of the implementing agency.
The government policy and the pressure of the international communities are in favour of protecting child rights. Recent amendment to the constitution by inserting article 21(A) and the Common School system the Government wants to introduce are positive signs in this regard.
The processes being introduced and the community participation may change the attitude of all the stakeholders including the government may help in sustain the programme. |
