Project Rural Workers Development Society (RWDS)

Campaign Story

About the project

One of the key problems of Ramanathapuram District, Tamil Nadu is the high number of child laborers. The reasons being, lack of livelihood opportunities, indebtedness, door pick up for child laborers working in salt pans and seafood processing units, no access to schools, increasing private schools, etc. In addition to it, high cost for transport adds on to the severity of the problem that children and communities face.

Making a difference

CRY America’s Project RWDS works towards focussing engagement in ensuring increased retention of school going children from 70% to 80% and ensuring physical access to schools, infrastructure & quality within schools & ICDS centers, increasing child participation. The key activities under the project are supporting groups formed in all 52 villages comprising community volunteers, AWW, local youth and panchayat members, ensuring regular administration of immunization, initiating supplementary classes in 5 villages and preventing increase in dropout rates in school due to the pandemic.

The way forward

● Engaging 20 dropout children and their parents for re-enrolling them in school
● Ensuring 100% transition from grade 10th and 12th for higher studies
● Preventing child labor in 52 villages
● Organize life skill sessions for 23 members of adolescent girls collectives & 52 Children collective
● Organize sessions for 200 parents on life skills module for parents
● Supplementary classes in 5 villages with high dropout rates
● Engage with 30 Sangams to reduce child labor & help re-enrollment

Project Impact

members ensured of getting panchayat level 100 days job for 15 days in a month under MNREGA

1220

Children transited in their respective classes

children in the age group of 6-18 years were monitored for enrollment in the schools

22

Child laborers rescued and mainstreamed

child laborers stopped from working and constantly monitored _ motivated for re-enrolment

120

parents sensitized on life skill modules

children collective meetings conducted with participation of 478 children

100%

Retention in school in 14 villages

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Last year’s budget: $33,500

Current Year’s Approved Grant

Education$34,668

Administration$5,205

Total Budget$39,873

Vanshika’s Dream: Overcoming Child Labor to Become a Teacher

Once upon a time, in a remote village there lived a determined 13-year-old girl named Vanshika. She had only one dream – to become a teacher. She loved the idea of carrying books and spending her days in school like any other child. However, fate had other plans for her.

Vanshika and her elder sister were forced to work in a cotton mill. This left her with no time for school or a childhood she deserved. The village was located deep in the interiors and children like her had no access to higher secondary schooling. Those who attended higher secondary school had to walk 20 km up and down to reach the village and an additional 4 km in a shared auto to reach the school. There were no transport facilities available, leaving the children to fend for themselves.

Children’s collectives, meetings and parent-teacher meetings had all discussed the importance of education and the dangers of child labor. The team, along with the children from the collective, took matters into their own hands and approached Vanshika’s parents.

Initially, her parents were hesitant to speak with the community organizers during their house visits. Vanshika, too, was not ready to talk to the team. However, with persistent follow-up, the parents began to open up about their situation and the reasons why they couldn’t encourage their child to attend school regularly. She, too, began to share how helpless she felt and her struggle with helping her parents financially.

With the help of the community organizers and the support of her parents, she was able to re-enroll in class 8. She was finally able to spread her wings and pursue her dream of becoming a teacher.

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