Campaign Story
About the project
The community consists of 973 children from 660 households across 26 villages in the Kodaikanal block of Dindigul district, Tamil Nadu. Most community members work as daily wage laborers in coffee, pepper, and orange estates. Child dropouts are frequent due to unstable family incomes. Although parents aspire to educate their children, financial constraints remain a significant barrier. Many families take out high-interest loans from moneylenders to fund their children’s education but struggle with repayment. As a result, children drop out of school to work as child laborers and support their families, while girls often face the risk of child marriage.
Making a difference
CRY America’s project in Kodaikanal aims to provide education and protection for children and nutrition for pregnant and lactating mothers. The project also focuses on reducing child labor and child marriage by re-enrolling drop-out children back into school. Key activities include identifying drop-out children, setting up supplementary education centers, monitoring children’s immunization, and linking women with maternity programs. Additionally, the project works to form Children’s and Adolescents’ Collectives to raise awareness about child labor and child marriage.
The way forward
● Engage with 14 Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) and parents to identify & enroll children in Anganwadi Centers (AWCs) for pre-school education.
● Conduct Village Health and Nutrition Day (VHND) across 14 AWCs to promote quality nutrition.
● Sensitize 11 pregnant women and 21 lactating mothers on importance of immunization and nutrition.
● Conduct regular meetings with 14 Children’s’ and 10 Adolescent Collectives and organize Life Skills sessions for them.
● Orient 24 Women’s Collectives on the Parents’ Module to help them support children’s education and health.
● Conduct meetings with AWWs and 25 AWC helpers to discuss the facilities provided to children during growth monitoring.
Project Impact
583
Children retained in schools.
2
Children removed from child labor and mainstreamed into schools.
280
Children (aged 0-5 years) covered under nutritional assessment.
102
Community members received medical insurance certificates.
35
Children received complete immunization.
376
Members of Children’s Collectives sensitized on child rights.
Current Year’s Approved Grant (April to Dec 2024) $4,171
Last Year’s Grant Disbursed (Jan to Dec, 2023) – $297,425
Boys of Kodaikanal rekindling dreams through education
