Project Margadarshi

Campaign Story

About the project

Chittapur Block of Kalaburagi District in Karnataka faces issues of child protection due to poverty. This forces children to remain out of school. There is a severe gap in the provision of High Schools in the operational area as per the RCFCE Act. Hence, the access to schools itself is a challenge for children. The high dropout rate pushes children to become child laborers in the operational area.

Making a difference

CRY America’s project Margadarshi works towards enrolling 3 to 6 years children in preschool, transitioning children from preschool to primary school, sensitizing the SDMC members, and rescuing child laborers. The key activities taking place under the project are engaging children in learning, games activities, regular meeting and interactions with Anganwadi teachers, motivating parents/teachers to enroll the same children in primary schools, discussing and planning Covid Awareness in the operational areas and inspire SDMC members to follow up on schools to ensure COVID-19 prevention guidelines.

Action during COVID times

● Raised awareness on COVID-19 and its appropriate behaviors
● Identified most vulnerable families and children affected by the pandemic

The way forward

● Ensuring children are attending primary schools by regular home visits
● Ensuring at least one meeting/session was organized last quarter on child protection issues
● Rescuing child laborers and mainstreaming in formal education
● Regular home visits to identify school dropouts/never enrolled children; counseling dropout children and their parents
● Conducting school enrolment campaigns

Project Impact

children were enrolled in Anganwadis

206

Children were enrolled in Anganwadis

learning tuition type centers were formed during closure of Anganwadis due to lockdown with the support of local volunteers and engaged children learning activities

17

Learning tuition type centers were formed during closure of Anganwadis due to lockdown with the support of local volunteers and engaged children learning activities

active members attending and contributing to SDMCs

42

Active members attending and contributing to SDMCs

school dropout children re-enrolled in schools

111

School dropout children re-enrolled in schools

community level meetings were organized

13

Community level meetings were organized

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Last year’s budget: $25,626

Current Year’s Approved Grant

Education$19,874

Administration$6,022

Participation$4,216

Total Budget$30,112

Sabamma – the young child rights champion

Sabamma is a 17-year old girl who lived with her parents and two brothers. When the team started the intervention in the community they found Sabamma as a school dropout in 10th class and doing part time labor work to support the family’s livelihood.

When her father passed away due to poverty she was irregular in school and pushed to work in the agricultural field. She faced challenges to understand subjects like English, Mathematics and Science. She tried to clear the exams twice but she failed in Maths, Science and English and then dropped out.

When the project started forming the adolescent girls collective, Sabamma joined the collective and started attending the weekly meetings. Regular weekly sessions were conducted for adolescent girls on various child rights subjects as well as organized life skills activities. Through these meetings, girls were given awareness on subjects like negative impact of child marriage, importance of education, gender issues, good touch-bad touch, health and hygiene, etc. Life skills activities on communication skills, confidence building, self-awareness, interpersonal skills, decision making and being encouraged to take initiative in protecting and claiming their rights.

By attending regular meetings/sessions, Sabamma has gained interest in child rights subjects and life skills activities. She became an active member of the collective, started taking initiative to conduct meetings for girls, facilitating discussions in the group on subjects like hygiene, identifying school dropouts, escalating the child marriage issue to our community organizer or to AWC teacher, organizing awareness drives on child protection issues, visiting AWCs to interact with AWC teacher etc.

“I want to use my own personal story of struggle to educate and empower fellow girls in the village to continue their studies”, says Sabamma.

During the lockdown our team started sending weekly activities to Sabamma through a regular post upon receiving the activities Sabamma was finding a common space to publish the activities by writing on black board.

She then goes house to house to inform children to come and read the activities and then practice the activity at home. Before each day’s activity she also ensures that children practice hand hygiene as well as do some physical and mental well being activities.

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