Project Sundarban Social Development Centre

Campaign Story

About the project

The communities in the southernmost Sundarban island region of West Bengal are typically identified as socio-economically backward, owing to their remoteness and isolation. The project has been working in the interests of people who inhabit this disaster-prone area. The project is implementing “Protecting Children through Capacitated Workforce”.

This Project is fully funded by the Oak foundation.

Making a difference

CRY America’s Project SSDC endeavors to protect children from risks and harmful practices – including but not limited to child labor, child marriage and trafficking – by ensuring local Child Protection Workforces meet established occupational standards. The project promotes engagement and coordination among stakeholders responsible for protecting children at the village, block and district levels and advocates for improved Integrated Child Protection Services using evidence and collective action.

Action during COVID times

● A threefold increase in child protection issues were accelerated in the intervention areas.

The way forward

● Strengthen and promote community ownership of village-, block-, and district-level child protection mechanisms by fostering Community Cadres trained on child protection policy
● Complete capacity building of 105 VLCPC and BLCPC members and organize 30 coordination meetings with VLCPC, BLCPC and DCPU.
● Resolve 25 high-risk juvenile justice cases
● Conduct vulnerability assessment across 20 Gram Panchayats to assess the post-COVID status of child marriage, child trafficking and child labor
● Organize 240 child-rights awareness sessions with parents across 20 villages
● Produce evidence by documenting a minimum of 100 child protection cases electronically and 25 case studies as reference/resource material

Project Impact

enrollment done for out – of – school children between the age groups of 6 to 14 years

100%

Enrollment done for out – of – school children between the age groups of 6 to 14 years

enrollment done for out – of – school children between the age groups of 15 to 18 years

72%

Enrollment done for out – of – school children between the age groups of 15 to 18 years

children rescued from child labor and mainstreamed

13

Children rescued from child labor and mainstreamed

slums out of 23 have become child marriage free

4

Slums out of 23 have become child labor free

slums out of 23 have become child labor free

5

Slums out of 23 have become child marriage free

Last Year’s Grant Disbursed: $11,177

Current Year’s Approved Grant – $48,542

A Multi-Dimensional approach to stop child marriage

Preeti a 14 year old girl lives in Chayanagar slum of Jamshedpur. Preeti is a student in grade 8th and her father is a driver in Kolkata. Her grandfather is the sole decision maker in the house. One fine day, he finalized Preeti’s marriage and asked her father to come back and discuss the arrangements with the groom’s family.

Upset, Preeti tried convincing her parents that she does not want to get married and wants to continue her education. But her grandparents remained rigid and argued that they wanted to see their granddaughter’s marriage. With a lot of pressure coming from the family, she decided to discuss this issue with her teachers. Project ASES team along with Preeti’s teacher and principal came to her home to counsel the family.

They invited her parents in the adolescent group meeting which focused on child marriage, the law and adversities of child marriage. They realized that they were making a great mistake. The supervisor of the ASES, teacher and Principal met her grandfather and grandmother with her parents and again discussed about the laws of child marriage. The entire family realised their mistake and pledged together not only Preeti but no child will be married in their nearby vicinity.

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