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CRY: Child Relief
and You - You can make a difference.
 12-year-old
Rajnikanth worked in a sweet shop in Kerala, because the shop
owner had promised his family at Thopur that their son's future
would be taken care of. What they ensured however was terror,
hunger and loneliness.
Rajnikanth's day started as early as 4.00 in the morning
and ended at 12.00 at night. He seldom got food. Day after
day after day, the boy sat working in the dungeons of the
sweet shop, and his cries remained unheard.
After repeated torture and misery, one day he decided to
escape. After a long adventurous journey, Rajnikanth managed
to reach his family. It was then that Anawim Trust, an organization
working with underprivileged children intervened. After a
series of counseling sessions, Rajnikanth was introduced to
supplementary education. Today he has big dreams, and wants
to do higher studies
ANAWIM works in the Tiruchandur Taluk in Toothukudi District.
In these villages, where most houses still did not have electricity,
education was the last priority. Most children who never went
to school came from families whose monthly income was less
that 1000/-. Anawim was left with theHerculean task of changing
the scenario, enrolling children in schools and getting them
interested in studies.
Earlier Anawim concentrated on working with the community
only by providing training in tailoring, mat weaving and catering.
It implemented the Eco-village project in mid '97 with the
support of I.O.I. The focus of this project was to draw the
participation of the coastal communities in protecting the
coastal Ecology within Tiruchendur Taluk. But as they realized
the need to work with children, a supplementary Education
Programme was initiated in 15 villages with the help of CRY-
Child Relief and You.
"We observed that the Children were weak in Maths and
English, and most of them were either repeating the same class
having failed or had dropped out of school system. They had
no opportunities to develop their inherent skills in co-curricular
activities." says Shanthi, Director of Anawim,"
in short, they hated school."
The supplementary education project for deprived children
was started in October 98. Initially 432 children were enrolled.
Thanks to the regular classes and recreation activities; education
was made interesting for them. Nutritious food was provided
in the centers. These committees supported the centers by
contributing small needs of the centers. Special Classes were
conducted for 10th std students.
Community participation increased, as there were efforts
made by the staff of make the supplementary education self-supporters.
The women's group started contributing money from their savings
for the welfare of the children. Together they raised funds
and constructed a shed for the centres. In some villages,
the village elders came up to spare the Community Hall or
the vacated houses for centers. A total of 762 children are
covered in the programme.
CRY has been working with Anawim since 1998. In all the projects
that CRY has worked with, the key to making 100% enrolment
and 100% retention in schools a reality has been the active
involvement of the community. CRY recognises that the community
needs to be responsible for the well being of their children.
CRY and its project partners facilitates this by making the
communities aware of government policies and programmes for
children, the causes and effects of children's issues and
encouraging these communities to participate in local government
mechanisms. . It has disbursed 684 million to 163 child development
initiatives, like Anawim, across the country.
If you think you too could make a difference, please call
us at 044-4671828/ 4672241 or email us at comm.mds@crymail.org
or visit our website - www.cry.org.
MUMBAI
189/A Anand Estate, Sane Guruji Marg - 400 011.
Tel - 309 6845 / 306 3651 / 3647 Fax - 308 0726.
Email : cryinfo.mum@crymail.org
NEW DELHI
DDA Slum Wing, (Barat Ghar), Bapu Park, Kotla Mubarakpur -
110 003.
Tel - 469 3137 / 4790 / 3159. Fax - 463 2302.
Email : cryinfo.del@crymail.org
BANGALORE
Madhavi Mansion, 12/3-1, Bachammal Road, Cox Town - 560 005.
Tel - 548 4952 / 8574. Fax - 548 7355. Email : cryinfo.blr@crymail.org
CHENNAI
57/ 2, P.S Sivaswamy Salai (Sullivan Garden Road),Mylapore,
- 600 004.
Tel - 499 6984 / 467 2241 / 2243 / 1828. Fax - 467 2407.
Email : cryinfo.mds@crymail.org
KOLKATA
172A, Jodhpur Park - 700 068.
Tel - 4148030 / 55. Fax - 4148030. Email : cryinfo.cal@crymail.org
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