Protection of environment has posed not only a major challenge but also a social and moral responsibility in the present society. Children like any other children of the world who live in villages and backward areas in and around Madurai, Tamilnadu, India need a decent, secure, affordable home which is fundamental to the realization of children’s rights. The quality of housing affects girls’ and boys’ health and overall environment. Their health and survival depends as much on healthy environments as on health services. In fact, these children are particularly affected by health related problems which are related to water and sanitation and they are susceptible to diarrhoeal diseases, intestinal worms and various eye and skin ailments. Inadequate living environments namely environmental chaos, stress and parenting, poor housing, absence of safe informal public gathering places, lack of easy access to opportunities for safe play, absence of constructive opportunities for young people, repeated exposure to violence in hazardous in rural and semi- urban environment etc impact the quality of life of children.
It is found that children who live in rural and backward areas have heightened vulnerability to a variety of exposures as a consequence of their developmental, behavioural and physiological characteristics. They receive greater exposures per unit of body weight than adults because – for their size – they eat more food, drink more liquids, and breathe more air than adults. Depending on their age, children’s ability to metabolize, detoxify and excrete many toxicants is different from that of adults. Exposures at critical periods of development can result in irreversible damage to the growing nervous system, affect emerging behaviour patterns, cause immune dysfunction and have serious reproductive effects.Children’s behaviour often places them at higher risk than adults to certain environmental hazards, because of their exploratory behaviour, frequent hand-to-mouth activity, and proximity to the ground – all of which result in greater contact with sources of contamination.
Knowing the importance of information dissemination in promoting the environmental health rights among children and providing opportunity for them to effectively participate in practice – based learning experiences, the Goodwill social work centre proposes to launch a CHILDREN’S ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH RIGHTS’ centre to cater to the needs of children and young people in and around Madurai, Tamilnadu, South India and backward areas in and around Madurai, Tamilnadu, South India. The proposed project will provide education and training on children’s rights and environment, research on issues concerning environmental health rights, takes up advocacy, undertakes capacity building, work in partnership with local and international organizations, work with media and press and act a resources centre for children, youth, teachers and parents”. It aims to build harmonious relationship between the environment and children and young people. Our work will Centre on promoting greater access to justice and guarantee human rights for children who are victims of environmental degradation.
Children will be sensitized to environmental issues and provided with an opportunity to participate in media intervention campaigns, participatory training and field exposure programmes. They will empowered with information of the environment and will be ‘environmentally concerned’ about the health rights and the need to protect and promote their rights. They will be empowered to identify potential environmental risks and solutions. They will have greater opportunities to have access to Internet based ecology and environment information. Pre-assessment and post assessment surveys to measure the level of knowledge and attitudes among the children will assess the success of the project. Qualitative assessment of the participation of children in various participatory training programmes and activities will also serve an indicator for defining success of the project. Assistance to children and their parents who are victims of environmental degradation. Parents, teachers and local community based civil society organizations in the project areas will be empowered through Education, training and awareness building in human rights for children and environmental health rights.
Improper Waste Handling is making the dumps,drains & landfills overflow, in return, fly & mosquito breeding is rampant, causing diseases.
Reckless burning of wastes, specially plastics, is polluting the environment, also aiding diseases.
So called ‘Wastes’, which can be turned to ‘wealth’, providing Livelihood to many poor families are just ‘WASTED’.
Which we can Transform.
Reporter: Mr Tapa Chatterjee
Since last one and half decades, UDYAMA has demonstrated few evidence based initiatives working directly with
community and engaging partner NGOs in flood & drought prone areas and carved out good learning on community
resilience process. Learning–Linking- Livelihoods is the core areas of UDYAMA that has scaled and replicated in coastal,
rural and tribal hinter lands. Founded in 1997, UDYAMA primarily aims towards strengthening and building capacities of
local communities towards rejuvenating human capital, ecological capital ,economical capital & well-being
improvement with a view to enhancing adaptation to vulnerability and changing the culture of dependency to a culture
of self-reliance harnessing resource base, blending with traditional and improved technology transformation, with well
articulated development communication.
We are focusing following activities:
• Eco-Logical Development towards responsive development in harmony with nature & culture, life style
• Community Livelihoods Resilience at Coastal, Rural and Tribal Hilly Regions
• Model building on Micro-Water conservation , Sustainable Agriculture ,biodiversity conservation, Crop Diversification,
• Inclusion of Women & children towards safe Sanitation, House Hold Nutrition and Hygiene, Environmental Education
• Life Skill Development , income diversification And alternate livelihoods of ultra poor
• Advocacy towards City Resilient program ,Green Energy
• Gearing Greening towards environmental sustainability
• Implementing & advocacy on Minimizing Adverse impact of Distress Migration at source and destination
• Citizen Action on climate Justice involving Women , Children and multi stakeholders
• Networking and mainstreaming DRR and Institution building,
• Result Based Management Training , Study & capacity building, collectives Grooming
Our approach aimed at to:
• Provide as a catalyst for efforts to support people in areas facing repeated disasters or Vulnerabilities
• Prepare for, plan to withstand and recover from stresses, shocks & drudgery
• Take in hand root causes of disasters , impacts and vulnerabilities with lasting solutions
• Adaptive Action Research and Innovation focused on the challenges and opportunities
Affiliations & Alliances: With our steady and sustained effort on disaster resilient development process, UDYAMA
has bagged UN-ECOSOC status, Accredited to UN-Global compact, UN-CONGO, UNISDRR,UNEP, UNFCCC,
UNCCD,UNURBAN GATE-WAY, Global Citynet, GFDRR and Global Water Partnership and members in stakeholders’
forum, National Institute of Open Learning for Vocational Training , India Gateway, Government of India (NPO) , Water
Climate Coalition, Global Network for Disaster Risk Reduction and WSP, WSSCC, End Water Poverty and SAMHITA, CDRN,
AADRR, SPHERE-India. Very Recently UDYAMA has received International Award for Environment from Kyobo
Foundation, Seoul and e-NGO 2012 Using ICT in Development. : www.udyama.org .
Reporter: Mr Pradeep Mahapatra
Goodwill Social Work Centre,Madurai,India has been taking up a Non-formal employment training for children and youth project in partnership with the Global Links Initiative,(www.glinet.org) United Kingdom with the fund from the legacy from late Mr.Robin Rowland,Founder and Chairman,GLI,UK. The programme components include
1.Preparing children and youth for non-employment training in vocational trades namely a)Computer Training programmes, b)Sewing and Embroidery (Dress making and designing) c)Zurdhosi(Needle craftwork)
2. Providing life enrichment education
3. Family support services to children and youth in dysfunctional families. Our grateful acknowledgements to GLI, U.K for the generous financial support so graciously being extended to our organisation and for giving us a legacy from late Mr. Robin Rowland, Founder and Chairman,GLI,UK for the project.With a grateful heart we remember late Mr.Robin Rowland with gratitude for his greatness and kindness so graciously extended to our organisation. I invite you to watch our album at :
https://plus.google.com/photos/105970981309755050824/albums/5487653883330229009?banner=pwa
Please check out our URL to read our Success Stories of sampled beneficiaries under CTCs and non formal employment training projects for children,youth and women in and around Madurai,Tamilnadu,India.
https://www.facebook.com/notes/goodwill-social-work-centre/success-stories-of-sampled-beneficiaries-january-2010-june-2011/437922496227152
If you wish to financially support our project you are most welcome! Become a partner of Goodwill Social Work Centre and support our cause!
Reporter: Mr Ravi Kumar
Today, the drinking water comes from surface and ground water. Large-scale water supply systems depend on surface water resources, and smaller water systems depend on ground water.
The contaminants in drinking water are different and can cause a range of diseases in children, including cancer, and acute diseases such as gastrointestinal illness. Rural women and children are particularly sensitive to microbial contaminants because their immune systems are weaker than those of adults. Children are sensitive to lead, which affects brain development, and to nitrates which cause several disorders. Rural women are the worst affected in this regard.
The need of the hour is an environmentally sustainable, cost effective solution for potable water purification at home to benefit our communities drinking microbiologically contaminated impure water.
Main Goal: The project is aimed at rediscovering our ancient, traditional methods of sustainable water purification using locally available medicinal plants, seeds and tubers that cleanse water while retaining its natural benefits.
Long Term Goal: Our project aims to deliver time tested, low carbon, non chemical, traditional water purification technology practiced by our ancestors for the benefit of humanity. The traditional technology is scientifically proved and widely acknowledged by our contemporary researchers considering the urgent need for pure drinking water. The technology can be scaled up and can be delivered to rural and urban people in a large scale without much capital cost and time.
Objectives:
The primary objective of this research study is to overcome one of the limitations of the present water purification processes by demonstrating that traditional techniques using medicinal plants, seeds, tubers and trees can selectively remove targeted contaminants in water such as salts, metals, and acids. The following strategies have been planned by our Foundation:
(a) Developing simple treatment techniques (Green Technology)/Community water purification for providing safe, hygienic and potable water to rural people in rural areas with a focus on rural areas to mitigate drinking water crisis- a recent challenge.
(b) Conducting workshops on traditional water purifying techniques with practical demonstration on purifying water with natural filtration.(simple and rudimentary treatment techniques using herbs, seeds, tubers and branches of medicinal trees) so as to collect sufficient data on traditional water purification techniques used by rural people.(d)Introduce the method in all rural schools with the help of District Administrations to ensure schools break the cycle of unsafe drinking water to ensure students health and save them from waterborne diseases
Reporter: Mr PARAMANANDAN
Our organization is a unit with core project to help the HIV/AIDS affected children and Ostracized children who were left on road-side without care and shelter is under our surveillance for both care and catering. we are doing these charity work on Humanitarian
aid under Community Base Rehabilitation. we are able to help only certain no of children with the megre revenue that we receive for these purpose from our beloved Donors and Philanthropist. we want to do it on HOME BASE REHABILITATION scheme for which we need more support and guidance both financially and advice too. we solicit your patronize and support for these noble cause and we hope our request will be consider wit sympathy.”
Reporter: Ln.Dr.K.VENKKATRAJULU
Dear Concern,
My name is Raj Singh Taxak and I am from India. I have started an small NGO in northern part of Rajasthan state where I was born. The main concern of our NGO is to work with Empower students with Education, Awareness program`s, Empowerment of Women, Health and Hygiene, Skill Development program, Environmental issues.
We have a facebook page G.M.School Mothuka where you can find some information that we are able to update.
Having a small reality and huge expenses we are limited to rest of the world.
I request you to let me know what can be done? I have invested my life and all resources to this project where still I need to build a small maternity home and small first aid center.
Please let me know whenever possible as I need to complete the project its already 11 years completed and educated more then 900 students.
I hope to hear from your end soon
Reporter: RAJ SINGH TAXAK
WAY SIDE SCHOOL FOR STREET CHILDREN
Introduction
The people about whom I am concerned are not the people in the abstract, nor privileged and the mighty. But those who are poor, small and are suffering. They are street children of Bangalore streets and pavements.
Project “Way Side School” will provide educationalsponsership, health care and recreational facilities for the street children (boys and girls) of project area. We do this in order to prevent them from being exploited, trafficked, and pushed into becoming anti-social, drug addicts and vulnerable to HIV and AIDS. The project is an effort to make street children responsible citizens of our country and contribute towards its development.
Project “WAY SIDE SCHOOL”” will provide an alternate to following behaviors.
i. Idle wandering
ii. Rag-picking
iii. Child abuse & child sexual exploitation
iv. Gambling
v. Anti-social activities
vi. Drug addiction /trafficking
vii. Vulnerability to HIV
It will be bring about a level of functional literacy. The child will be able to read and write. Deserving student good in studies will be encouraged to go to school for which sponsorship will be provided, through constant medical attention more care will be given to sick, unhealthy children. Children affected by HIV will be taken care and referral services will be provided through PLHA network.
Organized games and recreation will prevent anti-social activities and help to reclaim the joy of children which they deserve as their Right.
Reporter: Mr Christopher Anthony
RRDS regd NGo working Rural Development Sector since 1991.RRDS working with unreached community,unorganised communitu education,health Livelihood,sustainable development .Our target community tribals,dalits small and marginal farmers,costal community and weavers.The samll and marginal farmerslackupdate knowlege about market and knowdlege about products.The Rual community not having employment and Migration to cities for emloyment The Women and children suffering with Lack Nutrition and preganat deaths common.The Climate change is another challenging issue.the millineum development goals and Sustainable Development Goals is Mjor challenging issue. We organise, educated and empowring community and formed Community Based Organisations.and working for above issues. We need support and Partnership our web www.rrds.org kindly view our website and respond
Reporter: Mr Gangi Reddy. V
May people are suffering in the name development. Many projects taken up by the government in the name of development but no alternative mechanism is in place to compensate vulnerable communities. During natural disasters and after no proper action and plan designing by the agencies in many places.
Reporter: Mr Ravi Kumar
Bangalore is well developed city and people,family,youth and even children come to the city to eak out existence and in their fight for livelihood they are exploited as they have weak bargaining power.
Children land here because they have been living in utter poverty and they find their family in difficult situation. Children being highly vulnerable are exploited for child labour, trafficked into sex business,bonded for life in brick kilns,abused…ect.
These needs to be stopped.
Reporter: Mr Christopher Anthony
To remove poverty our organization prepared a plan of action.
1. To provide needy training in market demand courses to the unemployed persons to stand on their own legs.
2. To provide needy training to the farmers for agricultural development.
3. To provide needy income generation activities training to SHGs for their development.
Reporter: Mr Srinivasa Naidu B