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Child Labour Elimination Programme Vagri community – Status of Education 09 January 2010. Our Work . Marginalized communities. Large Families Low awareness on need for education First generation school goers High rate of school dropouts Migratory population.
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Child Labour Elimination Programme Vagri community – Status of Education 09 January 2010.
Marginalized communities • Large Families • Low awareness on need for education • First generation school goers • High rate of school dropouts • Migratory population
Present in Maduranthakam,Chithambur and Kancheepuram blocks. • 25 families came to uthiramerur 50 years before. Government allotted 1 acre 75 cents of land • In 2001 Govt constructed 75 group houses in manamathy. • Present population in uthiramerur is 367 • Few families moved to karanaipanchayat, 5 kms from manampathy and have settled there. Genesis of Vagri community
Our Strategy • Work with the support of the community leader • Bringing community together through social mobilization • Form Self-Help-Groups (HiH -1) and empower women by making them financially independent
Milestones • 2006 - Started with two small classrooms in the group house with 25 children • Rented couple of more rooms and started Independent resource centre (IRC) under SSA. • 2008 -Build new residential bridge camp for ALL out-of-school children very close to the community • 3/11/2008 – Opened a balwadi (44 children) in the same space previously used for IRC.
Self Help Group • 2 Men self help group • 9 women are members of “Sri SelvaVinayagar” SHG. • Monthly savings Rs. 50/-. RF – Rs. 60,000. • Undergone SHG training.
Poongavanam – Residential Bridge Camp for out-of-school children Balwadi run by Hand in Hand
Challenges To work with culture, dialect and attitude of vagri community Sustaining the interest of the children Getting continuous support from the parents Follow-up after mainstreaming, due to the migratory nature of the families Fear of inter-community marriages often barrier to education Girl children taken out to school to take care of the younger siblings
Learnings • Lesser school dropouts when they stay in residential campus • Parents need continuous motivation to keep their children in school • Community needs awareness on educating the girl child
Prashanth , in class 8, is studying in a government school. He was mainstreamed after 18 months of Bridge schooling at Poongavanam.
Siblings, Surya and Madhavan, age 10 and 7 have been mainstreamed . They reside at Poongavanam and study in the nearby school. Surya comes first in class and his dream to become and cop and also a collector .
11 year old Vaidegi was studying at Hand in Hand ‘s Bharatiyar Bridge Camp until 7 months ago. She was stopped from school to take care of her youngest brother.
Vijaya’s Dream 17 year old vijaya, a child herself, has been married for a year and soon to be a mother. “If I were given a chance to study, I will take it. For just five rupees we have to struggle a lot with these beads” She promises to educate her child….
Thank You Visit us @ www.hihseed.org