Our Child-Friendly Village project aims to transform Perumbakkam by fostering a healthy environment conducive to children’s physical, mental and intellectual development.
Our project is located in Tamil Nadu in southern India. The population in this region especially suffers from poverty, malnutrition, limited access to medical care, drinking water and the lack of healthcare. Traditional agriculture activities pose a risk to health, environment and the soil.
The project rests on four pillars: elimination of child labour and guarantee that all children receive education; access to health conditions; promotion of children’s rights and ensuring the community’s participation to reinforce these rights; and starting a sustainable development programme to guarantee decent living conditions.
Key Interventions: We are targeting 2,185 families from which 760 are children.
- End child labour and increase the school enrolment rate
- Provide access to healthcare
- Implementation of preventive healthcare
- Children rights training; promotion of children’s rights and improved child protection action by community leaders. This social mobilisation will improve child protection and eradicate child labour by facilitating the schooling of the youngest children.
- Promotion of women’s empowerment and microcredit activities
- Creation of ecological farms
- Access to water and food
Significant Impact
With a healthy environment, ecological agriculture, improved literacy rates and microfinance for women’s professional development, the community will achieve independence and prosperity.
Women are better trained, providing them with the skills needed for business start-ups and employment.
Improved personal hygiene, sanitation, nutrition and maternal health will lead to healthy living conditions, a better work environment and an enhanced quality of life.
The Child-Friendly Village will enable villagers to look to the future with newfound confidence and to learn to make a success of their sustainable ecological actions.
Our Partners
Our Child-Friendly Village project has been launched in partnership with Humanium’s most long-standing local partner in the field, Hand in Hand India. As a social development organisation, Hand in Hand India works to alleviate poverty through an integrated community development approach. Their efforts have been focused on bringing an end to child labour since 2004. The Child-Friendly Village project is Humanium’s 10th project with Hand in Hand; together, our 9 first projects have been successfully completed.
In addition to their commitment with the children, Humanium is supported by Erbacher Stiftung, the cities of Bernex and Puplinge, Air Liquide Foundation and Michèle Berset Foundation to implement this two-year project.
Looking Forward
Skills and knowledge are driving forces of economic growth and social development.
Each project targets autonomy and sustainable development. By encouraging self-help between the villagers, these projects create social links and contribute to the balance and equality between the different groups.
We are glad to share that the 55% of the project cost has been already secured, and any little contribution will help us make the Child-Friendly Village a reality.
Make a donation online to help support our project!
To learn more about Humanium’s projects follow the link:
https://www.humanium.org/en/projects-3/
Written by: Igi Nderi
References
Hand in Hand. (December 2017) Annual Report 2016-2017. Retrieved from: http://www.hihindia.org/wp-content/uploads/Annual-Report-2016-17-Oct-25-Web-version1.pdf
Humanium.(2017) Sustainable Smart Village. Retrieved from: https://www.humanium.org/en/sustainable-smart-village-economically-and-ecologically-sustainable-development-in-tamil-nadu-india/
