Child Rights and You

Its efforts focus on early childhood education, school readiness and better learning outcomes. The organisation believes that the right to education and the right to development are two of the most important rights of children.

Works to reduce child labour, child marriage and child trafficking, partnering with local committees at the village level and believes in building a safe environment to protect children from abuse and exploitation till the age of eighteen.

Seeks to set up collectives as one-to-one support groups and engage with children to create and raise their awareness of child rights issues.

The programme attempts to adopt a preventative and responsive approach toward reducing malnourishment as well as India’s infant mortality rate (IMR), child mortality rate (CMR) and maternal mortality rate (MMR). It sets out to ensure that no child suffers from malnutrition or poor health.

In CRY project areas, the Education and Delayed Marriages for Girls programme is implemented through Child and Adolescent Resource Centers (CARC). The objectives of these centres are to retain motivation and positivity about education, empower girls to pursue their aspirations, transform parents and caregivers, strengthen community vigilance and ownership, and enhance government responsiveness. CARC operates at the village/cluster level, providing academic support, life skills learning, and sports activities to school-going girls. Trained teachers/facilitators conduct interactive classes using age-appropriate materials and digital devices to help children grasp challenging topics. Collective sessions on child rights and life skills boost girls' confidence and expand their perspectives. CARC also provides a platform for nurturing extracurricular talents, sports, and opportunities to showcase them.

CRY implements the Community-Based Management of Malnutrition (CBMM) programme to address health and nutrition issues in children, adolescents, and pregnant/lactating mothers. The programme focuses on prevention and response to severe malnutrition. Preventive interventions include kitchen gardens for nutritious food, sensitizing communities/stakeholders, setting up Health and Nutrition Corners, growth monitoring, WASH training, and mobilizing communities for prevention/treatment. Corrective approaches involve health camps, check-ups, counselling, Sneha "shivirs" for rehabilitation, referrals to Nutritional Rehabilitation Centres, and emergency medical support. Direct interventions improve dietary intake, provide supplements, promote breastfeeding, hygiene, and immunizations. Indirect interventions support education, safe water/sanitation, food security, entitlements/services, studies/surveys, and advocacy for good nutrition governance.

CRY empowers children and adolescents in its project areas through collective formation, promoting their right to participation. Collectives are formed with parental consent, and sessions on child rights and laws are conducted. Activities, sports, and exposure visits enhance their confidence and knowledge. Life skills education covers identity, self-confidence, emotions, and communication. This initiative yields positive outcomes, with improved education, sports achievements, advocacy, community awareness, and active participation in decision-making. Children become change agents, driving positive change in families, schools, and communities.

"CRY has been implementing Community-Based Management of Malnutrition (CBMM) to address health and nutrition issues of children and adolescents, pregnant and lactating mothers. The programme includes both prevention of malnutrition and response to children who are severely malnourished. CRY has been undertaking interventions under CBMM program based on two models - a) Preventive and curative approach b) Direct and Indirect approach a) Under the preventive approach to address malnutrition issues of children these are the focused interventions –Kitchen gardens are facilitated at the household levle in the backyard to ensure availability of nutritious foods for pregnant and lactating women and undernourished children. Community and stakeholders are sensitized on issues of malnutrition; Anganwadi centres are supported to set up Health and Nutrition Corners to share information on locally available nutritious food; Regular growth monitoring of children are ensured for early detection of malnutrition issues and health check-up and referrals for severely malnourished children. Children are trained on WASH (Water Sanitation and Hygiene) practices; Community/families mobilized to take initiative for the prevention/treatment of malnutrition. Poshan Samvad (Nutrition Dialogue) is done on nutrition amongst the field functionaries of the departments of Women & Child Development and Public Health & Family Welfare. • Under Curative approach – Medicine and supplement are provided to the identified malnourished children in health camps organized in collaboration with govt. health centres. Health check-ups are conducted of all severely and moderately malnourished children and parents are counselled about food and nutrition to be given to the children. Sneha shivirs are organized in areas where the number of moderately and severely underweight children is high to ensure quick rehabilitation of undernourished children, enable families to sustain rehabilitation and prevent future under- nutrition by changing behaviours in child care, feeding and health seeking of caregivers. Children referred to Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) for medical and nutritional therapeutic care. Projects give special focus on timely, adequate and appropriate feeding for children; and on improving the skills of mothers and caregivers on complete age appropriate caring and feeding practices. CRY provides for emergency medical support wherein the survivals of children are at stake. b) Projects have undertaken direct Interventions to improve dietary intake for adolescent girls & mothers; provide Iron and calcium supplement for pregnant women; Timely and exclusive breastfeeding Timely, age-appropriate, hygienic complementary feeding; Illness prevention for children through handwashing, Immunisations, Vitamin A, Iron, de-worming; Appropriate care during illness for children , Referral of children with SAM to NRCs, Growth monitoring of all children under 6, Capacity Building of Primary caregivers and IEC development for behavioural change of community. Indirect interventions are taken up to support women’s education and empowerment; Increase access to safe water and sanitation ; Support food security & sustainable livelihoods; Linking community with entitlements and services of the Government; Undertaking studies and surveys for understanding gaps in services and advocating for change; Advocate for good nutrition governance. "

Education and delayed marriages for girls program is being implemented in CRY project areas through running Child and Adolescent resource centers (CARC). The objectives of these centers are – • Retain motivation levels and positivity about education amongst girl children such that they continue schooling without dropping out of the system and so delaying marriage. • Build the agency of girl children to promote well-being and confidence to pursue their aspirations during their lives • Enable transformation of Parents and Caregivers with regard to the importance and value of protecting their children • Strengthening Community Vigilance and Ownership • Responsiveness of the Government Machinery CARC operates at the village/cluster of village level for girl children to extend support in their growth in academics, sports, life skills learning and practice. The trained center teacher/facilitator conducts support classes to school-going girl children after school hours through interactive and joyful methodology, usage of age-appropriate Teaching Learning Materials and a digital device like tablet installed with an educational App to help children to understand the topics which they feel are difficult to cope with.Children and adolescent girls’ collectives are formed and sessions are facilitated on child rights issues and life skills to expand their perspective, boost their confidence. CARC provides space to enrich their various extracurricular talents and sports and the opportunity to exhibit them in different forums.

CRY has been implementing agency building program across all the project areas by forming and strengthening children and adolescent collectives. This is in alignment with ensuring the right to participation of children as per Article 12 of the UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child). Children and adolescents in the project areas are identified and motivated to gather to form collectives and parents are also sensitized about the need for forming children and adolescent collectives. After receiving the consent of children and parents, groups are formed. The collective members are inducted about the group norms and collective leaders are selected amongst themselves. The sessions are conducted to share age-appropriate information on various child rights issues, laws. Varied activities and sports are facilitated by project staff to boost their confidence and enrich their talents. Exposure visits are organized for them to different public dept. which are enhancing their information and knowledge on the functioning of govt. depts. Life skills sessions are conducted as per CRY Child Center Module on these topics - Identity, Self Confidence, Positive Thinking, Understanding emotions and feelings, Verbal Communication Skills. All these processes have positively impacted the projects and children and adolescents from the targeted marginalized communities are improving their performance in education, participating in sports events from district to national levels and winning, proactively escalating child rights and community issues to the appropriate authority to resolve, raising their voice in gram sabha on issues affecting them, creating awareness in community on children’s education, health and protection issues. The child and adolescent collective process and life skills education is building the agency of the children and adolescents in CRY project areas and children are acting as change agents in their families, schools and communities.