Vol 7/ 2005 April 2005 Dear Friend. Childhood should be a time of fun and laughter … and working hard … in school. Unfortunately, the harsh reality for far too many Indian children is a childhood spent helping their families eke a living. These children work in factories, farms, shops, hotels and restaurants. They pool their efforts as part of family labour in agriculture. They work as domestic help in urban households. They are rag pickers and street vendors. They, especially girls, remain invisible to enforcement machinery as victims of child trafficking and child prostitution. Through our interventions, we at CRY have taken and continue to take these children out of the labour system and back into the educational system where they rightly belong. To achieve this, we (a) mobilise communities to become self-sufficient and aware of child rights (b) work with the government to effect legal changes necessary. Helping us do this are donors, volunteers and well-wishers like you. With your support we have enabled 157 NGOs like Mahita widen their reach, ensuring that 1.37 million children like Anjum are able to return to school. April 30, is Anti-Child Labour Day. Find out about child labour in India and what you can do to make a difference. In faith and goodwill, The CRY Team P.S. Your support for the tsunami affected children and communities has been overwhelming. While thanking you for your concern, we urge you to continue your support to the 157 CRY supported grassroots initiatives. They work with children who confront similar threats on a daily basis. Anti-Child Labour Day April 30, 2005 Are you among the thousands of middle-class Indians who unwittingly support child labour without realising it? Find out... Procter & Gamble have teamed up with Sony Entertainment Television & CRY to launch "Shiksha". Each time you buy a large pack of specific P&G brands during April to June 2005, the company will support the education of a child for a day. More… Citibank contributes to CRY each time a customer subscribes to the Citibank CRY Affinity Credit Card, or spends on it. The funds have been supporting Project Kislay which works with children in a slum in Delhi. More… MINC Services lets CRY donors use its BillBoxEtc drop boxes at 38 railway stations across Mumbai to send in their donations. CRY benefits in 2 ways – the service is free and we do not pay the Business Reply Envelope costs on all such donations. The Union Budget 2005 has announced the doubling of the allocation for mid-day meals and the creation of a 'shiksha kosh' - a non-lapsable fund for primary education. Do you think this is enough to make it possible for every Indian child to be able to go to school? Send us your comments and views. Read CRY’s reactions to the Budget. Ten employees of GE Plastics visited the CRY Mumbai training center, during their volunteering week, for an interactive session with children from a CRY supported project. The volunteering will continue, one Sunday every month. Ten Sports aired CRY ads in India, Pakistan, Hong Kong and UAE. Zee Botswana has been airing the CRY ad since November 2004. As part of their centenary celebrations "100 years of Trust", Tata Tea donated part of the proceeds from the sale of ‘Chakra Gold Tea’ to CRY, over a 3-month period since October 2004. The proceeds helped support Sadhana, a CRY initiative in Andhra Pradesh. Whirlpool has renewed its commitment to partner CRY on Project Swati – an initiative aimed at improving and enriching the lives of girl children in two Delhi slums. This is the 2nd year that Whirlpool is supporting the project. The CRY Telethon, cast live for seven hours on Sony TV on Republic Day, raised Rs. 1.04 crore from viewers all over India. The funds were pledged via SMS, phone, Internet and Citiphone banking. CRY UK raised £870 from a special screening of Anup Kurien’s film, Manasarovar, on February 19th. They also organised Holi festivities at Chez Stelios, London, to raise funds for Project Prayas, which supports mentally challenged children in Rajasthan, QICAC - Quality Institutional Care and Alternatives makes inroads into North East India. More… Gram Vikas Foundation organises ‘Bal’ (children’s) Rally in Madhupur. More… Careers at CRY CRY Shop CRY in Action You are subscribed as [friend@crymail.org]. Register. Get text version. Forward to friend. Unsubscribe CRY works with 157 grassroots-level organisations to ensure a better and brighter future for India’s underprivileged children. You are getting the CRY Connect because you have registered on cry.org, or supported our efforts in some way. If you do not wish to receive future e-letters, or if you have received this message in error, please accept our apologies and simply click the unsubscribe button above.