A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

Rachana Society for Social Reconstruction 

Started by Swati Chavan and Medha Tengshe in 1992 in the Pune district of Maharashtra, iRachana, is a CRY-supported initiative that addresses critical issues faced by girl children.

Specifically, Rachana programmes include:

• Education for children of socially and economically backward families
• Support classes for those children who need extra coaching, especially for girl children
• Non-Formal Education Centres (transit classes) for girl children
• Kumari Dals, i.e., self-help groups for adolescent girls
• Mahila Mandals, i.e., women's groups to help them become self-reliant

Rachana's Kumari Dals have helped many girl children solve community-based issues like alcoholism, health, gender discrimination, superstitions, child marriage, education and employment. Thanks to the activities of the Mahila Mandals, women are seen as important decision makers in their communities.

Rachana helped Ujjwala go to school...

Nine year old Ujjwala, was unable to go to school as she spent her time baby-sitting her siblings and completing all the household chores while her parents, and elder sister worked as farm labourers to make ends meet. Rachana brought hope to Ujjwala when they started a non-formal education center next to her house. Suddenly, Ujjwala was exposed to a whole new world outside of her "basti". Today, Ujjwala attends high school (previously only boys enjoyed this privilege and wants to become a teacher. The Rachana team is helping Ujjwala reach her goal.

...and Sujata become a self-supporting professional

Sujata Jawalkar from Khanapur village near Pune in Maharashtra, was 15-years old when her parents married her off to an elderly man, already married with children who abandoned Sujata 5 days after the wedding. On returning home, she was shunned as her parents thought she was a burden and the villagers thought she was unlucky So she was forced to stay at home for months interacting with no one other than her immediate family. When workers from Rachana heard about Sujata, they persuaded her to join one of the Kumari Dals - adolescent groups - run by Rachana, helped Sujata train as a nurse and find employment. When she turned 18, they helped her get a divorce. Now Sujata works with Rachana to spread awareness in her community about the evils of child marriage and alcoholism. She has come a long way from the abandoned child she once was.

CRY's role in this-

• Funding Rachana and its programmes (like Kumari Dals)
• Helping Rachana plan campaigns and programmes aimed at mobilising the community, especially girl children and women
• Providing training and organisational inputs that ensure accountability and effectiveness of the programme
• Linking the child rights agenda with the macro issues of livelihood
• Building a leadership team at Rachana and giving them inputs on how to advocate for community rights
• Linking Rachana to other NGOs enabling them to share experiences and learnings

This is what CRY attempts to do with each of the organisations and thousands of communities it works with, CRY believes that each child has rights that society and the state owe her - the right to survive, to develop, to be protected against exploitation and to participate in the decisions affecting her future.