Blog - CRY

Painting a Future

19 July, 2018
Posted In : Blog , Story of Hope, Volunteer, volunteering
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It is quite common to hear adults wanting to relive their childhood- to enjoy those days filled with leisure, lost in the dreamland and free from any tension about future. People universally tend to associate this phase to be driven by unprompted and unplanned events. Until very recently, I too held the same view. The story of Rancy from one of CRY’s Gurugram PAG, however, changed my perception. Hearing her story from her teacher and a fellow volunteer, Rahul, I realized that dreaming is an art, the inspiration of which one draws from their surroundings.

16 July, 2018
Posted In : Blog , CRY Partner, Story of Hope
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“Oh the joys of a functioning Anganwadi that serves fluffy rice with piping hot sambar and eggs, a government school with actual classrooms for all the children to fit in, a health centre that is up and running, children who know about their rights and claim them too, a community of incredibly dedicated people that come together to oppose discrimination and injustice through folk songs – my recent visit to Salem and Raichur to document two CRY supported projects has left me deeply moved and inspired. My heart is full and aching at the same time. Jayam who runs Salem People Trust and Ambanna who founded Shruti Samskruti Samsthe are down right heroes, and so are their teams!,” Silja John, Independent Filmmaker.

Rain Rain, Go Away!

13 July, 2018
Posted In : Blog , CRY Partner, Education, Right To Education
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Today is one of those days when the children of New Eden village are coming back home, in their school uniforms, with their tiffin boxes untouched, pages of their books unturned. It’s only 10:30 am and the children could not make it to their school, once again. No, it is not like any other rainy day- this story will continue till the monsoon ends.

Strengthening Anganwadis across Jharkhand

02 July, 2018
Posted In : Blog , Alliance, CRY Partner, Education, ICDS, Right To Education
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In the year 2016, in a state level program, the Ministry of Social Welfare, Government of Jharkhand had offered Campaign for Right to Education in Jharkhand (CREJ) – an alliance of grassroots level NGOs supported by CRY, to build model pre-schools in 50 Anganwadis. The model building process was initiated in 25 Anganwadis, in collaboration with Jharkhand State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (JSCPCR), to make it more effective in terms of monitoring and support. Following the guidelines, CREJ has also prepared a complete documentation on pre-school education model building.

Sona’s Schoolcoming

29 June, 2018
Posted In : Blog , Child Labour, Child Rights, CRY Partner, Education, Right To Education, Story of Hope
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“I miss my father. I was about seven when he passed away. And everything kept on getting tougher. My mother would cry a lot. Some days we would eat just once in the whole day. I have four brothers and three sisters. All of us started farming in the small piece of land we had. My mother too goes away for days. She goes to the big nearby cities where she works as a farm labourer. I used to stay at home with my sisters and helped them in the household chores. I was good in studies but had to drop out when I was in second standard.”

Of Rough Hands and Dreamy Eyes…

28 June, 2018
Posted In : Blog , Child Labour, Summer Camp, Volunteer, volunteering
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May was challenging for the young CRY volunteers. Ignoring the scorching and sultry Kolkata summer, they were to be found in the urban slums of the city, and not in the air conditioned malls their peers were frequenting during their holidays. The volunteers were busy conducting summer camps for the children of the Kolkata slums. In one such, a bunch of them met Sabina*. This little girl lives in the interiors of Ballygunj (otherwise known as one of the posh parts of the city). No! where Sabina lives, there are no jazzy shops or eateries, nor palatial mansions. She lives in a shanty, much like her friends.

On a Mission to Eradicate Child Labour

22 June, 2018
Posted In : Blog , Child Labour, CRY Intern, Internship, Volunteer, volunteering
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They say childhood is the most important and fun-filled phase of our lives – the age when you are free of responsibilities, not bound by boundaries and showered with endless affection. A lot of you may agree with this, but more than half of our population won’t. Living in our protected environments cushioned with all sorts of comforts, we forget to acknowledge the harsh reality most people live in.

Let me take you a little closer. As per the National Census, there are close to 10.1 million child labourers in India, in the age group of 5 to 14 years.

Tiny Shoulders, Big Burdens

21 June, 2018
Posted In : Blog , Child Labour, Child Rights, CRY Partner, Story of Hope
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The day of the community cultural programme was a busy day for all the kids in the Sonari slum area of Jamshedpur. But, the busiest of them all was the lanky teenage boy- Ganesh, who’d masterminded the whole event.

Ever since Adarsh Seva Sansthan (ASES), a grassroots level non-profit supported by CRY had started work in this slum adjoining the city’s airport; things have been taking a turn for the better. ASES aims to provide a fair, healthy world to the underprivileged children and to bring them to the mainstream where they could have a happy childhood. And, the project’s impact on this colony is actually visible, with there being a real difference in the way the community comes together and takes on responsibilities.

Of Fathers, Daughters and Faith…

15 June, 2018
Posted In : Blog , Education, Father's Day, Parents, Right To Education, Story of Hope
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“You know what, I am pretty sure I should have scored more in History and Education. I missed the cut off required to move from Humanities to Nursing by a very thin margin. Of course, I’ve given my answer scripts for a recheck. But for now, I am concentrating on taking up English for my graduation and then doing my Masters in Social Work. My end objective remains the same. I want to help people. May be now, I will be able to help a larger number of people if I take up MSW.” History does repeat itself. Ananya Ghosh, a lanky teenager from Dhenua – a small, unassuming little village in the Bardhaman district of West Bengal – recreated history twice when the Higher Secondary Examination results were announced last week.

Books, bricks and a lot more…

14 June, 2018
Posted In : Blog , Child Labour, Child Rights, Volunteer, volunteering
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One of the hardest things to do is break the truth to a child about how the world isn’t as rosy as they are told it is. These words often come from loved ones, parents, family and friends, but when it comes to harsh realities that these very individuals would never wish upon children, they risk raising them in an environment of ignorance. In matters like this, it is up to total strangers to do the needful, often at the expense of seeming purely informative and emotionally removed from the equation.

In an attempt akin to the above, members of the Intern team, here at CRY West, set off to Phoenix Marketcity Kurla, a major shopping centre in east Mumbai to engage with visitors through a few interesting interactions on the occasion of World Against Child Labour Day.

Back on the right track!

07 June, 2018
Posted In : Blog , Child Labour, Child Rights, CRY Partner, Story of Hope
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At 14 years, when most school kids are obsessed with movies and friends and gossip, Anitha had her head on a completely different set of things – grazing the landlord’s cattle and doing his household chores. And this would have been her life – a story of untapped potential and lost childhood – if the CRY supported project, Association for Social Economical Educational Cultural Health and Environment Development (PEOPLE) hadn’t rescued her from the venomous fangs of child labour.

My brush with the reality of Child Labour

06 June, 2018
Posted In : Blog , Child Labour, Volunteer, volunteering
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I have been volunteering with CRY for 2.5 years. As part of our weekly activities, volunteers frequently visit local communities. One such week I visited a community, as per my schedule, and came across a child who stood out of the crowd, with an intelligent sparkle in his eye.

About Us

Child Rights and You (CRY) is an Indian non-profit that believes in every child’s right to a childhood – to live, learn, grow and play. For nearly 4 decades, CRY and its 200 partner NGOs have worked with parents and communities across 23 states to ensure sustainable change in the live of over 2 million underprivileged children.