COURAGE PAYS RICH DIVIDENDS

• 16 May, 2019
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Grappling With the Odds

Aarti, a spunky 16 year old living in a quaint little village called Lohagal near Ajmer, belongs to the scheduled caste community. After her father’s death due to tuberculosis, Aarti’s mother Vimla became the sole breadwinner for the family. Making ends meet was tough and there were too many mouths to feed. That’s when, Aarti’s family decided to get her married – against her and her mother’s wishes.

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The health of your child is in your hands

• 26 February, 2019
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Kavita (age 2)* and her parents belong to the village of Dediyapada in Gujarat. Both parents are labourers, and to make ends meet, they often migrate to different villages. Due to this, and the lack of basic facilities for the child’s health, Kavita’s heath started deteriorating. She started losing a lot of weight. The problem remained persistent and this made the parents come back to their village. They took her to a private practitioner, however she was not recovering. Feeling helpless, they showed her to a quack (a person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to have medical skill). Days went by, but Kavita did not show any good signs of recovery. She lost weight drastically and had severe acute malnourishment.
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It takes a village to raise a child

• 06 February, 2019
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When Vaishnavi lost her parents at the age of 12 to ill health, she and her brother were directionless and confused. They didn’t know who to go to and what to do. Luckily for them, their paternal aunt and uncle took them in.
But things didn’t get easier for them there. Their aunt’s family sustained themselves as agricultural labourers who earned just Rs.4000-6000 a month. As a family of four with two additional mouths to feed now, the family began moving from their village in Chittoor, AP to Bangalore and back in search of work. In order to make things easier, the family enrolled their two children, Vaishnavi and her brother in a gurukul in Chittoor. But in 6 months, the family was uprooted again and taken to Bangalore.READ MORE

Unstoppable Marthal

• 25 January, 2019
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23 year old Marthal is currently an accountant at a BPO in Chennai. Her small stature and pleasant smile hides a lot of what she has had to go through. While for many in her community of Vyasarpadi, the job of an accountant might be coveted, Marthal has bigger dreams.
The slums of Vyasarpadi have been infamous for crime and its decrepit status. For the longest time, children were an extension of the working class and girls who hit adolescence were bound to get married in order to “protect” them. In a community that still struggles with these issues and is at the brink of change, Marthal was a ray of hope.READ MORE

Ashwini AYP Nomination

• 09 January, 2019
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In Renigunta Mandal, tucked in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh are 4 quaint villages which are soon going to see transformation; thanks to one fierce girl – Vengavasi Ashwini, currently a student of nursing, is on a mission!

Ashwini has recently been selected by Ashoka Youth Venture as a change maker and here’s why. As a student of nursing, she is working to debunk myths regarding personal hygiene and adolescent health and strengthen the community in adolescent care.
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THE HEALING TOUCH

• 03 January, 2019
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The idea of resorting to a life of giving and serving the community may have struck many but is often brushed aside as a far-fetched idea. This however, wasn’t the case with Mrs. Samira Ahmed. Previously a teacher at Lady Havabai School in Pune, she felt that her knowledge could serve a greater purpose and soon she began her long and fruitful journey with Child Rights and You in December 2016.

Even though she had taught children before, her start at Pune public action group school was like treading unchartered waters. The first impediment when teaching young seventh graders was the low attendance rate of students in class. The ones who did show up would run away during the class. Before Mrs. Samira could find a viable solution she was transferred to a class of eighth graders. When questioned, Mrs. Samira explained that it was no fault of the children for they had faced negativity of all kinds in their early childhood. She further added that each one of these children were special and storehouses of talent. All they needed was to be believed and encouraged in.
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Thimma Reddy- a positive, young force in Raichur!

• 26 December, 2018
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A 17-year old passionate and persistent Thimma Reddy is quickly emerging as a role model for children in Manvi, Raichur. Together with the other members from their Children’s Collective, he goes to the Panchayat, gets information from them, and passes it on to the others in the Collective.

When questioned by his mother on why he engages with the community and stakeholders rather than taking up a part time job and adding to the family income, he tells her how he likes helping the children in his community and wants to see them become successful in life. Thimma Reddy explains why he wants to do what he does, “We are taking our own rights, what is rightfully ours, not grabbing that of others”.

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