PROJECTS | India

Arunodhaya Centre for Street and Working Children
Arunodhaya Centre for Street and Working Children is a local NGO, based in Tamil Nadu, which was established in 1992 with the aim of stopping the exploitation of children and protecting their basic rights.  ICT and ‘Arunodhaya’ have been working in partnership since February 2009, supporting work in Dindigul District in the south of Tamil Nadu.

Every year, due to domestic violence, family breakdown, and the need to supplement the family income, thousands of children migrate from rural communities to the streets of Palani and Dindigul.  These children forgo their education for work in the manufacturing and tourist industries, while others resort to street hawking, rag picking or begging, especially in and around Dindigul railway station and Palani’s ancient temples.  They often end up sleeping in bus shelters or on the streets where they face harassment, violence and exploitation.  The majority of these children will join gangs, especially those without a family, turning to alcohol, drug abuse and crime to survive.

Empowerment and Livelihoods of Street and Working Children is a project, which protects street and working children in Dindigul and Palani and prevents young children in rural communities leaving home to find work in these and other towns in Dindigul District.

Girls at Risk is a new three year project which aims to prevent the exploitation of girls in textile spinning mills. The project will lobby government leaders and institutions to put an end to ‘bonded labour’ schemes, while providing support to those girls who continue to work in the mills.

Kalki Welfare Society
In June 2008, ICT initiated a new partnership with Kalki Welfare Society, a local NGO in Pondicherry, South India, which empowers orphans and street children.  Tourism and some of the most relaxed laws in the country attract hundreds of children to Pondicherry every year, many of whom end up living on streets or in slums.  Neglected by their families and with no other choice, boys are often forced into a life of crime or child labour and young girls are often lured into the sex industry.