unicef – kurnool report june 2009

Preventing Exploitation and Protecting Children’s Rights

in 5 mandals of Kurnool district

Consolidated Progress ReportJune 2009 – May 2011

Mamidipudi Venkatarangaiya Foundation201, Narayan Apartments

Marredpally (West), Secunderabad – 26Tel: +91-40-278 01 320, 277 00 290

Fax: +91-40-278 08 808e-mail: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Glossary of Terms Used

Background

Groundwork

Recruitment and Induction of Staff

Village Profiles

Survey

Community Meetings

Campaign against Child Labor

CRC Week

Anti- Child Labor Day

Special Drive against Child Marriage

Cultural Campaign

Preventing Migration

School Enrolment and Retention

DBC

Capacity Building of Staff

Orientation of Women Elected Representatives

Balika Sanghas

Social Action Committees

International Women’s Day

National Girl Child Day

Teachers’ Day

Birth Registration

Admission in Corporate Colleges

Skill Development

Flood Relief

AITFCR Meeting

Division level Sarpanchs’ Meeting

Visit by UNICEF Team

Convergence with Government Departments

MVF-UNICEF PECL Kurnool Intervention June’09 to May’11 1

GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED

MVF Mamidipudi Venkatarangaiya Foundation

UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund

PECL Program for Elimination of Child Labor

PEPCR Preventing Exploitation and Protection of Child Rights

UN-CRC United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

CRPF Child Rights Protection Forum

RTE Right to Education

NREGS National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

MPDO Mandal Parishad Development Officer

CDPO Child Development Project Officer

MPP Mandal Parishad President

ZPTC Member, Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency

MEO Mandal Education Officer

MRP Mandal Resource Person

CI Circle Inspector

KGBV Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya

MPTC Member, Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituency

ALO Assistant Labor Officer

RBC Residential Bridge Course Camp

ICDS Integrated Child Development Scheme

PD Project Director

RDO Revenue Division Officer

MLA Member of Legislative Assembly

UPS Upper Primary School

SI Sub-Inspector

DEO District Education Officer

SC Scheduled Caste

BC Backward Caste

HS High School

CV Community Volunteer

CLRC Cluster Level Resource Center

CC Community Coordinator

VO Village Organization

AITFCR All India Teachers’ Forum for Child Rights

VRO Village Revenue Officer


Background

MVF has been implementing its child labor campaign in Kurnool for more than half a decade now. The efforts put in by the organization have been successful in sensitizing community groups to their role in eliminating child labor and upholding children’s rights. It also collaborated with the district administration to free children from work and to bring them to school in 45 mandals of the district with focus on girl children employed in hybrid cottonseed farms. This agenda is also being addressed at a larger level through networking with trade unions. It is against this background that UNICEF invited MVF to implement the PECL (now renamed PEPCR) in 74 villages of 5 mandals of Adoni Revenue Division in the district from July 2009 on. The modalities of project implementation were discussed during a small group meeting with Dr. Murali Krishna, Mr. Prasada Murthy, and Mr. Janardhan Goud representing UNICEF and Mr. J. Bhaskar from MVF.

The details of the project area are as below:

Mandal Panchayats Habitations TotalAlur 14 8 22Chippagiri 12 4 16Halaharivi 15 9 24Holagunda 17 7 24Yemmiganoor 16 16 32Total 74 44 118

Groundwork

Senior volunteers of the organization undertook preliminary visits to the proposed implementation site with a view to familiarizing themselves with conditions there as a first step in the intervention. They introduced the project to mandal level officials and key elected representatives. Meetings were later held individually with various community groups such as elected representatives, women, and youth and they were briefed on the aims and objects of the project. The officials promised to support the effort in all possible ways. Response from community groups was also positive and they offered to assist in implementing the campaign at the ground level. They shared information on the status of child labor in their respective villages with the visiting teams Newspaper reporters from Holagunda mandal promised to highlight issues relating to violation of child rights and to aid in effective implementation of the campaign.

The details of introductory community meetings held are as follows:

Grama Sabhas

Mandal Meetings Male Female TotalAlur 5 146 27 173Chippagiri 1 25 3 28Halaharivi 1 18 2 20Holagunda 5 142 17 159Total 9 331 49 380


Youth Meetings

Mandal Meetings Male Female TotalAlur 1 12 3 15Chippagiri 2 40 6 46Halaharivi 5 85 3 88Holagunda 1 15 0 15Total 9 152 12 164

The below Issues were discussed during these meetings:

Introduction to UNICEF and its activities Introduction to MVF and its activities Aims and objectives of the proposed project Situation analysis of villages Status of functioning of schools and Anganwadi Centers In- and out-of- school children Child rights Problems of the girl child Community mobilization strategies Mainstreaming child laborers to the camps in Yemmiganoor and Halaharivi

Recruitment and induction of staff

Senior volunteers with considerable experience and exposure to community mobilization, institution building and liaison with officials were recruited as Mandal Coordinators. They later undertook visits to all Gram Panchayats of their respective mandals under their jurisdiction and identified one youth volunteer each in 74 Panchayats based on their response during the introductory meetings and in consultation with local community.

4-day mandal level orientation sessions were organized in 2 phases for all members of staff in July and August 2009 on the below issues:

UNICEF and its activities MVF and its activities Aims and objectives of the intervention Definition of child labor


Causative factors for child labor Child labor laws Child rights and the UN-CRC Problems faced by girl children employed in cottonseed farms Community mobilization Role of community in preventing child labor Desired qualities of a volunteer

The training schedule is as follows:

Volunteer Training Program

Sl. No. MandalPhase 1 (20-23 July '09) Phase II (06-09 Aug. '09)

Participants ParticipantsMale Female Total Male Female Total

1 Yemmiganoor 9 2 11 3 1 42 Halaharivi 7 2 9 7 1 83 Chippagiri 6 2 8 3 3 64 Alur 7 1 8 3 1 45 Holagunda 6 1 7 6 2 8

Total 35 8 43 22 8 30

UNICEF District Manager Mr. Prasada Murthy and UNICEF District Coordinator Mr. Janardhan Goud informed the volunteers that the project primarily targeted girl children employed in cottonseed farms and added that they were expected to identify in-school and out-of-school children in the project area through a survey. They were given inputs on survey methodology and of generation of Village Profiles. Senior MVF Coordinators from other districts gave the members extensive inputs on the following aspects of community mobilization:

Adoption of an inclusive strategy that reached out to even out-of-school children Building rapport with all groups Involving all groups in the campaign Working in coordination with all groups Mobilizing active individuals and form CRPFs

The need to support the department in strengthening government schools was also emphasized.

Village Profiles

Subsequent to the conduct of the orientation sessions, the volunteers visited all villages of the project area to generate Village Profiles containing the below information:

Village population No. of households Gender distribution Occupational Profile Extent of land in the village Crops grown Status of schools and Anganwadi Centers


Age wise distribution of children aged 0-18 years

This exercise was taken up from 25th July to 15th August 2009 as under:

From To Mandal25.07.09 04.08.09 Halaharivi25.07.09 05.08.09 Alur25.07.09 08.08.09 Holagunda25.07.09 10.08.09 Chippagiri25.07.09 15.08.09 Yemmiganoor

Survey

Mandal level meets were later held with all staff members to plan a baseline survey to identify child laborers. They were given inputs on the Survey Format, Survey Methodology, prioritization of family expenditures head wise and estimation of children’s ages in the absence of proof/information. These meetings were convened from 24th – 27th August 2009. 2 teams of volunteers were formed in each mandal for the conduct of the survey, during the course of these meetings. They interacted with the local Panchayat members, teachers, women, and youth beforehand and apprised them of the proposed survey. They were also asked to support this effort through making logistical arrangements. A schedule was later chalked out for the conduct of the survey, the details of which are as follows:

Survey ScheduleFrom To Mandal

26.08.09 16.09.09 Alur27.08.09 14.09.09 Holagunda25.08.09 16.09.09 Halaharivi25.08.09 09.09.09 Chippagiri27.08.09 18.09.09 Yemmiganoor

The details of children aged 6-14 that were identified in the project area are as below:

Mandal Boys Girls TotalAlur 544 947 1491

Chippagiri 208 349 557Halaharivi 546 917 1463Holagunda 1195 1986 3181

Yemmiganoor 1756 2830 4586Total 4249 7029 11278

Meetings were later held with all sections of community to share the outcomes of the survey.

Rapid Survey

There had been significant variation between the status of child labor in Adoni Division as claimed by the government and MVF’s estimates. The District Collector convened a meeting on 7 th May 2011 with 110 members including the RDO, the Deputy DEO, MPDOs, MEOs, and MRPs to resolve the issue. Noting the seriousness of the issue, he suggested a Rapid Survey from 13 th – 25th May 2011 to establish the true numbers of child laborers. The below are the outcomes of the exercise in the MVF project area:

Mandal Panchayats Habitations Boys Girls Total Alur 14 8 423 540 963

Chippagiri 12 4 162 252 414Halaharivi 15 9 489 641 1130Holagunda 17 8 1216 1583 2799

Yemmiganoor 16 `6 1894 2677 4571Total 74 35 4184 5693 9877


The MVF team undertook the entire responsibility of the survey in all mandals with the exception of 4 villages in Halaharivi, where Anganwadi Workers joined hands with them. The consolidated outcomes of this exercise were shared with the District Collector, MEOs, and the UNICEF team.

The MEOs revised the lists provided by the MVF teams and reduced the number of child laborers to 853 in Holagunda. This number was downscaled to 336 in Chippagiri and finally fixed at 192 after deleting the names of children aged 13 and 14 years. The MRPs took along the lists generated by the MVF teams and undertook door-to-door visits to their villages. They asked the children if they would enroll in school and struck off their names as soon as they consented to enroll in school. The officials finally arrived at a final list of 477 in Halaharivi after having deleted the names of children aged 13 and 14 years. The officials in Alur initially accepted a figure of 901 but later showed an enrolment figure of 250 and reduced the names of these children from the list. They declared 148 children as overage still later and struck off the names of a further 52 children that had left the village. They thus arrived at a final tally of 451. The MEO of Yemmiganoor was not very cooperative and asked the volunteers to conduct their own survey, adding that he would commission a survey on his own through the ICDS.

Community Meetings

Meetings were convened with Panchayat members, teachers, youth, women’s groups, and parents on a periodical basis to discuss the below issues:

Child Rights The RTE Act Strategizing for children’s retention in school Infrastructure availability in school Teacher shortage and irregularity Mainstreaming of child laborers to formal education institutions Importance of the Balika Sangha Role of the CRPF in the campaign Skill development for youth Birth Registration

The members were oriented on the provisions of the RTE Act that had come into effect from April 2010 on. These meetings were also used as a platform to share observations made during periodical visits by these groups to school. Youth and CRPF members were also educated on the concepts of child labor and child rights, the link between child marriage and child rights, school strengthening, and their role in addressing these issues. They were also urged to act on cases of corporal punishment that they had identified and to constantly monitor the functioning of schools and Anganwadi Centers. They were further exhorted to petition to the officials in the context of child labor and child marriage.

Youth in some villages noted that a significant number of children aged below 18 years had been issued NREGS Job Cards and called upon MPDOs and Field Assistants to prevent such occurrences. 3 children aged below 16 were thus weaned away from work in Nancherla, Chippagiri mandal. Youth from 3 mandals requested the MPDOs to sanction school beautification works under the NREGS. They kept constant vigil over children’s presence in school and ensured that they appeared for the exams without fail. They also personally counseled out-of-school children to engage in educational pursuits. They interacted regularly with upon Anganwadi Workers to ensure that the Centers were run in an efficient manner and that children were shifted from the Centers to formal school as soon as they crossed the age of 5 years.


Adolescent girls were given inputs on the need for them to form Balika Sanghas that could help them address issues of relevance to their wellbeing. They were advised to denounce child marriage and to pursue higher education. They were given inputs on child rights, the ill effects of child marriage, the importance of education, and personal hygiene. Members of women’s federations were called upon to focus equally on the issues of child marriage and girl child education as on economic issues.

Awareness on the importance of birth registration has gone up among most parents. Some Sarpanchs have begun issuing Certificates to eligible children. More parents have begun questioning teachers on school functioning now. The CRPF and youth in a number of villages have been compiling data on out-of-school children and have petitioned to the officials in the context of school development. Panchayat members from Kaminhal, Halaharivi mandal pressurized the midday meal workers to improve the quality of the meal.

The school premises in Chintakunta, Halaharivi mandal had a lot of shrubs and cattle were also being tied in the backyard. A veterinary hospital was being run in the premises in addition. The CRPF, the Sarpanch and the Secretary petitioned to the CDPO in this regard. She promised to arrange a building if they identified 3 cents of land.

CRPF members from Kurkunda, Alur mandal brought pressure on the Sarpanch to get works sanctioned under the NREGS to get shrubs cleared from the school premises. Members from Arikera petitioned to the MPDO for the construction of additional rooms in the UPS there. Parents from Masanpalli, Alur mandal informed during a meeting that the school had no teachers and that the head teacher had also been on leave for the last half year. This issue was taken to the notice of the MEO, who informed his higher ups. The Deputy DEO was asked to inquire into the incident and he did accordingly, after which the head teacher was served a notice.

The details of meetings held are as follows:

Youth

Mandal Meetings ParticipantsAlur 162 1668Chippagiri 71 1002Halaharivi 120 2161Holagunda 160 2620Yemmiganoor 180 2709Total 693 10160

Women

Mandal Meetings Women Alur 66 648Chippagiri 120 1306Halaharivi 76 1520Holagunda 89 1821Yemmiganoor 48 405Total 399 5700

Parents


Grama Sabhas



55 members took part in a mandal level CRPF meeting held in Chippagiri on 2 nd September 2010. UNICEF Training Coordinator Ms. Sridevi and MVF Coordinator Mr. Harihara Reddy were among those present. Village level presentations were made on the status of child labor and child marriage. The role of Balika Sanghas in addressing girl child issues was also discussed. Sridevi spoke to them on the 4 Rights of the child, child marriage, infant mortality, and the importance of girl child education. Harihara Reddy spoke in detail on the provisions of the RTE Act and called upon the members to ensure that it was implemented in word, deed, and spirit.

The parents of 10 adolescent girls from Beldona were approached and urged to motivate their daughters to apply for a training program in Nursing being offered by UNICEF. 4 of the girls were out of town. The other 6 girls were willing to join the course but their parents did not consent to this because the Center was located at a distance. The girls are being followed up. 6 adolescent girls from Bantanhal came forward to apply for the program. The members submitted a petition to the Tehsildar and the CDPO – ICDS on child marriage in 4 villages, namely Ramadurgam, Eruru, Degulapadu, and Chippagiri.

The mandal level CRPF was reconstituted in Halaharivi on 26 th July 2010. 3 members each from 15 Panchayats assembled at the mandal headquarters for a meeting on the said date. Some of the members, who had attended a district level training session on the RTE Act in Jeeva Sudha earlier, shared their experiences. The members also reviewed the status of child labor, problems being faced by children in hostel/school, and the status of girls’ enrolment in KGBV. They were informed that seats were available in SC Hostel Hardhageri and called upon to motivate children to join there. Campaign pamphlets on the RTE Act were also distributed to all members. It has been proposed to train 5 members from each Panchayat on the Act.

A petition was submitted to the Tehsildar on the need to liberate 9 bonded child laborers from the mandal. Members and villagers from Kaminhal invited the volunteers to visit their village and study the status of child labor in the village. 190 children from Kokkarched BC Hostel were enrolled in the local HS. Standards of education in the school were good but the tutors used to beat the children a lot. The warden was also highly irregular. The members discussed these issues during a meeting, following which they met both the warden and the tutors and counseled them at length to mend their ways.

65 CRPF members attended a mandal level meeting held in CLRC Alur on 7 th September 2010. 5 members each per Panchayat made village wise presentations on the status of the campaign. Members from Kaminhal informed that bad road conditions had resulted in dropout of children from school during the monsoon. 4 girls studying in Class 8 from Billehal had not been attending their classes regularly because the bus that took them to school never came in time. Plans were discussed to motivate the girls to return to school.

70 people including 2 MPTCs and 3 Sarpanchs attended a mandal level meeting held in Alur on 18 th

September 2010 to highlight the RTE Act and the role of the CRPF in implementing it effectively. It was resolved that monthly meetings would be held to review the campaign and to orient members at the village level. Members from Molagavalli locked all 3 schools in the village protesting the unavailability of fulltime teachers there. Members from Arikera called upon the Sarpanch to raise the issue of teacher shortage during the Mandal General Body meeting. Members from Pedda Hothur personally shifted 4 girl child dropouts

from the village to Class 8.

3 Sarpanchs and 2 MPTCs were among the 45 participants of a mandal level meet held on 4 th

September 2010 in Holagunda. Subsequent to a session on the RTE Act, they observed that only 38 out of a total of 96 UPS teachers’ posts in the mandal had been filled up and only 12 of them were regular. They stated that they would question the officials strongly on the issue. They had met the MEO in the past asking him to recruit teachers but he had asked them to adjust with the existing teachers. The members submitted petitions to the District Collector and the DEO and held a Press Meet as well. Having gone through the newspapers the next morning, the MEO rang up the Sarpanchs and MPTCs whose names had appeared in the papers and informed them that he planned to visit the schools the next day. He met them and told them that they could have brought the issue to his notice rather than involve the news reporters. One of them demanded strongly of him that one teacher ought to have been appointed for every 30 pupils as per the Act. He tried to evade the topic but they persisted. He replied that sufficient Vidya Volunteers had been appointed to solve the problem of teacher shortage. They told him that every school ought to have enough teachers to monitor the Volunteers.


53 CRPF members assembled at the mandal level in Yemmiganur on 3rd September 2010, during which they were oriented on child rights and the provisions of the RTE ACT. They resolved to do away with gender discrimination and to ensure that no child from the village was sent to work in cottonseed farms in other villages. A petition was also submitted to the Tehsildar in this regard and he instructed VROs to serve notices to the farmers. Members from Malkapuram warned a contractor from Enugubala after coming to know that he planned to make advance payments of children that he proposed to employ in cottonseed farms of Uyyalawada mandal. They told him that he would not only be penalized but also have to forgo the payments that he had made.

Petitions were submitted to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, the District Collector, the DEO, and the MEO in the context of infrastructure needs, collection of fees, and facilities for differently abled children in 20, 22, 24, and 25 schools of Halaharivi, Holagunda, Alur, and Chippagiri mandals respectively.

Children from Devibetta, Yemmiganur mandal had been attending the school 4 kilometers away and had been facing a number of problems. The village was located at a distance of one kilometer from the road and they were late to school every day. The bus often departed even before they reached the bus stop and the driver would not wait for them even if he saw them. The children took this issue to the members’ notice and also informed them that their teacher used to beat them. Their head teacher often turned up drunk at school and used to literally kick them in the rump whenever they were late. The children’s parents questioned him strongly but he retorted bluntly that he would not have done so had they studied well. This episode was shared with the CRPF members, who invited him to a meeting and asked him to clarify his stand in this regard. He alleged that the children used to walk in and out of class during school hours and that was why he had beaten them. The members warned him against beating them and asked him to give the absentee children’s details to the volunteer, who would bring them back to school. He has quit drinking now and has ceased beating the children. He is reporting in time and is actually spending an hour or so with the local community every day before school opens.

The issue of child labor was discussed during a youth meeting in K. Thimmapuram, Yemmiganoor mandal. The volunteers informed the members that there were 91 out-of-school children in the village and gave them a list of the children. They approached the head teacher and shared the details with him but he denied this and stated that there were only 19 such children in the village. The youth read out the list to him but he stated that they were overage. The youth replied that they would confirm this from the children in the classroom. He consented to this. The children confirmed that there were 10-12 sisters and brothers of theirs that were out of school. The teacher was not ready to accept this and informed that he would not accept anything short of a statement by the village elders. A Grama Sabha was accordingly held the next day. He read out the details of the 19 children that he had with him. The members responded that the children had dropped out only recently and that there were many children that had dropped out in addition. Some CRPF members read the list of these children. The entire village confirmed this. The teacher finally agreed to join the volunteers in a special drive to identify these children, during the course of which a list of 46 children was compiled. He agreed to enroll the children with the help of the volunteers.


One boy from Suluwayi, Holagunda mandal had won an Inspire award of Rs. 5,000 from the government. The prize money was to be routed through the head teacher, who gave him just Rs. 2000, claiming that the remaining amount had been spent on expenses that he had incurred. This issue was raised during a youth meeting and they took the matter to the notice of the ZPTC. He, in turn, informed the MEO. The MEO came to the school but did not act, as the school had been declared a Model School and he did not want its image to be tarnished. 60 youth finally surrounded him and pressurized him, following which he promised to arrange for the money to be returned in 10 days.

Eggadi Girimalla, the 15-year old son of Mallikarjuna and Nagalingamma had dropped out of Class 8 from the school in Halaharivi. He was engaged to be married to his 12-year old relative Seshamma, the daughter of Gadilingappa from Siddhapuram. He had been working as an auto rickshaw driver. Upon coming to know of this, the volunteers and the CRPF spoke to him. He informed them that he was not keen on marrying the girl but his father had been forcing him because he wanted to get both of his sons married at the same time. The volunteers and the camp in-charge met the boy’s parents and spoke to them, asking them to postpone the affair. Mallikarjuna and his wife were unwilling to do so. The volunteer discussed the issue during a CRPF meeting with the CRPF Convener and the Sarpanch. They intervened to get the marriage stopped.

More than 450 children from Ingadhahal, Gonehal and M.D. Halli in Holagunda mandal were enrolled in High School Ingadhahal. All teachers of the school with the exception of the head teacher were transferred during the Teacher Counseling session in July 2009. There was a delay in their replacement and this inconvenienced both teacher and students greatly. The head teacher shared this information with the organizer, who discussed it with some youth during a public meeting. Six college graduates offered to teach the children on a voluntary basis as long as teachers were not appointed to the school. They undertook this responsibility for a month long period from 17 th August to 19th September, after which new teachers were posted to the school. The head teacher and children’s parents are highly appreciative of their initiative and full of praise for them.

43 children from Malkapuram, Yemmiganur mandal had been commuting a distance of 18 kilometers to attend the High School in Yemmiganur. They had been facing problems with the availability of public transport, as the bus that was scheduled to travel up to their village was being halted at Banavasi 2 kilometers away. This had been continuing for the last 3 years. The issue was brought up for discussion during a meeting held with 20 youth. They took the matter to the notice of the Depot Manager and also submitted a petition to him. He promised to act and accordingly summoned his subordinates, who were asked to justify the reason for the termination of bus service to the village. They told him that the bridge that connected the two villages was very weak and that the bus was likely to have an accident. The youth were adamant and pressurized the Depot Manager to do something about the issue. He asked them to get a letter from the Engineering Department stating that the bridge was strong enough. When approached, the Superintending Engineer maintained that the bridge was all right and refused to issue a Certificate, adding that the Depot Manager was being unnecessarily fussy. The Depot Manager finally agreed to permit the bus up to the bridge that was located half a kilometer away. However, the service was stopped after 2 days. The youth took up the issue for discussion yet again and resolved to shift the children from Yemmiganur to the new High School that was set up in Kotekal 2 kilometers away.

Two girls from Kaminhal, Halaharivi mandal that had passed out of the MVF camp in Halaharivi and had later studied in KGBV Alur from Class 6 on passed the Class 10 exams together in the first attempt. The applications of the both of them had been forwarded for admission in a corporate college but only one of them named Anila got a seat. The other girl Roja did not succeed in getting a seat and she was forced to study in the Government Junior College. She was keen on studying the Sciences but this facility was unavailable at the government college. She was disappointed and duly dropped out of college a fortnight later. The Sarpanch tried to motivate her by giving her the hope that she would get a seat in the second list but this did not happen. The issue came up for discussion during a women’s group meeting to which Roja’s mother was invited. The other members assured her that her daughter could make a good future for herself even by studying the Arts and convinced her to send the girl back to college

The head teacher in charge of UPS Musanapally and PS Musanapally in Alur mandal used to commute from Kurnool nearly 100 kilometers away every day and was highly irregular. The Vidya Volunteers were the only ones available full time but even they shirked their duties at times. The parents questioned them strongly during a meeting, to which they replied that it was their problem because their children were absent frequently. The parents retorted and asked them to set right their school affairs first and talk later. They took the issue tom the notice of the MEO, who feared to act against the teacher immediately because he belonged to the tribal community. However, he tackled the issue from another angle and replaced the old teacher with a new one in a couple of weeks, setting right the problem.


Political rivalry between local leaders of the Congress Party and the Telugu Desam Party was at a high in K. Nagulapuram, Yemmiganur mandal. The leaders of these parties, namely Chandrasekhar Reddy and Saraswatamma, had not met face to face or spoken to each other for more than a decade. The trouble had begun with a conflict over access of water to irrigate the fields of the latter and the situation had worsened over time. The Coordinator invited the both of them to the formative meeting of the Camp Advisory Committee and asked them to join the Committee. They agreed to this willingly but the distance between them continued as ever and they were not reconciled. The both of them attended the meeting held in June. The meeting commenced late in the evening and ended at 8 p.m. All the members with the exception of Chandrasekhar Reddy and Saraswatamma had left by then. Saraswatamma had to travel half a kilometre away and was alone. She was in a quandary, as she was unable to decide what to do. Noting her situation, Chandrasekhar Reddy offered to drop her home and she accepted the offer. Relations between them have bettered since the occurrence of this incident and they are regular participants at the Committee meetings.

The midday meal scheme was discontinued in UPS Kotekal, Yemmiganoor mandal with effect from January 2010. The prayer was also not being held in the school. Some children from the school informed this to the volunteer and the CRPF members. The latter raised the issue with the teachers, who replied that the head teacher was highly irregular to his duties on account of ill health. In addition, most children were late to school. Veera Reddy of the midday meal agency informed that he had not been reimbursed his bills for 4 months. The CRPF members notified these problems to the Sarpanch, the Deputy Sarpanch and the village elders. They summoned Veera Reddy to a meeting and made it clear to him that only one month’s bi. He accordingly agreed to continue cooking after the members promised to take steps for reimbursement of his bills at the earliest. They also took the teachers to task and asked them to plan their timings properly so that they did not miss out on the prayer hour. The situation has improved significantly and the teachers are regular to their duties. The material issued by UNICEF has also been distributed to the children.

15-year old Veeramma, the daughter of Nallaiah from Gudikal, Yemmiganoor mandal was engaged to be married to 16-year old Raju, son of Venkatesh. They had also prepared to fix the engagement. Upon coming to know of this, the local CRPF members discussed the issue with the MVF volunteer during one of their meetings. They jointly met the ICDS Supervisor and the SI of Police and petitioned to them, asking them to intervene in the issue. The officials responded positively and undertook a personal visit to the village. They counseled Nallaiah and his wife on the ill effects of marriage and urged them to postpone the wedding. They also informed them that they were likely to be penalized if they persisted in their decision. The couple eventually signed a written agreement promising to educate their daughter and get her married only after the age of 18. The groom’s family was also warned and they consented to the proposal, after which Veeramma was enrolled in Class 10.

The quality of the midday meal scheme at the Mandal Parishad PS in Malkapuram, Yemmiganur mandal was quite poor. The rice was not being cooked properly and the stew was thin. A parents’ meeting was convened to discuss the issue. Nearly one half of the 26 members that turned up on the occasion complained that their children were not eating properly because of the poor quality. They summoned the workers to the meeting and spoke to them strongly, following which there has been an improvement in the situation. The Vidya Volunteer had also been beating the children often, as a result of which 5 children had dropped out. When asked, he replied that the children would study well only if they were beaten. However, he did not reply when questioned why they had quit school if this was the case. He was warned against beating them in future and the children were followed up to school successfully with his help and assurance that this would not be repeated in future.

Mandal Parishad UPS (Telugu medium), Kogilathota in Holagunda mandal had an enrolment of 313 but only one fulltime teacher and 6 Vidya Volunteers. The teacher was highly irregular to his duties and used to come only once in a month or so to school. In addition, at least 3 of the volunteers were absent at any point in time by rotation. The youth summoned the volunteers to a meeting and questioned them strongly. The volunteers were irked and remarked that no one questioned the teacher but they were being taken to task though they received their honorarium only once in a quarter. Some of the youth reacted strongly and involved the Sarpanch in the matter. He came to the school and told the volunteers pulled them up for derelict of duty. The situation has improved now and they have become regular to their duties.

Ongoing efforts were put in to build the capacities of these groups to discharge their role in the campaign more effectively, through orientation sessions, the details of which are as follows:

Mandal Sessions Youth Sessions Elected Sessions Social Action Sessions Panchayat


Representatives Committees membersAlur 3 281 4 97 1 6

Chippagiri 2 153 4 45 1 80 1 6

Halaharivi 2 138 5 126 1 52 1 18

Holagunda 3 208 4 46 1 48 1 13

Yemmiganoor 3 180 6 80 1 60 2 40

Total 13 960 23 394 4 240 6 83

Campaign against child labor

The volunteers updated lists of child and bonded child laborers in all villages and took up door-to-door motivation drives to follow them up to educational institutions. Group motivation drives were taken up in 4 villages each of Yemmiganoor and Halaharivi mandals that had high incidence of child labor. Public meetings were employed as a means of reaching out to community. Petitions and lists of bonded child laborers were submitted to the MPDO, the Tehsildar and the MEO in Halaharivi mandal. Teachers, youth and elected representatives were involved in this agenda. A special drive was also taken up to mobilize 200 signatures from different groups in each mandal, urging Minister for Labor & Industries Mallikarjun Kharge to raise the issue of child labor during the Global Convention on Child Labor due to be held in the Hague. Penalties were levied by the RDO on 2 children’s employers in Alur mandal. The MEO and the Labor Officer filed 2 cases against employers of children in Yemmiganur mandal.

Special drives were taken up in 1-2 villages of each mandal in the project area with the objective of freeing them completely of child labor. The CVs compiled lists of child laborers and absentees from these villages and undertook door-to-door visits to their houses to motivate them and their parents in the cause of their education. Campaign posters designed by UNICEF with the slogan Mana Ooru Mana Pillalu were released and pasted at central locations in all mandals. Lists of children that had been absent for 3-5 days, for 6-7 days, and for longer than a week were prepared and used for purposes of follow up.

Intensive efforts were also put in to mobilize children for DBCs run by the organization. 1-2 villages that had been declared free of child labor were identified for the conduct of a survey in all mandals of the project area to ascertain the status of child labor. Meetings were held with adolescent girls on the importance of education for them. They were asked to follow up out-of-school children from their respective localities. The CVs also interacted with Sarpanchs and involved them in the issue. Rallies featured in all mandals on the occasion of Republic Day. Contributions were sought from community for the conduct of the celebrations.

Campaign stickers were pasted at public locations in villages of Holagunda mandal on the occasion of the Holagunda Jatara. Some flexi boards were also supported by local community. 140 plates were donated by community members on Republic Day. Mangammavva Jatara was used as a platform to send across a message in the context of child labor in Karadiguddam, Alur mandal. Local community got slogans on the RTE Act written on the walls of the village temple. Nearly 5000 campaign stickers were pasted at public locations in Halaharivi mandal on the occasion of Gulyam Jatara in March.

A special drive against migration was launched in 6 villages of Yemmiganur with high incidence of this phenomenon. Rallies featured with the participation of 220 members in these villages. 37 children from 3 villages were prevented from migrating in the process. A special drive was taken up with the help of the Sarpanch, the MPTC, and the CRPF members in Devibetta, at the end of which 14 migrant children were brought back to school.

The details of special drives taken up against child labor are as under:

Mandal Special Drives Habitations covered

Alur 72 17Chippagiri 12 9Halaharivi 19 9Holagunda 35 21Yemmiganoor 42 12Total 180 68


Rallies featured in all mandals on 1st April 2011 on the occasion of the first anniversary of the passing of the RTE Act, the details of which are as under:

Mandal Rallies MembersAlur 12 918

Chippagiri 10 860Halaharivi 15 525Holagunda 13 908

Yemmiganoor 13 1411Total 63 4622

MRPs, elected representatives, CRPF members, youth, adolescent girls, and children chanted slogans demanding effective implementation of the RTE Act and participated in public meetings in all central locations of the villages.

Villagers from Degulapadu in Chippagiri demanded the setting up of a UPS, provision of toilets, and construction of additional classrooms in their village. Upon being informed that schools had been collecting fees from children, the MEO instructed all head teachers not to do so and to issue receipts even if they charged any fee. A rally was organised with 1200 children in the mandal headquarters in Holagunda on the evening of 21st June with the participation of SI of Police Mr. Sheikh Ismail and MEO Mr. Yoganand. The MEO promised to act against any case involving violation of children’s rights. A mass meeting was held near the buss stand for nearly one hour. The members present also formed a human chain and expressed solidarity with children.

The CRPF has played a particularly important role as a change agent at the grassroots level. More than 800 people have associated themselves with these forums. They assembled regularly to track the status of the intervention on an ongoing basis and petitioned to the officials in the context of school development and child rights. The details of Forums are as below:

Mandal Forums Members Meetings Members PetitionsAlur 14 145 213 2097 32Chippagiri 12 165 118 1485 56Halaharivi 15 198 103 1236 63Holagunda 16 208 96 1442 36Yemmiganoor 11 119 111 1119 44Total 68 835 641 7379 231

An enforcement drive featured in the division headquarters in Adoni with the participation of the Labor Officer, the NCLP Division Officer Raju, Asst. Sub-Inspector of II-Town Police Station, the MVF Core Group, and functionaries of a local voluntary organization on 23rd July. Nearly 30 children were identified through raids in hotels, liquor shops, and mechanics’ sheds. News reporters were involved in the issue. However, the employers not only declined to let go of the children but also abused the reporters. The reporters took the issue to the RDO’s notice.

Enforcement drives were taken up in Holagunda and Yemmiganur on 7 th December 2010 and 10th

November 2010 respectively. ALOs M/s. Madanagopal and Jacob, Revenue Inspector Mr. Sudhakar, teacher Mr. Jayaram, and MVF Mandal Coordinator Mr. Sunkanna took part in the drive. They visited cottonseed farms in 3 villages of the mandal to identify children enrolled there. However, no children were to be found because the cotton harvesting season had already passed. ALOs Mr. Maddaiah and


Mr. Madanagopal, MRP Mr. Kasaiah and the Mandal Coordinator and Organizer took part in the drive in Yemmiganur. Though no children were identified in Chennapuram, 3 children were found to be employed in chilli farms. The farmer concealed the children from the team members’ eyes but they gathered the children’s details from his wife. No child was identified in Kandhanathi and Masidpuram.

20 children including those enrolled in school from Kotekal, Yemmiganur mandal had been working in cottonseed farms in Nettekal, Adoni mandal. The Sarpanch and the CRPF members strongly warned one of the farm owners and he did not employ any child for the next week. However, the children resumed going to work after a gap of hardly ten days. The issue was discussed a second time, following which the members and some teachers strongly warned the contractor against sending the children to the farms. Though the members succeeded in weaning the children away from the farms, the latter began working locally. Plans are being chalked out to follow up on the issue.

83 children from Kaminhal, Halaharivi mandal had been attending school in Hardhageri. They had been facing problems during the monsoon, as they found it difficult to cross the canal that separated the village from the road. The head teacher raised the issue with the CRPF members during a meeting and they rang up the volunteers, seeking their assistance. A Grama Sabha was subsequently held in the village. MPP Shivagangamma, who had been operating a bus to a private school, was asked to permit the children to use the bus but she agreed to do so only in the next academic year. The members identified an alternative. The public bus service that had been passing through the village earlier had been withdrawn because there were too many auto rickshaws in the village. The members held a meeting in the village and told the auto rickshaw drivers not to ply their vehicles from 8-10 a.m. The CRPF members and the Sarpanch propose to speak to the Manager of the Adoni Bus Depot.

14-year old Mallikarjuna, the son of Devanna from Hardhageri, Halaharivi mandal quit school 2 years ago after having studied up to Class 6. Devanna had separated from his brother and also got his daughter married. He had incurred debts on the girl’s marriage and on agricultural development. He subsequently withdrew the boy from school so that he could assist him in the fields. Mallikarjuna used to keep guard against stray domestic animals and perform small tasks like watering the saplings. He was keen on studying and asked his parents to let him continue his schooling. His mother was quite supportive but Devanna was dead against this idea and made it clear that his son would not attend school. Upon coming to know of this, the volunteers approached the boy’s father along with the ward members but he did not listen to them. They took along the boy’s Drawing teacher, who had lent some money to the family, and got him to counsel the couple. The teacher told Devanna that he could repay the debt at will and urged him to send the boy to school. The father consented to this and agreed to send the boy to school. The boy was, however, too old to be in Class 7 and was sent to the MVF camp, from where he gave the Class 9 exams as a private candidate and is enrolled in Class 10 in the local High School.

3 girls from Kokkarched, Bapuram, and Gulyam in Halaharivi mandal had dropped out of the local KGBV because their teachers had beaten them. The KGBV had been operating from a private building and the girls had not been maintaining standards of personal hygiene. One of them had urinated just outside the building at night on a couple of occasions, as the toilets had no lighting facility and she feared to go out because it was dark outside. The teachers subsequently caned all the girls. Some of the girls became highly irregular and the 3 girls dropped out for good. The volunteers spoke to them and, having assessed the situation, discussed the issue with women’s groups during a meeting. They went to the school and assured the principal that such an episode would not be repeated. The girls were counseled and they have promised to mend their ways.

14-year old Ramanjaneyulu Naik from Ramagiri Thanda in Vajrakarur mandal, Anantapur district lost his mother, after which his father remarried. His stepmother used to send her children to school but withdrew him from school and entrusted him with the task of getting raw material for brewing liquor from the hillock nearby. His father had been quite favourable to him earlier but changed a lot after his remarriage. His second wife poisoned his mind against the boy, following which the latter ran away to Guntakal and began leading the life of a vagrant. A fortnight later, a reporter saw him while at work in a hotel and asked him for his story. The boy narrated his experiences, following which the reported sent him to another hotel and asked him to stay there until he returned. The reporter referred the issue to the CDPO – ICDS, who told him that the boy was too old and passed on the case to MVF Coordinator Prasad Naidu. The Coordinator involved the Circle Inspector of Police in the matter. The official interacted with Naik’s parents over phone and asked them to take the boy along with them, failing which he would take a decision on his own. They did not respond to this and the boy was duly shifted to camp.


The Durga Malleswara Swamy temple near Nerniki, Holagunda mandal is famous for its Banni festival that is celebrated on the occasion of Dussehra. The volunteers undertook a special drive during the festival in 2009 in order to reach out to community on the issue of child labor. They painted slogans on children’s issues on walls and displayed banners and wall posters in public locations. They mobilized resources from Panchayat members for the purpose and acknowledged the donors, displaying their pictures. The MPTC of Veldurthy and Sarpanches of 10 Panchayats gave away Rs. 200 each. The MPP donated Rs. 100 in Pedda Gonehal.

Veer Shekhar, son of Narasimhudu from TS Kulur in Yemmiganur mandal was forced to discontinue his education while in Class 2 after his parents migrated to Hyderabad in quest of livelihood opportunities. He had been enrolled in a school but his parents were regularly shifting and his education was badly hit. He returned to his village along with his parents during the festival season. He decided after a brief interaction with some of his friends that he would pursue his education. He spoke to his parents and they were willing to send him back to school. They discussed the issue with the volunteer, who promised to take care of the boy until they returned. They agreed and visited the camp. Satisfied with the homely atmosphere there, they left Veer Shekhar behind. He motivated his younger brother Sri Ramulu also to join the camp a couple of months later. Veer Shekhar cleared the Class 7 exams from camp and is presently enrolled in the hostel in Kokkarched.

Lakshmi, the daughter of E. Venkataramudu from Kalugotla, Yemmiganur mandal has dropped out of Class 4 two years ago and had been entrusted with the task of grazing the family cattle. The volunteers and the CRPF members counseled her parents to send her back to school but they refused. The CRPF members went to the girl’s workplace and began chatting with her. A couple of them actually helped her scrub the back of a buffalo. They spoke to her at length on the importance of education, after which she agreed to return to school. However, her parents were adamant. They finally yielded after their neighbours intervened in the issue. Lakshmi was duly enrolled in camp. Her parents later sold off their buffaloes for a sum of Rs. 23000, as they had none to care for the animals.

2 group motivation drives were taken up in 13 villages of Yemmiganur mandal during August 2010 to reach out to child laborers. Youth and women’s groups were involved in this effort. They motivated their neighbors to send out-of-school children to school, covering 45 child laborers in this manner. 7 cottonseed farmers in 4 villages were met and urged not to employ children. They were asked to free the 75 children that they had employed and they promised to do so in a week or two. However, a follow up visit brought out that the children were still working. The volunteers told the Sarpanch and the farmers that legal action would be initiated against them. A complaint was later lodged with the Tehsildar, who served notices to them through the Village Revenue Officer.

CRC Week

Project level meetings were held to plan for the CRC Week celebrations in the first week of November with the participation of UNICEF district functionaries and the MVF team. Discussions featured on the activities to be taken up and the modalities of the celebrations. School level rallies featured in 71 villages of the project area with the participation of teachers and children during November 2009. The volunteers supported 59 of them. The details of schools covered and the rallies are as below:

Mandal Schools covered Child participants Halaharivi 17 2400

Yemmiganoor 22 2570Chippagiri 12 1800

Alur 18 2334Total 71 9104


22715 children from 110 villages of the project area took part in fancy dress and sport competitions organized by MVF. The winners were given away prizes sponsored by community. The volunteers, the CRPF and others held banners in hand, sloganeering in favor of child rights and education and denouncing child labor during village level rallies. Mandal officials, Sarpanchs, ward

members, village elders, parents, teachers and the CRPF took part. Snacks and refreshments were distributed to all children at the end.

The details of competitions are as follows:

Mandal Villages In-school children Out-of-school children TotalHalaharivi 23 4200 20 4220

Yemmiganoor 31 7436 277 7713Chippagiri 13 2015 30 2045

Alur 20 4350 15 4365Holagunda 23 4347 25 4372

Total 110 22348 367 22715

Mandal level conventions were held on 20th November 2009 in Alur, Yemmiganoor and Chippagiri mandals and in Holagunda and Halaharivi on 21st November

2009 to mark the end of CRC Week. Elected representatives such as MPPs, ZPTCs, and Sarpanchs, Tehsildars, MPDOs, MEOs, women’s groups, youth associations and the CRPF turned up on the occasion. Hand in hand with the MVF staff, they held banners, chanting slogans

against child labor and advocating child rights.

The details of the conventions are as under:

Mandal Participants Other Events Organized Halaharivi 225 Mandal rally

Yemmiganoor 168 Mandal rally, distribution of school kitsChippagiri 110

Alur 130Holagunda 120

Total 753


School level sports competitions and village level rallies were held in all mandals as part of the event in November 2010, the details of which are as under:

Mandal Rallies Competitions

Alur 6 14Chippagiri 4 10Halaharivi 15 11Holagunda 8 13

Yemmiganur 1 19Total 34 67

Sport competitions were held in 5 events, namely Lemon & Spoon, Musical Chair, Running, Drawing, and Hopping on one leg (for girls). The children participated in these events in the Junior and Senior

categories. Essay writing competitions were also held separately for adolescent girls. Teachers gave away prizes to winners of these competitions. 27 prizes were given in each mandal. Sport events were convened for Balika Sanghas at the Anganwadi Centre in Devibetta and at the camp in K. Nagulapuram, Yemmiganur mandal with

the participation of 16 and 14 girls respectively. Members of the Camp Advisory Committee sponsored and gave away prizes in the camp. The Sarpanch and the MPTC distributed the prizes in Devibetta. Events held in the K. Nagulapuram include Kabaddi, Long Jump, and Skipping the Rope. Children competed for honors in Ring Ball, Skipping the Rope, and Burru Petta in Devibetta.

Mandal level conventions were held in all mandals of the project area as below:

Mandal Date Participants Key invitees

Alur 20 Nov. 155 MPP Ms. Leelavathi, ZPTC Mr. Bhaskar, CDPO Ms. Aswathamma, MRP Mr. Ananda Raju

Chippagiri 20 Nov. 140 MPP Mr. Bheemalingappa Chowdary, MPDO Mr. Ramanjaneyulu, MRP Mr. Rafi


Halaharivi 19 Nov. 159Vice-MPP Mr. Telugu Somanna, MPDO Ms. Varalakshmi, MEO Mr. Sivaramulu, Revenue Inspector, Anganwadi Supervisor Ms. Devi Jayamma

Holagunda 19 Nov. 165 Agricultural Officer Mr. Ramakrishna, MEO Mr. Yoganand, MRP Mr. Seshagiri, District CRPF member Mr. Hanumantha Rayudu

Yemmiganur 20 Nov. 160

UNICEF District Manager Mr. Krishna Rao, Tehsildar Mr. M. Lakshmaiah, CI of Police Mr. Gunasekhar Babu, Asst. Social Welfare Officer Mr. Anand, Kurnool Development & Credit Corporation Bank Vice-Chairman Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy

The following is the impact of the celebrations:

o A debate has arisen on the importance of children’s rightso Improved relations between community and schoolso Extracurricular activities have led to greater interest among children in educationo Parents of child laborers have shown more interest in educating their children as a result of

their participation in the activitieso The Municipal Commissioner addressed the gathering in Yemmiganoor and promised to raid

shops and other commercial establishments in the town to identify and free working children. He also offered to hold talks with the owners in this regard.

o The MPDO of Halaharivi pledged to streamline the implementation of the NREGS, maintain cleanliness in the premises of schools and Anganwadi Centers, and provide playgrounds in schools.

o Mandal level elected representatives from Holagunda, Chippagiri and Alur promised to protect child rights in their respective mandals by eliminating child labor and redress issues relating to child right violation.

o The Tehsildar of Chippagiri mandal offered to make available all Certificates to children through the Gram Panchayat.

Anti- Child Labor Day

80 people including Tehsildar Mr. Subramaniam, MEO Mr. Lokanath, ZPTC Mr. Sanjanna, Sarpanch Ms. Rajini and MRP Mr. Narayana Swamy attended a rally in Chippagiri on 30 th April 2010. Ms. Rajini flagged off the rally from the Tehsildar’s office. Speaking on the occasion, the Tehsildar observed that everyone was responsible for elimination of child labor and stated that it was illegal to employ children. The MEO invited all the participants to take part in the Badi Bata drive. They went on a 2.5 kilometer long rally for an hour through the mandal headquarters and made public announcements in two locations. They chanted slogans that no child ought to work and that childhood was the right of every child.

55 members took part in a meet held Halaharivi on the role of elected representatives in protecting child rights. The participants included 5 MPTCs, 4 Sarpanchs, 3 Deputy Sarpanchs and 43 CRPF members. The mandal in-charge, MPTCs and Sarpanchs spoke on the occasion. Mandal in-charge Ramakrishna spoke on the status of education in the mandal. He observed that 89 teachers were needed in the mandal but only 29 had been recruited. He invited the CRPF members to present the situation of child labor, education, and Anganwadi Centers in their respective villages and also addressed the participants on child marriage, the RTE Act, and the link between education and elimination of child labor. The speakers also called upon parents to send child laborers to DBC. The role of elected representatives in strengthening schools was also highlighted. Ramakrishna urged them to undertake regular visits to schools and raise problems being faced there during Mandal


General Body meetings. Sarpanch of Halaharivi Ms. Rangamuni spoke on his experiences in preventing child marriage and exhorted the elected representatives present there to address child related issues on a priority basis rather than just stick to attending meetings.

A mandal level meeting was held with the participation of 40 youth in Alur. The MRP, who took part in the meet, invited them to share their experiences during the course of their work with children. He also addressed them on child rights and their role in upholding these rights. They were urged to ensure that all children in the school-going age attended school and to follow up girl child dropouts to KGBV.

82 youth attended a mandal meet in Holagunda. The participants included MRP Mr. Seshagiri and head teacher Mr. Prabhakar Reddy. Revenue Inspector Mr. Narasimha Murthy, who was also present, asked the volunteers to invite him to their meetings and offered to assist them in all ways. They were also called upon to publicize the RTE Act and take steps to streamline its implementation. Cultivation of cottonseed has been completely stopped in 2 villages. Mr. Prabhakar Reddy informed that everyone was responsible for protecting children’s rights and noted that it was illegal to employ children. Youth ought to take the lead role in the campaign against child labor, he said. An Engineering student, who had scored 512 marks in Class 10 and was awarded a scholarship of Rs. 15000, shared his experiences.

60 members including 10 MPTCs, 7 Sarpanchs and 15 ward members took part in a mandal meet in Yemmiganur. MPDO Ms. Uma Maheshwaramma, MEO Mr. Rajaratnam, Vice-MPP Mr. Basi Reddy and MVF Senior Coordinator Mr. J. Bhaskar were also present. The Vice-MPP noted that the number of cottonseed child laborers had gone down in the mandal. He informed that many elected representatives had requested him on a number of occasions to ignore the issue but he had refused to entertain them. He offered all help from his side. The MPDO noted that working girls were frequently being assaulted and called upon girls’ parents not to send their daughters to work.

The MEO observed that the enactment of the RTE Act had given civil society a good opportunity to address the problem of child labor. He invited all the members present to participate in Badi Bata and to send all children aged 9 and above to camp. Mr. Bhaskar spoke on the provisions of the Act and on the role of different actors in streamlining its implementation. CRPF Mandal Convener Mr. Urukundu stated that elected representatives could free the village of child labor by monitoring schools on a regular basis. Education officials ought to have clarity on the status of children’s retention in school, he concluded.

Mandal level rallies were held in all mandals on 12th June to mark Anti- Child Labor Day. Youth, adolescent girls, women’s groups, and elected representatives took part in this event. The participants denounced the practice of child labor and advocated children’s right to education through

slogans on the occasion. The details of the rallies are as follows:

Mandal Participants Key membersAlur 50 Sub-Inspector of Police Mr. SridharChippagiri 50 MEO Mr. Lokanath, 2 constablesHalaharivi 50 MEO Sivaramulu, MRPs, Anganwadi Workers

Holagunda 64 MRP Seshagiri, Indira Kranthi Patham Asst. Program Manager Suryaprakash

Yemmiganoor 200

Member of Legislative Assembly Mr. Chennakeshava Reddy, Deputy Tehsildar, Market Yard chairperson Mr. Sampath Goud, former Municipal chairperson Mr. Butta

Rangaiah, 2 constablesTotal 414


Special drive against child marriage

A Model Survey was taken up in 4 mandals of the Division in the first week of April 2011 to identify the incidence of child marriage on the basis of education levels, the outcomes of which are as below:

Mandal Cases identified Never Enrolled Below Class 5 Above Class 5Yemmiganur 160 79 67 14Holagunda 85 56 23 6Halaharivi 16 6 7 3

Alur 15 4 8 3Total 276 145 105 26

Jeep Jathas were later held in 22, 16, 24, 32, and 24 villages of Alur, Chippagiri, Holagunda, Yemmiganur, and Halaharivi mandals respectively during May 2011 to highlight the issue of child marriage. MPP Ms. Leelavathamma flagged off the Jatha in Alur in the presence of Tehsildar Mr. Anwar Hussain, ZPTC Mr. Bhaskar, ICDS


Supervisor Ms. Nagaveni, and Sarpanch of Alur Mr. Anjaneyulu. Tehsildar Mr. Chandrasekhar inaugurated the event in Chippagiri. Other key invitees include Executive Officer (Rural Development) Ms. Sharada and Sarpanch of Chippagiri Ms. Rajini. Tehsildar Mr. Niaz Ahmed flagged off the event in Holagunda. Revenue Inspector Mr. Babu, IKP APM Mr. Srinivasulu, and Head Constable Mr. Ramakrishna also turned up on the occasion. In-charge Tehsildar Mr. Gopala Rao inaugurated the Jatha in Halaharivi. MPDO Mr. Nageswara Rao, MEO Mr. Sivaramulu, and ICDS Supervisor Ms. Devi Jayamma took part in the proceedings.

The teams rallied through the villages in the day time and followed them up with Grama Sabhas during the evenings. They chanted slogans stating that they did not want daughters-in-law aged below 18 and sons-in-law aged below 21 years in their villages. Presentations were made on the magnitude of the problem in the district and community members were given inputs on the provisions of the Child Marriage Act. They were later counseled on the losses associated with child marriage and urged to discourage this practice. Grama Sabhas were also held in 4 mandals to bring the issue of child marriage into the limelight. The MPP and the ZPTC of Alur mandal took part in 1 and 2 Grama Sabhas respectively in addition.

The details of participants in the Sabhas are as under:

Mandal Grama Sabhas ParticipantsAlur 6 800


Total 31 4049

The following are the details of officials that participated in the Sabhas:

Official Halaharivi Holagunda Alur ChippagiriTehsildar 2 2 1 1MPDO 1 1 1MEO 1 2MRPs 1 2 1

Supervisor 1 7 3 1Total 6 9 7 6

12 bullock cart rallies featured in K. Thimmapuram, Yemmiganoor mandal with 165 participants including a district leader of the Communist Party of India and the MPTC. 2 candle rallies were also held with 35 members. Torch rallies featured with the participation of youth and representatives of local

institutions in 26 villages of the project area.

The details of participants are as below:


Mandal Rallies MembersAlur 5 225



Panchayat Secretaries and VROs were asked to collect information on the ages of both the bride and the groom whenever they received information that a marriage was due to take place in the village. They were also required to demand certificates in proof of age. They were further asked to register the details of anyone aged below 18 from the village and update these records regularly. They also ought to pass resolutions during Grama Sabhas declaring illegal the conduct of child marriages. The issue was highly publicized and parents have understood the importance of proof of age certificates.

The details of child marriages identified and prevented through the drive are as under:

Mandal Identified PreventedAlur 17 8



Tens of marriages are performed every year as part of a mass marriage drive on the occasion of Basava Jayanti in Upparahal, Kowthalam mandal. Upon receiving information that 53 marriages were scheduled to be held this year, the RDO, UNICEF Training Coordinator Ms. Sridevi, the PEPCR Coordinator from MVF and the Mandal Coordinator of Adoni from Sadhana visited the village on 6 th May 2011. They spoke to the priests and temple authorities there, who informed them that not all parents had been producing age certificates. In addition, some of the certificates did not contain details of age. A few of the certificates showed clearly that the bride/groom concerned was aged below 18 years. The RDO made it clear that it was illegal to marry girls under the age of 28 and openly warned the temple authorities of legal measures if they performed the marriages. 5 marriages were laid off the same day.


Sangala village in Nemakallu Panchayat of Chippagiri mandal is famous for its mass marriages for a unique reason. Parents of eligible bachelors from the Golla and Kuruva communities celebrate this event once in two decades. Each family contributes Rs. 35000 to the cause and they engage in festivities that are known to cost the village Rs. 12-14 lakhs on each occasion. The volunteers prepared themselves to campaign against this practice during 2010 ten days in advance. They met the Sarpanch and discussed the issue with him. He informed them that a 12-year old girl from Nemakallu was due to be married to a boy from Sangala. They mobilized 25 youth for a torch rally in the village and also involved the Sarpanch and the village CRPF Convener in this effort. The Sarpanch counseled the girl’s family members on the losses associated with and the legal implications of child marriage. He also convened a Grama Sabha in front of their house in Nemakallu with the participation of 100 members. Ms. Sridevi, UNICEF Training Coordinator also spoke to them at length but they were unwilling to postpone the affair only if the groom’s family agreed to it. For their part, they gave a written declaration to the Sarpanch that they would marry her only after she attained 18 years of age. A Grama Sabha was also held in Sangala with the participation of the Tehsildar, the MPDO, the MEO and the head teacher. Some campaign posters were stuck in the village. The officials present declared that production of proof of age was mandatory for the conduct of any marriage. 150 people attended the Sabha. The volunteers met the SI of Police and the Tehsildar a week before the event was due and spoke to them on the issue. The SI took no action for 3-4 days, after which the volunteer took the issue to the notice of the RDO and the ICDS officials. They instructed him to take the necessary steps, after which he joined hands with the volunteers and the RDO to counsel the parents of 15 boys that were due to be married to minor girls. Two marriages were prevented the same day.

Lalenna and Lakshmamma from Chippagiri were quite poor and owned just a house in addition to 2 acres of land given to them by the government. They had 4 daughters, of who Bharati was the youngest. They incurred huge expenses on the marriages of the eldest three girls and were forced to withdraw Bharati from school after Class 7 though she was their favourite and they had planned to educate her well. She began assisting Lakshmamma in her household chores. Lalenna unfortunately fell critically ill around that time and the couple decided to discharge their obligations by getting her married before the worst happened. They duly arranged her marriage with a youth from Pamidi mandal in Anantapur mandal. She was 14 years old at that time. They paid Rs. 20000 towards dowry in addition to 30 grams of gold. Though they stretched the limits to get her married, her life was not that happy. Her mother-in-law began harassing her just 2 months later, demanding more dowry and alleging that she was incapable of doing any household work. Unable to bear the mental pressure, the girl returned to her parents’ house. They sent her back, saying that her husband’s house was her true home. Furious at Bharati’s decision to go home, her mother-in-law set her on fire after pouring some kerosene on her. She suffered third degree burns and her parents had to spend Rs. 50000 on getting her treated. They later filed a case in court. They are repentant for having married her off early and pained that she is running around the courts of law when she should be attending college. They have been telling their neighbors and friends not to destroy their young daughters’ lives by committing the same mistake.

Cultural Campaign

Popular street play Bhoomi Thalli Biddalamu was made use of as a platform to send across key messages on child labor, child right protection and child marriage to community groups in 80 villages

during February – March 2011. 34113 people witnessed the performances. A training session was held for 55 members in 2 batches from 3rd – 11th and from 21st – 23rd January. Subsequent to their orientation, the members formed two teams for the purpose of the performances. The conduct of the event was publicized in the villages through the medium of the Dandora two days prior to the performance. Panchayat members and village elders were apprised of the proposed schedule and the date and time fixed according to their convenience. The Sarpanch/ward member was

urged to mobilize local community for the performance.

The volunteers went around the entire village sloganeering in favor of child rights and denouncing child labor on the morning of the day on which the performance was scheduled. They also sang songs on these themes. Participants included mandal and village level officials, Sarpanchs, ward members, teachers, district and mandal level union leaders and elected representatives. They promised to eliminate child labor and child marriage, uphold children’s rights and work for development of infrastructure in schools.


The day after the conduct of the performance, women’s groups, elected representatives, youth and CRPF members accompanied the volunteers on door-to-door visits to the houses of children identified through the survey as child laborers and counseled them and their parents. 205 children were thus reached out to and enrolled in RBC. 12 children were also sent to local school in this manner.

Impact/follow up of the campaign

A strong message was sent across to different groups that children have their rights and a debate has also arisen on the issue of child labor

Teachers and mandal officials witnessing the performances have changed their perspective in the context of child labor and are more receptive to the children’s problems. The officials have promised to address such problems on a priority basis. Teachers opined that they would do all that was possible from their side to protect the rights of the child. Both groups have begun participating actively in all campaign activities launched by the organization.

Relations between volunteers and elected representatives, mandal and village level officials and community members have improved after the conduct of the performances.

Responding to the performance in Bantanhal, Chippagiri mandal, the head teacher informed that he was very happy to have witnessed the event. He acknowledged that many children were absent from school though their names featured in the register. He promised to take steps to follow them up to school and retain them there. Children from the village were not in a position to attend school in the neighboring village for want of transport facilities. The villagers took the issue to the notice of the Tehsildar, who had turned up at the venue. He promised to send across a proposal for transport connectivity to the village to the District Collector.

The details of children freed from work through the campaign are as follows:

Mandal RBC (B)

RBC (G)

RBC (T)

School (B)

School (G)

School (T) B G T

Chippagiri 12 2 14 3 6 9 15 8 23Holagunda 66 23 89 66 23 89Halaharivi 12 6 18 12 6 18Yemmiganoor 8 26 34 2 1 3 10 27 37Alur 32 18 50 32 18 50Total 130 75 205 5 7 12 135 82 217

The details of the performances and audience are as below:

Mandal Performances Children Males Females TotalChippagiri 12 1950 1950 1500 5400Alur 14 1400 1900 1600 4900Yemmiganoor 17 2428 2290 1130 5848Holagunda 20 4540 4730 3470 12740Halaharivi 17 1525 2200 1500 5225Total 80 11843 13070 9200 34113

Preventing Migration

12 families from Vajrakarur Thanda in Anantapur district had immigrated to Degalapadu in Chippagiri to work in mirchi and cottonseed farms during February 2010. 6 school-going and 12 out-of-school children had accompanied them. Having come to know of this, the volunteers took the issue to the notice of the Mandal Coordinator Prasad. He shared the news with the Sarpanch and some local youth. They jointly met the heads of these families and counseled them to send their children back home and enroll them in the local school. They consented to this and the children were repatriated. Rallies were held in Daivamdinne, Kotekal, Kadivella and Kandanathi villages of Yemmiganoor mandal with 83, 66, 52 and 40 youth respectively to highlight the issue of migration and to persuade parents to leave behind their children while migrating.

Seasonal Hostel in Kandhanathi, Yemmiganur mandal

The incidence of seasonal migration is very high in 11 Panchayats of Yemmiganur mandal, namely Masidpuram, Kandhanathi, Kadimetla, Kadivella, S. Nagulapuram, Kotekal, T.S. Kulur, Daivamdinne, Enugubala, Parlapalle, and K. Thimmapuram. Approximately 50-200 families from each of these villages migrate every year from October – December and January – March in two phases to Guntur, Kadapa, Karimnagar, Hyderabad, Bangalore, and to Nandyal Revenue Division of the district. 30-150 children accompany them, losing out on more than half a year’s education in the process. Those


migrating to Hyderabad and Bangalore are employed mainly in civil works. The others harvest mirchi and cotton. Children are paid on par with adults and earn Rs. 100-130 a day. MVF put in a wide range of efforts to reach out to such children in the last 3 years, especially in Kandhanathi, where the incidence of migration is the maximum. Meetings were convened separately with village elders, caste elders, teachers, women’s groups, and youth for the purpose. These groups and the mandal officials were involved in door-to-door motivation exercises and rallies. Lists of migrant children were compiled and submitted to the officials along with petitions signed under the official letterhead of the Panchayat.

Rallies were held in all 11 villages during October 2009. The volunteers sloganeered around the villages highlighting the issues of child labour and child rights and educating communities on child labour legislations. They also announced the setting up of seasonal hostels. Sarpanchs, village elders, elected representatives, youth, women’s groups, the Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the All India Trade Union Congress, Students Federation of India, the All India Students Federation, and the Kula Vivakshatha Porata Samithi joined hands with them.

Grama Sabhas were convened under the leadership of the Sarpanch with the participation of village elders, elected representatives, youth, and women’s groups once a month. The status of child labour and school functioning were shared with the mandal officials. Sarpanchs, village elders, elected representatives, and youth motivated the children’s parents and urged them to leave behind their children while migrating. They were also informed that seasonal hostels would be set up for their children’s benefit.

A youth meeting was held in Kandhanathi in March 2010 to discuss plans for preventing children from migrating. Some of the participants suggested setting up a Summer School in order to reach out to the children. A joint meeting was organized with the youth and village elders to take the agenda ahead. The village elders opined that this was a good idea and offered the necessary support. A plan of action was later chalked out and the following decisions taken:

− All migrant families would be counselled to leave behind their children− A Summer School would be set up in the school premises− All groups in the village would be involved in monitoring the functioning of the School− Community contributions would be raised for the School if necessary− The village elders and youth offered to sponsor drinking water pots, glasses and slates

A door-to-door motivation exercise was undertaken in the village as a follow up of the meeting. The head teacher, teachers, the VRO, the Secretary, the MPTC, village elders, women’s groups, and youth were present at the inaugural ceremony. 43 children were enrolled in the School. The School continued functioning up to 14th June 2010, when the new academic year commenced. All children were subsequently shifted to regular school. The teachers assisted the volunteers in ensuring the children’s retention in the School.

A number of efforts were put in during 2010 with the participation of the Sarpanch, the MPTC, women’s groups, the volunteers, and youth to prevent child migration. 180 families were contacted in the process and 52 children linked to the Seasonal Hostel. Petitions were submitted to the District Collector and mandal officials earlier, requesting them to set up a Seasonal Hostel. Lists of migrant families and children were compiled. 87 and 60 children from the SC and BC Colonies respectively were identified. Regular youth meetings were held later with 16-18 youth each from August – October to strategize the campaign against migration.

The issues identified/resolutions passed during these meetings are as below:

Details of migrant children and problems faced by them would be gathered Migrant families would be counselled by the Sarpanch, village elders, women’s groups, youth,

and mandal officials Wide publicity would be given to the proposed Seasonal Hostel though rallies Petitions would be submitted officially to the District Collector and the mandal officials through

the Gram Panchayat Regular visits would be undertaken to schools to update lists of dropouts, absentees and

other out-of-school children Steps would be taken to streamline implementation of the midday meal scheme Meetings would be convened to sensitize migrant parents to the importance of education and

they would be urged to leave their children behind while migrating


Gram Panchayat level meetings were held from August on with all groups to highlight the role of the Panchayat in addressing the problem of migration. It was resolved to compile separate lists of children in and out of school and to gather information on the status of school functioning, implementation of the midday meal scheme, and school infrastructure and other problems faced in school.

In addition, the following steps would be taken to reach out to migrant children:

Door-to-door motivation exercises would be taken up The need for a Seasonal Hostel would be publicized Parents would be urged to leave behind their wards while migrating Meetings would be held at the street level Parents’ meetings would be convened at the school level The Gram Panchayat would formally petition for a Seasonal Hostel Grama Sabhas would be held with the participation of mandal level officials of the Education,

Revenue, and Police departments

A door-to-door motivation drive featured from 10 th – 25th October 2010, during which migrant families that had been identified were met and counselled to leave behind their children. Sarpanch Rushyendra Mani, the MPTC, village elders, youth, and women’s groups assured them that their children would face no problems. It was no easy task convincing the parents. The below were the problems faced by the members:

o Some parents stated that they had been taking along their children because there was none to care for the latter in their absence

o Quite a few children had been entrusted with the task of sibling care at the destination siteo A few parents were of the opinion that they could not afford to lose the seasonal income that

their children could generate for their families and actually asked the team members if they would compensate for this income

o Parents in some cases informed that their younger children (aged 6-9) could not groom themselves without help and none would care for their health

o The quality of the midday meal in the local school was quite poor and there was no guarantee that the situation in the Seasonal Hostel would be any better

o A demand came up for separate hostels for children from the SC and the BC communitieso A number of parents noted that many promises had been made in the past in the context of

setting up a Seasonal Hostel but there had been no progress so far and they agreed to send their wards only after the Hostel were in place

The following were the responses by different groups to the situation:

The volunteers assured the parents that MV Foundation would set up and run the Hostel until the government released the necessary funds. All necessary arrangements would be made and the children’s health taken care of.

The head teacher promised to link the Hostel to the school and share the school resources with the Hostel.

The Sarpanch and the MPTC promised to provide drinking water facility for the Hostel, monitor its functioning regularly, and to arrange a dhobi for washing the children’s clothes if necessary.

Village elders offered to take up the overall responsibility for the functioning of the Hostel and to solve problems if any. They also permitted the Hostel volunteers the use of the water drums and the plastic pipes available in the community hall.

Youth agreed to visit the Hostel every morning and evening and to involve the children in games and sport, impart supplementary education to them, and solve all their problems

It was also resolved that all groups would jointly motivate migrant parents.

A meeting was later held in the school on 8 th November with the representation of 60 migrant families. The head teacher, the MPTC, village elders, youth, women’s groups, the 5 Mandal Coordinators, and volunteers of the Samatha Mahila Society called upon them to send their children to the Hostel, promising to take proper care of them. The parents were also addressed on child rights, child labour laws, and the denial of migrant children’s access to education and health. The parents consented to admit their children in the Hostel.

The team interacted the same afternoon with MEO Rajaratnam, who informed that he had been instructed by the Education Department to set up a Seasonal Hostel for 100 children. He promised to attend a


meeting on the 9th but was unavailable and turned up at the village on 10 th November. The families were preparing to leave the village the same days and they had arranged 4 lorries and 2 auto rickshaws for their transport. Having noted this, the MEO rang up the volunteers. They, in turn, contacted the SI of Police. A couple of constables were deputed to the village. Subsequently, a team consisting of the MEO, the constables, MRPs, the head teacher, village elders, youth, and the volunteers went to the village and spent the entire day counselling the families. Despite this effort, only 24 children could be persuaded to stay in the village and as many as 20 of them migrated.

The entire group mobilized the parents of the children that had agreed to join the Hostel and invited them to attend the inaugural of the Hostel on 14th November. A group of 30 members was present on the occasion. The parents were informed that the entire village had agreed to permit the use of the community hall as a store room and for cooking the meal. They

also agreed to motivate their peers to leave behind their children, following which the pupil strength in the Hostel went up to 34 boys and 17 girls as on 24th November. 15 of the children were day scholars. The below was the children’s routine in the Hostel:

6:30 Wake up7:15 – 8:15 Tuition8:20 Breakfast9:00 – Classes17:00 Snacks17:15 – 19:00 Tuition19:30 – 20:00 Supper20:00 – Homework

The children partook of the noon meal in the school. They also had a session for games and refresh themselves after their classes.

MVF volunteers Anjaneyulu and Veerendra have been staying overnight with the other children. Volunteer Radha from Kadivella has taken up the responsibility of grooming the girls daily. The volunteers and local youth got some shrubs in the vicinity of the school cleaned. The youth have been imparting tuition to the children every morning and evening. Head teacher of the Primary School Shankarappa has permitted the use of the stove available in the School for purposes of cooking the meal for the children.

The following are the details of children enrolled in the Hostel:

Class Boys Girls Total1 11 4 152 8 6 143 5 2 74 9 2 115 2 3 5

Total 35 17 52

90 children from SC Colony, Kandhanathi had dropped out of the local PS and had migrated along with their parents in 2010. Upon the families’ return in April, the volunteers approached the village elders and counseled them on the adverse impact of migration on the children’s rights. The elders replied that this phenomenon was a common one and that numerous attempts by them to prevent their migration in the past had failed. A meeting was held with the local youth association to discuss the issue. They suggested that the best way of reaching out to the children was to set up a separate Center in the village for them. The village elders and the youth agreed to mobilize the children and undertook a door-to-door survey to compile a list of child migrants. They also verified the school registers. They later brought all children that had returned to the village to the Center from 7th May onwards. The Center was formally inaugurated on 14th May. Bridge Course methodology was employed to instruct the children. Notebooks were also distributed to them. The Village Secretary personally ascertained if the children had truly migrated along with their parents before finalizing the list. Local youth sponsored drinking water pots and also gave away slates to 12 children. 45 children were duly enrolled in the Center. One of the local youth assisted the teacher volunteer in the conduct of classes. The school teachers permitted the use of the classrooms in the


school and also sponsored refreshments for the children. They extended the necessary academic support in addition.

School Enrolment and Retention

Schools across the project area were cleaned and decorated with mango leaves on the occasion of School Reopening Day. Sarpanchs were asked to publicise the event through the Dandora. Panchayat members and youth were urged to tie banners at the village entrance and formally welcome teachers and students to school. Volunteers in some villages pasted vermilion on the foreheads of parents and tied bands to their wrists, requesting them to send their wards to school. Teachers in a number of schools were overwhelmed and avowed not to let down parents and to do justice to the expectations of the children’s parents. Some of them pledged in public to ensure that standards of education in their schools would be on par with those in private schools. Rallies also featured in some villages on the occasion. Parents were urged to strengthen government schools by sending their children there rather than to private school. Saraswati Puja was performed in traditional fashion in some schools. Panchayat members sponsored banners in some villages.

Rallies were also held with the participation of members from all cross sections of society. Contributions were mobilized in kind in some villages for the Samuhika Aksharabhyasam during Badi

Bata in June 2010. Contributions were mobilized in kind in 4 villages of Yemmiganur mandal for the Samuhika Aksharabhyasam. The SI of Police and the CDPO-ICDS took part in the celebrations in two villages. Sweets were sponsored in 5 and 4 villages of Alur and Halaharivi mandals respectively. Community also sponsored sweets and refreshments for children. Meetings were convened with teachers and they were exhorted not to collect any fee from any child on any pretext whatsoever and were also urged not to insist on uniform. Head teachers were asked to ensure timely issuance of free textbooks and notebooks to children where applicable so that

they did not lag behind their peers from other schools. The services of Balika Sangha members were utilized to reach out to out-of-school girls. The details of activities taken up as part of this effort in June 2010 are as under:

Mandal Villages Participants Schools Decorated Banners Rallies MembersAlur 15 275 20 5 7 900Halaharivi 15 250 19 3Yemmiganur 14 1050 19 5 275Chippagiri 12 200 12Holagunda 6 200 6 4 160Total 62 1975 76 8 16 1335

Group motivation drives featured in 42 villages of the project area, the details of which are as below:

Mandal Villages Participant Profile Alur 15 MPTC, CVs, CCs, CRPF, youth, teachers, Balika Sangha Halaharivi 5 CVs, CCs, CRPF, youth, teachers, Balika Sangha Yemmiganur 6 MPTC, Sarpanchs, CVs, CCs, CRPF, youth, teachers,

Balika SanghaChippagiri 4 Sarpanch, CVs, CCs, CRPF, youth, teachers, Balika

SanghaHolagunda 12 Sarpanch, CVs, CCs, CRPF, youth, teachers, Balika

SanghaTotal 42

The details of children admitted in school are as follows:


Mandal5-8 years

B G TAlur 332 279 611Chippagiri 279 239 518Halaharivi 393 327 720Holagunda 581 580 1161Yemmiganoor 797 758 1555Total 2382 2183 4565

The details of children shifted from PS to UPS and UPS to HS are as under:

Mandal Class 5 – 6 Class 7 – 8 Class 10 – IntermediateB G B G B G

Alur 162 176 109 54 286 217Chippagiri 214 177 72 62 56 53Halaharivi 246 278 72 58 147 128Holagunda 223 184 223 161 249 136Yemmiganoor 850 720 220 250 154 120Total 845 815 476 335 738 534

The organizers and CVs regularly followed up children that had dropped out of Classes 7-9 long ago and prepared them to appear for the Class 10 exams. Irregular children were also followed up. Interested out-of-school children were motivated to give the exams as private candidates in addition and older children to the Open School Society for the exams. Children that had cleared the Class 10 exams were also followed up for higher education at the Intermediate level. The details of children followed up are as under:

CLASS 10 FOLLOW UP

MandalLong dropouts (Classes

7-9)Irregular children

AP Open School Society

Open Intermediate

Private Appearance

B G B G B G B G B GAlur 29 13 14 6 43 75 13 7 3

Chippagiri 19 2 3 2 22 30 29 6 1

Halaharivi 24 10 38 18 50 23 13 14 5

Holagunda 21 4 28 16 52 33 1 3 6 0

Yemmiganoor 12 33 12 30 7 43 24

Total 105 62 83 42 179 191 8 58 76 33

DBC

29 DBCs were set up across the project area to reach out to child laborers. Meetings were held with all village level groups to discuss the formation of the Centers and to involve them in the process of mobilizing out-of-school children to the Centers. These Centers were inaugurated in the presence of Sarpanchs, women’s groups, teachers, the CRPF, Anganwadi Workers and youth. 2 orientation sessions were held for the volunteers on various aspects of running the Centers. A training program was held on Day Bridge Center methodology on 15th and 16th May 2010 in CLRC Banavasi with the participation of 36 members. Senior volunteers Narasimha Raju, Govindu, and Harihara Reddy gave them inputs on the following issues:

Profile of children to be enrolled in the Centers Grading children Assessment of children Teaching methodology Syllabus Community mobilization Retention in the Centers

Mock teaching sessions were later held for the members.


A project level training program was held for 3 DBC volunteers each from Alur and Chippagiri, 4 from Yemmiganur, and 5 from Holagunda on 29th and 30th December 2010 at the camp in Gulyam. They were given inputs on the below topics:

Target groups of the DBCTeaching techniquesCommunity mobilizationRetention

Follow upUse of teaching aids

,

Capacity building of staff

76 staff members from the mandals of the project area were oriented from 18 th – 26th January 2010 on child labor legislation, child rights Acts, bonded child labor legislation, the RTE Act, formation of Balika Sanghams and UN-CRC. National Convener of MVF Mr. R. Venkat Reddy, Senior Coordinator of MVF Mr. J. Bhaskar, UNICEF Coordinator Mr. Janardhan Goud and Resource Persons Ms. Devi and Ms. Shantaram gave them inputs on these issues.

The table below presents the mandal wise breakup of participants in the orientation session:

Mandal Male Female TotalChippagiri 9 5 14Alur 12 3 15Yemmiganoor 13 3 16Holagunda 12 2 14Halaharivi 15 2 17Total 61 15 76

Orientation sessions were held for the MVF Core Group, members of the CRPF and volunteers on upholding child rights and the newly passed RTE Act during September 2010. UNICEF Training Coordinator Ms. Sridevi addressed the members on the occasion.

The details of sessions held are as follows:

Mandal Date Participants

Halaharivi 7th Sept. 65 CRPF members, 9 CVs, 4 Core Group members, RP Sridevi

Yemmiganur 3rd Sept. 53 CRPF members, 16 CVs, 4 Core Group members, RP Sridevi

Alur 18th Sept. 65 CRPF members, 14 CVs, 5 Core Group members, RP Sridevi


Chippagiri 2nd Sept. 55 CRPF members, 12 CVs, 5 Core Group members, RP Sridevi

Holagunda 4th Sept. 45 CRPF members, 14 CVs, 5 Core Group members, RP Sridevi

A district level training program on Child Budgeting was organized on 7 th July 2010 in Jeeva Sudha, Kurnool. Senior MVF Coordinator AVM Swamy addressed the participants on the following issues:

Method of preparing the Budget Types of budget Proportion of Education Budget under-spent Proportion of budget under-spent Budget heads covered Allocation for major heads under the Budget Breakup of budget across different levels of education

It was proposed at the end of the workshop to form a district level committee with 10 members to oversee the process.

An orientation session on the provisions of the RTE Act was held for 78 CVs on 12th October 2010. MVF Training Coordinator Dhanunjay provided the resource on the occasion. The details of CVs oriented are as below:

Mandal Volunteers Alur 15

Chippagiri 15Halaharivi 15Holagunda 17

Yemmiganur 16

Training programs were organized for 76 CVs across the project area from 27 th January 2011 – 2nd

February 2011 on the following issues:

o Aims and objects of the projecto RTE Acto Women’s empowermento The Millennium Goalso Child marriageo UN-CRCo Juvenile Justice Acto Child Marriageo Community mobilizationo Balala Sanghamso Balika Sanghaso Livelihood training

The sessions were held in 2 batches of 3 days each, as below:


Center for Environment Education organized a Training-of-Trainers session for the Mandal Coordinators on 14th March 2011 in Kurnool. Issues discussed include the below:

Safe drinking water and water for domestic use Toilets and bathrooms Maintenance of basic school infrastructure Personal hygiene Waste management Child hygiene

The Mandal Coordinators later oriented CVs in their respective mandals on the above issues at the mandal level as per the following schedule:

Date Mandals covered

18th March Halaharivi, Holagunda19th March Chippagiri and Aloor20th March Yemmiganur

Orientation of Women Elected Representatives

Orientation sessions were held for women elected representatives in all mandals to educate them on the RTE Act and their role in its effective implementation at the ground level. They were given inputs on the RTE Act, child marriage, the importance of girl child education, and their own role in the process. The Resource Persons took off with calling upon them to make presentations on their developmental activities, based on which it was concluded that they had not been focusing enough on children’s issues.

They were urged to set a positive example for their peers and exhorted to own up the responsibility for child development at the ward level. A film on the RTE Act was also shown. A debate has been initiated on the RTE Act following the conduct of these sessions. UNICEF District Manager Mr. Krishna Rao and CDPO Ms. Waheeda Begum were present at the session in Yemmiganur. The MPP attended the event in Alur.

The details of orientation sessions are as follows:

Mandal Date Venue Participants Key membersYemmiganur 19th April 2011 CLRC Banavasi 44 12 Sarpanchs, MPTCs, and ward

membersHalaharivi, Alur 20th April 2011 CLRC Alur 50 22/18 Sarpanchs, MPTCs, and

ward membersChippagiri, Holagunda

21st April 2011 CLRC Alur 55 9/12 Sarpanchs, MPTCs, and ward members

Total 149


Participants at training sessionsMandal CVsChippagiri 12Alur 15Halaharivi 15Holagunda 18Yemmiganur 16Total 76

Balika Sanghas

Adolescent girls were federated into Balika Sanghas with the specific objective of sensitizing them to issues affecting their welfare and enhancing their capacities to address their problems on their own. 110 such federations were formed in the project area. Regular

meetings were held with them to give them inputs on the below issues:

Importance of the Sangha Losses associated with child marriage Child marriage legislation Follow up of out-of-school girls to educational institutions Personal hygiene Motivation Centers Linking out-of-school girls to RBC

The details of Sanghas formed and meetings held are as below:

Mandal Sanghas Members Meetings ParticipantsAlur 21 240 341 3368Chippagiri 17 310 266 2901Halaharivi 27 403 504 6048Holagunda 22 360 576 8640Yemmiganoor 23 373 552 8280Total 110 1686 2239 29237

Mandal level orientation sessions were held for members of Balika Sanghas from 50 villages across the project area in April 2010, the details of which are as under:

Mandal Villages GirlsAlur 10 108Halaharivi 9 104Yemmiganur 12 160Chippagiri 12 105Holagunda 7 60Total 50 537

The members informed during their meetings that inaccessibility was a major reason for their dropout from school. Bicycles were given away to 126 of them in order to encourage their education, the details of which are as under:


Mandal BicyclesAlur 18Halaharivi 46Yemmiganur 32Chippagiri 14Holagunda 16Total 126

Members of the Sangha identified 4 cases of child marriage in Chippagiri mandal and took them to the notice of the CRPF and the volunteers. Balika Sangha members from K. Nagulapuram, Yemmiganur mandal tied Raakhis to the wrists of male youth and called upon them to protect their rights. Sangha members from villages of the mandal undertook exchange visits to each other’s villages and participated in meetings of the Sangha there.

Members of the Sangha in J. Hosalli, Halaharivi took part in a group motivation drive and sent 3 child laborers to camp. They also arranged meals for a team of 6 volunteers that had participated in the

drive. Members from Gulyam counseled dropouts from Classes 8 and 9 to give the Class 10 exams as private candidates.

A mandal meet of Balika Sangha members was convened in CLRC Banavasi, Yemmiganoor mandal on 26th October 2010 to discuss plans for federating the Sangha at the mandal level. 54 leaders took part. They were familiarized with the importance of the Sangha and oriented on its roles and the norms governing its functioning. District Manager of UNICEF Mr. Krishna Rao addressed them on key

provisions of the RTE Act. He urged eligible girls to give the Class 10 exams, offering to pay their fees and provide them with all-in-one guides. He also promised to arrange for tuition facility if all of them were willing to come to a central location. Examination fees were paid for 16 and 9 girls from Yemmiganur and Halaharivi mandals respectively.

A rally was conducted in Alur on 20th May 2011 with the participation of 32 adolescent girls. They denounced early child marriage and announced that anyone performing/encouraging the conduct of child marriage would be penalized. They were later federated into a mandal level committee by consensus to campaign against child marriage. Similar committees were formed in Yemmiganur, Halaharivi, and Alur with 32, 22, and 20 members respectively.

Sangha members from Halaharivi mandal spoke to the Medical Officer of the local Primary Health Center and arranged an awareness session in Gulyam on 18 th April 2011 on the losses associated with child marriage, the importance of education, and basic health issues. A general health camp was later held for 150 children. 15 children were referred to hospital.

Sallapuram Devika, the daughter of Lachanna and Vanramma from Hardhageri, Halaharivi mandal was forced by her parents to drop out of school after Class 7. She had been taken on to the Balika Sangha as a member just a few days prior to this episode. She informed the volunteer and the other members during a meeting that she was due to get married to her maternal uncle from Bellary district. The CRPF members and some youth approached her parents along with ICDS personnel. They counseled the couple against marrying off the girl but they did not succeed in preventing the marriage. The girl’s parents went to the extent of abusing the volunteers, who told them categorically that they were liable to be punished if they did not educate their daughter. One of their neighbors advised them similarly, following which they got the girl admitted in Class 8.

Members of the Balika Sangha from Malkapuram, Yemmiganur informed the volunteers that one of their co-members Lakshminarasamma, the 15-year old daughter of Ayyappa was being married forcibly though she was keen on studying. The volunteers duly met the CDPO and they went to the Police Station. The Sub-Inspector sent a constable along with them and they came to the venue of the marriage. The girl’s family initially agreed to postpone the marriage but later locked the team indoors after some of the invitees turned up and spoke to them rudely, warning them of dire consequences if they interfered. They changed their tone when the constable intervened. They asked the team members who would educate the girl if the wedding were postponed. The CDPO gave a written declaration offering to do so, following which the affair was put to rest.


10-year old Drakshyayani from Gulyam in Halaharivi mandal was utterly shocked and broke down upon learning that her parents had planned to get her married. She could not confide in anyone and shared the information with her fellow girl students. They encouraged her and she openly questioned her parents’ decision to marry her off. The members of the Balika Sangha took the initiative and contacted the local government officials. They came to the girl’s house and counseled them at length on the adverse impact that marriage would have on their daughter’s wellbeing. They also informed the couple that they were liable to be punished under law if they persisted in their decision. They dropped plans of getting her married.

Social Action Committees

VO leaders from four mandals of the project area were assembled in the mandal headquarters for the formation of Social Action Committees with 5 members per VO to address child labor, child marriage, child rights, the importance of education, implementation of the midday meal scheme, strengthening Anganwadi Centers, girl child feticide, strengthening Balika Sanghas, the problems of migrants, health issues being faced by adolescent girls, and the problems being faced by girls. Subsequent to the formation of the Committees, it was resolved that the members would meet once or twice a month to discuss the status of the campaign. UNICEF Resource Person Sridevi addressed the members during the meetings. The schedule of mandal meetings is as follows:

Halaharivi 16th July 36Yemmiganur 23rd July 40Holagunda 17th July 18Chippagiri 16th July 20

161 meetings have been convened with 1316 members of the Committees since their formation.

International Women’s Day

A mandal level women’s meet was held by MVF and the ICDS authorities jointly in Yemmiganoor mandal on 8th March 2010 to mark International Women’s Day. MVF held similar meetings in the other mandals on its own. The Municipal Commissioner of Yemmiganoor, Tehsildars, MPDOs and MEOs of all 5 mandals, the CDPO-ICDS, women MPTCs, advocates, teachers, Sarpanchs, VO members, subordinate staff of the ICDS, the DM&HO, and volunteers were among the 610 people that attended these meetings. 150, 142, 140, 120 and 58 participants turned up in Yemmiganoor, Holagunda, Alur, Halaharivi and Chippagiri mandals respectively. The below issues were discussed during the course of the meetings:

The Women’s Reservation BillLosses associated with child marriageWomen’s rightsDiscrimination against the girl childWomen’s empowermentGirl child educationPersonal health of adolescent girls

International Women’s Day was celebrated both at the mandal and project levels on 8 th March 2011. Women’s meetings were held in 46 villages of the project area with 552 participants on the occasion. Anganwadi Workers and the CVs addressed the members on the ill effects of child marriage, the RTE Act, and the role that they could play in taking the agenda to the grassroots level. They were also familiarized with the history and the relevance of the Day and were urged to ensure that no girl was out of school. 3 and 2 women Sarpanchs participated in Holagunda and Alur mandals respectively. The details of meetings held and participants are as under:

Mandal Meetings WomenHalaharivi 9 143Alur 12 164Chippagiri 16 130Holagunda 9 115

Total 46 552


A project level meeting was held at the Vasavi Kalyana Mandapam in Alur on 8 th March 2011 with the participation of 693 women, adolescent girls and staff members. Key invitees included Deputy Tehsildar of Alur Ms. Sreevani,

Advocate Ms. Sunila Florence, MEO of Alur Mr. Jagadish Kumar, Area Coordinator of Indira Kranthi Patham Mr. Gangadhar, and CDPO Ms. Aswarthamma. State Coordinator Mr. Bhaskar, District Coordinator Mr. Harihara Reddy, and Mandal Coordinator Madhava Krishna represented MVF.

Mr. Harihara Reddy called upon women CVs present to share their personal experiences. Ms. Sreevani addressed them at the end of their presentations and urged the women and girls present to be united and exhorted parents to treat both girls and boys equally. Ms. Aswarthamma opined that girls ought to study well and assert themselves. Ms. Sunila spoke on laws that had been enacted for the welfare of the girl child and women in the specific context of trafficking, child marriage, and dowry harassments. She also made a brief mention of the RTE Act.

Mr. Jagadish Kumar highlighted the importance of education for girls. Mr. Gangadhar spoke on various schemes launched under Indira Kranthi Patham. Mr. Bhaskar noted that there had been a lot of indifference towards girls in the past but that the situation had changed now and that girls had taken the lead in all spheres. He added that educating one girl could benefit the entire family. The members took part in cultural performances and sang songs on the occasion. The details of participants in the meeting from the project area are as follows:

Mandal WomenHalaharivi 203Yemmiganur 76Alur 185Chippagiri 94Holagunda 135

Total 693

National Girl Child Day

MVF and the ICDS jointly convened a mandal level meet in Yemmiganoor on 24 th January 2010 to mark National Girl Child Day with the participation of 500 adolescent girls. The MLA, the Mandal Vice-President, the SI of Police, the Municipal Chairperson and the CDPO of the ICDS addressed them on the occasion. They called upon them to study well and attain high standards in life. They were exhorted to set an example for their peers. Stickers designed by UNICEF on issues of the girl child were also released on the occasion.

47 Balika Sangha meetings were held on 24th January 2011 across the project area with 470 members on the occasion of Girl Child Day. Discussions were held on the Theme of the Year, namely Adolescent Girls – Problems and Challenges. Issued discussed include child marriage, higher education, and skill development. The


importance of unity was also spoken of. The girls were urged to associate themselves with Sanghas and to stand out as role models.

A mandal level rally was held in Yemmiganur with the participation of nearly 1600 people. Sub-Inspector of Police Chandrababu Naidu, Child Development Project Officer Waheeda Begum, and the head teacher of the local Girls’ High School were among those present. Inaugurating the rally, Mr. Chandrababu Naidu informed all those present that child marriage was illegal and punishable by law. The members later formed a human chain and chanted slogans on women’s rights, denouncing child marriage and bias against girls. The details of village level meetings are as follows:

Mandal Meetings MembersHalaharivi 15 157Alur 14 131Holagunda

15 137

Chippagiri 3 45Total 47 470

Teachers’ Day

Teachers’ Day was celebrated in all mandals on 8 th September 2010. Public meetings were held with the participation of all community groups. Active teachers were invited to the meetings and felicitated by key villagers. The MEO was among those honored in Chippagiri. Contributions were sought from local community for the conduct of the celebrations. The teachers addressed the participants on the importance of education.

Mandal Villages Teachers felicitated Community ContributionAlur 4 15 4000Halaharivi 4 9 600Yemmiganur 6 25 5800Chippagiri 5 10 2500Holagunda 5 13 800Total 32 202

Birth Registration

Intensive efforts were made to promote birth registration in 15 villages of the project area. Meetings were convened with mandal officials, Sarpanchs, ward members, ICDS staff, teachers, youth, and CRPF members to discuss the importance of birth registration. Panchayat Secretaries were urged to issue Birth Certificates to eligible children. In all, 472 Certificates were issued in all as under:

Mandal CertificatesHolagunda 82Alur 295Halaharivi 95Total 472


The Sarpanch of Kaminhal, Halaharivi mandal convened a review meeting with all local institutions in the village, during which he invited the members of the Education Sub-Committee to make a presentation on the problems that they had noted during the course of their work. They informed that there were 12 child laborers in the village and also noted that the midday meal scheme was not being properly implemented. In addition, most infants from the village were due to be issued Birth Certificates. The Sarpanch subsequently called upon the Panchayat members and the Anganwadi Worker to compile a list of eligible infants aged below one year for the issuance of the Certificates. He later distributed the Certificates to 60 children during a meeting at which the Panchayat Secretary, Anganwadi Workers, the head teacher, local youth, women’s groups and the CRPF were present.

Skill Development

14 youth were linked to the National Academy of Construction for skill development programs.

Program Mandal Youth Linked

Motor Winding Alur 2Halaharivi 2

Electrician Holagunda

5

Alur 1Carpenter Halaharivi 1

PlumberHolagund

a2

Halaharivi 1

Admission in Corporate Colleges

The volunteers convened meetings in all villagers to publicize the allotment of 25% seats in higher education institutions in the private sector. They encouraged children to apply for admission in both residential and non-residential institutions. 50 children were enrolled in these institutions in all.

Mandal Residential Institutions Non-Residential Institutions Alur 4 1Halaharivi 4Chippagiri 3Holagunda 1Yemmiganur 37Total 49 1


Flood Relief

The volunteers took active part in flood relief activity initiated by the state and the district administration across Kurnool district. 20 CRPF and 5 core staff supported the officials in distributing supplies of drinking water, milk and food items. The organization raised 120 quintals of food grains and clothes, school bags and cash worth Rs. 32000 in addition to school kits for 3200 children. They also took part in rescue operations and cleaned up the premises of one school. This activity was taken up in C. Belagal, Kothapally, Pamulapadu, Jupadu Bungalow, Bandi Atmakur, Yemmiganoor and Mantralayam mandals and Kurnool town in coordination with Oracle Corporation, Hyderabad.

A number of houses and schools were inundated in Dhobi Ghat, Yemmiganoor during the floods. 120 children enrolled in PS of the area lost their entire books in the process. The volunteers met the Municipal Commissioner and the MEO and arranged school kits for each of the children. Both officials gave away these kits to the children. Each kit contained 4 notebooks, 3 pencils, and 1 eraser, box, bag, and pen each.

AITFCR meeting

A district level teachers’ meeting was held on 8 th August 2010 in Hotel Jayasri, Kurnool to discuss the formation of a district body of the AITFCR and chalk out plans for effective implementation of the RTE Act. 63 teachers attended the meet in all. This included 6 teachers from Halaharivi, 4 from Chippagiri, 2 each from Yemmiganur and Alur and 1 from Holagunda. District Convener of AITFCR Kurnool Mr. Srinivasulu, AITFCR member from Anantapur Mr. Hari Prasad and AITFCR member from Ranga Reddy Mr. Janardhan provided the resource on the occasion. Training Coordinator Ms. Sridevi represented UNICEF. The members were acquainted with the background of the AITFCR and were oriented on the provisions of the RTE Act, the role of different actors, and the part that they were expected to play in the process of ensuring effective implementation of the Act. The following resolutions were passed at the end of the meet:

A separate Cell would be set up in the AITFCR to streamline implementation of the ActThe members would adopt a new pedagogy that was geared to meet the norms of the ActThe members would motivate their peers to uphold children’s rightsThe members would not cell phones in class or beat childrenMembership of women AITFCR members would be promotedSteps would be taken to strengthen the AITFCR at lower levels through regular meetings

A division level teachers’ meeting was held with the participation of 56 members in Alur Mandal Parishad Upper Primary School on 31st October to discuss the formation of a division level AITFCR. They were familiarized with the aims and objects of the intervention and asked to work for streamlining the implementation of the RTE Act at the village level. A division level committee was formed with 5 members on the Executive Body, the details of which are as below:

President Mr. Purushottam – MRP, AlurVice-President Mr. Nagaraju – MRP, HalahariviSecretary Mr. Govindappa – head teacher, AlurJt. Secretary Mr. Manjunatha – teacher, ChippagiriTreasurer Mr. Srinivasulu – teacher, Mudharamagi (Holagunda mandal)

Division level Sarpanchs’ meeting

UNICEF organized a division level Sarpanchs’ meeting on 2nd November in Uppara Community Hall, Yemmiganur with the participation of 159 members including Sarpanchs, Balika Sangha and Balala Sangham members, and CVs. UNICEF District Manager Mr. Krishna Rao, UNICEF Training Coordinator Ms. Sridevi, Project Director – National Child Labour Elimination Project Mr. Kantha Rao, ALO Mr. N. V. Chalapati Rao, UNICEF Project Coordinator Mr. Janardhan Goud, and Division Panchayat Officer Ms. Parvati addressed the participants. Mr. Krishna Rao made a detailed presentation on the achievements of the project in Adoni Division with focus on Child Labour Prevention Teams/Child Rights Protection Committees, Social Action Committees, Balika Sanghas, and the role of women’s groups and youth groups.

The Sarpanchs narrated the manner in which they had been supporting the intervention at the grassroots level. District Coordinator Mr. Bhaskar also spoke on the need to address the problem of


migration through a convergent approach on a priority basis. The following are the details of participants:

Mandal Sarpanchs Other membersAlur 6 5Chippagiri 1 7Halaharivi 12 19Holagunda 8 7Yemmiganur 11 42Total 38 80

Visit by UNICEF team

A 4-member team constituting UNICEF Child Protection Officer Mr. Murali Krishna, UNICEF Training Coordinator Ms. Sridevi, UNICEF District Manager Mr. Krishna Rao, and MVF District Coordinator Mr.

Harihara Reddy interacted with the CRPF and teachers on their role in child labour elimination during a visit to Pedda Hothur on 26th October. They informed that they had succeeded in weaning away 10 children from work and that there were 150 more children to be reached out to in the village. The UNICEF team called upon them to bring these children to school and offered to set up additional DBCs and recruit more volunteers if needed. A division level

staff review meeting in Alur followed the visit. The Coordinators reviewed the achievements of the last year. Ms. Sridevi, Mr. Krishna Rao, and Mr. Harihara Reddy earlier visited Kandhanathi in Yemmiganur mandal on the evening of 25 th

October and interacted with migrant parents on their situation. They also spoke to the CRPF. A member of the local Vijetha Youth Association shared his experiences and offered to impart additional coaching to children in the DBC if required.

Convergence with government departments

The following activities were taken up in convergence with different line departments:

Education

Participation in Badi BataParticipation of one member each per mandal in a workshop on the RTE Act held by Rajiv Vidya Mission on 1st April 2010Petitioning to the department on school infrastructure development

Labor

Enforcement drives for elimination of child and bonded child labor

Women & Child Development

Campaign against child marriage


Strengthening of Anganwadi CentersAddressing girl child issuesPromoting Birth RegistrationRevenue

Promoting Birth RegistrationEnforcement drives for elimination of child and bonded child laborCampaign against child marriageStreamlining the implementation of the midday meal schemePR & RD

Petitioning to the department on school infrastructure development Campaign against child marriagePromoting Birth Registration

Police

Campaign against child marriageEnforcement drives for elimination of child and bonded child labor

A mandal level meeting of MEOs was convened on 11 th March 2011 in Kurnool to plan for effective collaboration between the government and non-governmental organizations. UNICEF Child Protection Officer Mr. Murali Krishna, UNICEF District Manager Mr. Krishna Rao, Deputy DEO Devadasu, Rajiv Vidya Mission Program Officer Mr. Srinivasa Rao, UNICEF Training Coordinator Ms. Sridevi, and 17 MEOs were present.

Addressing the members present, Mr. Murali Krishna made the following suggestions during the course of the meeting:

Complete village level data ought to be compiled on the school-going status of childrenMEOs ought to regularly interact with the Mandal Coordinators every month and compare lists of child labor available with them and lists provided by non-governmental organizations to avoid any discrepancyEducation planning ought to be taken up at the village, mandal and district levels

The MEO of Chippagiri has taken the lead in this regard and has been inviting the Mandal Coordinator to all monthly head teachers’ meets.

A group of 43 members including the Project Director of the ICDS, CDPOs, and Coordinators from all 5 mandals of the MVF project area assembled in Kurnool on 6 th April to attend a meeting on the issue of child marriage. The District Collector addressed them and urged the ICDS personnel present to work hand in hand with NGOs in Adoni division. A toll free number could be used for lodging complaints. The Project Director also gave them the details of a temporary contact number in Adoni that could be used in purposes of emergency. The District Collector instructed the Project Director to convene mandal level convergence meetings through the department with a similar agenda.

22 CDPOs and Mandal Coordinators attended a meeting organized by the RDO of Adoni Division to review the status of child marriage. He asked the CDPOs and the Coordinators to present details of the number of child marriages that they had stopped. He noted that there was a wide variation between the numbers and called upon them to work in coordination.

The District Collector convened a review meeting with the heads of all 3 implementing NGOs

in Adoni Division on 28th April 2011. UNICEF District Manager Mr. Krishna Rao was also present. The District Collector informed that he was not very familiar with the efforts being made by the NGOs and asked the heads to review the ground level situation with him once in a fortnight for at least 2-3 hours on each occasion. He also proposed the conduct of a meeting with the NGOs’ volunteers. He urged the Coordinators to take up joint surveys of child labor in coordination with line departments and exhorted them to publicize all welfare schemes of the government at the village level.

Nearly 400 mandal and village level coordinators of Saakshar Bharati attended a meeting held in Kurnool on 5th May 2011. The heads of all 3 implementing NGO were introduced us to


them. The District Collector, who chaired the meet, emphasized the need for coordinated efforts in addressing the problem of child labor.

The District Collector convened a district level convergence meeting on 7 th May 2011 with the participation of the Project Officer – Rajiv Vidya Mission, the Deputy Director – Adult Education, the Agriculture Officer, the District Medical & Health Officer, MEOs, MRPs, and Coordinators from all 5 mandals of the MVF project area. Nearly 300 members were present. The discrepancy between data on out-of-school children provided by implementing partners and the education department was discussed. The District Collector instructed all the departmental heads to participate in a survey from 20th May on to compile this information and submit the report by 1st June. They were asked to use the Voter List as the base. At least one lakh ought to be enrolled directly in school and all children passing out of Primary and Upper Primary Schools ought to be shifted to higher schools in addition.

The RDO of Adoni Division convened a division level meeting on 6 th May 2011 with the participation of CDPOs, Panchayat Secretaries, and Mandal Coordinators of all 3 implementing partners. The Division Level Panchayat Officer was also present. The chair called upon the Secretaries to review the status of child marriage in their respective Panchayats. At the end of the presentations, he emphasized the need for the Panchayat, the ICDS, and civil society to work in coordination. All departments ought to be involved in identifying child marriages and counseling girls. He urged the Secretaries present to register all marriages and issue Birth Certificates to eligible children.


unicef – kurnool report june 2009

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