LATEST STORIES
 As members of the lowest rank of Indian society, Dalits face discrimination at almost every level, from access to education and medical facilities to restrictions on where they can live and what jobs they can have.
Our work in India is focused on providing education for the most marginalised Dalit children, informing Dalit communities about their rights and giving them the tools they need to realise them to create better lives. Read on to hear about of the things our partners in India have been doing in recent months to support the Dalit communities we work with in Patna.  Dalit women and girls in India face a ‘triple burden’ of gender bias, caste discrimination and economic deprivation. We work with our partners to break the cycle of discrimination and ensure that Dalit girls are not sidelined from education and that Dalit women are able to realise their rights. Find out how...
 Child Parliaments in India enable the Dalit children we support to make their voices heard. Currently, 180 children from our Learning Centres are involved in 12 Child Parliaments across Patna. All the units have recently completed their elections and have been busy! Read on to find out what they have been up to.
 In India, the children who attend our learning centres have been struggling to readjust to life back at school after two years of disruption and intermittent school closures as a result of the pandemic. Some children have not returned to school at all. But we’ve been working hard to support the children back into the classroom and help them recover from the trauma they experienced through lockdown.
 In July, our Learning Centres in India were able to open their doors to students again after months of strict lockdown. The children are delighted to be back and learning again.   Since we started working with Dalit communities in Bihar State, India one of the main requests from the children was for IT classes. For several years, our partners have been running a Computer Centre, open to all children who attend our 31 Learning Centres in Bihar State and offering courses in basic computer skills.
The Computer Centre has proved to be a vital resource for Dalit children throughout lockdown, and we're pleased to say it has just reopened, offering classes to children again.  In India, as schools reopen, we’re delighted to share progress from our programme to support older Dalit children to continue their education and build up vital skills to help them break the cycle of discrimination they face.
 Poonam attended a government school in India until seventh grade. This was when her parents pulled her out of school despite her protests, so that she could work to support her family’s increasing household expenses. At just 17, her parents then made arrangements for her to marry a local boy.
Child marriage puts an end to childhood. It impacts young girls’ right to education and puts them at risk of violence, exploitation and abuse. Girls who are married as children are less likely to be in school and they struggle to earn money and contribute to the community. They are also more likely to have children while they are still children themselves and are more at risk of dying due to complications during pregnancy and childbirth. It is estimated that 1.5 million girls under 18 get married in India each year, making it home to the largest number of child brides in the world. Dalit children, like Poonam, as members of the lowest caste in India are especially at risk of child marriage and face discrimination at almost every level. Our programme in India looks to change this by creating protective environments for Dalit children in and surrounding Patna in Bihar State.  Children on the Edge works alongside local communities in some of the toughest places in the world to transform the lives of overlooked children by co-creating protective environments where they can safely live, play, learn and grow. To do this, we work closely with the people and places that have the most impact on the child: the family, classroom, community and society.
If families lack the resources to meet needs and solve problems, their children are pushed to the edge. They become poorly protected and are at risk of abuse, exploitation, exclusion and neglect, causing irreversible damage. Meet some of the children, who have shown incredible resilience and helped to support their communities through the COVID-19 crisis. Setting up small businesses to help support their families, ensuring children don't miss out on their education, making face masks for people in their villages and holding campaigns to spread awareness of the virus.  |
RECEIVE OUR EMAILSCategories
All
Archives
May 2022
|
RSS Feed
