Proceedings of the Puraskara Bangalore Workshop

Proceedings of the puraskara bangalore workshop are attached as a pdf file.

Pictures from the Puraskara Bangalore Workshop

Pictures from the Puraskara Bangalore Workshop are here .

 

REPORT OF THE NATIONAL MEET ON ABOLITION OF CHILD LABOUR AND ON RIGHT TO EDUCATION

 

REPORT OF THE NATIONAL MEET ON ABOLITION OF CHILD LABOUR AND ON RIGHT TO EDUCATION

25^TH & 26^TH AUGUST 2006

In 2002 the 86^th amendment to the Constitution of India was passed making education a fundamental right under article 21(A) of the Constitution which stated free and compulsory education for all children in the age group of 6-14yrs. Even after four years the government has not found the time to ensure an Act as mandated by the Constitution.

With the coming to the office of the UPA government and setting up of the CABE committee to draft the Bill on Free and Compulsory Education consequent to the passing of the amendment it began to trigger a new hope and aspiration. However, the draft bill continued to gather dust in the Prime Ministers Office for more than 10 months without being introduced in the forthcoming parliament session. It has now come to light that the Central Government has decided to shelve the bill and has, instead, formulated a Model Bill which has been sent to all the State Governments for them to enact the law. In its letter to the State Governments it has also issued a conditionality that SSA grants would be cut by 50% should the states not introduce the Model Bill in their assemblies?

What can the rationale of such a let down be? On what grounds has the Central government developed this attitude to ignore childrens right to education? Are the 250 million children in the 6-14 years age group and all the 160 million children up to 6 years of age not the governments responsibility? Do they belong to the State Governments alone? Where is the guarantee that the State Governments will not pass the buck to the districts, then the blocks, villages and finally the families and poor parents themselves while framing such an Act?

It is a shame that the country, despite boasting of its 8% GDP and economic growth, does not want to share its resources with its children and their right to go to school. Indeed the Preamble of Indias Constitution resolves that WE THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to Constitute India into a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic and to secure to all its citizens: JUSTICE, social, economic and political; LIBERTY of thought, _expression, belief, faith and worship; EQUALITY of status and opportunity; and to promote among them all; FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the nation.These objectives can be achieved only if the countrys children are not in work and are attending schools. It is only in the security of its children lies the confidence of the polity and the democratic regime.

Against the backdrop of this, a national meet on Abolition of Child Labour and Right to Education was organized by M.V.Foundation and Social Jurist on the 25^th & 26^th of August 2006 at Indian Social Institute, New Delhi. It was held to bring pressure on the parliamentarians to rise above self-imposed constraints and ensure that every child in this nation enjoyed her right to education. The main aim of this meet was to demand a total abolition of child labour in all its forms and ensure the passing of the Right to Education Bill by the Parliament without any further delay.

Mr. Ashok Agarwal of Social Jurist while welcoming the participants from 20 states hoped that a concrete plan of action would be formulated towards abolishing child labour in all its forms and demanding the government to pass the Education bill at the end of the two day deliberations. In order to set the tone for the discussion that would take place during the course of the day, he further added that, Today we all know what the situation of child labour is in our country and commented that the government is supposed to look after its citizens and what has it done for its children?. He stated how the governance system of our country has encouraged the survival of certain people who continue to exploit children engaging them as child labour. The existing Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 itself, as it exists, is in contravention of Article 21(A) of the Constitution. As we can see that instead of abolishing child labour completely, government has resorted to measures like non formal education system with lack of proper infrastructure systems with themselves becoming breeding centres for child labour.

He said that the recent notification that banned child labour in domestic work and in hotels and dhabas was a good step, but a piecemeal solution which would not help in abolishing child labour completely as there was a risk of the child who was withdrawn from sectors that have been prohibited to move to another area of work which has not been not prohibited. Given these circumstances he mentioned that there must be a demand to bring about a law to abolish child labour totally and ensure that it is implemented effectively by the government. Only then would the goal of right to education would be realizable.

With this note Mr. Agarwal welcomed the Chief Guest Prof. Yashpal, Former Chairman of University Grants Commission, and called upon Mr. Muchkund Dubey to chair the first session.

The speakers for the Inaugural Session were as follows:

Mr. Bacchu Kaddo, MLA, Maharastra

Prof. Krishna Kumar, Director, NCERT

Prof. Anil Sadgopal, Co-Chairman, PCCSS

Dr. S.C. Vats, MLA, Delhi

Prof. Shantha Sinha, MV Foundation

Prof. Mridula Mukherjee, Director, Nehru Memorial Museum

Swami Agnivesh

Dr.R. Govinda, NIEPA

Mr. Muchkund Dubey introduced the session and welcomed the speakers. He opined on the fact that if Right to Education is our fundamental right then how can child labour exist? He felt that the present scenario throws light on a government that is very weak and fragmented which lets issues like child labour and illiteracy perpetuate and breed in our country. Expressing his unhappiness with the model bill, he put forth the question, Despite a Constitutional mandate why is the government not doing anything to implement the Right to Education Bill? and further stated that, when the SSA was implemented the government assured that we will have a law in place but the government has stepped back now by withdrawing the Right to Education bill in the Parliament. From 2002, when Right to Education became a fundamental right up to 2004 nothing happened. Even in 2004 when we insisted on a Bill the government kept evading it and finally on 9^th of January 2006 the Bill was withdrawn. Now the Central government has abdicated its responsibility by passing the issue to the State Governments. A model bill has been drafted and sent to them which is a Ghatia bill and a totally diluted version. For example as of now the justiciablity of the bill depends on decisions of government officials as it has no provisions to bind the State for not implementing the law..

He further highlighted the fact that in the model bill child labour has been isolated from education and there is no mention of child labour at all. He stated that the model bill which was drafted without anyones consultation is full of loopholes and a joke. This in turn is a betrayal he said and concluded by stating Rajshashan sahi rajshashan nahi hai.

Mr. Bacchu Kaddo, MLA, Maharastra, stated that if different models are implemented in different states then a lot of problems will arise and we should raise our voice in the Vidhan Sabha against this. He further stressed on the fact that we should gain the confidence of the masses by working with them and making them understand the importance of education. By building pressure on the government, the movement for childrens right to education and total abolition of child labor would gain momentum and lead to success. For this to happen, he mentioned that the knowledge of laws should percolate down to the villages so that the community can unite and question the government. Networks of social workers, government officials and intellectuals are important to spread the message. He reiterated that only when the citizens take up education as a movement on their own, would they be able to move the government to formulate a law based on child rights perspective..

In support of Mr. Bacchu Kaddos statement that people should know about the law first, in order to build up pressure at the central level, Dr. S.C. Vats, MLA, Delhi stated that there is a need for a strong will and intent of the government to shape a law that is fair to our children He assured his support to this movement and promised to raise his voice in the Assembly with regard to the Education bill.

Prof. Krishna Kumar, Director NCERT, touched upon four important areas while referring to the education bill. Firstly, that children cannot be agencies for protection of their rights. They are something special and one cannot expect a five year old child to look after his/her right. Hence, protecting child rights should be a symbol of collective consciousnesses. But looking at the present situation he said that we should question ourselves whether we as citizens have failed to follow our conscience. . He stated that the demand for education raised by Gokhale which was rejected by the government 100 years ago has repeated itself today. Secondly, he mentioned with anguish that the Constitution guarantees education as a fundamental right to children in the 6-14 years age group, and that the 0-6yrs did not find a mention. He said that unless all children up to 14 years of age are guaranteed their right to education, the child may either not survive or sooner than later join the labour force, alive. Thirdly, he mentioned that in a federal system as in India since 1920 neither the Centre nor the State Governments have taken up the responsibility for its children. Due to this, children up to 6 years of age have been totally ignored. The Central government must have a vision and a high level of motivation to achieve this dream. He mentioned how the government itself is discriminatory by giving admission to children of government employees alone in Kendriya Vidyalayas in spite of the Constitutional mandate that it would not be discriminatory.. Hence the government has drifted away from its vision.

Fourthly, he criticized encouraging privatization of education as it also created a perception that the government is ineffective. This lack of faith in the education departments abilities enabled the argument of handing over the education system to the corporate sector who could then use their brand names to sell education. He also criticized the plan for issuing of coupons and vouchers to the poor to access education in private institutions. He stated that, when we attack the government we often neglect the fact that there is an international force which has the force to take over and privatize education. He said that ultimately a good society is one where all its citizens are educated.

Mr. Madhu Goud MP stated that, Being a government person I see crores of Rupees being spent but when it comes to education and health the government talks about money. He went on to speak of his constituency (Hyderabad) where the schools have no toilets, no proper infrastructure, and no power etc due to misuse of funds which has been allocated for SSA. Given these circumstances one can see that there is a lot of corruption. He also stated examples of Chief Ministers inaugurating buildings where lakhs of rupees are spent for these unnecessary visits but there are no hostel facilities for the children of the state. With regard to, how child labour can be removed in the country, he emphasized on the point that, if we are to remove child labour then first we need to work on sustainable income for the parents. He concluded by suggesting that we should not only depend on the MPs but this movement should be a participatory act to make it a reality.

Dr.R.Govinda of NIEPA, emphasized that the SSA is a programme and not a policy which cannot be a substituted for taking care of education for all. He also stated that there are still lakhs of children who do not attend schools with just six or seven states of India accounting for 75% of the out of school child population in the country. He felt that until we have a focused effort this would not be solved and the SSA is not enough. He further stated that the model bill should bring up questions regarding allocation of funds and the percentage of funds that would be given by the Central Government and the State Governments. He criticized that the model bill was more a teacher control bill and less a right to education bill as it did not specify the entitlements of the child and the responsibility of the government. He suggested that achieving the goal of universal education and common education system requires relentless effort of all.

Prof. Yash Pal, Former Chairperson, pondered on the thought that, Are we a civilized society? There is something wrong with our society as no country in the world denies its children education. We may talk of all our heritage and development but what the hell is development if children are neglected? He commented that, the middle class was the main problem in our society today and that is the reason why problems like child labour and illiteracy continue to breed and perpetuate. He felt that they flourished at the cost of increasing inequalities and disparities in the society today and nobody wants to talk about the common school system. The country has become ungovernable. If education is not essential then nothing else is.

In support of Prof. Yash Pal Swami Agnivesh, stated that it must be recognized that any child who is not in school is a child labour and in reality there are 10-12 crore children as child labour and not 6-7cr as stated by Dr. Govinda. He went on to state that the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 was redundant and that if the government had not yet realized this then it is a dead government. By just including children engaged in domestic child labour and in hotels and dhabas the government is actually cheating its children , who are working in bondage being out of schools. He quoted Maharishi Dayanand, Like air to breathe, water to thirst and knowledge for all in the same manner and urged for a common school system. He criticized the growth in private schools with brand names that are excluding the poor and increasing disparities in the society. He blamed the middle class for creating this situation and termed it as a conspiracy as they dont want the poor to rise.

He suggested that the Bonded Labour System Abolition Act 1976 should be enforced since the Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act 1986 was limited. He concluded stating that Andolan karna parega. Niklo aur andolan par chalo. He emphasized that by taking up the cause of childrens rights a Bharat Nav Nirman Maha Abhiyan must begin at the national and global level.

Prof. Mridula Mukherjee, Director, Nehru Memorial Museum, raised the question as to why is it taking so long for getting the government to accept the childrens right to education bill and make commitments on it.? She illustrated on the other hand how quick the movement for reservation of seats in higher education institutions has been yielded to by the government. In spite of public debate on the issue there is no public outcry on this issue of Right to Education. She highlighted the fact that using the poverty argument has become an excuse for not extending school education. As far as the poor are concerned she said that they want education for their children. She also referred to the international context and stated that, no international organization would tell the government not to educate their children. So we should not pass the buck on to someone else. It is our problem so we should put in the pressure and pass the bill. We should also link the RTI Act and Rural Employment Guarantee Act with the Right to Education bill. Under these acts we should prioritize education and schools. She concluded by stating that we should energize civil society to have a movement to get to the goal.

Prof. Shantha Sinha, MV Foundation gave the concluding speech of the session. She stated that despite our repeated struggle to pass the education bill the government has withdrawn it. The situation has come to such a point that those who are making the policies are not listening to the voices of the poor and their children. 400 million children in the 0-14 years age group belong to India as its citizens. She said that we have gathered here to tell the government to take care of its children it is their right. She mentioned that the government must recognize the explosive demand for education among the poor and the enormous sacrifices they are making to send their children to schools. They seem to have a greater faith in the system than the system has in itself. Because if they begin to loose their faith in the education system school system would just collapse. Hence we cant afford to let the poor to get cynical. It high time the government recognizes that the poor are ready but the system is not and has to gear up!She mentioned that, we are fighting for a rhetoric that no child must work and every child must be in a full time formal school and even that is not in place. She also mentioned that the SSA cannot be compartmentalized into achieving primary school education first. If there is no plan for children to continue in school after class five the effort to get them to study up to primary schools is totally wasted. Childrens progress from one class to the next up to class ten must seen as a whole. No honest effort will go unheard. She suggested that we have to expand our base and use the voice of the poor to strengthen our plan of action and negotiate with the government to ensure that the Bill on Free and Compulsory Education is brought up in the Parliament and education becomes a reality for every child.

The 2^nd session was chaired by Dr. Neera Burra. The speakers for this session were as follows:

Mr. Mahaveer Jain, NLI

Mr. Babu Mathew, Action Aid

Mr. Vasudeva Sharma, Karnataka

Mr. Suryakant Kulkarni, SEDT, Maharastra

Mr. Balasubramaniam, JVV, Andhra Pradesh

Mr. Ambika Prasad Nanda of Action Aid, Orissa

Mr. Aditya Mukherjee, JNU

Dr. Neera Burra introduced the session and welcomed the speakers. She stated that we have a lot to learn from other movements while talking about child labour and Right to Education. Hence, we need to re-strategize and bring in people who have influence on public life to take this movement forward. She also mentioned that the middle class should not be blamed as they are also the stake holders. She felt that when we talk of Right to Education we need to do some soul searching to see where this movement is going as we are talking about a different reality which is based on non-fundamental literature. She suggested that we should use this time to re-think, re-group, re-strategize and have a non- negotiable agenda on the education bill.

Mr. Mahaveer Jain, NLI, raised the question, whether we talk of education, health or right, what are we doing? Cant we just talk of the childs perspective? This is the right time to act as the government is struggling with child labour and education issues. He emphasized on the fact that issues emerge at the micro level but we are working at the organizational and state level. It is time now to change people at the national level. He highlighted that, Our goal has to be that every child should be in school and not labour. Nothing less nothing more.

Mr. Babu Mathew, Action Aid, stressed on the linkage between child labour and right to education which is very critical as it can lead to clarity and dynamism but failure to link the two can lead us astray. Keeping this point in mind he said that the government in the present situation is not clear whether to abolish or regulate child labour as per the Child Labour (Regulation and Prohibition) Act 1986. The government wants to do both and hence it leads to a lot of conceptual confusion. With regard to the model bill, he stated that a model bill is a legislative bill and if properly implemented can be successful but if the content is weak the goal of education for all cannot be achieved.. Hence, he suggested that it was important to engage more intensively and work for a correct bill and tell the government to change its provisions to ensure that children enjoy their right to education..

Mr. Suryakant Kulkarni, SEDT, Maharastra, stated that we have so many provisions yet we are faced with so many problems due to the fact that there is no conceptual clarity and so our problems keep multiplying. The Supreme Court passed several judgments but its implementation has been weak. For example, a judgment was passed that in every district there should be a child labour officer who was conveniently never appointed and the existing labour officers were assigned additional responsibilities instead, in violation of the law. Also according to the NCP report all rights were to be given to children below 18 years but in reality this did not happen. . With this he said that, I think we are too less in number. There is no MP, policy maker involved in this movement. We have to get them involved and make it everybodys business.

Mr. Vasudeva Sharma, Karnataka, sharing his experience of Karnataka stated that just two days before the government of Karnataka declared that class 8 examinations will be raised to public examination. He felt that this could be a result of this model bill. He suggested that we should motivate the CWCs and Gram panchayats for implementation of the laws .He further mentioned that the gram panchayat leaders be educated to record data on the number of school and non- school going children in the village to monitor every child and encourage education.

Mr. Balasubramaniam, JVV, Andhra Pradesh shared how JVV has been working in the field of education for the past 25 years in the Ernakulam district and has been successful in bringing Dalit children to schools in that district. He also stated that, the central government would oppose the Bill because it has to shell out 15000 crore rupees. With regard to the model bill he said that campaigners should organize themselves and all districts should have meetings in the country. Until and unless this is done we cannot run the show. A public debate has to take place. JVV sincerely felt that the education agenda should come up in a very big way and peoples movement should be built.

Mr. Ambika Prasad Nanda of Action Aid, Orissa, stressed on the importance of the campaign until the goal is reached. Policy research, debate and discussion and sharing of ideas was absolutely necessary. He also mentioned that entering into a dialogue with the government and not confrontation alone would help in achieving the goal.

Prof. Aditya Mukherjee, JNU, stated that even after 57 years of independence India has arrived at a stage where the poor have been completely left out of education. This is contrary to what the poor see as deprivation, which is education. He stated that this failure was an obvious failure on the equity goal set up since independence. He felt that it was a shame that the right to education bill was shelved in our country even as the government is asking the universities and institutions for higher education to double its resources which only shows the elitist nature of the government. He also mentioned how thw movement for childrens right to education had developed in Andhra Pradesh with the active participation of Child Rights Protection Forum (CRPF) and the MVFoundation. He mentioned how the CRPF recorded all statistics of children in and out of school and monitored them in a systematic fashion. In fact , the mebers of the CRPF were from all communities including several of them being dalits. This according to him amply proved that the entire society could come together for taking up the cause of children and their rights. He said while such a successful and alternate discourse on child rens right to education had taken off in Andhra Pradesh it had yet to catch the imagination of one and all in the country as a whole ,It was only when sufficient pressure from below to build a mass movement that the voices of the poor would be heard..

During the open discussion the ritghts of children with disbility and their integration into formal schools was also highlighted as being very important. It was also felt that if the from the sands of this country a movement must arisethere was a need to get the media involve in the campaign..

Day 2:

Ashok Agarwal of Social Jurist chaired the session. The speakers for this session were:

Mr. Ranjan Mohanty, Campaign against Child Labour

Enakshi Ganguly, HAQ Center for Child Rights

Mr. Anand Kotadia

Mr. Kulwant Singh Bawa, IFBWWU, Punjab

Mr.Paras Nath, Bihar

Mr. Nurul Haq, Child Rights Protection Forum, Assam

Ms.Kalyani, Hand in Hand, Tamil Nadu

Prof. Sucheta Mahajan, JNU

Ms. Farida, Member Trustee, Pratham

Mr. Ranjan Mohanty from CACL (Campaign against Child Labour) shared his experience of this campaign in Orissa. He stated that the right to education draft bill 2005 should be modified and brought to parliament whereby the government will be duty bound to implement it. He regretted that in spite of the draft bill being featured on the web site after the CABE meeting it was suddenly withdrawn and handed over to the state government. He expressed concern over mobilizing of resources by the state governments. We should tell the UPA government that this was not your commitment but ensuring education for your children was your commitment. He emphasized on the fact that like the literacy campaign the right to education campaign should be taken up by the people and it should be a peoples campaign.

Enakshi Ganguly, HAQ center for child rights, expressed her unhappiness on the status of the education bill and stated that the government does not realize that child labour is a cause and effect of lack of education She felt that there could be a fault in our strategy because of which this issue hasnt come about as a national movement. She felt that all of us should join together and say education is our constitutional right. She stated that innate is entrenched in right to quality education. She illustrated the case of Narmada Valley where two weeks ago children were arrested for protesting for the schools which had been submerged in the flood which raises a question regarding the value of quality education. She concluded by stating that, we have to have new strategies to have a social movement.

Mr. Anand Kotadia stated that the negative result should be taken positively and we should work on it as is the case with the education bill. He also said that Parliamentary advocacy is important and should be taken up on a long term basis and not just for one day. He was in favour of building a relationship with the government and working with the system instead of trying to paralyze the government.

Mr.Paras Nath, Bihar, suggested that the government should adopt the MV Foundation model. Besides this he emphasized on the fact that we should sensitize the Gram Panchayats and link them at the national level to create a movement and send the message across to the government.

Mr. Kulwant Singh Bawa, IFBWWU, Punjab stated that NGOs at various levels should come together and form a common platform to put pressure on the government to pass the education bill.

Mr. Nurul Haq, Child Rights Protection Forum, Assam shared his experience of how MV Foundation started work in Assam with youth issues. and how in 2002, nine RVCs were set up. He also regretted that though there has been a constant demand for these RVCs, the government is now planning to close them down. He felt that the government talking about universal education on one hand and closing down RVCs on the other was sending wrong signals. He suggested that more such seminars should be held so that we can take the message to our governments about what is happening at the national level.

Similarly, Ms.Kalyani, Hand in Hand, Tamil Nadu shared her experience of working with with M VFoundation. She recollected when Hand in Hand had initially approached MV Foundation to support them and the two conditions laid down by them, a) Stop evening schools, b) Stop paying the employers for rescuing Child Labourers. She suggested that those present here should go back to their states and follow a bottom up approach and work with the community. State level meets should also be organized to sensitize the issue and uplift it. She also felt that a song or a mantra could be composed to give the movement a common language. In support of Babu Matthewss argument she stated that, we should work on the content of the model bill. She concluded by stating that, let us not have too many laws, just one which says abolish child labour.

Dr. Sucheta Mahajan, JNU stated that since 1998 she has been associated with MVF in their work in AP. She stated the approach that MVF has taken to address the issue of child labour is a good and viable one. When we talk about a national movement we can adopt this approach and it is very important to catch the imagination of the people . She remarked that we should not strive for a parallel system but instead work with the existing education system and build its capacity to give it a new vision and life.

In support of Prof. Sucheta Mahajans argument, Ms. Farida Lambay, Member Trustee, Pratham stated that we should not advocate for a parallel school system as it is the governments duty to ensure free and compulsory education for all children from 6-14yrs. She highlighted that, data, task forces, political will, community mobilization are all important tools to advocate for quality education and abolishing child labour.

In conclusion Shantha Sinha mentioned that the movement for ensuring childrens right to education had to be taken forward at the State level. The endeavour to bring about changes in the law to include all forms of child labor as well as press the Parliament to bring the debate on the Bill to the Parliament had to be further strengthened through exercise of pressure from the local to national level in a systematic fashion. Taking these suggestions, Mr. Ashok Agarwal concluded the session by stating that we should look into the fact as to how public awareness can be created to take up this issue of education bill.

The following suggestions were made during the open house session:

· Along with contacting Parliamentarians, bureaucracy had to be tapped and worked upon to get them involved in this movement.

· Political parties must take up child rights as their election campaign.

· A nation wide post card campaign should be launched and sent to the Members of Parliament.

· Protest in all offices by planting a sapling in front of the government offices all over the country on one particular day to spread the message.

· Gather at least 50 MPs from all parts of the country on a particular day for a mass meeting.

· Dharna on a fixed date in front of State Legislative Assembly and all district level offices.

· Involve media and the corporate sector and mobilize support of middle class and youth.

· Use platforms such as Internet, Hutch Mobile Marathon and others to spread the message.

NATIONAL MEET ON ABOLITION OF CHILD LABOUR AND ON RIGHT TO EDUCATION, 25 ^TH & 26^TH AUGUST 2006

RESOLUTION

The 86^th Amendment to the Constitution of India has guaranteed a fundamental right to education in 2002. This Constitutional Amendment provided for free and compulsory education of all children in the age group of 6 to 14 years as a fundamental right under article 21A in such a manner as the State may, by law, determine. In view of the States obligation to its children:

Ø We demand that the Parliament of India ensure that every child enjoys her right to education and enact the Act on Free and Compulsory Education as mandated by the Constitution of India at a national level.

Ø We oppose the Central Governments decision to intimate to the State governments to enact a law on the basis of a Model Bill and shelve the Bill altogether at the Parliament. This is against the fundamental right to education as guaranteed by the Constitution.

Ø We demand that the Parliament protects the rights of 250 million children in the 6-14 age group and 160 million children up to 6 years in India as they too are citizens of the country and take full responsibility for them.

Ø We demand that the Parliament abolishes all forms of child labor to ensure that every child enjoys her right to education.

Ø We demand that the government has a systematic policy for rescue and rehabilitation of children withdrawn from work and provide all the amenities and facilities to enable children participate in full time formal day schools.

Ø We demand that the common school system is introduced and the principles of equity and justice are reflected in every clause that is introduced for protection of childrens rights to education in order to constitute India into a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic.

MESSAGE FROM JUSTICE V.N. KHARE

Former Chief Justice of India

Childrens right to education is a very important subject, which will have a tremendous impact on the future of the country. The way a nation deals with its children, looks after them, nurtures them, brings them up, educates them decides whether that nation will have a large majority of citizens living with dignity, self esteem and feeling secure, who not only demand but also contribute, not only assert their individual rights but also observe their collective obligations. They will not be misguided into unproductive or even destructive agitations by interested demagogies. All in all the country will be able to build a peaceful, prosperous and a democratic society full of opportunity for the diverse talents of its people.

Realizing this, our Constitution has specially provided a few articles concerning the welfare of children. Perhaps as Constitutions go this is somewhat unique. These are articles 24, 39 and 45 of the Constitution dealing with prohibition of children from being employed in factories, mines or in other hazardous employment (Article 24), protection of the tender age of children and their development in a healthy manner with freedom and dignity (Article 39) and free and compulsory education for all children within ten years of the promulgation of the constitution ( article 45). The last article has been further reinforced by the judgment of the Supreme Court in 1993 in the Unnikrishnan and others Vs. Government of Andhra Pradesh case in which the Supreme Court observed that the obligation to provide free and compulsory education has been converted into an enforceable right by efflux of time. This judgment of the Supreme Court has in 2002 became embodied in the 86^th amendment act.

Surprisingly, there have been many laws made both before independence and after independence by different States for providing free and compulsory education. At least in 19 states of the Union, presently compulsory education Acts are in force. Some of these replaced earlier Acts on the subject dating back to 1917 onwards i.e. before independence. According to a report by National Institute of Education Planning and Administration there is no dearth of legislations in this regard but after 1971-72 there seems to have been a deliberate slowing down in the efforts to universalize elementary education.

An examination of the reasons for this slow down shows that essentially both at center and states budget allocations for education remained stagnant or nearly so far many years. Considering the continuous prevalence of inflation, the proportion of GDP allocated for education has been going down while the aim is to achieve a six percent of GDP as a minimum requirement. Some nations spend more than this proportion on education.

In discussing appropriate legislation to implement the right to education, two issues have cropped up.

1. How to force the centre and the states to allocate and spend the necessary financial and other resources to ensure that every child is in school receiving quality education up to the age of 14 years?

2. How to bind the State to provide for all that is necessary to make it possible for children their right to education?

On the first issue, a two per cent education cess has been levied on all taxes in the country and apparently this money is being used partly to fund the mid day meal scheme and Sarva Siksha Abhiyan. In doing so, the Government professes that education is important and it is making every effort to raise resources to ensure that all children attend schools. On the other hand in raising separate resources for education, indicates that the Government is unwilling to share any of the existing resources that it has mobilized and give our children their due share in the general pool. We have noticed how in the past fifty years, Governments at the Centre and the State have incurred huge deficits on account of expenditure on several items which were largely infructuous. But when it comes to incurring expenditure on childrens education, the message Government seems to be giving is that it is reluctant to fund through the general pool.

The question therefore, is whether any provision can be made in proposed legislation enforcing the Central Government to provide all the funds necessary for the purpose of the legislation.

So far as the second issue is concerned, provisions to bind the State to integrate every out of school child engaged in work, into the school and train them individually to join classes appropriate to their age must be made. Further it must guarantee that in provisioning of facilities to the schools the principle of equity and justice informs all the education policies. Any citizen should have the right to complain about violation of childrens right to education. The court must entertain the information as a petition and use its authority to enforce the citizens rights, which will make it possible for the child to be in schools.

Finally, a broad issue is who should be held responsible for implementing this whole program. There are attempts to pass on the issue from the Centre to the States in our country. Children belong to the nation as a whole. The Union government cannot abdicate its responsibility towards them specially later subject education has been shifted from List II of the VII Schedule to the Constitution to List III which is Concurrent List by 42 ^nd Amendment of the Constitution. Now subject Education has become prime responsibility of the Union. It is children right and it has to be guaranteed through an Act of Parliament. Children must be treated as assets of the nation and not as a burden. What more can one ask for than see our countrys children being liberated from a world of deprivation and loss of childhood to enjoying freedom and acquiring knowledge. Investments in their education must not be seen as bad debts but as an instrument to enrich India’s democracy.

 

 

World Literacy Day message from the ILP National Convenor

 

Dear friends,

 

On this important day, we at India Literacy Project would like to reflect on the importance of Literacy. There are two transformations we see in how we define literacy:

 

1. Literacy is Empowerment - being educated and literate empowers an individual in making choices for their own and their families' happiness, and in being productive citizens of the world.

 

2. Education in our minds has evolved from the 3Rs (Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic) to the 3Es (Education, Employment and Empowerment) . Our intervention programs embody this philosophy - the programs don't stop just at enrolment or retention, but addresses quality and sustainability via community ownership, leading to an empowered population.

 

The seeds we sow today will become the rich fruit bearing trees of tomorrow. We encourage everyone who believes in the cause of a literate and empowered population to visit the links below:

 

Literacy as a Movement of People (India Literacy Project)

http://www.ilpnet.org

 

International Literacy day - information

http://portal. unesco.org/ education/ en/ev.php- URL_ID=41141&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTIonfiltered= 201.html

 

UNESCO literacy prize winners - Rajasthan

http://portal. unesco.org/ en/ev.php- URL_ID=33384&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTIonfiltered= 201.html

 

Literacy Initative for Empowerment (LIFE)

LAMP

http://portal. unesco.org/ education/ en/ev.php- URL_ID=42853&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTIonfiltered= 201.html

 

Literacy statistics

http://www.uis. unesco.org/ ev.php?URL_ ID=5204&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTIonfiltered= 201

On behalf of India Literacy Project,

Padmini Ranganathan

 

 

Govt. of India Bans Child Labour in Domestic Sector

THE GAZETTE OF INDIA

 

EXTRAORDINARY

PART II Section 3 Sub-Section (ii)

PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY

No. 711 NEW DELHI, MONDAY, JULY 10, 2006/ASADHA 19, 1928

MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

(Child Labour Section)

NOTIFICATION

S.O. 1 029(E). -In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 4 of the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 (61 of .1986), the Central Government hereby gives three months notice of its intention to add the following occupations in the Schedule to the said Act, namely: ­

In the Schedule to the said Act, in Part A, under the heading "Occupations", after item (13) and the entry relating thereto, the following items and entries shall be added, namely; ­

"(14) Employment of children as domestic workers or servants;

(15) Employment of children in dhabas (road-side eateries), restaurants, hotels, motels, tea-shops, resorts, spas or other recreational centres.

[F. No. S-2701213/97-CL] S. K. SRIVASTAVA, Jt. Secy.

Footnote: The first notification to amend the Schedule was issued vide number S.O. 61 dated the 23rd December, 1986 and subsequently the same was amended vide number: -.

(1) S.0.404 (E), dated the 5th June, 1989

(2) S.O. 263(E), dated the 29th March, 1994

(3) S.O. 36(E), dated the 27th January, 1999

and last amended vide notification number S.O.293(E), dated 10th May, 2001

Click here for Hindi Version

Printed by the Manager, Govt. of India Press, Ring Road, Mayapuri, New Delhi-I 10064 . and Published by the 'Controller of Publications, Delhi-I 10054.

ILP campaigns for Right to Education Bill

RIGHT TO EDUCATION BILL

THE CAMPAIGN

 

• What is the bill about?

• History of the Bill

• Why are we campaigning?

• Goals and Next Steps

• How can you help

• News articles about the bill

• Letter to PM on RTE bill

• FAQs

What is the bill about?

• Every child between the ages of 6 to 14 years has the right to free and compulsory education. This is stated as per the 86th Constitution Amendment Act added Article 21A. The right to education bill seeks to give effect to this amendment
• The government schools shall provide free education to all the children and the schools will be managed by school management committees (SMC). Private schools shall admit at least 25% of the children in their schools without any fee.
• The National Commission for Elementary Education shall be constituted to monitor all aspects of elementary education including quality.

Top^

The text of the entire bill can be read at: http://educationforallinindia.com/RighttoEducationBill2005.pdf

History of the billl

December 2002

86th Amendment Act (2002) via Article 21A (Part III) seeks to make free and compulsory education a Fundamental Right for all children in the age group 6-14 years.

October 2003

A first draft of the legislation envisaged in the above Article, viz., Free and Compulsory Education for Children Bill, 2003, was prepared and posted on this website in October, 2003, inviting comments and suggestions from the public at large.

2004

Subsequently, taking into account the suggestions received on this draft, a revised draft of the Bill entitled Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2004, was prepared and posted on the http://education.nic.in website.

June 2005

The CABE (Central Advisory Board of Education) committee drafted the ‘Right to Education’ Bill and submitted to the Ministry of HRD. MHRD sent it to NAC where Mrs. Sonia Gandhi is the Chairperson. NAC sent the Bill to PM for his observation.

14th July 2006

The finance committee and planning commission rejected the Bill citing the lack of funds and a Model bill was sent to states for the making necessary arrangements. (Post-86th amendment, States had already cited lack of funds at State level)

19th July 2006

CACL, SAFE, NAFRE, CABE invited ILP and other organizations for a Planning meeting to discuss the impact of the Parliament action, initiate advocacy actions and set directions on what needs to be done at the district and village levels.

Top^

Why are we campaigning?

• The government rejected the bill quoting that it lacks resources to fund the bill which we feel is unreasonable since the budget for the bill is estimated to be Rs 4,36,000 cr.
• The people of this nation are being betrayed by not being given the Right to Free and Compulsory Education through Central Government legislation. We need to make sure that people are given those rights.

Top^

Goals and Next Steps

• File a petition online about the bill
• Reach out to as many people as possible and get them to sign the petition
• Generate enough momentum and try to reintroduce the bill by Aug 29^th 2006

Top^

How can you help

• By signing the online petition
• By spreading awareness amongst other Indians about the bill.

Top^

Right to Education Bill in the news

1. Private schools have the last laugh on RTE

Letter to PM

The A letter addressed to the PM was written by the NKC regarding RTE bill. This can be accessed at: http://www.ilpnet.org/rte/LettertoPMonRTEbill20Oct2006.doc

Top^

FAQs

1. Why is the Bill important?

The Bill is important because it is the first step in the direction of the government’s active role in ensuring implementation of the Constitutional Amendment. And as important, the Bill:

· Legislates provision of free and compulsory elementary and secondary education

· Provides for a school in every neighborhood

· Provides for a School Monitoring Committee – elected representatives of the community to ensure proper functioning

· Mandates that no child in the age group 6-14 shall be employed

All this are right steps to lay the foundation for the development of a common public school system that can provide quality education to all the children, thus preventing exclusion of socially and economically disadvantaged population.

2. Why is the chosen age group 6 - 14?

· The bill focuses on providing primary to high school education compulsorily to all children and also the education given in this age group would be the ground work for their future.

3. Why do we (ILP) support the Right to Education Bill?

• ILP has supported the Right to Education Bill since 1997
• ILP helped campaign for the 93rd amendment to the Constitution making education a fundamental right of a child.
• ILP is a core member of Campaign Against Child Labor, child labor being one of the issues addressed by the Bill – where the Bill specifically states ” No person shall employ or engage a child in a manner that renders her a working child.”
• For immediate action ILP will join the existing networks and involve all its partners to be active in the networks through wall writings, pamphlet distributions, organizing press meets, consultations, signature campaign from SHGs( one of the biggest force to demand education). Join with CACL in Karnataka, APACR in Andhra Pradesh, a network in Orissa through our partners, Rajasthan we can Ask Mr. RAjan Chowdhury , our partner to oraganise campign activities there. In Tamil Nadu CACL is active. In the US, ILP-US to coordinate a signature campaign and submit a petition to the Ministry of HRD, Prime Minister and President of India

Top^

 

ILP Partners’ Meet 2006

 

ILP Partners’ Meet 2006 – Aug 9-12, 2006

St. Ann’s Generalate, Tharnaka, Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh

 

Through the years, ILP has established mutually beneficial & highly successful relationships with over 25 NGO’s from 10 different states. Some of these partners are supported by ILP in their grass-roots intervention programs, whereas others are thought-leaders in several key areas that align with ILP’s philosophy and strategy.

 

The Annual Partners’ meet is ILP’s efficient way of creating an opportunity for its volunteers, partners and associated NGOs to interact, learn with and from each other, analyze success stories, and incorporate new and creative techniques of eliminating illiteracy in India. This year’s Partners’ meet will be held at St. Ann’s Generalate, Tharnaka, Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India from August 9, 2006 to August 12, 2006 at. Experts from various departments in the government, accomplished organizations, and institutions will take their precious time and speak in this meet sharing their experiences to ILP and its partners.

 

Every Partners’ meet is centered around a distinct theme - this year’s theme is ECCD (Early Childhood Care and Development). Research suggests that significant development of critical brain and intelligence occurs before the age of seven, particularly during the first three years of life. ECCD is an essential precursor for a healthy community, where children get proper nutrition, pre-primary education, guidance, and other basic amenities of a child’s life. ECCD definitely makes this Partners’ meet 2006 unique, interesting, and informative.

 

Objectives of the meeting:

· Enhance awareness to ILP and its partnering NGOs in perspective of ECCD. What is ECCD? Why is ECCD an essential part of a child’s growth? How to accomplish ECCD? What kind of techniques/approaches different organizations are taking to accomplish ECCD.

· Let different experts, in social service, share their innovative ideas/techniques to improve educational coverage in India.

· Continue to identify partners’ needs and also gather ideas from partner’s experience.

 

This meet will feature a host of accomplished & knowledgeable speakers. Their suggestions and the information they share will be of great use to ILP, its partners, volunteers, and every one associated with ILP. Following are many of experts, in social work, speaking in this meet.

 

Ms. Shantha Sinha, Secretary trust of M. V. Foundation, Hyderabad, AP, is the winner of prestigious Padmashree (1991), Ramon Magsaysay Award (2003), Albert Shanker International Award (from Education International) (1991). Ms. Sinha will give a review on Right To Education Bill 2005.

Dr. Usha Abrol, Former Southern Regional Director, NIPCCD, Bangalore, will provide “A Situational analysis of children (0-6) in India” emphasizing on number of impacted children, Health & Nutrition and Parental Profile. This will be followed by a 2^nd session on why ECCD interventions are required and give a general overview of ECCD programs in the country.

Ms Anuradha Joshi, founder (along with husband Pawan Kumar Gupta) of SIDH (Society for the Integrated Development of Himalayas), will talk about SIDH’s experiments & experiences on Pre-Primary education.

Sri.Vasudeva Sharma, Director, Child Rights Trust, Bangalore, has been invited to talk about the 11^th Five-Year Plan and its impact on Children in India.

 

In addition, Ms. Padmaja, Volunteer & Projects Sub-committee Lead, ILP USA will share her thoughts on “Strengthening Partnership with ILP”, and Mr.Victor Tauro ILP India Coordinator, will talk about improving “ILP – PARTNER’S INTERACTION”.

Juniper Networks Foundation Fund (JNFF) Supports India Literacy Project

2006 - ILP India Audit Report

2006 - ILP India Audit Report

8th Annual Race for literacy – Racing for Change

 

 

 

For more information contact
Mr. Nandakumar Krishnan
India Literacy Project
Phone: 408-230-4752
Email: ilp-us@ilpnet.org

 

Mountain View, CA, May 12^th, 2006: The California Chapter of India Literacy Project (ILP) held its 8^th Annual Race for Literacy on May 7^th 2006 at the scenic Shoreline Park in Mountain View, CA. It was a glorious Sunday morning with perfect blue skies and ample sunshine, perfect conditions for pleasant outdoor activities. People from various walks of life participated in this increasingly popular event in Bay Area.

This year the response to the race was overwhelming and the event recorded around 620 registrants who came out not only to enjoy the much coveted California weather, but also to support a great cause. The event was organized smoothly and was enjoyed by participants of all ages. Dottie the clown kept the young and restless crowd occupied by patiently working with each kid’s individual request for artistic face painting and animal shaped balloons. The kids also participated in a 100 meters race in their exuberant style.

The course was dotted with mile markers designed by the ILP volunteer team and depicted the relevance of the three Es (Education, Employment and Empowerment). These mile markers depicted the success stories of several projects that ILP sponsored in India by following the three E principles.

The event was also used to launch the Ten Dollar Club, a recurring donations program. For as little as $10 a month a mother and a child could be educated for a year. Studies have shown that an educated woman can have a fast-track impact on her family ranging from health, hygiene and education for children

This year's winners in the 10K race were Steve Goddard of San Mateo, CA and Sarah Kummerfield of Palo Alto, CA who finished in 37mins 12secs & 41mins 45secs respectively. In the 5K race, Frank Johnston of Sunnyvale, CA finished in 18mins 25secs to top the Men’s category, while Nancy Kerrebrock of Palo Alto, CA topped the women’s category finishing in 22mins 28secs. For more details on the event and complete results, please visit www.raceforliteracy.org

ILP would like to thank our sponsors for this year’s events. Our platinum sponsors this year were Microsoft and Etrade. The gold sponsors for this year’s event were New India Bazaar, EFI, BMW of Mountain View, Solidcare, SonicWall, Citrix and Spansion. Lovely sweets and Southern Spice were the silver sponsors and provided tasty food for all participants. Several items such as MP3 players, Noise canceling head phones, thumb drives, wireless mouse and professional software were raffled away after the race.

The ILP volunteer base once again rose to the occasion and made the event a big success by helping out in various ways. The proceeds from this event go towards promoting literacy among the underprivileged in India. More information on ILP can be found online at www.ilpnet.org

ABOUT INDIA LITERACY PROJECT

India Literacy Project, ILP, is a US-based non-profit, volunteer organization dedicated to spreading the cause of literacy in India. “Lead us from darkness unto light” says the vedic verse “tamasoma jyotirgamayah” – from the darkness of illiteracy to the light of knowledge. ILP’s maxim, LAMP (Literacy As a Movement of People) aptly captures this essence. ILP acts as a catalyst for 100% literacy by forming meaningful partnerships with Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) in India, who are working towards the goals of total literacy and the universal right to primary education.

In the US, ILP has chapters and interest groups in 7 major metropolitan areas including the California Bay Area. ILP is a completely volunteer-based organization, with over 250 volunteers in the US, concentrating its efforts on building awareness for the importance of education and raising funds for literacy and empowerment programs. ILP has extended its reach to the most rural and remote parts of India and its support has benefited over 100,000 women and children since inception in 1990. All donations to ILP are 100% tax deductible under Section 501(c)3 of the IRS code (Tax Id 36-3779020)

For more information on India Literacy Project, please visit www.ilpnet.org

 

Kalike - A process document

ILP has supported the Paraspara project "Kalike" since 2000. This is an attempt at documenting a whole project and its impact from inception - what worked and what did not.

(You may need to download and install Acrobat Reader to read the following documents)

 

• Kalike Process Document. Part 1(1.2Mb pdf)
• Kalike Process Document. Part 2(1.2Mb pdf)

‘PURASKARA’ - ILP SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

BACKGROUND – THE NEED

All children have a right to education, a happy childhood and balanced development- but the truth remains that several children still work to support themselves and their families. For the past decade, several NGOs have been working towards releasing children from labor and rehabilitating them by placing them in bridge/special school programs where they acquire the necessary learning competencies to be admitted to formal schools. Elementary education (to0 7^th std) being almost free in government schools these children continue their education until 7^th standard.

However, high school education (8^th through 10^th) still continues to be out of reach for many of these children. Families find it difficult to meet the costs of school fees, books, uniform, commuting expenses to the nearest school and in many cases children are forced to drop out of school and return to work to supplement their family income. At the same time, the growing Indian economy is creating a need for a larger cadre of educated and trained workers with a minimum of high school and technical education. If we do not act now, children from these backgrounds will lose out on opportunities. There is a growing need to identify and implement strategies that level the playing field.

Responding to this need, ILP has designed Puraskara – a need-based scholarship program for rehabilitated working children from poor socio-economic backgrounds to pursue their middle and high school education.

Objectives of Puraskara- ILP’s Scholarship Program

The main objective of Puraskara is to provide financial and non-financial academic support to rehabilitated working children to continue middle and high school education. One of the desired consequences is that other members of the family and the community will be encouraged to follow in the footsteps of the initial beneficiaries.

IN 2005-06

Scholarships:

28 students were selected for the ILP scholarship in 2005, from 3 districts. The students were selected through partner NGOs – Janachetana in Raichur, SEEDS in Davangere and Paraspara in Bangalore.

A list of all the students is given in Annexure I

Case studies of a few students is given in Annexure II

Funds:

A total of Rs.135000 was received in 2005-06 as donations for the scholarship programme. Rs. 72000[1] was spent from these funds: Rs. 38000 as scholarships and other support and Rs.34000 for organising a coaching camp for students appearing in their Xth exams.

Puraskara – Annual Event:

Puraskara - the annual event to felicitate rehabilitated working children for their scholastic achievements was held on Oct.2nd 2005. Several ILP volunteers came to the Urban Health Resource Centre to show their appreciation to all the children who have worked hard to achieve success in such difficult circumstances. The chief guest for the occasion was Ms. Rohini Nilekani, Chairperson, Akshara Foundation. Other special guests were Mr. V. Subramaniam, Vice President and General Manager STSD Hewlett Packard (HP- ISO), Bangalore and Mr. R Babu, Director IT- GDIC- HP. Mr. Pramod Kulkarni from Prerana was also present in the function.

Earlier on 1^st Oct, ILP organized a workshop on study skills and personality development for the children on Oct 1st, 2005, betweeen 9:30 a.m and 5:30 p.m.

In 2006, we plan to organize the Puraskara events locally, instead of calling all the children to Bangalore – 3 events would be held, one each in Davanagere, Raichur and Bangalore.

PLANS FOR 2006

Support 100 students:

ILP now plans to expand the scholarship programme to support 100 students in Raichur, Davanagere and Bangalore. Apart from the 3 NGOs with whom we partnered last year for selecting and monitoring students, this year Chiguru, an NGO operating in Magadi, Bangalore rural would also be partnering with us.

Timeline for Scholarship 2006-07

April 2006: Inviting applications from NGOs

May 2006: Screening and selection of students

June 2006: Home Visits and disbursement of scholarships

Oct 2006: Puraskara event – in Raichur, Davanagere and Bangalore

Budget:

The estimated budget for ILP Scholarship 2006-07 is Rs. 180000.

Scholarship amount for 100 students @ Rs.1200 per student : Rs.120000

3 Puraskara events @ Rs.10000 per event : Rs. 30000

3 Workshops @ Rs.10000 each : Rs. 30000

Non Financial Support:

Workshops

Besides financial support ILP will also conduct need-based workshops for these children. Workshops could range from: Life Skills, Spoken English Language skills, career counseling, Special Coaching for 10^th std exams.

Mentoring through Volunteers (in Bangalore)

A group of volunteers will take up the role of mentoring the Puraskara children, in Bangalore. Each volunteer would mentor a group of 3 -4 children, all of them studying in the same class. A mentor would meet the children once a week and find out how the children are performing at school, help them with problem solving, and suggest if any additional inputs are required, which might be arranged for, by ILP. A mentor would be expected to commit his / her time for at least one year, till the students finish their final exams.

8TH ANNUAL RACE FOR LITERACY PROMISES FUN FOR ALL

 

For more information contact
Mr. Nandakumar Krishnan
India Literacy Project
Phone: 408-230-4752
Email: ilp-us@ilpnet.org

Sunday May 7th, 2006
Shoreline Park, Mountain View, CA

Mountain View, CA, 20th March, 2006: Mountain View's premier outdoor event is back with a bang for the 8th Annual edition. Race for Literacy is being held on May 7th, 2006 starting and ending at the kite flying area in Shoreline Park, Mountain View, CA. Organized by India Literacy Project (ILP), the Race for Literacy enjoys the patronage of professional, semi-professional and even amateur enthusiasts who participate to have a good time and to show their support for a great cause.

Recipient of a special commendation from the Mayor of Mountain View and proclaimed "Race for Literacy Day" by the City Council, the event promises and delivers on being all things to everybody. A popular family affair with kid's races, lively music, face painting and a picnic atmosphere, the race is also a professionally timed competitive platform on a flat, fast USATF certified course that appeals to serious runners.

The event offers two distances suitable for early season running - 5K and 10K that both professional and amateur runners can choose from. The 5K walk is an integral part of the event and has grown in stature and in numbers over the years and provides an opportunity for families to enjoy a pleasant spring morning.

Over the years, the Race for Literacy has continued to attract runners from across the country. Participation has grown from a meager 150 participants in 1999 to over 600 at the most recent edition giving testimony to the ever-growing popularity of the event. Corporate sponsorship has also increased over the years and ILP is very grateful for the continued support from BMW of Mountain View, CITRIX, SonicWALL, New India Bazaar and EFI.

Additional team discounts, an assortment of raffle prizes including popular MP3 players and new attractions such as Bollywood Cardio warm-up routines at the start and evergreen favorites such as the South Indian refreshments awaiting runners at the finish line are expected to bring in over 750 participants this year. Participants can also run for free by raising pledges to support ILP's cause.

As the Native American saying goes, "Tell me and I'll forget. Show me, and I may not remember. Involve me, and I'll understand". It's time to get involved and be a part of ILP's 8th Annual Race for Literacy extravaganza and to help realize its dream of a 100% literate India.

More information on the event can be found online at www.raceforliteracy.org

ABOUT INDIA LITERACY PROJECT

India Literacy Project, ILP, is a US-based non-profit, volunteer organization dedicated to spreading the cause of literacy in India. "Lead us from darkness unto light" says the vedic verse "tamasoma jyotirgamayah" - from the darkness of illiteracy to the light of knowledge. ILP's maxim, LAMP (Literacy As a Movement of People) aptly captures this essence. ILP acts as a catalyst for 100% literacy by forming meaningful partnerships with Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) in India, who are working towards the goals of total literacy and the universal right to primary education.

In the US, ILP has chapters and interest groups in 7 major metropolitan areas including the California Bay Area. ILP is a completely volunteer-based organization, with over 250 volunteers in the US, concentrating its efforts on building awareness for the importance of education and raising funds for literacy and empowerment programs. ILP has extended its reach to the most rural and remote parts of India and its support has benefited over 100,000 women and children since inception in 1990. All donations to ILP are 100% tax deductible under Section 501(c)3 of the IRS code (Tax Id 36-3779020)

For more information on India Literacy Project, please visit www.ilpnet.org

 

Two hours a week could make a difference!

Do you think you could volunteer for two hours in a month to make a positive difference in the life of a child? Then, read on...

What is this a part of?
Pratibha Mitra - An initiative by India Literacy Project and Prerana to provide mentoring by volunteers to students receiving Pratibha Poshak Scholarship. We began the program six months back with 9 volunteers and now wish to expand it to reach out to many more students.

What is the volunteer's role?
To meet the student once a fortnight, either at his/her house or at school. Try to find weak areas, give suggestions on how they may improve, expose them to extra curricular activities (visits to museums, book fairs etc), visit the student's school and talk to their teacher to discuss the student's performance, share impressions and observations on a special web site and provide feedback to the Pratibha Mitra Team.

What is the profile of the students?
Students studying in IInd P.U. Secured above 80% in SSLC. From families which are financially constrained. Receiving financial support in form of Pratibha Poshak scholarship from Prerana.

How long do I need to give commitment for?
Seemingly short two hours would be making a tremendous difference to the student, hence, it is expected that this should be treated seriously and a commitment of at least one year should be made.

What if I would like to give more time, say 2 hours every week?
That would be wonderful; we could link you up with some of our other initiatives that need volunteers like you. You could also hold informal coaching sessions with the student you are mentoring.

I am keen to join the programme. When and where are the volunteer intake sessions being held?
We will be conducting volunteer intake sessions at Prerana office in Chamrajpet and ILP office at Sanjay Nagar on Saturday, 11th March 2006 and Sunday, 12th March 2006 Feb.

If you'd like to volunteer for the Pratibha Mitra initiative, please send the following details to ruchirad@gmail.com with a CC to india.ilp@gmail.com by 7th Mar.2006

Name

Qualifications

Contact no.

Languages known:

Whether working? If so, where?

Whether been involved in any voluntary work before? If so, what was your role?

How much time can you commit to this programme?

Preferable date (11th / 12th) for meeting:

Preferable session (pre lunch / post lunch) for meeting:

Preferable meeting venue: (Chamrajpet / Sanjaynagar):

15th Anniversary Celebrations of India Literacy Project

 

For more information contact
Mr. Nandakumar Krishnan
India Literacy Project
Phone: 408-230-4752
Email: ilp-us@ilpnet.org

San Jose, California, 5th November, 2005 - India Literacy Project, ILP, as part of its 15th Anniversary celebrations, conducted an Open House on Nov. 5th, 2005 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, California to showcase its evolution and achievements in serving as a catalyst for achieving 100% literacy in India.

The open house portrayed the evolution of ILP over the last 15 years, its current projects, and vision for the future to transform the literacy landscape of India. ILP has sponsored over 100 programs in 18 states and currently has 20 ongoing projects across 7 states in India. It has impacted the lives of more than 100,000 people. "We support programs that take a holistic approach to becoming literate - through empowering community based organizations to monitor and take ownership of the issue of illiteracy", says Padmini Ranganathan, National Convener, ILP USA.

"It is heartening to see the progress that ILP has made since we started it 15 years ago, and the passion in the eyes of the new generation of ILPians" say Dr Rani Chintam and Dr V.R Veluri, founders of India Literacy Project.

The Guest of Honor for the event, Srinivasan Venkatraghavan and Special Invitee, Javagal Srinath, former Indian cricketers from different eras, have been involved with the literacy movement in India. The audience of over 150 people had the opportunity to interact with the guests and participate in a raffle for autographed memorabilia, entry to a rare bowling session with Javagal Srinath and other goodies.

The benefit dinner following the open house had a number of prominent Bay Area luminaries in attendance. Mr. Venkatraghavan and Mr Srinath spoke passionately about the cause for literacy and along with the other guests pledged their support for the noble yet monumental task undertaken by ILP.

"It is our belief that we will leave behind a legacy - a 100% literate India in our lifetime", an apt closing by Padmini Ranganathan, and one that personifies ILP.

 

ABOUT INDIA LITERACY PROJECT

India Literacy Project, ILP, is a US-based non-profit, volunteer organization dedicated to spreading the cause of literacy in India. ILP acts as a catalyst for 100% literacy by forming meaningful partnerships with Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) in India, who are working towards the goals of total literacy and the universal right to primary education.

In the US, ILP has chapters and interest groups in 7 major metropolitan areas including the San Francisco Bay area. ILP is a completely volunteer-run organization, with over 250 volunteers in the US, concentrating its efforts on building awareness for the importance of education and raising funds for literacy and empowerment projects. ILP has extended its reach to the most rural and remote parts of India. Projects funded by ILP have helped children who worked in cotton fields for less than 25 cents a day, to enroll in schools and break away from the shackles of child-labor; illiterate women have attained functional literacy that enables them run their own small business.

For more information on India Literacy Project, visit www.ilpnet.org

 

ILP's 15 Anniversary - Web Exclusive Hindustan Times

Please find the link to this article here.

ILP-India Coordinator at Child Protection Month Planning Meet.

ILP is a committee member of the Campaign Against Child Labour Karnataka Chapter (CACL-K). Every year, the month of November is celebrated as the Child Rights month beginning from 14th November. This date is significant as it is celebrated as Children's Day in India. Child Rights day falls on November 20, the day Govt. of India ratified the UN resolution on Child Rights known as Convention on Child Rights (CRC). This year, CACL-K has taken up the subject of Child Protection. The Child Protection theme is based on the Juvenile Justice Act 2000 (Care and Protection Act).

Victor Tauro, ILP-India Coordinator was in Mangalore to facilitate the one day consultation and regional planning for CACL-K Mangalore Unit on october 22nd. During the first half of the day deliberations took place on Juvenile Justice Act 2000 (Care and protection) and latter part of the day was spent on planning for Child Protection Month Celebration activities.

The www.daijiworld.com website and local TV channels carried the news item. The whole programme attracted very good attention of the local people.

India Literacy Project celebrates fifteenth anniversary

 

For more information contact
Mr. Nandakumar Krishnan
India Literacy Project
Phone: 408-230-4752
Email: ilp-us@ilpnet.org

ILP is conducting an Open House to showcase its efforts as a catalyst for 100% literacy in India.

San Jose, California, 12th October, 2005 - India Literacy Project, ILP, as part of its 15th Anniversary celebrations, will be conducting an Open House from 4-6PM on Nov. 5th, 2005 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, California to showcase its evolution and achievements in serving as a catalyst for 100% literacy in India.

As one of the earliest non profit organizations working in the field of literacy and empowerment, ILP has been a key enabler of the literacy growth in India. The Open House will depict the challenges facing literacy in India and portray the success achieved by ILP, its future visions in transforming the literacy landscape of India, and personal experiences of volunteers who have been a part of the journey.

"It is amazing that over 100 million people became literate in just one decade, from 1991-2001, but sobering to know that there still over 300 million illiterates in India, a fast developing nation with a growing economy," says Nandakumar Krishnan, ILP Marketing Coordinator, adding "imagine what India can achieve if we can fully tap the potential of the entire population."

The Open House will spotlight the projects undertaken by ILP to support "Universalization of Elementary Education" & the functional literacy programs to improve women's livelihood. People wanting to be change agents supporting literacy initiatives in India can learn about ILP's efforts to create self-sustaining development systems that promote literacy.

"ILP has seen its vision evolve to include long-term programs that ensure upward socio-economic mobilization of the community, community involvement and sustained growth to generate an 'empowered individual' of every one who benefits from our funds," says ILP convener Padmini Ranganathan.

The Open House on November 5th is a family affair featuring hands-on learning activities for kids about India, an autograph session with former Indian Cricket Captain and renowned international umpire S. Venkatraghavan, attractive raffle prizes and refreshments.

The public is invited to participate in the celebrations which run from 4:00-6:00PM, on Nov. 5th, 2005 at the Santa Clara Convention Center, 5001 Great America Parkway, Santa Clara, CA 95054. More details on ILP, the Open House and Driving Directions to the venue can be obtained by visiting http://www.ilpnet.org

 

ABOUT INDIA LITERACY PROJECT

India Literacy Project, ILP, is a US-based non-profit, volunteer organization dedicated to spreading the cause of literacy in India. ILP acts as a catalyst for 100% literacy by forming meaningful partnerships with Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) in India, who are working towards the goals of total literacy and the universal right to primary education.

In the US, ILP has chapters and interest groups in 7 major metropolitan areas including the California Bay area. ILP is a completely volunteer-based organization, concentrating its efforts on building awareness for the importance of education and raising funds for literacy and empowerment projects. ILP has extended its reach to the most rural and remote parts of India. Projects funded by ILP have helped children who worked in cotton fields for less than 25 cents a day, to enroll in schools; illiterate women have attained functional literacy that enables them run their own small business.

For more information on India Literacy Project, visit www.ilpnet.org

 

Hurricane Katrina

Dear friends,

This is a terrible time for many of our fellow human beings in our adopted country, let us do what we can to support by donating time, material or money.

The website below provides more information on ways to help with the relief effort: http://www.craigslist.org/about/help/katrina_aid.html

Padmini Ranganathan
on behalf of ILP National Coordinating Committee

ILP receives $25,000 grant from the UPS Foundation

 

For more information contact
Mr. Nandakumar Krishnan
India Literacy Project
Phone: 408-230-4752
Email: ilp-us@ilpnet.org

Mountain View, California, 29th September 2005 - India Literacy Project received a $25,000 grant from The UPS Foundation, the charitable arm of UPS (NYSE:UPS). The grant will be used to provide for education of underprivileged children from poor socio- economic backgrounds in India.

India Literacy Project (ILP), a non-profit organization dedicated to the cause of literacy in India, strives to support underprivileged kids and communities across India by providing them with an education enabling them to build a bright future. ILP is excited to have received a grant from The UPS Foundation that would help support three projects that positively impact 250 out-of-school children spread across 3 different states in India.

"The projects sponsored would go a long way in helping child laborers -both active and passive who have been robbed of their childhood," said Padmini Ranganathan, National Convener for India Literacy Project, further adding that "the ecosystems being created at each one of the project sites include community based education support groups and communities that ensure children are retained in schools." The projects would address important issues related to elementary education that could impact the lives of nearly 1000 children through campaigns and mobilization activities. India Literacy Project is excited to be a part of this transformation and would like to thank UPS for their generous support and encouragement.

Established in 1951, The UPS foundation based in Atlanta, GA identifies specific areas where its backing clearly impacts social causes. In support of this strategic approach, The UPS Foundation has identified literacy, hunger and volunteerism as its focus areas.

In 2004, The UPS Foundation distributed nearly $40 million worldwide through grants that benefit organizations or programs such as India Literacy Project and provide support for building stronger communities.

"Giving back to the communities is an important part of UPS's culture that's embraced by our employees through volunteerism, making donations and sharing their intellectual capital," said Evern Cooper Epps, president of the UPS Foundation and vice president of UPS Corporate Communications. "Together with nonprofit partners like the India Literacy Project; we work to make a positive impact on the lives of people in need,"

With this grant, UPS and ILP have joined hands to enrich and enliven the lives of hundreds of kids in India and give them hope for a future which they would have otherwise not dreamt of. Rajesh Rajamani, ILP California Chapter coordinator says, "This is a great example of how corporations (such as UPS) are helping to build a better world".

 

ILP releases emergency grant for flood relief in Bhadrachalam.

 

For more information contact
Mr. Nandakumar Krishnan
India Literacy Project
Phone: 408-230-4752
Email: ilp-us@ilpnet.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Mountain View, California, 25th September 2005 - India Literacy Project approved a relief grant of $2000 to Kruthi for emergency relief work in the Bhadrachalam area. Following flash floods in Bhadrachalam, Kunavaram and Chintoor Mandals of Khammam District (Andhra Pradesh) earlier this month, many areas have been severely affected.

 

The Impact of flash floods in Bhadrachalam, Kunavaram and Chintoor Mandals of Khammam District

Bhadrachalam

1. Total Number of Villages 37
2. Total submerged 19
3. Partially Submerged 18

Population Effected 14114

Kunavaram

1. Total Number of Villages 22
2. Total submerged 11
3. Partially Submerged 11
4. Population Effected 6726

Chintoor

1. Total Number of Villages 27
2. Total submerged 20
3. Partially Submerged 07
4. Population Effected 7615

(Some hamlets yet to be reached.)

Problem :The villagers from totally submerged Tribal villages are either living in nearby large villages where upper primary school available or village head's house, Temples, Church, ITDA Residential hostels. Some of them made make shift arrangement with plastic sheets available.

Loss: All the stored grains and other food Materials damaged, some of the thatched houses are totally damaged. Total loss of chickens and hens fortunately non of the cows and buffalos were reported dead. Human loss of only four only reported as on today.

Health: Children are suffering from fever, diarrhea, dysentery and other illnesses non of the medical teams reached and made a through investigations.

Water: Traditional drinking water ponds, hand bores are filled with rain water and the color is muddy and not usable till some process is done.

Sanitation: Generally tribes do not use toilets for nature calls due to heavy rains where ever they have gone for has washed off and mixed into rain water.

Schools: Totally wet and damp many of the schools are leaking even though tribals are staying and kept some of their belongings from last 17th to till date non of the schools are functioning. Books either they are totally wet or 100% damaged.

Present Situation: Since rain has stopped on 21st mid night and slowly water is receding (Vagu) streams tribes wish to reach back their villages, Hamlets. They are more worried about the cows and buffalos in the village VR PURAM MANDAL yet to be reach no one has any data all the communication channels totally cut off.

KRUTHI plans to support three thousand families in Kunavaram mandal and Bhadrachalam Mandals

Update on the half-day Career Opportunties session organized by ILP.

As a part of the Pratibha Mitra programme, ILP organized a half day session on 'Career Opportunities in Commerce' for students who have received the Pratibha Poshak scholarship. This was held on 28th Aug.2005, at Indian Social Institute, Benson Town, Bangalore.

Although, not much information can be disseminated in half a day, the idea was to inform the students about the various choices available to them after their high school. 30 students attended the programme. They were students of P.U I, P.U II, BCom I and B Com II. The first hour was an informal interactive session. Handouts about various career opportunities had been given to the students and this was discussed.

After tea, the formal sessions started off with a presentation on Corporate Finance by Mr. Ramesh Aswath, from HP. He spoke to the students about the various entry points for corporate finance and what the different kinds of jobs entailed.

Mr. Pramod Kulkarni then spoke to the students and gave them tips on how to prepare for exams and study well.

The second presentation by Mr. Achut Pandurangi, of Metlife Insurance informed students about the different kinds of insurances in India and the types of jobs that are available.

Ms. Nitasha Rao, from HP spoke on job opportunities in Accounting BPO fields. She spoke about the different job functions and the flexibility available with respect to time and nature of the work.

The last session was taken by Mr. Ravi, a Chartered Accountant. More than talking about CA, he highlighted on the mental make up required to do well in a professional course. He also stressed on the importance of spoken English.

Each of the speakers told the students that they would be more than happy to help the students in any way, be it an exposure visit to their office, individual counseling on any topic or a job opportunity.

The students gave a positive feedback and said that they would like such sessions to be organized in future too.

Career in Corporate Finance: Mr. Ramesh Ashwath, Hewlett Packard - ISO gives the students on overview of the prospects in Corporate Finance and what they need to focus on

Expectations.... Students in a group discussion on expectations from the session

A "Kala Jatha" over four weeks

Please find the article here .

A Slum that is free of child labor.

Akkiappa Garden community overtakes Government!

Akkiappa Garden, now called JCR Nagar has got the prestigious status of a slum without child laborers, while the State Government target is 2007. Today, (28th June 2005) the community formally announced that they are proud to claim that all the children from the slum are either in schools or anganwadies or with their caring parents as kids. Mr.Chauhan, Program Director, NCLP, Bangalore Urban District along with other guests joined the community to take the message to others.

Mr.KC.Venkatesh, Executive director of Paraspara Trust shared the process involved. He explained how the slum was hesitant to the idea of declaring it as "child labor free" and later how it took the initiative after seeing the other slums like Sanjeevappa Garden and Thanneerhalli getting this status. About six months back, the community based organization and the women groups decided to achieve the status and succeeded in their consorted effort today. The 13 child laborers identified during a survey six months ago were released and rehabilitated during the period. Out of the total 689 children in the age group of 0-14 years, 87 are in pre-primary schools/ anganwadies, and 386 in schools. The remaining are infants below 3 years.

The entire programme was kept alive by a number of songs and dance sequences by the cultural team of community as well the children from Baale - shelter for street girl children. Prizes were also distributed to women and children who won prizes in various competitions organized for this function. Notebooks and school bags were also distributed to the poor children during this occasion. To wind up the programme, a street play named "Makkala Kanasu" was demonstrated on the stage with the message of the effects of alcoholism on children and child labor. The guests for the programme were Mr.Prakash, Social worker, Mr.Girish, President of Child Rights Action Forum, Mr.Basha Bai, Community leader, Mr.S.K.Elumalai, President of Dr.B.R.Ambedkar Association and Smt.Sharadamma, President of Mathru Mahila Sangha.

ILP supports the Women Literacy program and Womens Sangha formation work of Paraspara, which is a part of their overall intervention in the slums.

ILP-DC Chapter website launched.

We are happy to inform you that the ILP-DC Chapter website is now available at dc.ilpnet.org. This website is intended to be an online resource for all Washington DC-metro area residents interested in ILP and contains the latest information on ILP-DC activities and events including links to the main ILP website.

We sincerely hope that you will visit the website and provide us with valuable feedback.

Thanks,
ILP-DC Team

The Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Bill, 2005. Call for Public Comment

June 28, 2005. Comments and recommendations.(From the Bangalore Group of NGOs and Children).

For Immediate Release: June 21, 2005.

The new Bill for a national commission for children - 'The Commission for the Protection of Children's Rights Bill 2005' - is now with the Parliamentary Committee for HRD. Request for copies of the bill may be sent to the address given above. Copies of the Bill are also available from the official website i.e. www.rajyasabha.nic.in

The good news is that Parliamentary Committee has published a notice calling for suggestions from the public (organisations, institutions, citizens). The deadline for suggestions to be submitted is 30th June.

A written memoranda may be sent to Shri Swarabji B., Committee Officer, Rajya Sabha Secretariat, Cabin 'E', Basement, Parliament House Annexe, New Delhi - 110 001, (Telephone: 2303 4027) within two weeks.

Many NGOs and networks have worked on previous drafts of the Bill, and submitted pleas and recommendations. Here is a chance to review the finalised Bill and to make our concerns and recommendations known to the Parliamentary Committee.

The first consultation was held in New Delhi on Saturday, 18th June 2005, at the India International Centre (Annexe), Lodi Estate, (off Max Mueller Marg), New Delhi 110003.

A consultation is also being convened at Chandigarh, and another will be held at Bangalore on June 24th.

For more details : Emails: iacrindia@yahoo.com, wecan03@yahoo.co.uk Tel: 011 24326025, 011 24310959 Fax: 011 24326025 Contact persons: Kiran Khanna/Razia Ismail Abbasi

Parliament Circular (pdf) -->>>

Read Full text of the Bill (pdf) -->>>

Rajya Sabha Website -->>>

ILP's Race for Literacy continues to trail blaze, set new records

On Sunday, May 1, 2005 the California Chapter of India Literacy Project (ILP) held its 7th Annual Race For Literacy. This a 5K/10K race held annually at scenic Shoreline Park in Mountain View, CA has, over the years, grown in prominence among sports events held in the South Bay. Acknowledging the growing popularity of the event, the City of Mountain View declared the race an official public event of the city. Further, the City Of Mountain View extended support to the cause of Literacy by declaring May 1, 2005 as the Race for Literacy day.

It was a beautiful day with perfect running conditions. Over 600 participants - an event record for registrations, had gathered to get some exercise under the glorious sun and show their support to the cause. They enjoyed an energetic and aesthetic warm up routine by Sheila Jain of Masala Bangra. The event also featured a 5K walk for the non runners and a Kids Race that had many a young enthusiastic participants. The effort and enthusiasm of the volunteers made the event well organized and enjoyable for all the participants. Many raffle prizes including MP3 players from Creative Labs were given away to the participants.

 

This year's winners are:
10K Run Men's : Ole Agesen, 10k Run Women's: Ashley Carroll
5K Run Men's : Kenneth Wilner, 5k Run Women's: Kelly Emo

The proceeds from this event, estimated to exceed $10000, go towards promoting literacy among the underprivileged in India. ILP also played host to a Bone Marrow Donation Drive by NetIP which collected over 60 blood samples from potential bone marrow donors among the participants.

ILP would like to thank all their sponsors that helped them put together a successful event this year. Creative Labs was the title sponsors. Annadaata, BMW of Mountain View, EFI, New India Bazaar and Veritas were Gold sponsors. Food was provided by Hobees, Swagat and Panchavati. RoadID donated the bibs for the runners.

ILP would like to thank the Mayor, the City Council and the City of Mountain View for their support. ILP would also like to recognize the support from other organizations - NetIP, Team Asha and Vibha for bringing group registrations and volunteering at the race.

For more details on the event and complete results, please visit www.raceforliteracy.org

7th Annual Race for Literacy set for success.

The 7^th Annual Race for Literacy set for May 1, 2005, is headed for another successful run thanks to the generous support of sponsors. The 2005 edition of The Race for Literacy has received support from many sponsors in the San Francisco Bay Area.

ILP is proud to have Creative Labs, the worldwide leader in digital entertainment products for the personal computer and the Internet, as our title sponsor. Famous for its Sound Blaster and for launching the multimedia revolution, Creative is now driving digital entertainment on the PC platform with products like its highly acclaimed NOMAD Jukebox. Creative will be displaying their latest digital entertainment products at the Race for Literacy.

BMW of Mountain View, Veritas, Annadaata and New India Bazaar are gold level sponsors. We are delighted to have these sponsors make a substantial contribution to promote the cause of literacy. EFI, Electronics for Imaging, a Foster City based of high-quality print controllers, helped out with most of our printing needs.

The 7th Race for Literacy has also received promises of food and beverage donations from the following companies - Paddy's Coffee, Swagat, Hobees, and Panchvati.

Please click here for a complete list of our sponsors.

File your taxes and help ILP at the same time.

ILP has signed on to the Affiliate Program of Taxact.com to help our supporters file their taxes and raise money for literacy projects at the same time. ILP requests that you file your taxes through TaxAct. ILP receives a percentage of the revenue for each purchase of an online solution offered through taxact.com.

Start using Taxact and help ILP now --->

ILP Partners' Meet in Bangalore. Feb 4-5, 2005.

NEW! A Report on The Proceedings ---> (Posted Feb 21, 2005) Images From the Partners' Meet ---> Background material for Partners' Meet ---> India Literacy Project invites all its volunteers and supporters to a 2 day Partners' Meet in Bangalore on 4th Feb and 5th Feb 2005. Venue: Indian Social Institute, 24A Benson Road, Benson Town, Bangalore Tel. Numbers: 23536189, 23536364 and 23536960 Other Contact Numbers for ILP: 9342860855(Sindhu), 9844069931(Jagdish), 9448258281(Prakash Kamath). Please RSVP by 3rd Feb 2005. Highlights:Dr. Madhav Chavan, Member : National Advisory Council to the Government of India will be conducting an interactive session on 4th Feb 2005 between 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on the governments most ambitious scheme: The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan- for the Universalization of Elementary Education. Dr. Madhav Chavan has also authored the recommendations to the NAC on the implementation of SSA. The partners' meet will also give you an opportunity for a face to face interaction with the 25 ILP Partners' from across the eight states.

Latest Update on ILPs tsunami relief efforts

Appeal For Contributions Towards Tsunami Relief And Rehabilitation

 

• Latest Update -->>>
• Click Here to Donate -->>>
• Call for Volunteers -->>>
• FAQ -->>>

July 10, 2005.	Update: ILP initiates long-term rehab efforts in Vembar region of Tuticorin district India Literacy Project has initiated long-term rehab efforts in the Vembar region of Tuticorin district in TamilNadu that was ravaged by the devastating South-Asian Tsunami. As a first step, ILP volunteers visited the region on May 30th and 31st, 2005, to get a first hand experience of the problems faced in the area and to conduct a NGO consultation and brainstorming session to identify the felt needs in the area. ILP is considering a cluster approach (multiple NGO's focusing on specific groups of villages in general area) to extend its rehabilitation efforts. This approach is another step in the evolution of ILP to become a more effective organization in addressing the needs of a specific geography. Following the field visit to several villages in the area and interaction with the people, ILP volunteers held a consultation session with 6 grass-roots level NGO's in the area to hear their viewpoints on how best to tackle the issues facing the region. The interested NGO's have been asked to submit formal project proposals to ILP, following ILP's guidelines and keeping in line with the findings of the consultation session. Project Proposals from the NGOs (expected to be received by mid-July) will be reviewed by ILP following standard practices that ILP has evolved over the years for Pre-Finance Assessment. More details on the project activities will be finalized in the coming months following these reviews. A complete field visit report can be accessed here. For more information on ILP's Tsunami rehab efforts, please watch this space for regular updates or write to tsunami-relief@ilpnet.org. ILP is continuing to accept designated donations for the Tsunami Rehab Initiative. Your contributions will help us make this initiative a grand success. Click here to donate.
January 8, 2005.	Update: On Friday, January 07, 2005, the President has signed into law; H.R. 241, which accelerates income tax benefits for charitable cash contributions for relief of Indian Ocean tsunami victims. Accelerated Income Tax Benefits for Donations Bill allows early deduction of tsunami donations
January 6, 2005.	Update: Emergency relief operations in the Tsunami affected areas of Southern India have made good progress and Governmental and Non-Governmental agencies have for the large part reached the affected people. ILP volunteers and our partners on the ground are assessing the needs of the affected communities for the medium-to-long term. At ILP, we believe that the long-term rehabilitiation needs will require a more committed and sustained effort and will focus on helping these efforts by raising funds and awareness. ILP will aim to focus on the education aspects of rehabilitation by selecting appropriate NGOs on the ground that will focus on education revival efforts for children, adult livelihood/literacy programs, and efforts that include community education for disaster preparedness. All Donations received upto January 7, 2005 will be directed towards immediate relief operations through Association for India's Development (AID ). Donations received on or after January 8, 2005 will be earmarked for funding long-term efforts such as those outlined above. These will be chosen using the same rigorous criteria that ILP uses to fund and monitor existing literacy projects.
December 27, 2004.	For Immediate Release: The ILP community is deeply saddened by the massive destruction and loss of life resulting from the deadly "Tsunami" across the Indian Ocean region. (News Coverage: The Hindu, Yahoo News, BBC News). ILP volunteers are actively working with other organizations on the ground to help with relief efforts. ILP has set up a directed fund to support relief efforts being done by various organizations in the affected areas of India. ILP will direct your contributions to organizations that we identify to be the most deserving. We encourage you to contribute generously to relief efforts to help the thousands affected. Call for Volunteers: ILP is looking for volunteers and donors who are interested in the work of long-term rehabilitation and rebuilding. Volunteers in the U.S are needed to help evaluate, select, and monitor these projects as well as to raise awareness and funds through charitable contributions from individual donors and foundations. Volunteers and NGOs are required in India to help with survey, evaluation, monitoring and follow-up in the affected areas. Please write to tsunami-relief@ilpnet.org and volunteer today. Call for Donors: The real work of rebuilding lives takes a long time and requires committed donors who want to see that the affected do not become helpless or destitute. Please help by funding ILP's efforts towards long-term rehabilitation. Write to tsunami-relief@ilpnet.org to get further details. Donate Today: To contribute to ILP's Tsunami Relief Fund, please choose one of the following options: Donate online (Please make sure you enter "Tsunami Relief" on web form to designate that the donation be used for this purpose) or Click here to send donation by mail (check, Money order, or Credit Card) Frequently asked questions about ILP's Tsunami Relief Fund How can I be sure money I send goes only to Tsunami relief and not to anything else. Money donated to ILP's Tsunami Relief Fund (through checks, Money Orders, and Credit Card donations) designated for Tsunami relief will be sent to the work being done by Association for India's Development (AID ). Where can I see updates on the latest status of relief work being done by your organization? For latest updates see Tamil Nadu Tsunami Relief Initiative Are there any other Organizations that are helping raise money for Tsunami Relief? Other Organizations and Agencies are also helping raise money for the relief efforts. Here is a partial list (Disclaimer: ILP is not responsible for the content of external internet sites) : Donate through Association for India's Development (AID) American India Foundation (AIF) will Match the First Million Dollars in Donations Indians for Collective Action Choose from a list of International Aid Agencies at NetworkforGood.org Indian Red Cross Still have questions? Write to us at tsunami-relief@ilpnet.org