Child Labour Elimination Programme
With the financial assistance from CORD-AID, Netherlands this programme has been implementing since 1998. In this year, this project is being carried out in five villages in Pallipalayam Block of Namakkal district.

The primary aim of this project is to initiate and strengthen the people's organisations/ Community Based Organisations (CBOs) like women groups; youth groups etc., and made them to involve actively in the project activities. So far 21 women groups have been initiated and strengthened in the five target villages. The group members were given various leadership, entrepreneurial development, income generation and skill trainings to whet their potentials and to come up in their lives. The women group representatives were organised under a core group and they were made to involve in the policy decision making process in this project. The youth group members are actively involved in various village developmental activities.

In each five villages non- formal education centres are being conducted for the child labourers and drop-out children from June 2003. Five supplementary education classes have also been initiated from June 2002. The dull and weak school going children were made to attend the classes in order to ensure their retention in the regular schools. Children groups were also organised weekly in the five villages to develop unity and integrity among them right from their early period of life.

In the month of April and May pre-primary enrolment campaigns were carried out. Our door to door campaign results the increment of students in the local primary schools.

Under the street children contact programme, one contact centre and temporary shelter home is functioning. Once the street children were contacted they will be taken to the temporary shelter home for a short stay. They will be given proper counselling, opportunities for education and recreation, medical check-ups etc., And then they will either be sent with their parents or be admitted in hostels for future care. Special care and close monitoring is being done especially to the high risk and vulnerable children. Follow-up care is also been ensured for them not to enter in the labour market again. A good linkage has been established with the Government Observation home under the Ministry of Social Defence, Govt of Tamilnadu for referring the street children for continuum care.

Vocational trainings in tailoring with duration of six months and driving with duration of three months were also given to 22 aged child labourers during the current project year.

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