Sponsor a Child in India 

 
Map of India
  • ChildFund came to India: 1951
  • Population below poverty line: 25%
Publications
This book was produced following a workshop for children who face neglect and abuse in their communities. The artwork was created by the children and some was improvised by an artist. We hope you will listen to the voices of these children.
Towards Restoring the Dignity and Ensuring Well Being of Children Artbook

Ethnic, Geographic and Economic Diversity

With a climate that varies from alpine to subtropical, India, the world’s second most populated country, is a land of significant diversity. More than 2,000 ethnic groups exist among more than 1 billion people. Though India’s economic power is steadily improving, 40 percent of the population still lives in poverty. Overpopulated urban centers, widespread poverty, severe ethnic and gender inequities, and an HIV/AIDS crisis make life more than difficult for hundreds of thousands of children and their families.

A History of Hope

Since 1951 ChildFund has improved the lives of more than a million Indian children in 1,600 communities regardless of their ethnicity or social caste. Working through 75 local partners across 15 of India’s 28 states with more than 400 grassroots organizations, we help deprived, excluded and vulnerable children develop the potential to become parents and leaders who create lasting and positive changes in their communities. Sponsor a child in India and give a child a chance.

Children’s Clubs

A hallmark of our work in India is Children’s Clubs, which give voices to children through education and empowerment. There are more than 1,000 Children’s Clubs in the areas where we work. The Clubs help raise awareness about child rights, health and hygiene, nutrition and education. Armed with knowledge and skills, children take action such as planting kitchen gardens to provide vegetables for Early Childhood Development Centers and mobilizing communities to help clean drainage ditches for better sanitation and disease control.

“The International Labor Office of the U.N. estimates 215 million child laborers worldwide, 115 million of whom engage in hazardous work.”

HIV/AIDS Intervention

With 2.4 million people in India living with HIV/AIDS, the country’s annual death rate from the disease is the world’s third highest. We work to educate, test and treat high-risk groups through the Link Workers’ Scheme (LWS), which operates in 1,900 villages in 19 districts of the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

A Year of Success in One Example

The Disha Children’s Program, designed to assist children working in the glass and bangle industry in Firozabad of Uttar Pradesh, reduced malnutrition by 71 percent and chronic health problems by 50 percent. Fifteen hundred mothers received nutrition demonstrations to help improve the health of their children, nearly 1,600 child laborers were withdrawn from hazardous processes of bangle making and 95 percent are successfully continuing their education.

Tsunami Aftermath

Child trafficking and early marriage is commonplace in India and after the 2004 tsunami thousands of children and adolescents were left vulnerable to these practices, especially those who lost their parents. Many were faced with child labor and violence. To combat the abuse, we formed coalitions with community members, including 164 Children’s Clubs and 41 Child Well-Being Committees to protect those who could not protect themselves.

For about a dollar a day, you can sponsor a child in India.
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